If you need a visual of Alfonso imagine he is Wentworth Miller circa 2005 in the We Belong Together video and season 1 on Prison Break.
Maite's POV
Today I am meeting the board as Hayden introduces me as a consultant. I am a little nervous due to the people on the board. Michael will be there and so will his parents and his Aunt and his grandmother. My goodness I will already have to field questions about my worthiness for the position. I don't need Hayden to protect me but it will be a little off-putting to field questions with so much of Michael's family in the room.
I have Alfonso with me and he is the first person that I have on my team. He will be in the room with me as well but he's position won't be as questioned as mine because he was hired by me in the first place. The board will most likely be asking me why I am needed in the first place.
"Are you ready to shine?" Hayden seems very happy to have me on her team and I like to prove points.
"I'm ready as I'll ever be."
"You got this. I've seen you present to scarier people in suits… this board will be nothing." This reassurance from Alfonso is something I didn't know I needed. I guess it's because he is someone who has been at the other side watching me work that I can appreciate it.
We walk into the conference room that has a plethora of members and I imagine myself going into corporate battle.
"As CEO of the hospital I have been tasked doing whatever it takes to make the hospital profitable again. One step to get us there is to hire people who have a track record of innovation. With that being said I introduce Maria Rodriguez. I do have her coming in as a consultant but she will head up a financial division with an emphasis on innovation and profitability. In the corporate world her position would be a marriage between a CFO and Chief Innovation Officer."
"Hmm I've seen you before Ms. Rodriguez… Weren't you competing as an intern to work for a permanent position at ELQ…" Tracy Quartermaine narrows her eyes at me. She is one of the people who had a hand in deciding who would get to work for her company.
"It's Professor Rodriguez actually—"
"And yet you didn't make the cut? Hayden you want us to hire someone who couldn't hack it to get an entry-level position with ELQ yet you want her to be basically an executive for this hospital. This is outrageous."
"The person is here… If you would like to go over my qualifications to be here then you can just ask. I can assure you I was the most qualified person for any position your company could ever offer even the one he has. I am sure no one wanted to take on the fact that I am a Mexican National and didn't want to waste money getting any EB visas for me versus less qualified candidates. It was a foolish decision because this Maria Rodriguez is a U.S. citizen thanks to my father being born in El Paso." My eyes have fury in them… I remember all the times Michael used to mention how Tracy would try to undermine him and his position even when he was right. I can beat her at her game because I did my research.
I can see from the corner of my eye that Michael's parents are smiling but they are discreet about it. I see the mazado is here too and he seems to be getting a kick out of this as well.
"Why would you be a better option than someone who has worked in a hospital setting?" Michael's mother asks me a fair question and I smile on the inside while I just stare into her blue eyes.
"Hospitals across the world are looking for top tier talent in various industries because in the new global and digital age you either innovate or you die. I can do analytics in my sleep and look for avenues to diversify while I'm awake. I have excelled for every company I have worked at and I always make sure to make it more profitable than I left it." I can handle myself if someone gives me a chance and it's nice to get a fair shake.
"I don't see why we are even entertaining this choice…" Tracy gets under my skin but she is biting off more than she can chew and she doesn't even know it.
"The choice is right here. I promise you if you disrespect me one more time I will walk out of here and pick the most garbage of hospitals at the top of my head it would be Buffalo General and I will make it look like the love child of Mayo and Langone…"
"I wouldn't tempt her if I were you…" This is the first time Alfonso has spoken… I wonder where he is going with this.
"What makes you say that?" Hayden's mazado is speaking and he is even better looking sober hmph.
"I used to work for Jetblue and when we underestimated her she went to my former company's chief competitors and stifled their growth in a new market. And she did all of it with soda. By the way I was born in the Bronx if that needs to be said." I almost laugh at Alfonso's dig but that wouldn't be professional. I see Michael crack a smile when I take the briefest glances at him. I can see Tracy's jaw clench and it makes me happy.
Even though I can handle anyone including Tracy Quartermaine by myself it is nice to have support. I understand technically Hayden can make the choice of having me without the board's approval but they could fire her so they really do need to approve me for us to move forward.
"She has my vote…" I was shocked when I heard the first person to agree with my hiring. It was Michael as sure as he knows some of my abilities the last time we really interacted was a six months ago. When he lost Sabrina, Morgan and had to give Teddy up he showed up at my door. After our dustup at Diane Miller's office he finally apologized to me and told me he could see how unfair he was being. It's been about a year but we are in a better place because we say hello to each other.
I did own up to not telling him and gave him my reasoning behind it and he seemed to understand me in a better light.
We had sex for about a month but I had to stop it because I didn't want him to create bad patterns to avoid dealing with his grief. I asked him to get a therapist but Michael instead chose to jump into a relationship with Nelle. I don't like the way she looks at Kiki and if she knew I was ever involved with Michael she would probably look at me the same. Michael seems intent on being with her even though she has a nasty streak. She says these weird things around us about Kiki like she's insecure.
"I agree." Michael's dad is the next person to confirm me followed by his mom and grandmother and it seems like everyone is saying yes. It doesn't matter what Tracy says because I already have a majority of the board so her vote does not matter and I don't need validation from her.
Hayden adjourns the meeting after Monica interrupts Tracy from saying anything to congratulate Alfonso and I joining the GH family.
We go to leave and all of the board members get up to leave and it's really one exit we can all go through.
"Excuse me… I don't mean to be presumptuous but are you Professor Rodriguez-Haddad?" I can hear Michael's mother and I turn and it's both his parents.
"Yes I am actually…" Alfonso and Hayden tell me they will be in our 'war room'.
"I don't know if you know this but our child Morgan was in one of your classes…" Morgan is still a touchy subject for me even though I wasn't his family.
"I know who you are… he spoke of you two highly. I knew him before he started my class but only in a general sense. He told me he was inspired to try college because of your motivation and support Mrs. Corinthos."
"I didn't know he talked about us…" I can't imagine the pain that stays with them to lose their child and discovering new things about them which opens the wound again.
"I can assure you that your son had you at the forefront of what he was trying to achieve. He was one of my brightest pupils. He had an insatiable curiosity for Latin American history. Most people who choose the class have some type of investment in it usually because of their personal backgrounds. Even though it was an undergraduate course your son had one of the most in-depth analysis on Caribbean history particularly Cuba it rivaled Molly Lansing. I invited him to my seminar and he held his own with dissenting opinions they were called M&M in the class they would debate anyone even each other."
"I had no clue my son was studying this." His father looks at me with a pride that makes my heart break…
"If you would like I can give you Morgan's papers. He did well with whatever I threw at him. I was helping him speak Spanish but I must say he spoke like a Tapatio…" I attempt to make a joke to lighten the atmosphere and sure enough Mr. Corinthos laughs.
"What is Tapa… could you say that again?" Mrs. Corinthos is most certainly a gringa…
"Tres por tres…" Mr. Corinthos knows about Mexican culture.
"Siempre para siempre…" I always have to follow that up because that phrase has such a deep meaning for my family. I just smile at them.
"A Tapatio or Tapatio is someone from Guadalajara…" Most Latinos know about their own regional names for their homelands but not many know about each others unless they are exposed to tv from those countries.
"Oh is that where you are originally from Guadalajara?"
"Yes that's my hometown… anyways I wanted to congratulate you even though Morgan has passed his book being published."
"Excuse me what?!" I am confused because this has been a long time coming now… Mrs. Corinthos looks like she might breath fire at me.
"My son didn't publish any book…" Mr. Corinthos looks at me like I'm wrong and I wonder had Morgan not told them anything.
"Walk with me please… Umm… well your son well he had the power of the pen. I had assign his class to choose a Latin American figures who had left in a mark in Latin American history. I had expected everyone in the class to pick military figures from the myriad of countries to choose from. Your son was the only one to not have done this. He followed his own path he called his paper love and liberty and chose Amado Nervo and Jose Marti. It was an incredibly thoughtful evoking paper that showcased he didn't just write about poets… he was one. I asked him if that was something that interested him. I have a friend who owns an independent Latino publishing house who loved your son's book of poetry. It's taken some time but they finally secured enough funding to make a successful run." I go into a free room to speak to them in private. Once we get inside I lock the door.
"I wish he had told us this himself…" It's weird to see a mother finding out so much about her son she never knew
"I'm sorry I thought you knew he wrote quite a bit ago…" I don't know what to say because I thought Morgan would have made a mention of this to his parents since they were the inspiration.
"Do you know what the book will be called?" Carly wants to know everything there is to know
"La libertad es hija del amor y la lucha"
"My son named his book that…" Michael and Morgan's father has a very colorful alleged history as a tough guy but it almost seems like he will cry.
"I'm sorry I don't know remember that much Spanish since I left Florida" this is must be so confusing for her.
"It means Liberty is the child of love and strife. That was my mother's motto for her life when she came her from Cuba…"
"Oh Sonny…" This is an intensely private moment that keeps serving me to make me uncomfortable but this is their son.
"He wrote it under another name… Marin Navarrete…" As I say the name Sonny knows more than his wife because he speaks Spanish he has to sit down with all this information he's been told.
"Why did he write it with another name did he want it to be anonymous?" She's just reeling for as much information as I can provide.
"I don't think so… He chose Marin because that would be the closest to his name in Spanish but he never told me why he chose that surname…"
"It was my mother's name Adela Navarrete…"
"If you like I can give you the information for my friend. They could tell you more about his book. I have a transcript of it if you would like. It is exclusively in Spanish but Mrs. Corinthos if you would ever like I could translate them all for you." I know that her husband could easily tell her what they mean but I would like to extend some comfort to her.
"Thank you so much that's incredibly thoughtful. I would definitely love my son's transcript and his papers…" She comes to me and hugs me and I hug back. I'm crying and so is she. This was not how I envisioned my day when it first started.