“They haven’t had the money,” Maxence said, his voice low. “The Nepali government has very, very little money for these far-flung regions.”
“But the government has to havemoney,”Alfonso said, his anger giving way to dismay. “How else will they buy the supplies that the clinics will need every six months or so?”
“Whoa!”Dree said. “They have to buy thedrugs?Who’sgoing to buy them?”
“The Nepali government will buy them, or the villages can,” Alfonso said.
“There’s nowaythese people can afford that!” she cried.
Isaak butted in,“Wait.I thought those were going to bedonated.”
“Of course not,” Alfonso said. “Pharmaceuticals are routine expenses. The clinics will need to be resupplied when the drugs expire every six months or so.”
Father Booker stepped up. “Hang on, so the perishable drugs aren’t part of the charity deal?”
“Of course, they’ll have to buy supplies. Supplies aren’t free,” Alfonso said as if this were obvious.
Dree said, “You can’t expect these communities to cough up a couple of hundred dollars every six months. The combined wealth of these people is less than that!”
Alfonso shrugged. “It’s a minor expense compared to the cost of the construction of these clinics. Surely, they can kick in some money to supply the clinics. They need to have some ‘skin in the game.’ That’s what you call it, yes?”
“These people barely haveclotheson theirbacks,and now you want their skin, too?” Dree demanded.
Maxence asked, his voice low and dangerous, “And where are they going to buy these perishable supplies from?”
Alfonso raised a shoulder. “They must buy the supplies from my company. It is part of the contract to build them a NICU micro-clinic.”
Dree stomped backward.“Seriously?”
Max asked, “And are you going to sell them the supplies at cost? Are you going to supplement the expense of these expensive pharmaceuticals and other supplies to far below cost?”
“Of course not. They can buy the supplies at the same rate as everybody else.”
Dree clenched her fists. “You shouldn’t be making a profit off these impoverished people by holding their premature babies hostage! You shouldn’t bemaking moneyby making peoplepayyouso they won’t be sick or notdie.Ever,at all!”
Alfonso sniffed. “That’s not the way the world works, Andrea.”
“But itshould,”she said. “People used to come into my hospital with horrible complications of diabetes that had made them so sick they were disabled. If they’d had proper care, they could have been contributing, working citizens of society, but instead, some asshole decided to make money from the fact that they need insulin to stay alive. Rich assholes shouldn’t bemaking moneyoff ofmedicine.”
Alfonso rolled his eyes. “We can’t doeverythingfor the poor. If we just hand these communities money, they’ll waste it. They’ll just spend it on frivolous things like stereos and soda pop and diamond-encrusted phones.”
Isaak asked him, “Weren’t you just deriding these people for not having cell phones so they could call for helicopter rides?”
“Common people are stupid,” Alfonso said, scowling. “People likeushave been bred to make decisions for them because they don’t have the education or sophistication to know what they need. Look at them. They’re idiots.”
That statement splashed into the conversation, and everyone stepped back and raised their hands to avoid the moral mud splatter.
“What the—!”
“Hold on there, Alfie.”
“Thatis not acceptable.”
Maxence growled at Alfonso. “You weren’t so smart and industrious that you built your corporation from nothing. Your father, the King of Spain, gave you two hundred million dollars to start your company.”
What?
Dree stared at Alfonso, who had not mentioned she should be calling him Your Highness or curtsying or anything, not that she would’ve.Heck, no.
