Charity did just that, but couldn’t get the idea out of her mind. She was certain Lily was mistaken, but it was a laughable thought. The intercom buzzed in, and Charity answered him as she recalled learning from the previous day. “Hello!”
“Um…Charity. Get me a coffee.” His voice was harsh, and Charity glanced at Lily. Was this the reaction Lily was referring to?
“Yes, sir.” She disconnected the intercom and glanced at Lily. “Still feel the same?” she asked, Lily.
Lily laughed and nodded. Charity got up and went to the coffee maker, where she poured him a cup and carried it to his office. He looked up and grabbed the cup from her. “Thank you!” he mumbled.
“My pleasure. Anything else, Sir?” she asked. He looked up and shook his head as he took a sip of the coffee. She turned on her heel and went back where Lily was waiting for her to return. She finished pulling up the calendar and brought up the current day. Lily stared at her when she finally caught her eye. “Now, what?” Charity asked, pushing the inquiring look from her mind.
Lily cleared her throat and looked back at the calendar. “It’s a pretty quiet day, as of right now, but to the right I’ve made some notes. There’s an organ donor breakfast at the Hospital next Monday, and the Mayor’s office is heading up, so we need to call the guests and make sure they’re still keeping their reservations. That’s forty-five guests. Are you up for it?” she asked.
Charity nodded. “Are the names of the guests in the online Rolodex?”
“They are. If you pull up the Rolodex, you will find a part for special events. I’ll show you.”
Charity pulled up the Rolodex and Lily directed her to locate the list of guests. Charity immediately started calling them up, using the same sentence to open up the conversation. “Good Morning, this is Charity Parker from Mayor Worthington’s office, and I’m calling to follow up on your reservation for the organ donor breakfast.” When the person on the other end of the call, acknowledged that they knew what Charity was talking about, she would continue. “Are you still interested in attending?” If they said yes, she would make sure they had the correct number of seats, but if they said no she would regretfully accept their declination and tell them to have a great day! It was all pretty repetitive, but she was surprised by how quickly time passed with going over the guest list. At one point, Lily jumped on another phone to help with the calls and within two hours they had all forty-five guests called and confirmed, including the twenty people those guests would be bringing, with only a total of seven people backing out.
Lily sighed, walking back over to the desk and putting the notebook down that contained the list of people she called. “Not bad! Now…you tell Derek what we found out.”
Charity tilted her head. “Tell him what exactly?” she asked. In her eyes, it wasn’t like she just stopped world hunger. She simply made a few phone calls, and she could casually mention it to him when she crossed his path. She didn’t need to take out a billboard and advertise every little detail, did she?
“Tell him that you have called and confirmed a total of fifty-eight guests for the Organ Donor breakfast. Communication is key in this job, and it might be a lot of back and forth, but eventually it all settles in.”
Charity nodded. She could talk to him, so she didn’t know why the sudden uneasiness of heading to his office. When she reached the door, she spotted that he was on his phone. His brow was furrowed, and he looked irritated, to say the least. She hung at the door, unsure whether to leave or to wait for him to get off the phone. She didn’t need to contemplate the idea for too long, because he hung up the phone, literally slamming it down on the base, and hurriedly started typing on his keyboard.
She hesitated but found herself knocking on his office door. “Don’t have time to chat, Charity,” he huffily replied, still staring down at his computer and never looking her way. She froze, really debating if it was worth standing there awkwardly until he heaved a sigh and looked up. “What?” he asked, looking up and this time not breaking eye-contact. Her knees were shaky, and she had to will herself not to run out of the office, or worse…start crying.
“I…uh…I mean…” she approached his desk, choosing not to run. “Lily told me to advise you that fifty-two…I mean, fifty-eight people are confirmed for the Hospital breakfast on Monday.”
“Fine!” he stated, looking back down at his computer. She started to walk away when he cleared his throat. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome!” she mumbled, stumbling out of his office and trying to gain space from him. When she got back to the desk, Lily cocked her head. Charity looked into her eyes. “I told him!”
Lily raised a knowing eyebrow at her. “He can be a little overbearing and hard to read, but he means well. Really…he does and you can always count on him to have your back.”
Charity laughed. She’d just have to take Lily’s word for it because right now she was ready to start looking for another job and she wasn’t a quitter unless she had no other choice. She needed to give it a little more time and hope that soon Derek would suddenly realize she wasn’t the enemy, and he didn’t have to be angry at her.
***
Derek read the email one more time, not understanding why it was so hard to locate one family. Calvin never had this much trouble, but he was turning up dead end after dead end.
Derek
I’m heading to California on another lead. I’ll keep you posted.
Cal
He looked away from the computer. After receiving the call from Calvin, explaining that Victoria had left the rehab in Mexico only fifteen hours earlier than when he got there, Derek was left in disbelief. “Cal, you’re losing your sixth sense,” he told him, angrily speaking into the phone. “How can you possibly not find two people?”
Calvin couldn’t seem to respond to the question. He had no answers. This was a first for him and now, according to the email, he was going after another lead that could easily turn into another dead end. He still hadn’t received a call back from Jenna, but he would’ve been shocked if he had. He turned off his computer and grabbed his car keys, then left his office.
Lily was sitting at her desk, eating her lunch, but she looked up when he got closer. “Going out for lunch?” she asked.
“Yep! Need anything?” he asked. She shook her head, but there was something hidden in her expression, that caused him to pause. “What? Something bothering you?”
She shrugged, putting her spoon down in her bowl. “You tell me.”
He shook his head. “Don’t have time for games. Something’s clearly bothering you. What is it?”
She frowned, then chuckled and a wrinkle formed on her forehead. Then she told him what was on her mind. “You didn’t exactly find my replacement in the first handful of applicants.”
“So?” he asked.
“So?” she asked. “My point is…do you really want to have to go through another batch of candidates and look for someone else? I don’t want to have to leave you high and dry, Derek, but if you leave me no choice…” her words trailed off.
“I knew this would happen,” he mumbled, slowly realizing what she was talking about.
“You knew what would happen?” she asked.
“I feared she wouldn’t have the experience needed. I was hoping she’d last longer than two days, but it is what it is.”
Lily’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding right?” she asked. When Derek didn’t respond in a way she seemed to want him to, she threw up her hands. “Derek…she isn’t the problem. You are!”
“What?”
She shook her head and sunk back into her chair. “Derek you’re like a brother to me and our working relationship seemed to just work over the course of my employment here, and I might be way out of line. Let’s face it…I’m way out of line here, but I have nothing to lose. You're a jerk towards her and if you don’t shape up…she’ll quit and you’ll have no other choice but to hire someone else.”
Derek processed the wo
rds, but the more he thought about them, the angrier he became. “You’re wrong!” he snapped.
“Derek, I’m simply trying to be real here. What did you say to her when she went into your office earlier today?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.” He thought back to the moment where Charity came to his office. It was right after he got off the phone with Calvin and he was disappointed by the news, but he didn’t do anything wrong. “Perhaps, she just needs to gain a backbone,” he sarcastically said.
Lily shook her head. “That’s it…right there…in that moment…that’s what I see.”
“You’re talking crazy, Lily. Maybe I’ve worked you too hard these past several years.” He started to walk away, but her chuckling stopped him.
His back was to her, but it didn’t stop her from explaining her insanity. “Your words are angry and filled with annoyance, but your eyes tell a different story.” He didn’t move, simply listened to her speak her peace. “She gets to you, and you don’t like that. You want to push her away, but she’s there and not a lot you can do about that, and that drives you nuts. That’s why you want to build this wall up, so she can’t get to you and you wind up giving into her.” As she spoke, he turned around to force his eyes on her. She looked up from swirling her spoon around her bowl of soup. She stopped when he faced her. “How close am I?” When he didn’t respond, she smiled. “That’s what I thought. It makes sense. Your best friend is dating her best friend, so chances are you had met before she brought in her resume. I found it strange when she dropped it off, considering everyone else went through the regular channels. The only thing I’m questioning, is if you didn’t want her to knock down your walls, then why did you hire her?”
He snickered when she stopped talking. “Come on…I thought you had the answers to everything. Don’t tell me you don’t already know.” The sarcasm was thick in the air and she got his gist. It was all over her face.
She smiled, taking a bite of soup. “Trust me. I know. After all, I’m a woman.”
She laughed, and he turned away from her. “So, you keep telling me.” He headed to the elevator and let the door close, before falling back against the wall of the enclosure. She was wrong in so many ways, yet his heart kept fighting the urge to respond back, and he had to regain his composure. The city needed him, and he wasn’t about to let anyone get in that way.
***
Charity placed her order to the waitress and handed the menu back to her. She forced a smile on her face, as Ana did the same. However, when Ana looked back at her, and the waitress had left the table, Ana didn’t hold back any punches. “So, do you absolutely hate it?” she asked.
It quickly brought Charity’s attention. “What?”
“The job…do you absolutely hate it? Frankly, it looks like you hate it.”
Charity took a drink of her Coke and slowly thought about her answer. When she placed the glass down, she didn’t know how to explain it, because she couldn’t even figure it out. She sighed. “It’s only been two days. You can’t hate something that has only been going on for two days. In fact, if you only count the time that I’ve been in the office…” she glanced at her watch. “It’s only been going on for twelve hours, five minutes, and thirty-nine seconds.” She laughed, peering back up at Ana. “See? How can you judge something in that short of a time period?”
Ana laughed. “Well, I get your point, but you obviously have some reservations about it. It’s written all over your face.”
“Didn’t know I was that transparent,” Charity quietly stated.
“You obviously don’t want to talk about it, but I’m your bestie, and I want to be supportive.”
Charity smiled and looked down at her drink. She wanted to talk about it, even though she wasn’t sure she could articulate the words. Yet, she decided to give it her best shot. “It’s Derek,” she admitted.
Ana frowned. “Derek?” She scooted closer to the table like she was hanging onto every word. “What’d he do?”
Charity snickered as she told everything that bothered her about the way he acted around her. She mentioned the little things, like acting cool around her and then doing a complete turnaround and finding herself being yelled at by him. “Yet, he then looks apologetic and starts to soften, but there’s just something in his actions. I can’t really explain it, but he’s like a woman on PMS. He’s moody, and I’m not sure I can take it.”
The waitress had brought them their food, while she ranted on, so she started to eat so she wasn’t late getting back to work and have to deal with the wrath of Derek. “What does his previous assistant think?” Ana asked.
Charity rolled her eyes as she took a bite of her potatoes. “She said that he can get overbearing at times, but he means well.”
Ana pondered that, focusing on her chicken. “You know, it makes sense. After all, he has a lot on his plate. Jesse told me there’s a problem with the Mall project, and he’s worked so hard to get that taken care of. Maybe you should cut him a little bit of slack.”
“Whose side are you on?” Charity asked, chuckling softly.
“I’m just saying that I’m sure he doesn’t mean anything by it. You’ve been around him outside of work and has he ever given you the feeling that he’s that type of guy?”
Charity slowly shook her head. That was her issue. He seemed flaky. Sometimes he was downright rude and sometimes he was almost on the verge of flirting. Too much drama to deal with. “I know you probably think I’m just trying to look for something to complain about, but that’s not it. I want to like this job, and I’m not giving up on it.” She wasn’t giving up on him. She just needed him to tone it down a bit. She took a bite of her sandwich and looked up. She groaned. “Speak of the Devil.”
“What?” Ana asked, starting to turn around.
“Don’t turn around,” Charity said between clenched teeth. “It’s Derek, and I want five minutes away from him. Just give me that, will you?”
“Fine!” Ana replied, turning back around.
Charity sighed but found herself watching him. He walked to a table in the back, but where they were sitting she had a perfect view. He joined a woman that was already sitting down. Was it a friend, girlfriend, business contact? She didn’t know why she was interested, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from them.
“Why are you staring?” Ana asked in a whisper.
Charity shook her head. “I’m not staring.” She went back to eating, but still thought about the table that was fifteen feet from them. When she finished eating, she got her check and Ana paid for hers, then they left the restaurant, going in the opposite direction that Derek was.
“Don’t try to get too caught up in how you think Derek is treating you poorly. It’s a new job, and it takes some time to settle into a routine.”
Charity stopped at her car and turned to Ana. Ana was right. That was all it was. Eventually, things would improve. “Have a good rest of the day!” Charity said, hugging Ana, then getting into her car. They waved to one another, as Ana got in the car next to her. Charity started her vehicle and pulled out of the parking lot. The image in her mind of Derek and the redhead kept playing in his mind. Who was she and why did Charity care?
***
Derek spent his lunch questioning whether he was losing his mind or if he really saw Charity in the restaurant. Was she just a figment of his imagination, because she was stuck in his mind? When Avery Lewis started talking again, he brought his attention back to her. “Thank you so much, Mayor Worthington, for helping me out with this.”
“I’m happy to do my part,” he said. He wrote out a check in her name, making a note in the memo that it was for fundraising. He removed the check and handed it to her.
Her hand brushed against his as she took it from him. His eyes met hers and she smiled. He pulled his hand back from her. About halfway during lunch, he got the impression that she thought their meeting was more than discussing a charity event for the Elementary School. He decided then that
he needed to cut it short.
“It’s a shame that you have to leave early, but I understand that you’re so so busy.”
He smiled. “Unfortunately, this is a busy time.” He laid down money on the table for a tip and scooted out of the bench.”
She quickly got out of her seat and was standing before he could rush off. “Maybe we can do this again sometime. I’m always interested in hearing about things going on around the city. It would be an honor to have lunch with you again sometime.”
He nodded and smiled. “Perhaps. I have your number.”
“Great!” She beamed, straightening herself up. “Have a good rest of the day.”
“You too, Ms. Lewis.”
She blushed. “Avery…it’s just Avery.”
He nodded. “Good day!” He turned from the table and got out of there before she could stall him any longer. He was relieved to get back to his car and head back to the office. It was the longest half an hour of his life and even though he didn’t have a meeting until three in the afternoon, he couldn’t take another minute.
He got back to the office and was back in the elevator to head up to his floor. When the elevator reached the destination and the door opened, he nearly bumped into Charity, who was about to get on. “Oh…I’m sorry,” she mumbled.”
“No problem!” He got off, but grabbed the door, before it closed. “Going somewhere?” he asked.
Not that that wasn’t the stupidest question; she was obviously going somewhere, but he couldn’t take it back. “Lily asked me to get a file from the records department.”
“Oh!” He looked away from her but still held the door open. “Were you at the corner restaurant today for lunch?” he asked.
Her face grew pale. “Uh…yes, but I didn’t think it was a problem. I was at lunch, and I wasn’t any longer than the hour allowed.”
“No…that’s fine. I thought I saw you. Either that or going nuts.” He laughed, but her facial expression didn’t change. “You probably didn’t see me.”
The Inheritance (Forever Bound #1) Page 16
