by Sierra Rose
Her father went ahead and held the door for her. His breath sucked in as he stepped through to see the view for himself.
Charity couldn’t wait to read his expression. His eyes actually lit up. Or their brightness came from the chandelier’s reflection that hung not far from them. The floor on this level was a donut shape. A skinny, round donut with a very large center hole. People could walk around, or sit on antique benches. There were original brass bathroom and liquor signs on the outer wall. A brass and cast iron railing ran between each pillar connecting them but still giving one full view of the scene below or across from them. Every angle seemed covered – except for the lower end of the large chandelier. It hid just a small space directly across.
The walls were rough, but large, golden gilded mirrors lay against the walls, evenly spaced. Her father stepped carefully over the unfinished floors and put his hands on the top bar of the railing.
Charity did the same thing. Below, all the original seating and floor plan had been ripped out. Half the flooring had been done in a dark, almost cherry, wood. It looked breathtaking with the chandelier sending zaps of gold and sparkles bouncing off of everything.
“It’s extra bright now with the sun out. At night it’ll seem like we are looking up at the stars.”
“That’s a very large space down there.” Her father continued to scan and scrutinize below.
“We’re going to need it. She pointed to several spots. “I want to have gold banners coming down from up here, all the way to the area below. Mr. Bott said the waterfall will also be ready in time. They are building it in the far corner.” She pointed in the direction. “It’s going to look fantastic.” She could picture the layout in her head already, almost down to the itty-bitty details. Her mother would have loved everything about this place. The pain in her heart made its way to her throat. She had to swallow several times to get rid of it.
Her father’s phone started to ring. “It’s the hospital.” He reached in and answered. A moment later he strode back to the entrance and motioned Charity to follow. “I’ll be right there. Prep the patient for surgery and ask one of the nurses to have my stuff ready. Send his chart and results to my phone right away and I’ll look over it as my daughter drives me back to the hospital.” He stuffed the phone in his pocket. “We need to go.”
“Emergency?”
“Bad accident.”
“Let’s go then. You start walking to the car and I’ll shut everything off and lock up.”
He was already out the door. Charity set the alarm, and after locking the doors, she jogged to catch up to him. They drove in silence again, this time her father intent on his phone, even slipping on a pair of reading glasses Charity never knew he needed. As she turned into the hospital parking lot, he took his glasses off and slipped them in his pocket. “The place will be great. Nice work.” He unclicked his seatbelt. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be in surgery quite a while but just leave a message.” He jumped out and ran through the emergency entrance without saying goodbye.
Charity pulled away from the curb, about to head back to her hotel, when she noticed her father’s phone lying on the passenger seat. She pulled into the visitor parking area and headed into the hospital.
She had to wait for the elevator, and by the time she stepped onto the sixth floor, she knew her father would already be in surgery. He probably went straight to emergency instead of coming up to his office. She decided to try his office anyway.
The nurses’ station was empty as she passed and the hall was quiet. She glanced at Elijah’s closed office door. Light shone through the frosted glass but she couldn’t tell if he was there or not. Charity reached for her father’s door handle and turned. She expected it to be locked but it opened.
It felt eerie walking in, like she was snooping and shouldn’t be there. She walked over to his desk and turned the desk light on. She ripped a sheet of paper off a pad he had by the phone.
You left your phone in the car.
I’ll see you tomorrow night.
Charity
She cleared a few things from the middle of his desk so he would see his phone right away and left the desk light on. She glanced out the window; it had grown dark quickly. “That time already,” she mumbled to herself and then giggled when her stomach rumbled in agreement. She pulled her own phone out and sent Mr. Bott a message to confirm the location was a go and he could charge the deposit to her Visa card. She’d send the number in the morning after he sent the contract. The deal was sealed.
Elijah’s light was off when she left her dad’s office. Too bad. She could have knocked on his door and asked if he wanted to grab something to eat. She walked down the hall to the elevator trying to decide what takeout to order.
“Hey, stranger!” Elijah stood by the elevator. He wore jeans and a tee shirt under his leather jacket.
“Hi. You done for the evening?”
The elevator door slid open. Elijah stepped aside to let her in first. “Just finished. You visiting your dad? I think he’s in surgery.” He pressed the “G” for ground floor and the door paused a moment before closing.
“He is. He forgot his phone in my car so I was just dropping it off.” Her stomach rumbled again, echoing in the elevator. Elijah’s eyebrows shot up at the sound and she laughed as she covered her tummy. “Sorry, I’m apparently starving.”
“Either that, or you found a baby tiger and you’re trying to hide it in your jacket.”
“I wanted a baby tiger when I was about four. My dad wouldn’t let me have one.”
“The nerve of your dad!” he joked. “I’d have let you have one.”
She grinned. She’d just found the perfect location for the gala and felt like celebrating a bit. Her dad had actually liked the location. Giddy with pride, she decided she was slightly invincible tonight. The elevator door creaked as it slid open. “Are you up to anything? I’m about to grab something to eat and apparently my stomach is treating.” She knew his reputation, but it would just be dinner. No biggie.
Elijah followed her out and glanced around the lobby. “Sssssure, I’m game.” His eyes swept the room again. “Let’s go.” He walked quickly to the revolving doors.
“Where do you want to eat?” she asked when they stepped outside. She wrapped her coat tighter around her; the air had turned chilly. “Do you want me to drive?” She slapped her forehead. “I’m in the visitors’ parking and didn’t put any money in the meter. I just ran in when I realized my dad forgot his phone. Crap! I better not have a ticket.”
“I’m not fussy.” He followed her. “You grew up around here, right? Any hidden gems?”
“Hmm…” She chewed her lower lip. “Do you like Thai food? If it’s still downtown, there’s a great little place called Salathai.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Charity clicked the unlock button on the rental car and walked around to the driver’s side, checking for a ticket on her windshield. Thank goodness. No ticket. She’d gotten lucky.
“What happened to the Mustang?” Elijah said as he climbed in the passenger side.
“Ha ha.” She pretended to punch his shoulder but just tapped it lightly instead. “I got a lady teller at the car rental place this time.” She started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
“That sucks.” Elijah’s eyes followed the entrance of the hospital as they drove past it.
Charity watched him from the corner of her eye. “Are you supposed to be meeting someone?”
“Me? No.” He straightened to face forward.
“Really? ‘Cause you’re acting like you don’t want to get caught hanging with me.”
He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “No! That’s not it. I, uh, I went out with a nurse and she, um, kinda thinks we’re a serious item.”
Charity burst out laughing. “Now why would she think that? She new?” When he nodded, she chuckled again. “So she’s into you a bit more than you’re into her?”
“You
could say that.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m glad you find it amusing. She’s pretty much stalking me.”
“You just went out with her once?”
He nodded, then shook his head. “Maybe twice.”
He slept with her, probably once at the hospital. She grinned but held back the laugh. “And she’s stalking you now?”
“The girl’s a piece of work! She shows up when I’m finishing a surgery, or leaving work, or bloody coming out of the toilets. It’s like she’s tagged me with a tracking device.”
Charity stopped for a red light. “She’s a nurse? On sixth floor?” She tried to remember if there were any super pretty ones she’d noticed the few times she had passed the nurses’ station. Hadn’t several of them been talking about him last weekend?
“Not on sixth. She works on third. The maternity floor.”
She laughed and tried to stop when he shot her a pretend dirty look. “Seriously? Come on. Maternity? You’re just making it too easy for me to tease you.”
He gave her a smug nod. “You’re still treating, right? ‘Cause now I’m ordering appetizers, foreign bottled beer, the most expensive dinner on the menu, and a dessert I’m not even going to touch!”
She turned again and let her foot off the gas to slow slightly. She pointed out the passenger window and her hand brushed across his chest. It sent a warm sensation back toward her. “That’s where we are going to have the gala.”
Elijah leaned forward to look out the window. “It looks closed.”
“It is right now. The guy who bought the place said it’ll be finished in about three months, four tops. We’ll be the first rental when it’s complete. Wait till you see it.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Your father was quite adamant that you were going to do something special. Something one-of-a-kind. He–”
“Seriously? He said that?” She cut him off, surprised her father would actually say something nice about her to others.
“He did. Now everyone is volunteering to help out. Half the hospital didn’t even know Dr. Thompson had a daughter.”
“Did you know?”
He nodded. “Your dad has a framed picture of the three of you on his desk.”
Charity stared at the road ahead. She hadn’t noticed the picture when she dropped the phone off. Then again, she hadn’t been looking for it. She wondered when the photo had been taken.
She parked the car and pointed just up the road on the other side of the street. “The place where we’re eating is a house turned into a restaurant. I think the owners live upstairs actually.”
“I’ve driven on this road a hundred times and never noticed a restaurant sign.”
“Wait till you try the food. You’ll be ordering takeout once a week.”
Charity got out and walked around the car to the sidewalk. Elijah was waiting for her. They walked together and stopped at the intersection for the light to change.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Elijah muttered as he glared at the ground.
“What?” she asked, glancing around.
“To our left, about to cross the street, is stalker-nurse.”
Charity looked and saw a pretty redhead coming toward them, a determined look on her face. Charity didn’t want the night ruined. A crazy idea popped in her head. “You’re about to owe me dinner.” She stepped closer to Elijah just as his head came up. She leaned in, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her lips hard against his. Her eyes closed on instinct and her lips softened against his. He froze a moment before he started kissing her back.
His hands slipped inside her coat and their warmth seeped through her shirt and burned against her skin. Her lips parted and his tongue brushed against hers. It sent mixed signals to her brain.
She heard an angry harrumph behind her. Just to be safe she pressed closer to Elijah and kissed him harder. It took Charity a few moments longer than she thought it would to pull away. Slightly out of breath, she leaned her forehead against his and whispered, “Is she gone?”
Elijah’s shoulders rose and fell as his eyes searched hers a moment before glancing behind her. “She’s stomping down the road.” He chuckled. “I mean it. She’s literally stomping her feet. I think she’s pretty pissed.”
Charity straightened and turned to watch the girl. “I don’t think she’s going to be bugging you anymore. Just check your food and coffee for poison.”
Elijah pressed his fingers against his lips. “That was pretty impressive.”
So are you. She grinned at him, and tried to ignore her inner voice.
He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. “Th-The idea, I mean. Smart thinking.”
She realized he was thanking her. “Then I believe you owe me dinner now.” She started walking to the restaurant, wishing the evening air would cool the heat off her face. “And I’m starving.”
Chapter 10
Charity spent the next day setting up the double conference room for the evening’s staff party. Last night’s dinner played over in her mind again and again. She’d set her iPod on the docking station connected to the room’s sound system and tried to focus on the task at hand.
Except the fake kiss kept tempting her imagination of what it might be like if Elijah wanted to kiss her. She couldn’t deny he was good looking. The whole doctor thing was a turn on.
Stop it! She rolled her eyes for the tenth time that hour. She needed people to come tonight, to relax and have a good time and want to be part of this gala. She moved another table to the wall perpendicular to the wet bar. Well, it wasn’t much of a bar until she had cases of beer, wine, and several bottles of whiskey delivered. Then she had to have one of those cafeteria fridges with sliding doors brought up. She’d just finished stocking it when her father walked in.
She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. It felt warm. She’d have to make sure the fans or A/C was on for the evening. Thank goodness the room had glass doors to a balcony that overlooked the city.
Her father cleared his throat. “The room looks different.”
Charity had the large conference table removed and put into the room across the hall. The room had loads of space now. She’d set tables and cushioned chairs throughout the room, covered the tables in white tablecloths with specks of silver sewn throughout. It gave the effect of glitter – like diamonds.
“There’s going to be quite a few people coming in and out tonight.” From the email replies, there would be at least fifty.
“What should I wear?”
The question took her by surprise. The man always wore a suit or something dressy. She doubted he owned a pair of jeans. “Just wear dress pants and a button up. You can wear a suit if you want, but this room’s pretty warm. You’ll be ditching the jacket before you finish your first conversation.”
“Noted. Do I need to make some sort of speech?”
“Do you want to?”
“No.”
“Then you don’t have to. Just mingle around the room and introduce yourself to whoever’s here.”
“Everyone knows who I am.”
Did the man always have to be so confident? It made him a great doctor but it also made him frustratingly annoying. “I’m sure they do, Dad, but you don’t know everyone here and people like to feel special if you make a point to talk with them or say hello or even ask their name.”
He opened his mouth, but then closed it and didn’t say anything.
“You’ll enjoy yourself. Be here by seven at the very latest. People will start showing up around six and want to eat. The food’s coming around seven, and if people start eating before you’re here, they won’t wait around. They’ll leave.”
“Okay. I’ll be on time.”
“Thank you.”
He walked out of the room without a goodbye or a see you later.
She let out the breath she didn’t even know she had been holding. Did he talk to his patients the same way? His bedside manner could probably use some work.
&nbs
p; The clock above the door showed it was nearly four. She needed to get back to the hotel to shower and get ready herself. She did one more walk around the room and counted to sixty. That would give her father enough time to get to the elevator and be gone so she wouldn’t have to see him again until later on. She grabbed her stuff and dashed out the door, opting for the staircase just to be on the safe side.
After racing home, Charity showered, straightened her hair, and did her makeup. She stood in front of the hotel bed trying to choose between the two dresses she had brought. One was a just above the knee black designer dress with a gold buckle where the V-cut center met. The other had a long skirt dress and the top neatly twisted so the material pulled to the side right by her hip.
She tried the first on and posed in front of the mirror. Classy but it would make the corners of her father’s mouth pull down. Off it went and the charcoal long dress traded places. This one. She liked it because it made her small breasts appear larger and her waist tighter. Classy, but relaxed.
Good to go. She drove back to the hospital and made a mental note to ask her father for a parking permit. The walk from the visitor parking lot wasn’t the issue, but constantly carrying boxes would be easier. Tonight’s box weighed about twenty pounds. She had gone to the printer’s down in Atlanta this week and ordered an invitation with information about the gala six months away. Reading material and something for the hospital staff to mark their calendars and remember. The sheets had been done like a wedding invitation in heavy paper with gilded gold and sparkles to look like diamonds. They’d turned out really beautiful.
Halfway to the hospital entrance, a male voice called from a parked car in the doctor’s reserved area. “Need some help?”
Simon! Charity smiled at her best friend’s husband. He waved and walked around to the passenger side to let Julie out. Charity waited for them.
“Here, let me carry that.” Tall Simon easily took the box from her arms and carried it. “You look gorgeous, Charity.” He kissed her on the cheek before planting a kiss on his wife’s lips. “You’re looking particularly hot tonight as well, wifey.”
