by Lexy Timms
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 emails 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.
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 centre 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.”
“You’re so cheesy.” Julie shook her head. “He’s only coming because I promised him you’d have beer and wine.”
Charity smiled. “There’s whiskey too. And rum.”
“Ahhh, a girl after my own heart. Why didn’t I meet you before Juls?”
Julie playfully punched him in the arm. “You did! You asked her out and she turned you down.”
“I did? I don’t remember that.” Simon quickened his step at the same time opening the hospital’s sliding automatic door.
“That’s ‘cause you try to pretend it never happened.” Julie shook her head, winking at Charity.
“For the record,” Charity said grinning, “I didn’t turn you down because I wasn’t interested, I had some major test I needed to study for.”
Simon dramatically dropped his head. “And to think I had a chance.”
Julie snorted. “You never had a chance.”
Charity hit the elevator button. “I think you guys did pretty good finding each other. At least you’re not thirty and still waiting to get married.”
Simon let the girls onto the elevator first. “In some countries a man is allowed to have more than one wife.”
“It’s not going to happen, Simon. Not going to happen.” Julie waved her index finger at him.
Charity laughed. She loved their banter and how easy they got along. “I’ve missed you guys.”
“Well don’t avoid coming to New York.” Julie pretended to scold her. “Move back here so you can hang with us all the time.”
“Except don’t plan too many of these mandatory hospital functions.” Tim stepped forward to make sure the elevator door would close on them. “People’ll start to realize I’m not so cool out of hospital gear.”
“You could have worn your scrubs.” Charity unlocked the boardroom door and flipped the lights on.
“See, Juls! Charity wouldn’t have minded.” He gave her a smug look. “I told you so.”
“Go ahead and change, but don’t blame me when your pillow is on the couch tonight instead of the bed.” Julie glanced around the room. “It looks fab, Charity.”
“Thanks. I really didn’t do much.” She walked behind the wet bar. “Do you want a beer, Simon?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Charity handed him a bottle and poured a glass of red wine for Julie. She wanted to wait until later.
Staff started to arrive and Charity stood between the door and the bar. She introduced herself and let them know the bar was self serve. The room filled with doctors, nurses and everything in between. Charity tried to make mental notes for everyone she spoke to. At ten to seven the pizza driver arrived with pizzas stacked on a gurney. She asked the delivery guy to set the pizza on the wall across from the large windows. As she grabbed her purse to tip the guy, she heard her father’s voice:
“…the bi-cusped valve isn’t where I want it to be. We will need to monitor for the next few days.”
“I’ve already put that in his charts and spoke to the nurses. They’ll let me know if there are any changes.”
Elijah’s accent couldn’t be missed. Charity tipped the pizza boy and turned to greet the doctors. “Hi.” She smiled at her dad and let her eyes linger a moment longer than necessary on Elijah. He’d spiked the front part of his hair with some gel and the five o’clock shadow made him beyond sexy. He wore a light blue button up shirt and dark dress pants that fit just tight enough to show off his physique but still completely professional. Classy and sexy. Her mind raced back to the kiss from last night. She stared at his mouth and then nearly died when she realized she’d just traced her lower lip with her finger.
/> “If you’ll excuse me.” Her father stepped between them. “Dr. Skyrt is here. I haven’t seen him in ages!” Charity’s father walked over to the man and shook his hand, leaving her alone with Elijah.
“How was your day?” Professional Charity, be professional.
“Interesting.” His fingers ran lightly over his chin. “I have to tell you something.” He leaned slightly closer to her.
“What is it?” she whispered in a quiet airy voice. Her entire body was tuned into his. She could feel goose bumps start to rise on her bare arm.
“Last night…”
“Yes?” Her breath quickened.
“That place. That food was amazing! I ordered it again for lunch.”
She straightened. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” His head tilted to the side. “What did you think I was going to say?”
“Nothing.” She waved her hand, wondering if other people noticed the room had grown warm. “I had no idea.”
“Charity!” Her father motioned her to come over. “Come meet Dr. Skyrt. He’s very interested in helping with the fundraiser gala.”
She nodded in his direction and gave one last glance at Elijah. “Duty calls.”
Her father introduced her to the older English doctor. He was witty and charming, but best of all, wanted to put money towards the hospital. Charity gave him her business card and promised to be in touch.
She glanced around the room. Most people were on their second, or even third drink, and chatting amongst themselves. She cleared her throat and raised her voice. “Everyone, help yourself to pizza and there are platters of snack foods on the table over there.” She pointed to the far wall. “I should probably introduce myself. I’m Charity Thompson, and yes, my father is Dr. Thompson.” She smiled at her dad, playing the part of the good daughter. It only had to be believable.
“Some of you may already know, Dr. Thompson is turning sixty-five…” She glanced at her dad and winked. “Am I allowed to tell them your age?”
He smiled and nodded, playing the part of the loving father.
“Yes, so with that milestone, instead of retiring my father would like to throw a massive party to raise money for the hospital.” A question crossed her mind. “Do you have an intention on where you plan to use the monies raised?”
“I do. The oncology floor needs new equipment and whatever else we can do.”
A couple of groups cheered when he said that. Charity, for a moment, was at a loss for words. Then she realized his edge – he wanted to put it towards the floor her mother had lost her battle with cancer on so it would make him look good. Own the hospital and look like the guy who had lost his one true love. Either that, or he felt incredible guilty and wanted to try and make up for it.
Everyone stood quiet, waiting for her to speak. She realized the silence in the room was because of her. “Fantastic.” The word sounded forced. “While you grab food, please check over the printed brochure. It’s a summary of what we plan to do. To make this evening a massive success, we are going to need volunteers and ideas and word of mouth. If you want to help or have an idea to share or anything, you can email or call me. My information is on the back. I hope to get a chance to chat with a number of you this evening.” There. Her speech to get the ball rolling was done. The rest of the evening would consist of cruising the room and chatting. Having a laugh and making sure everyone was enjoying themselves. “Now who wants a beer? And who wants pizza?”
SF Chapter 11
Two and a half hours later, Charity slipped out onto the balcony and stared out into the night sky. The city lights created a pretty map view. For a busy city, it was very quiet this evening from this high up.
The evening had been a success. People had just started leaving about half an hour ago. That was a great sign. Her father sat at a table with several older doctors talking shop and enjoying the twenty-year whisky she’d kept hidden until after the pizza had been cleared away. She’d slipped it to Dr. Skyrt whose face lit up and he went straight to her father.
The door behind her opened and Elijah walked out. He stood a few feet away from her with his hands spread wide around the railing. Neither spoke as they both watched the cars and city move below them. Charity inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“So are we going to talk about what happened last night?” Elijah shifted to face her and took a few steps closer, his fingers tracing along the metal railing.
Charity glanced at him and then back to the view. “What about it?” She moved her head slightly so he wouldn’t see her smile. She took a small step towards the glass door and could feel Elijah follow her. No one inside the room paid attention to what was going on outside.
He cleared his throat. “We, um, made out.”
“Oh right.” She turned to face him. “Sorry, I forgot.”
He chuckled and moved closer. “No you didn’t.”
She loved the intensity in his eyes but couldn’t resist saying, “I’m glad it was memorable. I wasn’t sure I would stack up against half the nurses and interns at the hospital here.”
Elijah tapped the balcony with a finger then reached to gently trace it down her forearm and wrist. He swallowed, almost appearing shy. “Um… You were pretty…” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You were pretty… amazing. No one here stacks up to you.”
Charity’s heart hammered. She forgot to breathe. His eyes never left hers. If they somehow ended frozen in that moment, she could stay there forever.
“I think about you…a lot…Charity.” He leaned so his head was closer to hers, their foreheads almost touching but he somehow managed to not make contact. “Ever since the day we talked on the phone. I don’t have the right, but I can’t stop myself.”
She blinked and let her gaze drop down to his mouth. Soft music from inside drifted as if by some secret cue. “I’ve been thinking about you, too,” she whispered.
Elijah’s tongue ran over his lips and his hand slipped around to the nape of her neck. He pulled and the small remaining space between them disappeared. His soft lips pressed against hers.
All reason and thought slipped from her mind. All she could concentrate on was the pressure of those lips on hers and his fingers pressing along her jaw line. She knew she shouldn’t be out here and if her father saw them, he’d be furious with both of them. She hesitated and pulled back slightly.
“I’m sorry.” Elijah tilted his head and stepped away.
Her body didn’t like the emptiness from the sudden space between them. “I…I just thought we should go someplace more private.”
A shiver tingled down her spine when Elijah’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped slightly. The shiver ran up her back when his sexy smile appeared.
What willpower Charity had disappeared. She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his with an uncontrollable passion she had never felt before.
Elijah returned her kisses, pressing his warm body against hers. Groaning, he slowly pulled away. “Let’s get out of here.” He scratched the stubble on his chin and smiled. “Can you do that? Are you allowed to slip out? What about your father?”
She laughed. “I’m pretty sure it’ll be okay.” She squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry, I’m sure my dad doesn’t suspect a thing.”
“Your dad?” He walked over and held the door open for her. “He loves me.”
Charity laughed and gently tapped his cheek as she slipped by. “That’s what he wants you to think.”
Elijah’s fingers trailed down her back and traced along her side. Charity nearly moaned out loud but caught herself just in time.
“Elijah!” her father called out from the men at the table. “Come join us for a drink. I need your opinion on a case.”
Now instead of moaning, Charity had to swallow back ironic laughter. They didn’t stand a chance slipping out of the room together without being noticed. She’d gotten caught up in the heat of the moment out on the balcony and should have realized.
>
She spotted Julie and Simon at another table playing cards. Who had brought a deck of cards to the room? She hadn’t.
Elijah gave her a frustrated smile. “I need to go see your dad.”
“I know. Go mingle and get those men to agree to come to the gala. At a thousand dollars a ticket, that’s ten thousand dollars sitting over there.”
“Well I’d better get over there, then. I don’t want to disappoint you.” His eyes lingered on hers before he finally walked over to the table. Someone had pulled a chair beside her father for Elijah. He sat down and was immediately poured a glass.
It wasn’t hard to see that he was well liked amongst the doctors. He was younger than a lot of them but they didn’t seem to mind he was their chief. He must be very, very good as her father wouldn’t settle for anything less at his hospital.
For once, she agreed with him. She walked over to Julie and Simon’s table. “What are you guys playing?” she asked as she sat down on an empty chair which just happened to face Elijah.
SF Chapter 12
Two weeks passed quickly. Charity had a lot going on down in Atlanta: she held a similar staff party, she met with Forever Hope’s board and together they agreed on hosting a small event in three months and another larger one six months later. They wanted a sporting event of some kind. All great ideas which had Charity researching locations and unique possibilities.
After flying back from New York, she got cold feet over letting herself be interested in Elijah. Maybe they had a connection or some kind of chemistry but now away from the Scott Thompson hospital, it all seemed a bit more of a dream than what was really there. It had to be based on physical attraction; the man was a demigod.
She pushed herself at work and planned several functions with the local hotspots in the city to get the word out about the hospital. The response was very positive and it encouraged her. Even in a town tight on funds, there would be ways to raise the money for the hospital.
Elijah had given her his phone number before she left and she hadn’t sent him a text or called him. She had started several times and ended up deleting the message or ending the call before it even went through. She talked herself out of it the first few days and then when she didn’t contact him over the weekend she felt guilty and thought it was too late to message him. She’d see him the following Friday or Saturday back in New York when she flew back.