Deliver Me (26 page)

And even if he was
willing, did that mean she was just going to fall into his arms? No! The man
was...Well, he was funny, and handsome, and successful, and had a wonderful
family, and...

Nia’s assertion that
Eli was the perfect man for her resounded through Monica’s mind. She could not
find one credible flaw, not one thing that would have stopped her from pursuing
a relationship with him if this were a different time and there were not so
many complications involved.
 

Monica sighed in
frustration.

Why was she doing
this to herself? She had a billion other things to worry about, yet she chose
to waste the morning lamenting over an ex-boyfriend who’d made a fool out of
her and a gorgeous co-worker who had no doubt dated dozens of attractive women.

Yet he did get
pretty excited when he’d danced with her Saturday night.

Goodness, girl, you’re a doctor
!
 

She should know a
simple biological reaction when she saw one, or in this case,
felt
one. He probably would have had the
same reaction if he’d been hugged up with an iguana.

Now that was a deflating
thought.

Monica rinsed out
the bowl and stacked it in the sink. She would wash dishes when she got home
tonight. Right after hooking up her new ten-gallon aquarium.

Monica arrived at
the hospital with twenty minutes to spare before today’s meeting. She told
herself she’d needed to leave early just in case traffic was heavy, but in a
far away corner of her mind, the real reason lay as an idle reminder of what
her life had become: a lonely existence in a well decorated apartment.

“Good morning, Dr.
Gardner.” Patty whizzed by holding a full IV bag in each hand.

“Morning, Patty.
Looks like things are cooking a bit early today, huh?”

“It’s been
interesting,” Patty called.

Monica pulled the
first chart from the rack on the admin desk.

And what was her
prize today? A scalp laceration behind curtain two; a simple enough way to pass
the time before this morning’s meeting.

“What are you doing
here,” Patty asked as she came around the desk, sans IV bags, marking up a
chart.

Monica stuck a
couple of ballpoint pens in her coat pocket. “The banquet committee has a
meeting. I thought I’d stop by here to see how things are going.”

“You work too much,
Dr. Gardner.”

“That just shows how
much I love my job,” Monica smiled.
And
how little of a life she had outside of work
, Nia voice chimed in her head.

The scalp lac was so
minor it only took three stitches. Monica dressed the wound herself instead of
bothering one of the physician assistants. When she emerged from behind the
curtain area, Eli was waiting for her.

Monica suppressed a
groan. Would it have been too much to ask not to see him this morning? Monica
resigned herself to her fate; she had known she couldn’t avoid him forever.

“Can we please talk,
Mon—Dr. Gardner,” he amended.

“Actually, I’m busy,”
Monica said in a light voice, moving around him toward the admin desk.

Eli followed her. He
pointed to the dry erase board hanging on the wall behind the desk, which
clearly showed that she was not one of the physicians on shift this morning.

Busted.

“Fine,” Monica
sighed, signing the discharge papers for the scalp lac and depositing the chart
in the proper bin. “What do you want to talk about, Dr. Holmes?”

Eli looked around. “Not
here.” He grabbed her hand and took her down the hall and into a room Monica
didn’t know existed.

“What is this?” she
asked, stepping over a plastic candy cane.

“Old doctor’s
lounge. They turned it into a storage closet after the renovations. Can we stop
with the chit chat and get to the matter at hand?” Eli glanced at his watch. “We
only have a few minutes before the meeting starts.”

“And the matter at
hand is?” Monica asked, her expression purposely perplexed.

“Don’t act cute. You
know what this is about. You cannot keep avoiding me, Monica. We have a deal.”

“Which I am
upholding. Actually, I’m surpassing even my own expectations. Your family
adores me,” she said with a satisfied smirk.

“You hardly spoke at
dinner.”

“Not true at all. I
turned into a bona fide social butterfly once you left the room.”

“Why are you being
like this?” Eli asked, the sincerity in his voice knocking the wind from her
sails.

Monica’s shoulders
slumped as her body became suddenly weak with the weight of this entire
situation. It was not supposed to happen this way. This was a business
agreement, with the admiration of her family and colleagues as her ultimate
goal. Now, Monica wasn’t sure what she wanted as the end result of her deal
with Eli. Accolades and praise didn’t seem so important anymore, at least not
as important as filling this void in her life.

Closing her eyes,
Monica massaged her temples in an attempt to stave off the headache she could
feel forming. She so did not need this today.

“I don’t know what
to do,” Monica whispered.

She heard Eli take a
step closer, could feel the heat radiating from his body. A jolt of electricity
raced through her as he reached out and took one of her hands in his. He
cradled her hand between his warm palms, brushing his thumb over her knuckles.

“Neither of us
expected this,” he said. Monica could not trust her voice. She could only nod
in response as she swallowed deeply. “But it happened,” Eli continued. “Why
fight it?”

His voice was as
soft as a dusting of snow on an early December morning. His words had an
equally chilling effect. And, try as she might, Monica could not deny them.
It—whatever
it
was—had
definitely happened. She couldn’t put a name to the emotions rioting through
her brain, but she knew one thing for sure: Their relationship had changed.

“But you don’t date
doctors,” Monica tried to insert a dose of reality.

“I changed my mind,”
Eli answered, a hint of laughter in his voice.

Monica slowly raised
the lid of one eye to see if he actually had the nerve to be amused at a time
when her emotions were running rampant.

“You are
not
laughing at me,” she stated.

“No, I’m not,” Eli
answered, though his broadening smile belied his words. “Actually, I’m...relieved,”
he said slowly, as if testing the word to make sure it was the right one. “Relieved
and happy. I’m being honest when I say I neither expected nor wanted to be in a
relationship, Monica, but I won’t turn down a good thing when I see one.”

Was she ready for
this?

If she said no, she
would most likely beat herself up over the fact that she’d pushed away a fine,
gorgeous man. If she said yes, she would have to buy a supply of Band-Aids for
those months following the moment when he inevitably broke her heart.

Maybe that’s what
fate had in store for her—a life full of broken hearts. And if that were
the case, maybe she should resign herself to her destiny and enjoy the periods
of happiness as much as possible. If she accepted the fact that heartache was
unavoidable, the blow shouldn’t hit as hard as it did when Patrick left.

“Are you willing to
give this a chance?” Eli asked.

How could she go
against fate?

Still not trusting
her voice, Monica nodded.

Eli smiled, and
Monica could feel his shudder of relief. “Thank you,” he said. “We’ll just take
it as it comes, okay?” He took her by the hand and led her from the storage
room. “Come on. It’s time to figure out a way to make this banquet rake in the
big bucks.”

***

 
“How many bachelors would we need?” Adele
Collins asked. The head of Oncology seemed the most skeptical, though Monica
had been warned to expect it.

“Dr. Holmes has
already been successful in securing many of the physicians and even some of the
male nurses to sign up. I say, the more, the merrier.”

“And who will pay
for the date?” This question, again, from Adele.

Monica slowly
counted to five while taking a deep breath. It came with the territory; she
would just have to handle this like the adult she was trying very hard to be.
Though her inner five-year-old was ready to hold Dr. Collins to the ground
while she forced a mud pie down her throat.

“As I stated before,
the bachelors have agreed to pay for the dates. All participants understand
this is for charity. No one expects the hospital to foot the bill.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes,” Eli stepped
in.

Thank goodness. He
had no doubt noticed the steam escaping her ears.

“Everyone involved
knows the importance this banquet has to the future of the Parenting Center. We’re
striving to pull off the event at minimum cost.”

“Well, I think the
work that’s been done so far is excellent,” William Slessinger commented,
rising from his seat toward the back of the small conference room Monica had
commandeered for the meeting. “Great work, you two.” He turned to Monica. “Dr.
Gardner, I never expected when I hired you that you would take over the way you
have. I am more than impressed, I’m astounded.”

Monica tried for a
nonchalant shrug, even though she was ready to burst inside. That smile on Dr.
Slessinger’s face was genuine gratitude.

Yes!
This
is what she had been hoping for! This
was her goal—recognition for a job well done. Monica had to stifle the
elated scream that was dangerously close to escaping.

“All we have to do
is get people out there,” she said instead. “But, don’t worry, we have that
covered, too. I’ve been in touch with several of the local radio stations, and
I’m waiting to hear back from the CBS affiliate about a spot on the early
morning news.”

“Excellent!”
Slessinger said, rewarding her with a pat on the shoulder.

The rest of the room’s
occupants started to file out, and soon she and Eli were alone in the
conference room.

“That went well,” he
said, perching a hip on the table.

“Except for Doubting
Adele.”

He brushed that off
with a wave of his hands. “If you told her you had Usher singing the National
Anthem, she’d ask if you were sure he could pull it off.”

Monica started to
laugh at his quip, then something occurred to her. “Just how connected is Toby
to the music industry?” she asked, an idea forming.

“If you asked him,
he’s in like Flynn. I’m not convinced he knows half the people he claims too,
though. Why? What are you thinking?”

“Well, we want to
attract people across the entire spectrum, from every age group, ethnicity, and
background, right?”

“Yes,” Eli answered,
cautiously nodding his head.

Monica started
pacing as she thought aloud. “That singer, Aria Jordan?”

“What about her?”

“I’ve been hearing
her song nonstop on the radio, at night especially during the eight to ten o’clock
time slot.”

“When most of the
teeny boppers are calling in to hear a song that’s been played a hundred times
already that day? What are you doing listening to the radio then?”

“It’s when I
workout,” Monica explained. “What do you think about having Aria Jordan
headlining the entertainment? Even if it’s only a couple of ballads, I know she
can bring in a good number of people. Her fan base is growing everyday.”

Eli shrugged. “We can
give it a shot. I’ll talk to Toby tonight. And speaking of tonight...” he said,
moving toward her.

The seductive timbre
of his voice made Monica’s throat suddenly dry. She had not given much thought
to all the elements a relationship entailed, especially when she had not
engaged in particular elements in quite some time. She wasn’t ready to take
that step just yet, and she needed to set the pace before Eli’s sexy eyes and
stimulating voice had her doing something she would later regret. But no doubt
enjoy.

Monica held up one
hand, halting his progression. “We haven’t had a chance to discuss what our
expectations of this...this new situation are, but I know what I am willing to
do. And what has to wait.”

“Monica, I don’t
expect you to jump into bed with me just because we’ve decided to make this
real.”

“You don’t,” she
asked, not really believing him.

“I’m not saying I
would turn you down, but no, I’m not expecting anything to happen. Yet,” he
made sure to include. “Tonight, I just want to hang out. Rent a DVD, pop some
popcorn. You know, just chill.”

Monica wasn’t so
sure she was buying the innocent act, but his plan seemed harmless enough.

“Okay,” she agreed. “Do
you want to come over to my place?”