Saving Forever - Part 4 (2 page)

Chapter 2

The bad dream turned into a horrific nightmare. Laura’s lawyer obviously resided in the bowels of the underground and had made it his life’s mission to try to ruin the hospital, and Elijah’s reputation.

Elijah wasn’t the one on trial, it was the hospital. Their attorney had made that very clear. Laura might be trying to ruin Elijah’s reputation, but she had to go through the entire hospital to try to get to him. The judge had already put an order through which allowed Elijah to continue to practice. There was no proof in Laura’s claims so Dr. Elijah Bennet had every right to continue working at the hospital.

The look on Laura’s face when the judge had settled that issue made it clear to Charity and those around her what Laura was after. The she-devil was determined to drown Elijah and take the whole ship down in the process.

Now the media were having a field day with every tidbit of information available on the case. The judge had ordered them outside of the courtroom, but it was no surprise information continued to be leaked. Charity only needed one guess as to who it might be.

She slipped her sunglasses on and ignored reporters as she made her way down the courthouse steps toward the deli. It felt good to move. Someone jostled her and she tensed to stop herself from stumbling. The move ripped at her side. Her right hand crossed over her chest, automatically covering the bullet hole wound and trying to protect the muscles and skin surrounding it.
So help me, if I’ve pulled another stitch…
She envisioned red blood brightly spreading on her white shirt.

A man ran in front of her and pulled out a camera. He snapped a close up picture of her face. “How does it feel to be engaged to a man with no morals?” He snapped another photo, the flash blinding Charity momentarily. “Did you know Laura Talbot planned to shoot you?”

She ignored the man and continued walking. The hospital’s attorney had advised all the employees to avoid answering any journalist’s or reporter’s questions. She pushed her sunglasses up to stop them from slipping. As much as she wanted to respond, she bit her tongue. What kind of idiot was he? Who would take a bullet willingly, right by their heart?
Dumb-ass!

Her father had hired the best of the best in law firms. He had no intention of letting one woman try to ruin the reputation of his hospital. There was no evidence or proof to the woman’s claims, except what she and the media had fabricated.

What had her father’s attorney said the other day when he had asked Charity about the shooting? They wanted to crucify a handsome doctor simply because he was good-looking.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,
had been Charity’s reply.

Charity slipped into the deli and ordered the subs. As she waited she checked her phone. There were several emails, one in regards to her job. Dr. Malcolm Parker was the chief of Forever Hope Hospital down in Atlanta. She had signed a two-year contract just over six months ago as the fundraiser liaison. She had been doing a fantastic job, well ahead of schedule, until Laura showed up at her father’s Diamond Gala for his sixty-fifth birthday and shot her. It seemed beyond surreal. However, the stitches and pain in her rib cage just below her heart reminded her of the proof it had really happened. She had spent just over two weeks in the hospital; neither Elijah nor her father would release her until they were ridiculously confident she was okay.

Dr. Parker – er, Malcolm as he wanted to be called – had readily agreed, and then called her father.  It was then decided she should take however long she needed here in New York. When she felt well enough, she called Forever Hope and told Malcolm that she would be back as soon as she could, hopefully after the next weekend. He disagreed saying he felt she needed to deal with the trauma from the whole ordeal. Her job would be waiting when she was ready. She couldn’t argue. It also meant time with Elijah, her fiancé.

She grinned at that thought. They had a wedding to plan. She still couldn’t believe that he had actually asked her to marry him and she agreed. In the back of her mind, she had figured she would get cold feet or talk herself out of it. Instead, she had grown more excited and fallen further in love with him.

They had both been looking for each other and hadn’t known it. She originally had wanted to hook up with the hot, playboy doctor but it became more than that ever since their first dinner at the Twisted Cork with her father. She had tried to tell herself otherwise but deep down she had known and longed for it.

“Thompson?” a young guy from the other side of the deli called out. “Your food is ready.”

Charity shook her head free of past thoughts. She would get back to Malcolm once she managed to maneuver through the pit of viper cameramen. She had informed her boss about the court case and that she would need to testify. Again, Malcolm had agreed without argument and told her the job would be waiting for her when she was ready. There was no rush. She had nearly reached their original fundraising goal in a quarter of the time expected.

Head down she made her way back to the courthouse, surprisingly managing to avoid the cameras. She checked her messages as she walked. Forever Hope planned to re-open a wing that had been completely redone from part of the proceeds she had already earned the hospital. Malcolm had emailed if she wanted to come down next weekend to cut the ribbon.

Time seemed to be flying. The wing had begun its renovations just after Christmas. She should be there for the ribbon cutting. The funds raised had come from the Christmas gala at the beginning of December that she had organized.

She needed to be there.

Except right now she needed to concentrate on getting inside the courthouse and not fall on the long set of concrete steps she had just stumbled and nearly fallen on. Her side burned as she caught herself. She shook her head and clutched her side. “My own fault,” she muttered. “Put the damn phone away.”

A camera flashed and she glared in the direction of the accuser. Did people have no shame? The man taking the photo lowered his camera. “Sorry. Are you alright?”

He seemed a few years younger than Charity, a nice looking guy with dark hair and dark brown eyes. Concern etched across his eyebrows and forehead. “Seriously, you okay? You look a little pale.” He held his hand out.

Charity twisted out of his reach as if his touch would burn. It annoyed her that she looked vulnerable.

He dropped his hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

The sincerity in his voice let her guard drop a bit. “I’m fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean to seem so nasty.” She glanced around, surprised other cameras hadn’t come flocking. She grimaced as she twisted the abdominal muscles on her side. “It feels like a bit of a battlefield out here.”

He grinned, glanced down at her side and tried to hide the worry on his face. “I’d prefer no casualties on my watch.”

Charity laughed. “If I can survive a shooting, I think I can manage the stairs.”

“I’m not so sure. There needs to be a law that forbids cell phone use when walking.” He grinned, his face lighting up as he teased her. “I’m Craig, by the way.” He held his hand out again at the same time slinging his camera over his shoulder.

She appreciated he wasn’t trying to snap more photos or ask for an interview. “I’m Charity.” She rolled her eyes jokingly as she shook his hand. “I’m guessing you already know that.”

“I had a hunch.” He grinned again and winked at her.

She had the feeling his looks helped land him a few interviews or get into a few places that worked perfectly for his job. She had no intention of being part of it. She started up the steps, ignoring the pain slowly dulling on her side. “It was nice to meet you.”

He followed along beside her, not closely but with enough space to make her comfortable. “Between you and me, this trial is a crock of bull.”

She ignored his comment and continued up the steps.

He glanced around quickly. “That’s off the record. Dr. Bennet did orthoscopic surgery on my knee. He’s a good guy. I met that bitch-of-a-nurse when I was at the hospital. She’s a nut job.” He hesitated a moment when they reached the top of the stairs. “You can tell Dr. Bennet I said that. On or off the record.” He spun around and jogged back down without glancing back.

Charity turned and watched him go. She closed her mouth, not realizing it had dropped open. Apparently not everyone was believing the lie. Head down again, she made her way inside toward the small office their attorney had designated for them.

She knocked and opened the door, not bothering to wait for someone to answer it. She stepped in and closed the door behind her.

Her father and the attorney sat beside each other going over some file and both of them looked up as she walked in. Elijah sat in a swivel chair off to the side drumming his fingers against the table. He jumped up when the door opened and pulled out the chair next to him. “How was it out there?”

“Not too bad actually. I talked to one reporter—”

“What?” Her father shook his head. “Why in the world would you do that? How many times have I warned you to stay away from them?” He threw his hands in the air and looked at the attorney. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what kind of damage control needs to be done.”

Charity glared at her father. She knew he was under a lot of pressure but it still did not give him the excuse to blame her. “I’m not a dummy!” She tossed his sandwich across the table. It landed perfectly in front of him, wrap still on. “You need to relax.”

“It’s not your hospital’s reputation on the line.”

“No, but it’s my fiancé’s rep that’s taking a beating.” She held her head high, refusing to look away from her father. There were moments they were making a connection and then moments like this that reminded Charity why she had walked away after her mother’s death. “If you had let me finish my sentence you wouldn’t have needed to overreact.”

The ever-calm attorney nodded his head, pen in hand. “Go on.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Charity shrugged and leaned back against her chair. “I was coming up the steps with the subs, when a media guy came up and took a picture.” She turned to Elijah, as the conversation had originally been meant for him. “Craig was his name. He said you did surgery on his knee.”

“Craig?” Elijah’s eyes squinted slightly as he stared at the wall a moment, trying to remember who he was. He snapped his fingers when something connected. “He works for the Associated Press – AP. Good guy…” He tilted his head at Charity. “I think. What did he say?”

“He just wanted me to tell you he was on your side. He said he met Laura and that she was a nut-job.”

Her father smiled. “I like Craig.”

Elijah chuckled. “Me, too.”

Charity laughed and handed him his sandwich. “Figures.” She snapped her fingers. “He’s a good-looking guy, she probably hit on him as well. I should have asked.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Elijah began unwrapping his lunch.

The attorney leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Do you think he would be willing to testify?”

Elijah shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m not sure how Craig telling the court that Laura’s a nut-job would make a good argument.”

Charity glanced back and forth between the two men. “He did mention his comment was on or off the record. If she did hit on him or make a comment toward Elijah while in the room, it could be useful. Another hot guy might show the judge she’s the unstable one.”

The attorney began scrolling through his phone. “AP, right? I’ll see if I can get in contact with him.”

“I can just go back outside and look for him.” Charity started to rise out of her chair. “I’m sure I could get him to come inside and talk. He actually seemed like a pretty decent guy.”

Elijah put a gentle hand on her arm. “Stay here and eat. We’ll get a hold of him. I’ll call the hospital and get someone to find his contact information.”

“We’re going to need him to testify. It can’t just be a letter. If he’s good-looking, we need to show that.” The attorney pulled a sheet of paper out of his briefcase. “They can fax him my contact information or I can drop this off personally.” He turned to Dr. Scott Thompson. “I’ve had another lawyer from our firm draw up a work-relationship policy since you don’t have one in place at the hospital. It isn’t required by law but I think if we submit it to the judge, it’ll help show the hospital is taking preventative steps so this doesn’t happen again.”

Her father nodded. “Whatever it takes. I want this damn thing over.”

“I agree. This obsessed woman tried to take your daughter and now your hospital away from you. She’s trying to ruin your future son-in-law’s reputation as well. There doesn’t seem to be anyone backing up her side of the story. This is going to blow over soon.”

“Not fast enough for me,” Dr. Thompson muttered. “That damage’s already been done.”

The attorney opened his notebook computer and flicked through a few screens. “The hospital has not been affected because of the case. I’ve had your accounts department send our firm daily cost and billing, in-patient and out-patient attendance for the hospital and also had the other two local hospitals’ input. You have actually had a slight increase.” Gerritt pointed to several spots on the computer screen.

Elijah and Charity could not see it clearly from where they sat. Elijah went over to check and nodded his head. “I believe Dr. Thompson was referring to the fact that the woman almost killed his daughter.”