Wash (21 page)

Elijah
nodded. “Sounds good. You’re treating then, right?” By his smile
and relaxed stance, it was obvious to Charity that he wasn’t
intimidated by her father. Elijah just earned a new level of
respect from her. He smiled at her, and just as he turned to leave
he winked, then strolled out the door.

An
uncomfortable silence filled the room after the door closed. Her
father cleared his throat as he rested his fingertips against each
other. “I really appreciate you being willing to take this
on.”

“
It’s not everyday your father turns sixty-five.” She crossed
her legs and then uncrossed them. “Do you want this gala to be a
dinner or just a party?” Part of her dreaded planning it, but
another part really wanted to show her father how good she was at
her job.

“
What do you think?” His thumbs tapped a steady beat while he
waited for her answer.

“
Well, it all depends on how you want the evening to go. Do you
want to focus on raising money for the hospital, or your birthday,
or the fact that you’re stepping down?”

“
I’m not stepping down.” He straightened against the back of
the chair.

Charity
had to make herself resist the urge to let her eyes roll upward to
the ceiling. “Okay, but from a professional standpoint, I need to
know what the theme is going to be. If I don’t ask you and set the
wrong theme, you are going to hate it.”

“
Right. Sorry.” He relaxed his straight posture by a tenth of a
degree and ran his fingers through his hair. “I built this hospital
so we could be a leader in research and innovative surgeries. I
plan to keep up the research end and help run the board, but Dr.
Bennett is the chief now. He’s good at his job.” He looked Charity
directly in the eye. “Lousy at staying away from the women. Ask the
nurses or first years or anyone who seems to look good in a
skirt.”

Charity
burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it. “Are you jealous,
Dad?”

“
Just warning my head-strong daughter.”

“
And I wonder where I got that from.”

“
Yes, well okay then.” He checked his watch and stood. “I
really don’t care what you do with the evening. I’d just like the
focus to be on the hospital. I figured my sixty-fifth would be a
good excuse to throw it. If it makes money, great. If not, that’s
fine too.”

“
Sure.” She knew what he meant. He wasn’t expecting much from
her. Well, she would surprise him. Six months to plan it would be
tight, but if she flew up two or three weekends a month she could
make it a great turnout. “What time do you want to meet at the
Threaded Cork?”

“
Meet? I just thought we’d drive back to the house together and
go from there.”

Charity’s cheeks grew warm. “I, um, I booked a hotel room. I
just thought it’d be easier for me to work and –”

“
Right,” he cut her off. “I have some work here to do as well.
Why don’t we aim for six o’clock then?”

“
Six o’clock it is. I’ll have some ideas and check out some
possible venues. We’re going to need to pick a spot as soon as we
can.”

“
Perfect.” He went to the door and held it open for her. “I’ll
see you there.”

Charity
pressed her lips together as she bent to grab her purse. Six months
of being uncomfortable seemed like a prison sentence at the moment,
but she owed it to her mother to make the effort.

After
leaving the office, she took the stairs down to the main floor and
let the cool wind soothe her face. Heading to the parking lot, she
grinned when she found the Mustang. Maybe a new outfit to go with
the car might be something to cheer her up. She could shop and
brainstorm at the same time.

Charity
turned the blow dryer off as she finished straightening her hair.
She’d managed to find a simple black sleeveless dress at Michael
Korrs and a pair of black shoes with just the right amount of heel
to look sexy without looking like a stripper. She wondered how
Elijah would be like outside of the hospital. She mentally kicked
the thought out. Tonight’s dinner had to do with her father’s
fundraiser gala. Her dress was fun but also completely business
suited. Eye shadow followed by mascara and a dab of lip gloss and
she was ready to go.

She
stuffed her iPad into her briefcase and her jacket. Its length
matched the dress’s – perfect without even trying.

Parking
downtown turned out to not be as easy. Friday night in a busy city
had everyone and their neighbour looking for a parking spot.
Charity drove the block around the Threaded Cork three times before
getting slightly lucky and spotting a couple getting into their
car. She flipped her blinker on and carefully parallel parked the
car. Good thing she hadn’t gone with the higher heels, as she had a
few streets to walk. Tossing her keys into her purse, she stepped
out and walked around the car to grab her briefcase.

Someone
whistled. “Wow. That’s quite the ride.”

Elijah
. The accent was hard to miss. She smiled, locked the car,
and turned around. “Rental place gave it to me. I honestly didn’t
ask.”

“
Let me get that for you.” He offered his hand and took her
briefcase, slinging it over his shoulder. “You must have made quite
the impression to the car clerk.”

She
laughed as they started walking. “He was kinda young. You have to
troll around for a parking spot as well?”

“
I actually took the subway. Surgery went a bit longer than I
thought, so I showered and changed at the hospital.”

She
glanced down at his outfit from the corner of her eye. Black pants,
fitted button up, and she caught a whiff of a delicious men’s
cologne. “How did the surgery go?”

“
Quite well, thank you for asking. The patient is a young woman
in her early forties. She had a small hiccup while on the table but
we fixed it, and her heart, in the end.” He slipped his hands into
his pockets.

“
You could have stayed at the hospital if you preferred.” She
said it just to be polite but was more than pleased he had come.
Talking to her dad over dinner on her own seemed
daunting.

“
And miss seeing you dressed to the nines?” He pretended to
clutch his heart. “I’ll have to get mine checked out when I get
back to the hospital.”

“
You are really, really cheesy.” She laughed, despite the
corniness.

“
A bit too much?” He grinned and small lines crinkled near his
eyes. The look was striking.

“
It suites you,” she replied honestly.

They
turned the corner and headed down the last block length to the
Threaded Cork.

“
So what is it your father wants to hire you to do for the
hospital?”

Charity pushed the fallen strap of her purse back on her
shoulder. “To be honest, I’m a bit surprised he called me. He
doesn’t quite agree with my career choice.” She waved her hand,
embarrassed to be sharing that information with him. “I mean, he’s
turning sixty-five, and since he is
the
Doctor Scott Thompson, he knows he has to do
something big with the ol’ milestone number. He’d rather make the
emphasis on the hospital than him.”

“
It’s a great idea.”

They
reached the entrance to the Threaded Cork and Elijah handed Charity
her briefcase and then held the door open for her. The outside of
the building had not changed since the last time she had come. It
had the old heritage appeal but painted with modernist colours and
flare.

Dim
inside, Tiffany lights hanging above each solid table clearly
showed who sat at each location. Her father was already sitting at
a place near the far wall. The back of the restaurant where the bar
and wine tasting area had been built was quiet. It would fill after
the dinner rush.

Charity
led the way to the table and Elijah pulled her chair out for her.
Surprised, she managed to remember her manners and whispered,
“Thanks.”

“
Did you two drive together?” Her father raised a single
eyebrow. How he had ever mastered that ability had always bugged
Charity, even as a kid. She tried for hours to make only one brow
go up.

“
I drove.” “I took the subway.” Elijah and Charity spoke at the
same time and then laughed.

“
We met just outside,” Charity added.

The
waitress came by with three wine glasses and two bottles of wine;
one red and one white.

“
I took the liberty to order a bottle of each,” her father said
as he looked at the menu. He smiled at the waitress. “What are your
specials tonight?”

After
they ordered and filled their wine glasses, Charity pulled a folder
out of her briefcase. “I scouted a few places and we have a few
options.” She flipped her iPad case open and slid through her apps
until she found the one she’d set up. Tapping the screen, she slid
the tablet so both men could see the hall set up. “I thought about
doing the party at the hospital. You have the large gymnasium you
could turn into a high school prom setting.” She suppressed a
giggle when both men’s eyebrows mashed together at the same time.
“Hey, it may sound cheesy but it would be a huge hit. The entire
idea behind prom,” she made small circles with her hand, “what
happens after prom. You know, the whole package. Laugh all you
want, it will get donators giving.”

The
smirk on Elijah’s face told her he liked the idea; the forced smile
on her father’s told her otherwise.

She slid
the tablet picture to another floor diagram. “This is the old
downtown concert building. It’s heritage but has been completely
revamped inside. It’s like a Phantom of the Opera kind of building.
They have this amazing chandelier that was restored. It sparkles
even when the lights are dimmed.” She snapped her fingers. “We
could make the evening about diamonds. Make it a platinum, gold,
and white evening.”

Her
father topped up Elijah’s and his wine glasses. “Quite the opposite
of venue ideas.”

“
Well, you gave me next to nothing to work with so I’m using
every angle to make your evening something you want.” She took a
long sip of her red wine, embarrassed at her response and that her
voice had risen. Elijah’s piercing blue eyes watched her intently
but his face revealed nothing. “Sorry. It’s been a long, busy day
and—”

“
You always get a tad snappy when you’re hungry.” Her father
waved his hand. “Elijah, what do you think?”

Charity
glanced back and forth at the two men. She had three more possible
locations. Her father had already made up his mind. He just didn’t
want to admit he liked it. She knew her first choice would be a no.
It had only been to throw the idea of having the gala in the
hospital. Her father would have wanted to do that but it wouldn’t
be the success it could be. The cheesy suggestion would turn off
any thought of having it there. The other possibilities were, well,
possibilities. The diamond heritage would be very classy and right
up her father’s alley.

Elijah
folded his hands on the table. His long fingers and smooth
fingernails looked tanned against the white of the tablecloth. “As
much as I would love to experience an American prom, I believe the
Diamond place is more suitable for your birthday.”

Charity
smiled. “Agreed. What about you, Dad? I also have some other
ideas.”

The
waitress arrived with their dinners and set their orders in front
of them.

“
In lieu of your snap turning into a roar, I settle for the
Diamond thing as well.” Her father set his napkin on his
lap.

Inhaling
the delicious aroma of roast chicken, Charity felt giddy. Possibly
from the wine, the hunger, or getting her dad to agree to the
location, she elbowed him lightly. “Wonder where I get that
from?”

Chapter 6

They ate
their meal with light conversation, Elijah and her dad doing most
of the talking. They discussed hospital issues and a number of
upcoming surgeries. A sense of wistful dreaming filled Charity. She
had chosen to drop out of medical school and had absolutely no
regrets, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miss it. For one
millisecond she wondered if she had stayed, graduated and become a
doctor, would she be sitting at this table talking with them about
upcoming surgeries and post-op procedures?

She
poured her second glass of wine of the evening and glanced around
as she savoured her first sip. The lights had dimmed and the crowd
had changed to a slightly younger generation. The bar was getting
busy and the noise level had risen a few notches.

“…
You two stay, finish the wine. I’ll go and pay the
bill.”

Charity
blinked and focused back on the conversation at the table. Her
father stood and rested his fingers a slight moment on her
shoulders as he stepped past her.

“
Can you come by the hospital tomorrow or do you have an early
return?”

She
nodded. Her flight didn’t leave until one p.m. “I can stop by. No
problem. Thanks for dinner tonight.”

“
My pleasure. It was good to see you.” He turned to Elijah.
“You’ll walk her to her car?” When Elijah nodded he added, “I’ll
see you at the hospital shortly.”