Saving Forever - Part 1 (3 page)

Chapter 5

A bit more grey in his hair and a little more tired, her father still commanded power. Years of hard work and respect earned from success gave him that posture. He was one of the best doctors in the country, even at almost sixty-five. He would always be distinguished and handsome. Charity sometimes wondered why he hadn’t remarried since her mom passed away. He’d probably had a lot of offers.

She hadn’t seen her dad in over a year, almost two years. Two Christmases ago she had flown home to spend the holidays with him. Christmas day ended in a big row right after they had gone to the gravesite to drop some flowers off on her mother’s stone. She left early the next morning not even sure if her father was still in the house or already gone to the hospital. Last year she made up the excuse she had to work so she wouldn’t have to fly home. She felt guilty but guilt was better than fighting with a man who couldn’t be wrong.

They still called each other once every two
or three weeks and never discussed the fight. He had made the first call and she had called him the next time. It continued until he called earlier this week. Four days and two phone calls had broken the pattern.

“Dad!” She awkwardly stepped forward to shake his hand at the same time he leaned over to hug her.

“I trust your flight was alright?” He stepped back so she could come into his office.

“It was fine.” She stepped through, absently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Elijah followed her into the office. She’d momentarily forgotten he had brought her down the hall. “Why don’t I let the two of you catch up and I’ll chat with you later, Scott.”

“No!” both Charity and her father said at the same time.

“I mean,” said her father, “I want your opinion on what I’m hiring Charity to do for the hospital. As chief you also need to sign off on it.”

Charity glanced back and forth at both men. Did her dad seriously mean that or was he just
as afraid as her to be in the same room together?

Elijah checked his watch. “I can really only stay a moment. I have surgery in thirty minutes and need to scrub in with a first year. It’s a cardiothoracic so I’m not leaving my attending in charge.”

Her father harrumphed. “Right.” He clapped his hands and walked around to his desk and sat down behind it. “Why don’t you meet Charity and me for drinks after?” He stared at Charity. “What’s that place we went to before… the Threaded Cork? Yes, that’s it. Meet us at the Threaded Cork when you are done.” It wasn’t a request.

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 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 are 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 wom
en. 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 being 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. It’s length matched the dress’ – 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 hung 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’s 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 ever
y 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 table cloth. “As much as I would love to experience an American prom, I believe the Diamond place is more suitable for your birthday.”