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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.
On Friday morning she caught up on everything and by ten o’clock she had finished her work for the day. She called the airline and found out there was an earlier flight leaving in an hour that had availability. Julie had wanted to go shopping this afternoon and do dinner in New York. Leaving two hours earlier would give her a jump start on the details for her father’s gala.
Everything seemed in her favour; the flight went quick, the car rental had next to no one there and the roads were not that busy for a Friday. What were the chances it would continue?
Charity road the elevator to the sixth floor and pulled the strap of her briefcase higher on her shoulder. What would she say to Elijah if she ran into him in the hallway? Should she lie and say she lost his number? It seemed unlikely since she’s typed it into the phone.
She let out a puff of air when she saw that his office was closed with the lights off. He probably had surgery. She stopped and stood outside her dad’s office with her fingers flying over her phone. She sent Julie a text to meet her at her hotel around three. She could change after she spoke with her dad. Closing the phone with one hand and fixing her hair with the other, her mind raced with ideas to go over for the gala. Most contracts and hospitals or companies she dealt with were very easy to talk ideas with and brainstorm. Dealing with her father... Rrrrr! She had to stop being so paranoid and worried he wouldn’t like it. She rapped her knuckles against his door.
“Come in,” his baritone voice bellowed.
Charity walked in and almost turned around to walk out again. Elijah sat in a chair opposite her father’s desk, obviously in a meeting with her dad. Elijah looked at her and quickly glanced away before he could make eye contact. Her heart sank. She should have called him or text or something... anything. Seeing him had her questioning why she hadn’t. It seemed ridiculous now.
“Charity! You’re early.” Her father’s voice broke through her inner thoughts.
She tore her eyes away from Elijah and forced a smile at her dad. “I caught an earlier flight.”
Awkward silence followed. Charity shifted her weight and hesitated sitting down across from Elijah. Stop this! She scolded herself. How old are you? She forced herself to walk by him and touched his shoulder. “Hi Elijah. How are you doing?” She sat down in the chair across from him.
His eyes lit up when he smiled. “I’m good. How’re you doing? Busy?”
“Extremely.” She sent a mental I’m sorry but knew he wouldn’t hear it.
Elijah put his hands on the arm of his chair, about to get up. “I’ll let you guys talk.”
“No!” Charity and her father said at the same time. She shot a glance at her father.
“I can stay for a bit then.” Elijah settled back in his chair.
Charity cleared her throat “We’ve got six months exactly from this weekend until the gala.” She pulled her iPad out of her briefcase and flipped to the app she had programmed with the details of the next few months. “I will start advertising and preparing invites.”
“I understand the diamond theme,” Elijah said. “Is there going to be something that goes with it?”
“What do you mean?” Charity tried not to stare at his mouth while he spoke.
“Will it be suit and tie? Tuxedo?” He snapped his fingers. “Or something cool like masquerade?”
Masquerade? What a neat idea. “What do you think?” she asked her dad.
“Me? I have no clue. I’d like it to be tux but, and I’m trying to think like Charity here, a masquerade might get more women interested in dressing up.”
“I would go.” Elijah chuckled.
“You have to go,” Dr. Thompson reminded him.
“I know, but I’d want to go if I got to wear a mask.”
Charity’s thoughts envisioned him in a tuxedo and a black mask making his eyes even bluer. She moved at the sudden heat burning inside her. “We could set it up so we have the masks available to purchase online or at the door. Or people attending could get their own. People like the easy button. I’ll have to see if it would work. Either way we can guarantee this will be a very formal occasion.”
“Easy button?” Her father’s eyebrows shot up.
“Just a way to make things easy. A couple of clicks and they order them. It’ll raise extra funds as well. I’ll look around today to see what is available locally. I’m meeting Julie in a few hours and we can do some shopping and checking around.” Elijah liked the idea and suddenly she loved the idea.
Elijah stood. “I need to check on my patient before their surgery.” He shook Dr. Thompson’s hand and then touched Charity’s knee as he turned to go. “See you.”
Charity’s knee tingled and the feeling ran up her inner thigh. It stayed long after Elijah left the room.
