Wash (24 page)

“
It’s a great idea.”

She
glanced over at her dad, surprised at the compliment. “I did a
charity stint out in LA about two years ago, for a fire station
actually. One of the firefighters’ brother-in-law owned an
independent taxi service and offered to have three of his drivers
work the evening. He paid them their hourly service, got a
write-off for the time and money spent, and the drivers made a
boat-load off the tips. Everyone was happy, so I tried the same
thing at my next contract and it worked great again.” She shrugged,
now embarrassed for telling him the whole thing instead of taking
credit.

“
One of the nurses on the post-op floor… I think her husband
owns a taxi service. Or her brother or something.” He shook his
head and scrunched one side of his mouth.

Charity
knew he was trying to go through a previous conversation and
remember who the connection was. He did the same thing when she
lived at home and Mom used to always tease him and ask if he was
rewinding the video in his brain again.

“
It’s her sister’s husband.” He waved his hand. “The nurse’s
name is Anne. She’ll be going to tomorrow night’s cocktail party.
I’ll introduce you to her.”

“
Perfect.”

The
concert hall was built out of old limestone, the early nineteen
hundreds era of gallant stone and design. Ivy had spent the past
few decades trying to take over the outside of the building, but
had recently been removed, and the building sandblasted to look
like it originally had.

“
The new owner is an architect. He gutted everything inside but
still kept the theme. Wait till you see it. It’s not completely
finished, but Mr. Bott assured me it will be done in the next three
to four months. The majority of the construction part is done, it’s
just the painting and flooring now.” She pulled a key out of her
pocket and a small note with the alarm number on it. “Let me just
get this security-thing turned off.” She unlocked the door and
slipped inside to punch the numbers in while her father waited by
the door.

She
flipped a bunch of the switches for the lights on and pulled the
heavy original antique door open. “Come and see.”

Her
father raised a weary eye as he stepped through the doorframe but
his face lit up at the size of the entrance.

“
Mr. Bott kept the coat check area original.” She pointed to
the oak-sided window with two old wooden openings for people to
pass and collect their coats through. “The ceiling is the original
double story height, and the main floor is actually below ground.
The theatre was built to house most paying customers up here and
for drinks and box office seats. Wait till you step through the
frosted glass doors and see.” Charity glanced up at the doors,
seeing the bright reflection of the chandelier prisms through the
frosted glass.
Like thousands of diamonds
. “Come, see.”

Her
father went ahead and held the door for her. His breath sucked in
as he stepped through to see the view for himself.

Charity
couldn’t wait to read his expression. His eyes actually lit up. Or
their brightness came from the chandelier’s reflection that hung
not far from them. The floor on this level was a donut shape. A
skinny, round donut with a very large center hole. People could
walk around, or sit on antique benches. There were original brass
bathroom and liquor signs on the outer wall. A brass and cast iron
railing ran between each pillar connecting them but still giving
one full view of the scene below or across from them. Every angle
seemed covered – except for the lower end of the large chandelier.
It hid just a small space directly across.

The
walls were rough, but large, golden gilded mirrors lay against the
walls, evenly spaced. Her father stepped carefully over the
unfinished floors and put his hands on the top bar of the
railing.

Charity
did the same thing. Below, all the original seating and floor plan
had been ripped out. Half the flooring had been done in a dark,
almost cherry, wood. It looked breathtaking with the chandelier
sending zaps of gold and sparkles bouncing off of
everything.

“
It’s extra bright now with the sun out. At night it’ll seem
like we are looking up at the stars.”

“
That’s a very large space down there.” Her father continued to
scan and scrutinize below.

“
We’re going to need it. She pointed to several spots. “I want
to have gold banners coming down from up here, all the way to the
area below. Mr. Bott said the waterfall will also be ready in time.
They are building it in the far corner.” She pointed in the
direction. “It’s going to look fantastic.” She could picture the
layout in her head already, almost down to the itty-bitty details.
Her mother would have loved everything about this place. The pain
in her heart made its way to her throat. She had to swallow several
times to get rid of it.

Her
father’s phone started to ring. “It’s the hospital.” He reached in
and answered. A moment later he strode back to the entrance and
motioned Charity to follow. “I’ll be right there. Prep the patient
for surgery and ask one of the nurses to have my stuff ready. Send
his chart and results to my phone right away and I’ll look over it
as my daughter drives me back to the hospital.” He stuffed the
phone in his pocket. “We need to go.”

“
Emergency?”

“
Bad accident.”

“
Let’s go then. You start walking to the car and I’ll shut
everything off and lock up.”

He was
already out the door. Charity set the alarm, and after locking the
doors, she jogged to catch up to him. They drove in silence again,
this time her father intent on his phone, even slipping on a pair
of reading glasses Charity never knew he needed. As she turned into
the hospital parking lot, he took his glasses off and slipped them
in his pocket. “The place will be great. Nice work.” He unclicked
his seatbelt. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be in surgery
quite a while but just leave a message.” He jumped out and ran
through the emergency entrance without saying goodbye.

Charity
pulled away from the curb, about to head back to her hotel, when
she noticed her father’s phone lying on the passenger seat. She
pulled into the visitor parking area and headed into the
hospital.

She had
to wait for the elevator, and by the time she stepped onto the
sixth floor, she knew her father would already be in surgery. He
probably went straight to emergency instead of coming up to his
office. She decided to try his office anyway.

The
nurses’ station was empty as she passed and the hall was quiet. She
glanced at Elijah’s closed office door. Light shone through the
frosted glass but she couldn’t tell if he was there or not. Charity
reached for her father’s door handle and turned. She expected it to
be locked but it opened.

It felt
eerie walking in, like she was snooping and shouldn’t be there. She
walked over to his desk and turned the desk light on. She ripped a
sheet of paper off a pad he had by the phone.

You left your phone in the car.

I’ll see you tomorrow night.

Charity

She
cleared a few things from the middle of his desk so he would see
his phone right away and left the desk light on. She glanced out
the window; it had grown dark quickly. “That time already,” she
mumbled to herself and then giggled when her stomach rumbled in
agreement. She pulled her own phone out and sent Mr. Bott a message
to confirm the location was a go and he could charge the deposit to
her Visa card. She’d send the number in the morning after he sent
the contract. The deal was sealed.

Elijah’s light was off when she left her dad’s
office.
Too
bad.
She
could have knocked on his door and asked if he wanted to grab
something to eat. She walked down the hall to the elevator trying
to decide what takeout to order.

“
Hey, stranger!” Elijah stood by the elevator. He wore jeans
and a tee shirt under his leather jacket.

“
Hi. You done for the evening?”

The
elevator door slid open. Elijah stepped aside to let her in first.
“Just finished. You visiting your dad? I think he’s in surgery.” He
pressed the “G” for ground floor and the door paused a moment
before closing.

“
He is. He forgot his phone in my car so I was just dropping it
off.” Her stomach rumbled again, echoing in the elevator. Elijah’s
eyebrows shot up at the sound and she laughed as she covered her
tummy. “Sorry, I’m apparently starving.”

“
Either that, or you found a baby tiger and you’re trying to
hide it in your jacket.”

“
I wanted a baby tiger when I was about four. My dad wouldn’t
let me have one.”

“
The nerve of your dad!” he joked. “I’d have let you have
one.”

She
grinned. She’d just found the perfect location for the gala and
felt like celebrating a bit. Her dad had actually liked the
location. Giddy with pride, she decided she was slightly invincible
tonight. The elevator door creaked as it slid open. “Are you up to
anything? I’m about to grab something to eat and apparently my
stomach is treating.” She knew his reputation, but it would just be
dinner. No biggie.

Elijah
followed her out and glanced around the lobby. “Sssssure, I’m
game.” His eyes swept the room again. “Let’s go.” He walked quickly
to the revolving doors.

“
Where do you want to eat?” she asked when they stepped
outside. She wrapped her coat tighter around her; the air had
turned chilly. “Do you want me to drive?” She slapped her forehead.
“I’m in the visitors’ parking and didn’t put any money in the
meter. I just ran in when I realized my dad forgot his phone. Crap!
I better not have a ticket.”

“
I’m not fussy.” He followed her. “You grew up around here,
right? Any hidden gems?”

“
Hmm…” She chewed her lower lip. “Do you like Thai food? If
it’s still downtown, there’s a great little place called
Salathai.”

“
Sounds good to me.”

Charity
clicked the unlock button on the rental car and walked around to
the driver’s side, checking for a ticket on her windshield. Thank
goodness. No ticket. She’d gotten lucky.

“
What happened to the Mustang?” Elijah said as he climbed in
the passenger side.

“
Ha ha.” She pretended to punch his shoulder but just tapped it
lightly instead. “I got a lady teller at the car rental place this
time.” She started the car and pulled out of the parking
lot.

“
That sucks.” Elijah’s eyes followed the entrance of the
hospital as they drove past it.

Charity
watched him from the corner of her eye. “Are you supposed to be
meeting someone?”

“
Me? No.” He straightened to face forward.

“
Really? ‘Cause you’re acting like you don’t want to get caught
hanging with me.”

He
sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “No! That’s not it. I,
uh, I went out with a nurse and she, um, kinda thinks we’re a
serious item.”

Charity
burst out laughing. “Now why would she think that? She new?” When
he nodded, she chuckled again. “So she’s into you a bit more than
you’re into her?”

“
You could say that.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m
glad you find it amusing. She’s pretty much stalking
me.”

“
You just went out with her once?”

He
nodded, then shook his head. “Maybe twice.”

He slept
with her, probably once at the hospital. She grinned but held back
the laugh. “And she’s stalking you now?”

“
The girl’s a piece of work! She shows up when I’m finishing a
surgery, or leaving work, or bloody coming out of the toilets. It’s
like she’s tagged me with a tracking device.”

Charity
stopped for a red light. “She’s a nurse? On sixth floor?” She tried
to remember if there were any super pretty ones she’d noticed the
few times she had passed the nurses’ station. Hadn’t several of
them been talking about him last weekend?

“
Not on sixth. She works on third. The maternity
floor.”

She
laughed and tried to stop when he shot her a pretend dirty look.
“Seriously? Come on. Maternity? You’re just making it too easy for
me to tease you.”

He gave
her a smug nod. “You’re still treating, right? ‘Cause now I’m
ordering appetizers, foreign bottled beer, the most expensive
dinner on the menu, and a dessert I’m not even going to
touch!”

She
turned again and let her foot off the gas to slow slightly. She
pointed out the passenger window and her hand brushed across his
chest. It sent a warm sensation back toward her. “That’s where we
are going to have the gala.”

Elijah
leaned forward to look out the window. “It looks
closed.”

“
It is right now. The guy who bought the place said it’ll be
finished in about three months, four tops. We’ll be the first
rental when it’s complete. Wait till you see it.”

“
I’m looking forward to it. Your father was quite adamant that
you were going to do something special. Something one-of-a-kind.
He–”