Chapter 10 #2
“I’ll put out a clipboard and ask people to list what they've taken.” Maisy was grasping at straws but at least she had an idea.
Sweeping up the tray, Maisy disappeared down the hall but not before Victoria saw her lower lip trembling. Her assistant was one tough cookie. And Victoria had made her cry.
Collapsing onto one of the kitchen stools, Victoria dropped her head into her hands.
She should've organized this better. Grabbing a pen and paper, she began to jot down what she could remember from those tags.
But her list looked incomplete. Like wisps of smoke, the Christmas wishes had disappeared.
Just when Victoria was losing it, Darla came in with an empty serving bowl. “Any more orzo salad with shrimp?”
Victoria nodded to the refrigerator. “Check and see.” She had to keep it together. No way did she want her employees to think she couldn’t handle this holiday rush. How could she ever have considered leaving here during this busy time of year?
“Nope. Not seeing it.” Darla closed the refrigerator door and a wave of cold air washed over Victoria.
“I’ll ask Emily to make more...or I’ll do it myself.”
“Anything wrong?” Darla asked.
Springing to her feet, she had to get out of here.
“No, of course not. Fill the bowl with any salad you find in the refrigerator.” Edging down the hallway, she took a right turn that led to her office.
Closing the door, she leaned against it.
Failure was yapping at her heels like the ghost of Christmas past.
That afternoon, she spent a lot of time online, looking at kids’ toys. If something looked familiar, she jotted it down. At the end, she had a list that might be close to the clinic’s Christmas wishes. But the idea of having even one disappointed child or adult made her miserable.
An email pinged in her inbox. Plopping herself down in her office chair, she tried to focus.
Do you have a headshot of Dr. Darling? the email read. The one of him with a patient will be used but we’ll also need one of him looking like a physician. Reginald Osborne
What had Derek been wearing that day? Of course it was casual, like the clinic.
While she sat there trying to decide what to do, someone knocked at the door. She cracked it open. “Someone's here for you.” The expression on Darla's face was somewhere between curiosity and amazement. But before Victoria could ask who it was, Darla had disappeared.
Maybe Daddy had stopped in, hoping for the financials she didn't have? Taking a mirror from her top drawer, she swiped on lip gloss and smoothed her hair. Then she went out front, expecting to see Daddy or maybe Emily.
But no. Derek Darling stood there. Hands jammed in his jean pockets, he was glancing around and looking totally uncomfortable. What was he doing here? The place was packed and every eye was on Dr. Hot Stuff.
“Your shop is really hopping,” he said with a grin.
She looked around. “I guess it is. That's a good thing.”
“I like the tree.” With that, he headed toward the corner where lights blinked and ornaments glittered. “I thought you were going to hang our Christmas wishes on your tree?”
No way could she admit that she didn't know where they were. “Right. Everyone’s scooped them up.” Her chirpy voice sounded strained.
“That’s great.” His eyes dropped to the empty tree skirt. “So no one's brought the gifts yet?”
“Not yet. Still two weeks out from Christmas.” She needed more time. And she needed gifts, the right gifts. If she had to, she’d find them herself...if she only knew what to buy.
Miss Charlotte and her two side kicks had arrived. A young mother with two children left and Miss Charlotte’s group quickly took the empty seats, wiggling her brows at Victoria. Dr. Darling had become the center of attention.
“Want to come back to my office?” Victoria threw out the question in desperation.
“Sure.” Dr. D. actually looked pleased.
As they walked down the hall, she smelled his soap and heard his boots behind her. There was something so steadying about this guy. Also something wildly exciting. But she wouldn’t think about that now.
Wishing she’d cleaned up her desk, she pushed open the door. Derek followed her inside. Dwarfing the room, he studied the art on her walls. Most of the pieces were from local artists.
Not knowing what to say, she circled her desk. “Want to sit down? How about a cup of coffee?”
“Thanks, but I've had my morning quota. Just on my way to the urgent care center. Thought I’d drop by.” Folding himself into one of her chairs, he propped up a knee and laced his hands around it.
“The article’s supposed to run this Sunday.” Hopefully.
His brows rose. “No kidding? That's great.” Was he surprised that she’d actually pulled this off? Newsflash. So was she.
“I just wanted to make sure everything was all right. That we hadn’t scared you off.” When he turned that warm gray gaze her way, she felt as if he saw into her soul.
“Hey, what do you take me for? You really think I’m going to wimp out on you?” Of course, that had crossed her mind at one time.
He lifted a shoulder. “You didn't show up this morning. Usually you come on Mondays.”
So he noticed? “Something came up. I, ah, got busy here.”
His eyes swung toward the door. “So I saw. Busy place.”
“I told you that I had a shop in Sweetwater Creek Square.”
His eyes circled the room. “Yeah, sure. But I didn't picture all this.”
“You mean, you didn't think I could run a business?”
He held up both hands. “Hey, I didn't say that, Victoria. You just surprised me. That’s all.”
“Why is that? Did you take me for just another pretty face?” That was a hoot because she was wearing almost zero makeup and her hair was caught up in a careless claw clip in the back. Her navy slacks didn’t even match her top.
Pressing his lips together, he stared up at the overhead light. When he brought his eyes back to her, they were moody and troubled. “I think I've underestimated you. And I'm sorry.”
The words soothed her. “Apology accepted.”
“Good.” His cautious smile touched her heart.
“I was talking with my father about the clinic. He asked if you had some sort of a sheet with numbers.”
“What kind of numbers?”
“You know...” She searched her mind for words from her business course.
“Expenses?” He lifted a brow.
“That sounds right.
“Number of people served?”
“That too.” Keep filling in the blanks because my mind left town when you walked in. He was making concentration difficult.
“I can come up with something.” He hesitated, biting that full bottom lip. “Could I ask what prompted your father’s request?”
She held her hands out palms up. “He knows I’m spending time there.”
“It must be great to have a father who’s interested in what you’re doing.” His expression turned darker.
“Why? Is that unusual?” Daddy always had wanted to know what she was up to. That’s how he put it. “What are you up to, Bitsy?” he’d ask.
Derek fooled with the buckle on his boot. “In my life it is.” He swept his eyes up to meet hers. “When I decided to turn my medical training into pursuits that didn’t pay well, my father lost interest fast. In fact he was furious.”
“I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t imagine how that would feel.
A curious smile teased his lips. “You don’t recognize my name, do you.”
“Your name? I know you’re Derek Darling.”
The grin widened. “Yes. Have you ever eaten Darling Candies?”
She pressed a hand to her lips. “Oh my gosh. I love those chocolates!” And they were sold worldwide.
His gutsy laugh could probably be heard in the other room, and her eyes darted to the door. “You can be so refreshing.”
“What does that mean?” Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
He shook his head. “Don’t look so hurt. I like it.”
Getting up, he stretched. “Anyway, there’s an enormous trust fund that I can’t tap into until I’m thirty-five. My parents figure if I can last that long, then I can access that fund for my ‘hobbies.’ That’s how they think of my career.”
“Hobbies? But that’s not fair. Your work changes people’s lives.”
“I’m glad you see it that way.” Their eyes started doing a dance.
His eyes said You really see me and hers answered I value your work.
Well, probably a lot more than that. She was never any good at hiding her feelings.
The eye conversation went on for a long time but probably only thirty seconds. She loved every bit of it.
Jamming his hands into his jacket pockets, he turned toward the door. “Guess I should get going.”
Coming around the edge of her desk, she tried to pull her head together. “Oh, and Derek? Dr. D.?”
Grinning, he turned. “Derek, Victoria.” His voice bounced on his name and settled over hers with warm approval. Mercy, it’s so hot in here. She flipped a switch and the fan above began to whirr.
“Yes, well.” What was she about to say? “My editor asked if we had another picture of you for the article. More formal. Doctorish.”
“Doctor-ish?” He scratched his head. “Don’t know if I do. Graduation was a long time ago.”
Then it hit her. “Wait. You’re going into work. Just put on your lab coat. I’ll come and snap a picture.”
He shrugged. “Sure. Give me thirty minutes or so?”
“You got it.”
Mixed feelings churned through his chest while Derek sat in his office at the urgent care center. He’d misjudged Victoria Pomeroy. And he felt terrible about it.
Okay there were reasons––like his miserable childhood and his endless struggles with his father.
He'd taken that out on her, which wasn't right. She got along with her father, or so it seemed. And probably her mother too. The Pomeroys might be the perfect family who loved to spoil their daughter. That wasn’t her fault.