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Duncan laughed, shaking his head, which told me exactly how much he bought that narrative.
“So, what did she say when you told her you took care of the funding problem?”
I sat in silence.
“You did tell her, right? Shit. Why didn’t you tell her?”
I ran my hand through my hair, thankful that messy bedhead was always in style.
“She was kinda delirious with fever the day I made the call. And then that gave me too much time to think. I may have accidentally gone too far with a prank that interfered with her work and I was worried she wouldn’t take too kindly to me involving myself with her job again in this way.”
“Oh yes, because women notoriously hate it when men pony up tens of thousands of dollars to support a cause they believe in.”
It was my turn to roll my eyes.
“Shut up, okay. I get it. I asked her boss to keep the donation anonymous until the gala on Friday night. She basically insisted they give us a table at the gala, given everything, so I’ll be there and can tell her then. Or afterward. Or next week. It’ll all come out sometime.”
Duncan shook his head, pulling out his phone.
“I’m having my assistant email Leslie right now to put me on your calendar for next Monday morning. I need to know how you showing up unannounced to the gala, organized by your unwelcome surprise roommate-turned-patient-turned-whatever this is, works out for you. If she kills you, we’ll just reschedule.”
I put my forehead on my desk for a moment. The sound of Duncan’s continued laughter in the background.
Sitting back up, I looked at my watch.
“Oh, would you look at the time? My 9:00 am will be here any minute, and I wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.”
Duncan settled himself. “At least not if you want to have lunch at a decent hour. But seriously, I think the IBA is a great cause and I’m glad you’ve gotten them into our philanthropy’s rotation. I like it, and you’re not wrong. Margaret will be pleased. You’ll have to tell her at Thanksgiving. Or who knows, at this rate, Charlotte might be there, and can tell Margaret herself.”
I hung up the call without saying goodbye to the sound of Duncan laughing at his own joke, casually sitting on a balcony with the Paris skyline in the background.
Brothers. You can’t live with them, and certainly would have a stronger ego without them.
Chapter
Fourteen
Charlotte
The week passed by in a blur. Thanks to our mysterious donor, and my love of a good spreadsheet, things weren’t behind too much by the time I got back to work. Everything continued to sail smoothly through the rest of the week. Almost alarmingly smooth, if I’m being honest, but I suppose losing a donor and then expelling your weight in water over the course of two days is bad enough luck.
We were hosting the gala at the Washington Hotel, with plentiful views of the White House and the Washington Monument from the rooftop bar outside of the ballroom rented for the event. A member of the IBA board was part owner of the hotel, or else we could could never afford such a space while raising any money for the fund. I wasn’t sure I would ever attend such a fancy and formal event again.
Rent the Runway came through with an amazing dress for the night, a silky, dark, ruby-red floor-length dress that played up my creamy complexion and light hair. I had enough time to shower and blow out my hair between setup and the start of the event. Of course, I was just a wall decoration to a lot of these guests, but I didn’t want to stick out for being underdressed or under-coiffed.
Paula approached me, her arm tucked into the arm of a tall, gorgeous black woman around her age, both of them dressed in sparkly jewel-toned evening gowns.
“Charlotte, everything looks just wonderful. The best the gala has ever looked, in my opinion.”
“I think so too,” the woman on her arm agreed.
Paula smiled at her companion and turned her head back to me.
“Charlotte, I don’t think you’ve had a chance to meet my wife, Valerie. Valerie, this is the Charlotte you’ve heard me praising over the past several weeks.”
My cheeks warmed at the compliment.
“Valerie, it’s so nice to have a chance to meet you. I’m glad you and Paula can make a date night out of tonight.”
