“I am. A favor for Channy. She needed an extra waitress. Now, gentlemen, what can I start you off with?” Harper asked.
“Hello, Harper,” Kieran acknowledged the young woman. “We are waiting for more to join our party. But to start, I’ll have Macallan Sherry Oak on the rocks. And we’ll share the fried pork belly and the barbecue shrimp.”
“I’ll have the Macallan as well.” Kip looked up into Harper’s luminous eyes. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and a white mandarin collar jacket that held back her full bosom. Her long blonde hair was tied into a demure French twist. Despite the heat outside, her legs were stockinged and slipped into black patent leather pumps. She seemed to have a gravitational pull on him, his body tingling in her presence.
“I’ll be right back with your order,” she said with a wide smile.
Kip forced himself to look away and interlocked his fingers on top of the menu. “Boss, you said you needed to update me on a pressing matter. Who are we waiting for?”
“Hunt Montgomery, Kyle Cooper, Bruce Steele and Rich Parry.” The names of the senior executives and the Chief of Medicine didn’t raise any red flags. Kip continued to listen.
“At Sunday’s meeting, we announced the big changes at Chase Security International.” Both the New York and the Denver branch heads are retiring. We’ve appointed new heads there and named you as the head of the New Orleans branch,” Kieran went on. We are rolling into the fourth quarter with big changes, all garnering attention.”
Harper brought their drinks to the table, placing them in front of each man. Kip noticed the smell of peonies as she leaned forward. “Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back with your appetizers.”
Kip’s eyes followed her as she walked away before he turned his attention back to his boss. He was distracted by six loud men at another table. Turning to scope out the group, he saw Harper take an awkward step back to avoid being groped.She’s handling them.
Kieran continued to speak; Kip was sure he noticed Harper’s situation too. “This brings us to New Orleans. The city has a large underserved population, and, except for University Hospital, the medical care is at best adequate. And even they can’t meet the area’s demands. The Sommerstone Corporation and its affiliates run a network of for-profit hospitals and nursing homes in the South. From what we can figure, they buy, milk the facility’s finances, and move on, leaving violations and fines in their wake.”
“And we are sure these facilities are worth purchasing? This sounds risky, especially for infrastructure and supplies. Thankfully, we have until January first. I’ll need building designs and access to the facilities to make an educated assessment.” Kip sipped his scotch and watched Chantal speak to the other group because of how loud they were becoming.
“Bruce signed off on the three facilities as structurally sound two weeks ago.” Kieran reached into his suit pocket with his free hand and withdrew a white envelope.
“I’m a little confused. If Bruce signed off on the structures, what’s going on?” Kip’s eyes rested on the envelope.
“While you were in San Diego, you made major decisions, and since Sunday, you arranged for transfers at a record speed.”
Kip’s heart felt like it was going to explode from his chest, and he looked warily at Kieran. “And?”
“Kip, as we previously discussed, the only logical choice was naming you as Executive Director of Chase Security International-New Orleans.”
Kip continued to nod. “Did you change your mind?”
“No, quite the contrary. But some things have changed. We need to move the closing date to Augustthirtieth,and perhaps sooner with the incoming storm the weather people are talking about. Opening day would be September fifteenth.” Kieran handed Kip the envelope and raised his glass higher in a toast.
Kip opened the envelope. In addition to being the new executive director of the New Orleans branch of Chase Security International, the paperwork inside the envelope named him as Chief Executive Officer of Chase Care-New Orleans, which included all medical holdings in Louisiana. The position included an enormous salary bump too. He lifted his drink and belted it down in one sip, followed by a coughing spurt as he choked on a piece of ice. His face turned ruddy.
Harper, delivering their appetizers, placed the entire tray on the table, then both hands on Kip’s shoulders. “Kip, are you choking?”
Tears pouring down his cheeks, Kip managed to get out a few sounds, and after a long minute, he was finally able to breathe normally, thankful for the ice cube melting. He wiped the back of his wrist against his sweaty forehead and picked up his napkin to wipe his lips. Now red from embarrassment, he looked at Harper. “Sweetheart, thank you. I did a foolish thing.”
“The wingnut belted his drink and choked on an ice cube.” Kieran smirked.
“Why would you do that?” She cocked her head. Her hands remained holding Kip’s.
He realized she was taking his pulse and observing his breathing. “I was overwhelmed. I was offered a huge promotion and a potential mission impossible.” Kip inhaled deeply and exhaled.
“What did I miss?” Hunter Montgomery joined them.
“As always, Doc, a day late and a dollar short. Harper, our wonderful waitress, came to Kip’s aid. He choked on an ice cube.” Kieran shook his head.
“I warned you how dangerous surprises are. Harper, since you’ve saved the day, and we are here to celebrate a new beginning, please bring a bottle of Tattinger Prestige Rose,” Hunt ordered.
“I’ll be happy to do that.” She turned to Kip. “If your throat feels sore, or it becomes difficult to swallow or breathe, please seek medical help. I don’t want to miss meeting Owen,” she added in a whisper with a smile. She picked up the tray, placed the appetizers neatly on the table and headed away.
Kip’s eyes followed her once more. Her round face, beautiful eyes and full lips already had his attention, but when she leaned in to help him, he took in her gentle touch and caring. She had a body he’d like to spend hours exploring.
