Our Way

I giggle. “Nothing is that good.”

He takes my hand and leads me over to the seating arrangements where he scans the chart.

Hmm, I think there would be at least five hundred people here. I do the math in my head. Is that five hundred thousand?

“If there are five hundred people here, is that five hundred thousand dollars raised?” I ask as Nathan leads me over to our table.

“Five million.” He replies distracted as he weaves in and out of the tables.

“Holy crap, that’s a shit ton of cash,” I whisper.

He chuckles as we arrive at our table, and he pulls out my chair. “You have such a way with words, darling.”

He undoes his dinner jacket button with one hand before he sits down. He instantly turns to the woman and man he is seated next to.

“Hello, I’m Nathan Mercer. Nice to meet you.” He shakes their hands and then gestures to me. “And this is Eliza.”

“Hello.” The lady and man smile. “I’m Mario, and this is my wife Alessandra.”

“Hello.” I shake their hands. Nathan and his impeccable manners. He introduces us wherever we go.

“Lovely ball room, isn’t it?” Alessandra smiles.

“Gorgeous.”

“Dr. Mercer!” someone calls, and we turn to see a woman smiling and waving. “How lovely to see you.”

Nathan smiles broadly and offers a wave. His eyes dart to me for approval to go talk with her.

“Go, I’m fine.” I smile and lift my glass of champagne. “I’ve got company.”

She smiles and waves at me, and I wave back. I’ve seen this woman at a lot of the charity events we go to. She’s a doctor and seems nice.

Nathan kisses my cheek. “I’ll bring you another one back. Won’t be a minute.” He nods to our tablemates. “Excuse me.” He gets up and goes and talks to her, and they walk over to the bar and fall into conversation.

Mario frowns at me. “That’s not the Dr. Mercer, is it?”

“Umm.” I raise my eyebrows. I get asked this a lot.

“The heart surgeon?”

“That’s him.” I smile.

He watches Nathan across the room at the bar. “Wow, he’s so young in the flesh.”

My heart beams with pride. “He is, and his reputation is well deserved.”

Another couple sit down at our table. “Hello.” They both smile, and we do the introductions and shake hands.

I glance over to see Nathan is looking my way. He doesn’t leave me alone for long. He’s now talking to three other men, and he holds up a finger as if to say he’ll be a moment.

“I’m fine,” I mouth over at him.

“Eliza?” I hear someone call.

I turn to see a familiar face, and I laugh. “Gretel.” I turn to the people at my table. “Excuse me.” I stand and kiss my dear friend on the cheek.

Gretel is my ex-boss. The best damn boss I ever had, actually. If she hadn’t retired, I probably never would have even contemplated leaving. She’s beautiful with her silver bob haircut and glamorous designer clothes. Her husband is the mayor of San Francisco, and Gretel knows everyone in town.