Charity arrived at the office headquarters of Hal Jaworski. The imposing building with the helicopter pad on top was hard to miss. It cost a ton to make but it had little character, much like Hal Jaworski. She had left home early, which was a good thing because she had to make several stops along the way. Her recent nausea had been morning sickness. Charity couldn’t believe that she hadn’t seen the signs of pregnancy earlier. She wore a black suit with a pink silk top and a strand of pearls. She was going to look and act professional with Hal Jaworski and let him know she wasn’t going to play games.

The woman at the reception desk looked as if she were hand chosen by Hal. She was young and gorgeous. Charity hoped the woman hadn’t fallen for Hal’s charms. He was probably looking for wife number six, though this woman looked young enough to be his daughter. She smiled as she sat on a grey leather chair in reception. It was so comfortable that she was tempted to take a nap. That would have made a great story to tell her little sprout someday. Mommy fell asleep in the building owned by one of the richest men in America. All because you needed a nap. Charity patted her stomach to say hello.

“Charity, you may go in now.” The woman wore heels so high they could be a lethal weapon.

It was one of Charity’s pet peeves when a businessperson didn’t come out to greet a visitor personally. “Thank you.”

She walked in and Hal stood up to greet her. He shook her hand this time instead or trying to cop a feel. She opened her leather folder, which Elijah bought her, and started to shuffle the papers. “I’ve secured sizable gifts from a number of businesses and I’m working on a dinner featuring some of St. Luke’s top oncologists. Some former patients are also available to speak. You know the drill; tug on a few heart strings.” Charity passed a pile of papers to Hal.

“I appreciate your work and we’ll get to that, but I want to know how your family is doing. Jamie must be two and Elijah is an all-star at Thompson. They must keep you on your feet. I bet your days practicing medicine seem easy in comparison.” Hal smiled.

Who is this guy and what happened to Hal Jaworski, industry magnate? Charity suspected that maybe he was planning to catch her with her guard down.

“My family is fabulous. We’re in a good place at the moment.”

“Ah yes, Chief of Staff, Doctor Scott Thompson. I was glad to hear of his recovery after his heart issues and my delayed condolences for the loss of your mother. I bet you didn’t know that I have three daughters. I keep them out of the public eye.” Hal paused and reflected for a moment. “Ah hell, they stay far away from me by choice. They’re from my first wife and they don’t like me much. I left their mother a long time ago and never looked back. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have left Nadine in the first place. What I wouldn’t give to see Bernadette, Helen and Rose again, but that’ll never happen. They think I’m a womanizing pig that doesn’t lift a finger to help mankind.” Hal folded his hands without looking at the stack of papers on his desk. “The sad thing is that they’re right.”

She wasn’t buying it. “Hal. Is there something specific that you want? I’m sticking with this job despite everything. I’m going to work around your list. I refuse to be a pawn in one of your money games. You want a hospital wing with your name on it. You’re not fooling me with your family tear-jerker.”

Hal looked at her, his eyebrows now hidden in his curly hair. “Fine.” He straightened in his large leather chair. “An anonymous donor stepped in and wrote a check to match my contribution.”

She stared at him. That was impossible. Pinnacle would have informed her. “When?”

“Apparently late last night.”

“Why wasn’t I informed?”

“I haven’t had a chance to contact Pinnacle.”

“Wait a minute. They gave you the check? Not Pinnacle?”

Hal shrugged, looking as confused as she felt. “Apparently someone wants their name on a wall more than I do. Their check is for two hundred and fifty million. They want me to match it.”

Charity nearly fell off her chair. Shit like this only happened in the movies and she didn’t see any cameras nearby.

“Are you going to?”

“Hell, yes. No one is going to show me up at my own game.” He grinned suddenly. “Did you have this planned all along?”

She shook her head, wishing she did. “And you don’t know who the donor is?”

He shook his head. “It’s legit. You’ll have to ask Pinnacle to find out. They’ll be getting both checks later today.”

“Okay.” She didn’t know what else to say.

“Charity?”

“Hmmm?”

“I read your proposal on building a wing with adjoining rooms for parents so they can stay with their children during treatment or family can stay with patients. It’s a fantastic idea. I’ve told Pinnacle that’s where I want the money to go to.” He shifted and winked at her. “Now, between you and me, can we keep this nice-guy-image under wraps? Don’t want the business sharks out there knowing I have a soft side?”

“Uh, sure.” She had no idea what to say. Seldom did anyone throw her off kilter. “I’m having a baby. No one knows yet,” she blurted.

He stared at her in surprise. “Congratulations, I think.”

“It will be.” Her face burned. Why in the hell had she just told this psycho she was pregnant? “Uh, do you mind keeping that between you and me?”

He nodded. “Looks like we both have something on each other now. Sounds like fair business in my books.” He stood as his secretary paged him to let him know another client was waiting. “It’s been nice working with you. Looks like you’ll be wrapping this job up in six months instead of twenty-four.” He winked. “Timing kind of works out decent for you then.”

She nodded as she shook his hand. “I’ll send you a message once I’ve spoken with Pinnacle.” She left his office and as she rode the elevator down she pinched herself, trying to see if she was dreaming. She needed sugar to knock the shock out of her. What the hell had just happened?

Outside, she kicked off her shoes and walked on the grass in front of the building in bare feet. She grabbed her phone. “I hope I didn’t get you at a bad time,” Charity said to Elijah.

“There’s never a bad time when you’re on the other line. Did you tell Hal off? I’ll gladly go and tell him myself.”

“I didn’t have to. My work with Hal Jaworski is done.”

“If that’s your decision, I support you one hundred percent.”

“Actually, you’re not going to believe this.” Charity unlocked her car door and sat down inside. “There was a single donation to match his. More actually. An anonymous donor challenged Hal to donate another fifty million more. It’s crazy. I’m basically done with the job. Six months more, tops.”

“Seriously? Who?”

“I have no idea. He doesn’t either. I’m going to see if Pinnacle will say who it is.”

“I can’t wait to find out.”

“We’ll chat later. I’m heading home to take Jamie and Margaret out for lunch.”

“You do that. I’ll speak to you soon!” Elijah hung up the call.

Charity started to count. “Three, two…” She picked up the phone. “I love you too, Elijah.”

“Love you too.” He laughed. “I have to stop forgetting to tell you that.”

“Don’t you dare, I think it’s cute.”