After the main course, I grabbed Alice to look at the silent
auction items. I needed to get away from all of the political talk. Alice needed
to get away from Jasper. I could tell by the pink shade of her skin that she
was ready to behead him. Alice and I both found things that we wanted to bid
on. I put my name down on an extended weekend in New York City to see one of
Edward’s favorite operas, Romeo and
Julliet by Faure. Alice put her name down on an all expenses paid trip to
Jamaica.
We wandered back to the table. Carlisle was noticeably gone
as was Felix. Edward was nibbling on his fingernail at the table, pushing his
flan on the plate. “What did the flan do to you, Dr. Masen?”
“Nothing,” he mumbled. “Carlisle is getting ready to make
the announcement of who is going to replace him as chief of staff. I’m nervous,
beautiful girl.”
“Edward, no matter what, I’m proud of you. You’re a
brilliant doctor and the most compassionate and loving man I’ve ever known,” I
murmured, cupping his chin. “If you get it, I’ll be so happy for you. If you
don’t, I’ll support you in whatever decision you make.”
“I love you, beautiful girl,” Edward whispered before he
covered my mouth with his. “Thank you.”
“I love you, more, Dr. Masen,” I said as I deepened the
kiss. With a quiet groan, Edward pulled away and moved me to his lap. I leaned
against him as Carlisle stood at the front of the ballroom. A spotlight shone
at the emcee’s podium and Carlisle began his speech.
“Good evening and happy holidays. My name is Dr. Carlisle
Cullen and I’m the current chief of staff here at Craven Memorial Hospital.
Effective December 31st, I am retiring to spend time with my family.
I’m not as young as I used to be and pulling a thirty-six hour shift is not as
easy as I remembered. While I love my work as a doctor and as the chief of
staff, it’s time for me to step down.
“We’ve been hosting interviews for my position. We had five
candidates for the job. Two internal candidates and three external candidates.
Two of the three external candidates pulled themselves out of the running after
the interviews and we were left with our top three choices. Any one of these
doctors would be a fine fit for the chief of staff position. Our final three candidates included Dr.
Matthew Shapiro, Dr. Frank Gerandy and Dr. Edward Masen, Jr.”
The crowd applauded the three candidates. Edward tightened
his hold on me, pressing a soft kiss to my exposed shoulder.
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