Page 88 of Ramsey & Emerson

“Yep.”

“Well, I think I ought to introduce myself,” he said, reading the room correctly.

Without another word, we both walked towards the girls and got there at the same time as Adrian Cossacks, and it said something for Scott’s character when he automatically stood between each woman, wrapped his arms around their backs, then kissed both of them on the side of their heads. Normally, I’d be annoyed by this, but I was smart enough to recognize that Scott was on my side.

“How are my girls?” Scott asked before stepping aside, so that I could stand next to my wife. “Changing the world?”

“I was actually wondering if it’d be in bad form to get drunk at a children’s charity event,” Sally quipped, making us all chuckle.

Then, looking over at Adrian, Scott stuck his hand out. “I’m Scott French.”

Adrian shook his hand politely as he said, “Adrian Cossacks. I’m Emerson’s supervisor at work.”

“What a waste of time,” Scott joked. “Em doesn’t need any supervising on anything. The woman is a miracle worker when it comes to all things children.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Adrian said smoothly. “I don’t know what we’d do without her.”

“What a coincidence,” I chimed in as I slipped my arm around Emerson’s waist. “I feel the exact same way.”

“Ramsey,” he greeted, and I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d wanted to punch someone in the mouth so badly.

“Cossacks,” I replied, setting the tone and done with being polite.

However, before Emerson could side-eye me, the hostess of the evening was tapping a microphone, drawing our attention, all of us turning to see what was going on. Since there was a silent auction going on, they could be announcing the winners. At any rate, whatever it was, my arm wasn’t leaving Emerson’s waist for any-fucking-thing.

Chapter 10

Emerson~

It was obvious that Ramsey and I were going to have to have a serious talk about this thing with Adrian. By Ramsey Reed standards, he was no longer playing nice, and if he cost me my job, then it was safe to say that we were going to have problems. However, the conversation that I’d been trying to avoid was going to have to wait until we got home tonight, because I refused to become a viral sensation for going ballistic at a children’s charity event.

“Everyone, everyone...may I have your attention?” Cordina Priller said into the microphone. “While the night is far from over, and while we are having record donations with the silent auction and art showcasing, I wanted to take this moment to talk about something more important than money, and that’s the human involvement that goes into these things. Though money is the foundation of making these things possible, children need human interaction and understanding more than they need money. They need to see the sympathy in our eyes and feel the sincerity in our touch.” Her voice sounded strong, but you could also hear the emotion in it, and it was clear to everyone in this room that Cordina Priller really felt very passionately about her cause. “So, it’s the people that are committed to helping children everywhere that make the real difference. The volunteers, foster parents, counselors, agency workers, teachers, coaches…it’s these people that are making a real difference in the lives of these children, and if I had an award for all of them, I’d gladly take the time to hand them out.”

Everyone in the room clapped for her, and while her speech was inspiring, I knew that it wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind in this room about volunteering their time. Most of these people were more comfortable writing a check, and that was just going to have to be enough for right now.

“Nevertheless, we’re lucky enough that one such person is here with us tonight, and if anyone deserves recognition for their help with underprivileged children, it would be this woman. While I could list all the things that she’s done over the years, we don’t have that kind of time tonight.” Everyone laughed like they were supposed to, making Cordina smile. “So…” Just then, a man walked up to her with a plaque of some sort, which just made her smile wider. “…without further ado, I’d like to present this plaqueof excellence to Emerson Reed for everything that she’s done and continues to do for the children of Port Lucia and neighboring cities.”

“What the hell…” I muttered.

Ramsey looked down at me. “You didn’t know about this?”

I shook my head as everyone turned to look at me. “No,” I whispered.

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Adrian announced as he grinned over at me. “I thought tonight would be a perfect opportunity to thank you for all your selfless hard work, Emerson. That’s why I asked if you were going to be here tonight.”

I felt Ramsey’s fingers digging into my hip, but we didn’t have time for this. Cordina was already waving me over, and with all eyes on us, I was not about to ruin a positive moment for the charity. Even though I didn’t do what I did for recognition, I knew that I needed to be gracious about the award.

Putting a smile on my face, I stepped out of Ramsey’s arms, then made my way towards a smiling Cordina Priller. When I finally reached her, she placed the plaque in my hands, and I could tell how genuine she was in this moment.

“Thank you so much for all you do, Emerson,” she said, using my first name casually, though we’d only spoken a couple of times before tonight. “When Adrien suggested surprising you with this recognition, I thought it was a brilliant idea.”

“Thank you,” I replied as my hands tightened around the plaque.

Cordina stepped back a bit, then addressed the crowd again. “I think now would be a perfect time for Emerson to say something.”

The crowd started clapping as Cordina led the way, and when I looked over at Ramsey, I could see the fire in his eyes all the way from where I was standing. Now, there could be a number of reasons why he was pissed, but I was upset because I felt ambushed. Because my family meant everything to me, had I known about this, I would have told them, so that they could all be here for this. I also knew my family well enough to know that they would have all tried their hardest to be here for this had they known.

Looking back over the crowd, I let out a deep breath before I took the microphone from Cordina for my impromptu speech, one that I’d never had to give before. I also knew that I’d sound generic and insincere if I gave the standard speech about not needing any recognition or how I did my job to make a difference, even if it was the truth.

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