Chapter 294: Magic Touch
** Eli **
"Gosh, what a day." Harper collapsed into her seat and stretched out into a sprawl when they got back in the car. "I wonder if the party’s still going without us. You think Vanessa is still screeching like a banshee somewhere out there?"
Eli snorted at the reminder of the annoying woman. "Probably. She’s going to have a fun time recovering from all the disgrace she brings upon herself tonight."
"And from the stain I made in her priceless gown with that wine," Harper added. "Though I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the visibility of the red wine on her wine-red dress. Maybe she was prepared for the drama tonight and chose her colors wisely ahead of time."
The snort turned into a laughter as both of them imagined Vanessa instructing her designer to make an evening dress that was maximally resistant to bitch fights and wine-to-the-face.
Then they both went pensive for a moment.
"That was quite a different evening from what I expected, which should’ve been a relaxing celebration for your big project milestone." Eli felt almost a bit guilty saying it. "And it leaves me just about a thousand questions for you about what happened when you snuck away from the table, or whether my father said something to you at the hospital that I should be alarmed of ... But before we get to that, what do you think if we both take Monday off from work? Let’s go somewhere more fun tomorrow and make up for that celebration-turned-hectic-mess."
Harper’s head snapped around instantly from the lazy loll. "Yes! I could totally use that! My boss is already giving everyone a late morning bonus for Monday, probably because he expects us all to get hungover, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a last-minute day off request. Where are we going?"
Eli chuckled at the plain excitement on her face. "You’ll see soon," he promised. "And I guarantee you will like it."
~ ~
The rest of the night passed with lots of storytelling and jaw-dropping. Eli could hardly believe what he was hearing when Harper told him about everything that happened while she was away at the gala. The fact that Vanessa had schemed up such a devious plan with Julie — who he hadn’t seen in years and didn’t even notice to be in the room at all — made him want to slap both women himself, and the realization of what Harper had almost mistaken his reaction to the announcement for made him feel ... more than a little frightened.