“I’ll be ready.” She slid out of the seat, then leaned back in. “Good night, Mural Guy.”
“Good night, Fixie Chick.”
“You did not.”
“Couldn’t resist, but I promise it’s our secret. Well, ours and this guy’s now.” He winked, pressed the button to close the window, and told the driver to head to the final destination.
Chapter
Twelve
It was Bill Winters’ birthday and a stretch limo sat out in front of the Barron, Winters & Wall law offices on the evening of May 22nd. The driver, a tall man wearing a black suit and a chauffeur’s hat, stood next to the back door, waiting on them. Whitney hadn’t requested the special treatment, but the limo company had been clients of the firm for as long as they’d been in business and had surprised them by sending the fanciest car in the fleet.
Whitney walked over to catch up to Carina at the front door. “Are they coming?”
“Your father’s on a call.” Carina rolled her eyes. “Your mom is already complaining, and William is trying to herd them. I had to leave before I said something to make it worse.”
“I hope they don’t argue on the way down. It will be a miserable night if they aren’t speaking.”
“Especially because I had them put us in the Taxin Room so we wouldn’t have to deal with clients coming over to say hello all night long. If they’re cranky, we won’t have any other distractions.” Carina crossed her fingers.
Whitney should have been used to waiting on her parents by now. They always made a grand entrance everywhere they went, but it still drove her crazy.
Finally, the elevator at the end of the hall chimed, and her mother exited, looking stunning in a lovely lavender sheath dress. It was a good sign that after she stepped out, she waited for Dad and hugged his arm.
“Thank goodness,” Whitney whispered to Carina.
William beat them to the front doors. “Are we all set?” he asked.
“Waiting on you,” said Whitney, smiling at her parents.
“Where’s Roger? Do we need to wait?”
“Uh. No. We were never actually dating. Why would I invite him to this?” Whitney rolled her eyes. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late for our reservation as it is.”
They walked outside and the driver held the door as they all scooted inside onto the supple leather seats. A bottle of champagne was chilling in a silver ice bucket.
Carina did the honors, pouring and passing stemless flutes to everyone.
William raised his. “Happy seventieth birthday, Dad.”
They sipped champagne on the short ride to Bookbinder’s, Dad’s favorite spot for decades now. He liked to tease that the firm kept the restaurant in business when they first opened on Tobacco Row in the riverfront American Cigar Building, the building still clinging to its original architectural lines despite the extensive renovations in this part of the city.
The limousine pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant, and Whitney and Carina got out first.
They escorted the family straight to the Taxin Room, the smallest of the private party rooms, and they had a bevy of appetizers already lining the center of the table.
“This looks divine,” Mom said. “Bill, isn’t this great?”
“It is.” He reached out and slurped a fresh oyster from the shell. “Not even an R month, and it’s still perfect. I knew that R-month rule was an old southern wives’ tale—that oysters are only good in months that have an R in them.” He flirted playfully with Mom and held her chair, taking the one at the head of the table for himself.
“We are so pleased to be hosting you on your seventieth birthday, Mr. Winters. We’ve got a lovely selection of appetizers already here for you to enjoy.” He pulled the bottle of their favorite wine from the bucket and poured. “I’ll let you get settled. Enjoy the wine and appetizers, and then I’ll come back and go through the menu specials for tonight.”
“Very nice,” Dad said. “Thank you.” He raised his glass. “Champagne, wine, and I see my favorite cake over on the table there. Whatever gets sandwiched in between will pale, but we’ll do it up right!”
Conversation turned to Mom and Dad’s recent weekend at the beach, followed by the latest Chloe antics, and the new redecorating project Mom had planned for the office.
“I have something to share,” Dad announced. “I apologize for being long-winded on the phone earlier, but I received some wonderful news. The firm is a finalist for the the International Licensing Law Firm of Virginia award this year. Our work in patents and licensing is being recognized, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
