“Oh, I might just do that. What about you? You have a hot date for the event?”
I shake my head, scoffing. “No, I’m going to be working.”
“Not for the whole time. Besides, isn’t it about time that you get back out there?”
“Uh, no. I don’t think so.” My heart twinges as I turn away from her. “What do we have coming up the rest of the week?”
She sighs and relief rushes through me as she starts going over the schedule again, letting it go. It isn’t like Willa to let me avoid certain topics but this time, I’m glad she did. After my wake-up call this morning, the last thing I need to think about is my love life.
* * * *
“Ma’am,” the valet says as I step out of my car and hand my keys off to him with a smile. He waits for me to round the front of the car before he pulls out of the driveway to park it in the lot down the street and I walk into the historic hotel I secured for the charity event in two weeks.
“Miss Dawson,” Ronald, the manager, calls from behind the front desk as I step through the door and I smile as I cross the lobby to the desk and shake his hand.
“Hello, Ronald. Is everything ready for me?”
He nods. “Just about, Ma’am. I can take you to the ballroom now and someone will direct your client there when she arrives.”
“Lead the way.” I gesture for him to step in front of me with my hand and he rounds the desk before leading me further into the hotel.
“How is your day so far, Ma’am?” he asks, glancing over his shoulder at me and I smile.
“Pretty good. Yours?”
Nodding, he turns down a hallway and I readjust the binder in my arms as I trail behind him. “Very good. The sampler plates should be ready from the kitchen within the next ten minutes but as soon as I drop you off, I’ll pop in and check on them.”
“That would be perfect, Ronald. Thank you.”
“Of course, Miss Dawson,” he answers, stopping in front of two gorgeous cherry doors and pulling a set of keys out of his pocket. As he unlocks the door, I suck in a breath and take in the ornate beauty of the building. When I first started planning this charity gala a few months ago, I wasn’t sure how well it was all going to come together since time was so short but we lucked out in a lot of ways and people have been eager to help the kids at the children’s hospital.
“Here we are,” Ronald says as the double doors swing open and the ballroom comes into view. It never fails to take my breath away. The room is extravagant without being gaudy and you can just feel the history of the hotel when you step into the room. It’s one of the reasons I worked so hard to secure this venue.
My phone buzzes with a text and I unlock the screen.
Jenna Bueachamp:
Running ten minutes late.
“My client is running a little late so I’d love to check in on the kitchen with you if you don’t mind, Ronald,” I say as I look up at him and he nods.
“Of course, Miss Dawson. Follow me. I’ll send my assistant to the front desk to wait for Miss Bueachamp.”
I nod, setting my binder down on one of the tables filling the space. “Perfect. Let’s go, then.”
Ronald leads me back to the kitchen. There’s a flurry of activity surrounding us as we make our way through the employees all rushing around to prepare the tasting menu for Jenna and I. When we reach the back office, Ronald knocks on the doorjamb.
“Chef, I have Miss Dawson for you.”
Chef Thomas’s head jerks up and he stands, rushing over to us with an outstretched hand. “Miss Dawson, lovely to see you again. Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. I was just hoping to go over a few things with you.”
He nods, motioning to the chair positioned in front of his desk. “Of course.”
I sit down and pull up the notes app on my phone before asking him about his plan for the day of the event.
“I’m not sure I know what you mean, Miss Dawson.”
“Are you planning on pre-cooking anything or will everything be cooked the day of? Do you have a plan to accommodate the thousand guests who have already RSVP’d yes?”
He nods and launches into his plan for the day of the event, explaining what things can be made early to save the kitchen some time and when he’s finished, I stand and hold my hand out to him.
“That sounds good, Chef. I look forward to tasting the dishes you’ve come up with.”
He shakes my hand and I check the time on my phone before turning back to Ronald.
“We should probably get back to the ballroom.”
He nods. “Of course, Miss Dawson.”
Ronald leads me back through the kitchen as my phone buzzes with another text from Jenna, letting me know that she just arrived at the hotel and I text her back to tell her that I’ll meet her in the ballroom. As Ronald and I turn down the hallway to the room, Jenna emerges on the other side, being led by a young man who must be Ronald’s assistant.
“Miss Bueachamp, how lovely to see you again,” Ronald says as we all stop at the entrance to the ballroom and she smiles.
“Hello, Ronald.” She turns to me. “Quinn.”
“Hi, Jenna. Shall we get started?”
Her eyes light up and she turns to the ballroom. “Yes, please. I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up.”
Ronald leads the three of us into the ballroom and over to the table I left my binder on earlier. As Jenna and I sit down, Ronald and his assistant step back to let us talk in private and I grab the binder, flipping it open to the first page so she can see the two themes I’ve come up with for the event.
“Now, I know you said you wanted something different from the usual “stuffy” charity events you see so I’ve come up with two different ideas for you but I will need your choice today so I can get everything prepped in time.”
She nods. “That won’t be a problem. Let’s see them.”
“This is the first,” I say, pointing to some reference photos I have for the roaring twenties theme I came up with.
“Ooh!” she exclaims. “I really like this.”
“And this is the second idea.” I flip the page to point to the photos for my second idea, a masquerade ball.
“Damn it, Quinn. You’re going to make a liar out of me! I don’t know how I’m ever going to choose.”
I laugh as I flip the next page. “You don’t have to decide quite yet. Just mull it over while we go over the rest of this.”
“Okay.”
“This,” I say, pointing to the page in front of her, “is the artwork I’ve been able to secure for the charity auction. We have about twenty pieces right now.”
“Oh my god. That’s amazing.”
I laugh, nodding. “Turns out, people are much more willing to help when you mention it’s for children.”
She laughs and I flip the page, pointing out each piece and its value before we go over the guest list. By the time we finish, the band I scheduled to audition walks in and Ronald leads them to the stage where they can set up.
“As for the music, we can either go with this band, The Renegades, or a DJ and I’ve got each coming to show you what they can do for you today.”