Goose bumps formed on my arms, trailing up and over my shoulder blades and settling at the nape of my neck. My hair stood on end.
“It sounds exciting! I’m not sure I would have the balls to do it! Aren’t you worried about the other people there seeing you? Or knowing you?”
“Nah! Besides, if they did, then I would see them too! Most everyone there is nice and no creepers. Well, not really. There was this odd couple last weekend. They were like wrestlers or something. It was just … odd. But everyone has their kinks, so I just watched them go at it and hurled a few jeers here and there.”
I laughed a little too long. “Wow. Some people are just crazy. Who does that? Text me the name and what I have to do to get in, and I’ll check it out! I’ve got to fix this.” I pointed toward the silks that had fallen to the floor.
“Will do,” she shouted at me as I ran away. “And I’m holding you to it tomorrow! Mr. Perfect is going to have to let the cat out of the bag!”
I fanned out the silks on the floor, situating them out of the way and blocking them off with bales of hay and more tables. The after-party cleanup crew was going to hate me, but this event would be the icing on the cake for my down payment on my house. I had to blow Victor’s party out of the water.
I searched out a table in a quiet corner and sat down to clear my head. The entire time I spent prepping this event, I was also reliving memories of the nights before. I could barely concentrate on my work. My mind played in Victor Land, so I was oblivious to Sara sneaking up behind me.
“Late night? You look tired. Been up clubbing all night?” She smirked.
I groaned. This was getting ridiculous. “I don’t know what your issue is with me or what I ever did to you for you to hate me so bad, but if I did anything wrong, I’m sorry. I’m too old to play these games.”
“Oh, puh-lease! You love the attention. Any attention you can get. That’s why you always show up to our meetings, wearing skintight clothes and dressing slutty.”
I looked down at my jeans and sweater. I had never worn anything slutty while working, and rarely had I ever worn anything slutty at all. My closet was packed with little-old-lady attire. Even my party dresses were appropriate, save for maybe two of them. But those two dresses didn’t shout hooker on Bourbon Street either. What the fuck was she talking about?
“I wouldn’t consider my work attire or any of my clothes slutty. If you have an issue with what I wear, that’s not my problem. It’s yours. But I’m just letting you know, I’m not going to take your slander or your harassment. I will consult with Victor if you don’t back off. Besides, don’t you have a job to do? Why are you spending your time sweating me when you are on his clock?”
“I can spend my time as I please. I do well enough at my job that Victor doesn’t care. He likes me.”
“Sure, sure.” I rolled my eyes. “Excuse me. I have work to do.”
“Yes, you’d better have it perfect by tomorrow. I wouldn’t want anything to fall apart and ruin the event. Victor wouldn’t like that. The last planner was fired immediately after her fuckup. Good luck to you!” She smirked again and waddled off.
I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Her last words sounded like a warning to me. I decided to text Victor and make sure things were okay, letting him know that his pit bull was after me.
Me: Hey! Sara is up here, stomping around. I feel like she is up to something, and I don’t have the time for her bullshit. I’ve worked my ass off on your circus. Can you either distract her with work or get her to fuck off, please?
Victor: She was supposed to be picking up lunch. I guess she stopped by the venue to check it out. Sorry! I’ll handle it. Meetings all day until 6. Dinner tonight? Want me to cook for you, and we can stay at my place?
Me: I can’t. I’ll be here all night and bright and early tomorrow morning. I’ve got to have my game face on. It’s going to be lit!
Victor: You’re amazing. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done. I’ll stay put and let it be a surprise.
Me: Just show up an hour early to go over the tiger stuff.
Victor. Rawr. Roger that.
I set my phone down in my lap and watched the frantic workers running around the arena. I wasn’t the only one trying to impress Victor Beaumont. Everyone seemed on edge. This party was the biggest event I had ever planned, and now, I was worried about Sara causing trouble.
I watched her from across the room as she barked into her phone and hurried out the door. I hoped Victor had called her and told her to back off of me. My livelihood and now my love life depended on it. I couldn’t deal with another hot mess in my life. I looked down at my sweater, tugging on it to make sure it wasn’t too tight or too slutty. It wasn’t.
I rolled my eyes and went back to work. T-minus less than twenty-four hours until this place had to be perfection.
I had stayed up all night and awoken early this morning to put the last-minute finishing touches on Victor’s event. I had been working since dawn, only taking a short break to get myself ready, and then I came right back here. The florist finally arrived, and I stood in the storage room, knee-deep in fresh bouquets I’d ordered to display around the venue.
“Samantha Masson! The woman of the hour! Holy hell, you’ve done it again!” Victor said, hopping over the flowers and pulling me into an embrace.
I looked up to see him dressed in a red-and-black ringmaster suit, complete with top hat and cane. He wore that devilish grin that made me catch my breath.
“Victor Beaumont! Wow. Just call me a circus freak because I’ve never wanted to fuck someone with a handlebar mustache so much in my life!”
“Ha! Look at you!” He held me at arm’s length and shook his head.
“What? Say something! Does it not look okay?” I adjusted my bow tie and smoothed my tuxedo jacket.
“I’m speechless. Really, I am.” He reached out and ran his fingertips over my necklace before kissing me.
“I thought you might like it.” I pulled a wand out of my front pocket and waved it in the air. “Now, you need to teach me some magic tricks to go with my magician’s outfit. Maybe you can show me later how you make your cock so hard all the time. That is my favorite trick.”
“I’m planning on it,” he growled.
The door to the back room opened, and we quickly separated.
“There you are!” Lisa rushed in, tripping over her ginormous clown shoes. “Oh. Hi. Sorry, I didn’t know you were here, Victor. But I guess it’s a good thing that you are because the tiger handlers are looking for you.” She looked back and forth from Victor’s face to mine.
“Yes, I was briefing him on that. We had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction, but I got it fixed for him, and he is well on his way.” I brushed off his shoulders and gave him a once-over.
“Right! Tiger hair already on the costume.” He laughed hard, snorting like a pig in heat.
What the hell?
Lisa and I both narrowed our eyes at him before he ducked out of the room and ran off.
“What was that all about?” Lisa asked.
“I think he has preshow jitters. The tigers are stressing him out. Who knows? Come on; let’s go! It’s almost showtime, and I have to check a few more things out there.”