“Come back with me,” I heard myself say without even knowing the words were going to come out.
He grimaced. “I can’t up and leave.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll come for a visit soon, but you are going to be busy trying to fix things with your lady.”
He was right. “Okay, but I’m going to hold you to that. I’d like you to see my house. I think you would appreciate the proximity to the beach. The house is plenty big. You can stay in one of the guest rooms.”
“I keep forgetting you are one of those rich guys. How many bedrooms do you have?”
“Only a few,” I answered. “The house isn’t all that grand, but the view is where the value is.”
“Go,” he ordered. “We’ll see each other soon.”
I stood up, and before I knew what he was going to do, he grabbed me and gave me a bear hug. At first, I was completely stiff. I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t used to hugs from him. It was weird and good. I patted his back. “I’ll call you as soon as I get things figured out. I’ll send you a plane ticket.”
“You don’t have to buy me a damn plane ticket.”
“I don’t have to, but I’m going to.”
“It’s going to be hard to get used to having a rich kid for a son.”
I smiled. “Get used to it. I’ve got a lot of money.”
He chuckled. “Still the same humble kid.”
Chapter 66
Evie
I pulled up the images from a sweet-sixteen party I had planned about six months ago before I turned my laptop for the new client to see.
“Oh wow, that is stunning!” the mother exclaimed.
“I don’t want pink,” the spoiled princess pouted.
I smiled, remaining calm. “You don’t have to have pink. You can choose any color you want.”
“No,” the mother quickly interjected. “We are not having black.”
The girl scowled. “I wasn’t going to say black.”
I kept my smile in place. The affluent family had reached out to me last week. Initially, I didn’t want to do it. I was in no mood to deal with a spoiled teenager.
“What colors were you thinking about?” I asked.
“Purple,” she answered. “I want several shades of purple.”
“Oh, that’s very regal,” her mother said with a relieved smile. “I like it.”
“I was at a party you planned for my friend like a year ago,” the young girl said. “She said you were really good. My party has to be better than her party.”
Ah, teenage envy. “We will do our best.”
“We’ve capped the budget at five hundred thousand,” the father interjected.
I was surprised he even knew the rest of us were in the room. His face had been glued to his phone the moment he walked through the door. “That is a good budget and I have no doubt in my mind that we will be able to fulfill all your wishes.”
The woman, Carla, nodded. “As you know, we own a number of businesses around the country. We are looking for an event planner we can count on to take care of the charity events we host and the many associated celebrations we put on every year. We are hoping to find an individual that understands our tastes while respecting our budgets and wishes.”
My phone vibrated on the desk. I quickly silenced it, only to have it start vibrating across the desk again. I flipped it over and saw it was Xander. I sent him to voicemail and turned my attention back to the clients. “I understand what you are looking for. I’d love to help you get this very special young woman the party of her dreams.”
“You know, if you were an independent contractor, we could hire you to handle our business. We would want you to be exclusive to us alone.”
“That’s a very generous offer. Why don’t we see how this party goes? I would want to make sure we are a good match.”
“Obviously, this will be a test of your planning skills and how well you take direction.”
I was already thinking of ways I could intentionally fail the test. I didn’t think they were the kind of people I wanted to work for on a daily basis. Working with them did not appeal to me. “All right, I am looking forward to seeing what we can create together.”
The phone began to vibrate again. The father looked up from his phone, raising an irritated eyebrow. I silenced it again. “You must be very popular,” he commented.
I offered a nervous smile. “I am.”
“I told you she was the best,” Carla said with a satisfied smile. “I know these things. I have a lot of friends and we talk about things like this.”
“I’m happy to know my reputation precedes me,” I said.
“Oh, it definitely does,” Carla said. “Now, do you have any connections with any of the big names in the industry?”
“What industry would that be?” I questioned.
“Music. I want Justin Bieber at my party.”
I almost choked. “I do not have those connections. I can put out some requests and see if I can get a manager to call me back, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
She popped out her lower lip. “But I wanted Justin.”
“I’ll make some calls, sweetie,” Carla said, shooting me a dirty look.
I took control of the meeting. “I’m going to put together some color ideas and send you over some sketches. We’ll talk about menus and music. If we can’t secure your first choice, there are plenty of local bands and singers I work with on a regular basis. I can send you links to their websites and you can listen to their music.”
The girl curled her lip. “I really don’t want a nobody.”
“I think you will be impressed with our local artists. Many of them are on the rise in the industry. You’ll get to be a little part of their climb to the top.”
“I suppose,” she mumbled.
“We need to get going,” the father announced. “I’ve got a board meeting. Send whatever and I will review it and make the necessary adjustments.”
I held my smile in place. “I will do that.”
They left my office. I shouldn’t have taken them on as clients but I couldn’t stop now. The contracts were signed, and unless they fired me, I was on the hook. I was used to working with difficult clients. I could do it.
The phone began to vibrate across my desk again. I flipped it over and saw it was Xander again. He was persistent. The guy hadn’t talked to me in over a week and now he was suddenly in dire need to speak to me? I declined the call again and called Nelle.
“Hey,” she said, sounding out of breath.
“Where are you at?” I asked.
“Just climbing off the treadmill. What’s up?”
“Ugh, I just got done with a very difficult client meeting,” I complained. “It’s a sweet sixteen for what is probably the most spoiled kid in America.”
“Don’t do it.”
“I have to do it and it could lead to a lot of future work if I don’t kill them before I get it done.”
“Eek, that bad, huh?”