He scowled at me and flipped it open. The first page of the report was a mock-up of the ship I engineered. “I told you at the beginning this was not an acceptable project.”
“And I’m telling you the research is sound.”
“This shit will never work,” he snapped and tossed the binder on his desk without bothering to look at the research.
I looked behind me. There were a few students already seated. They were trying to hide their laughs. I was not the guy that was ever going to win Most Popular. I didn’t care. I trusted my work. I knew what I had, even if none of them could see it.
“It will work,” I argued. “You just need to look at the research.”
He shook his head. “It’s assholes like you that think you are going to change the world because you are smarter than anyone else. Look at history and science. You won’t. This is a failing paper.”
I wasn’t going to win him over. I knew that. He wasn’t my target audience anyway. “That’s cool. I don’t need your grade anyway.”
He glared at me. If he could have put his hands on me, I was sure he would have. He wanted to shake me.
I smirked, daring him to do it.
“Punk kids like you will destroy our world,” he said.
I buttoned my bag. “Lucky for you, professor, punk kids like me can see into the future. We aren’t stuck in the past. We are what’s going to save your ass one day. You are a shitty professor and you are going to be the one destroying our world if you don’t pull your head out of your ass.”
“You are a low-life punk. You will never amount to anything. Maybe I’ll visit you on the dockyard one day. That’s where you’ll be, swabbing decks.”
I turned and walked out. I was done with his class. There was no reason for me to go back. He could teach me nothing new. I got what I needed—a passing grade. I earned my degree, no thanks to his ass. He could fuck off. I was going to prove him wrong. I was going to prove them all wrong.
Present Day
My tie was choking me. I hated wearing fucking ties. I didn’t let on that I was totally uncomfortable. I sipped from the crystal glass. It was only water. I was sticking to water for the night, at least until I got what I came for. Then, I was going home and having a stiff drink. Several stiff drinks.
“With that said,” the speaker said from his place at the front of the ballroom, “please, everyone, give our honored guest and Champions of the Earth award winner, Xander Holland, a big round of applause.”
Showtime. I got to my feet and tried to smile. I had a feeling it probably looked more like a grimace. I made my way up to the front to collect the plaque with my name emblazoned on it. I nodded at the audience that was still clapping and held up the plaque. “Thank you,” I said and walked away from the stage.
The room fell silent as I moved toward the room exit at the side. I didn’t stop going. I walked right out the door and got into my car. No one said I had to give a speech. I didn’t do speeches. I didn’t do public gatherings much at all. Over the years, the introvert thing appealed to me more and more. The older I got, the more I discovered I didn’t really like people.
I drove through the gates of what my one and only friend, Charlie, called my compound. It was my compound. It was my safe place with a very high fence all the way around the damn place. I liked my privacy. The fence and the always-locked gate were a symbol of how I lived my life. I kept everyone out.
Chapter 2
Evie
I loved Pinterest. It was such an amazing website. I could literally spend the entire day staring at the endless pictures and ideas. I didn’t like to steal anyone’s great ideas, but I liked to take what I saw and add my own special spin. It was what made me good at my job.
I loved themed parties. They were so much fun. It gave me an opportunity to fill every fantasy. I could be under the sea, in Paris, or on the moon. I was known for planning parties that were ridiculously over the top. No detail was missed. When someone told me they had this idea, I took it and ran. One day, I would own my own business. For now, I worked for one of the top party planning agencies in the country. At least, that was what we advertised.
I took a quick screenshot and saved it to my file of ideas that I didn’t need right away but was hoping to use eventually. I clicked off the site. I had to. It was too tempting to keep open. I pulled out the file for the party I was preparing a proposal for. It was a sweet-sixteen party for a very wealthy young girl, but it wasn’t happening for another year. The family was very serious about the party being the best of the best.
“Evie,” my boss, Clara, said as she walked into my small office.
I greeted her with a smile. “What’s up?”
She sat down in the soft chair across from my desk. “I have a bit of an issue. I am hoping you can help me.”
“What do you need?”
“We have a last-minute party request,” she said with a grimace. “Like this weekend. Saturday.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Last minute is right. How big?”
“Two hundred.”
My mouth fell open. “Two hundred?”
She nodded. “It’s for a cargo-shipping company. Apparently, they are pulling in some pretty good business and the owner wants to throw a party to celebrate and recognize his employees.”
“Ah, that’s sweet,” I said, completely ignoring the fact the party he wanted would normally take weeks, sometimes months, to plan.
“Yes, sweet, but seriously, this is a big deal. I’ve tacked on a fee for the short notice. This could be a good account. We were the only planners willing to take it on. If we prove we can handle it, we will earn their regular business.”
“Okay, what do you need me to do?” I asked. I loved a challenge.
“I want you to handle it. I have that wedding this weekend. I cannot possibly spare a minute for this. I have Amber and David with me as well. You would be on your own.”
A knot formed in my gut. “Me? Alone?”
“I know you can handle it. They don’t want a lot of flair. You can do it, right?”
It wasn’t like I could say no. “Yes. I will not let you down.”
“Thank you. If you need help, reach out, but this wedding is a big deal. I can’t let down this family.”
I nodded. The wedding was right up there with the likes of Will and Kate and Kim and Kanye. It was big. I had been picking up the slack while Clara focused all her energy on the one wedding. It was great for me, giving me a chance to grow and gain some experience. “I will give it my best.”
She breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging forward. “Thank you. I knew I could count on you. This wedding will be the death of me.”
“I have seen some of the plans. It is a doozie. They are going to love it.”
“They better. I’ll send you the details in the next ten minutes.”
“I’ll get right on it,” I assured her.
She left my office. I slapped my hands over my face. “Oh shit,” I breathed. “You can do this, Evie. You can do this.”
I quickly cleaned up my desk, putting away the sweet-sixteen folder. I needed organization. I needed everything in its place. I pulled out the yellow pad I insisted on keeping notes on and tore off the top page. It wasn’t written on, but it wasn’t pristine. I liked pristine.