“What about this one?” Mia held a watercolor canvas against the wall.
Claire shook her head. “It doesn’t look right. You need something more vibrant beside the other paintings.” She rushed across to the table in the middle of the room. “Here. Try this one.”
Mia swapped the canvases over. “Tell me quickly if it works. This one’s heavy.” After choosing where more than thirty paintings would be hung for their exhibition, her arms were aching. “Is it okay?”
“It’s perfect.”
“Thank goodness for that.” Mia carefully placed the oil painting on the floor, leaning the top edge against the wall. She looked around her grandfather’s art gallery and smiled. “This will be our biggest exhibition yet.”
Claire picked up her clipboard and frowned. “Everyone from the Bozeman Art Collective has dropped off their work except Elizabeth. I hope she’s okay.”
“I’ll give her a call.” Mia rolled her shoulders, trying to relax her sore muscles. At five-foot-three she wasn’t tall by anyone’s standard. Holding the paintings while they decided where to hang them wouldn’t have been difficult if she’d been Claire’s height.
The side door to the exhibition space opened and Claire’s sister, Hannah, walked inside. “Wow. You’ve done so much.”
“Granddad has organized his usual team to hang the paintings this afternoon. All we had to do was decide where they would go.” Mia tilted her head. “You look worried. What’s happened?”
Hannah dropped her bag on a chair. “Do you remember when I told you about the Jenkins’ wedding?”
“The one that would be Montana’s wedding of the year?”
“That’s the one.”
Claire’s mouth dropped open. “Did we get the contract to stage their wedding?”
“Not exactly.”
For someone who had been talking non-stop about the wedding, Hannah didn’t seem very excited.
“What did they say?” Claire asked.
Hannah crossed her arms. “Mrs. Jenkins wants us to organize the whole wedding.”
“Everything? But were not wedding planners. They only asked us to stage the wedding.”
“I know. But Mrs. Jenkins and her daughter saw what we did for the Trembaths’ wedding. They want something similar, only bigger.”
Claire frowned. “But the Trembaths only had fifty guests. At last count, Beverly and Craig’s guest list was up to 258.”
“I tried telling Mrs. Jenkins that this would be the first wedding we’d ever managed, but she wasn’t worried.”
Mia watched the two sisters digest what an event of that size would mean. As well as being talented artists, Claire and Hannah ran their own event staging company. It had taken a lot of hard work, long hours, and a folder of glowing referrals to get them to where they were today.
Claire bit her bottom lip. “The Jenkins family own one of the largest ranches in Montana. There will be people coming from across America for Beverly’s wedding. We can’t say no.”
Hannah opened her laptop. “I’ve looked at our schedule. We already have a lot of pre-Christmas events to stage. And we know what Mrs. Jenkins and her daughter are like from the engagement party. They might say they want something similar to the Trembaths, but they’re just as likely to change their minds.”
Mia was so glad that all she had to worry about was the art exhibition. “I don’t mean to state the obvious, but why don’t you ask someone to help you?”
“We won’t be able to find anyone on such short notice, especially this close to Christmas,” Claire said with a sigh. “The part-time staff we hired aren’t ready for the responsibility of organizing a huge wedding.”
“Not the wedding,” Mia said. “The other events you’re staging. If the Jenkins contract will attract more clients, maybe you should concentrate on their wedding.”
Claire looked at her sister. “Mia’s right. We need to prioritize.”
Nick Costas, Mia’s grandfather, walked into the exhibition space. “How are my girls doing?” His eyebrows rose when he saw the frown on Claire and Hannah’s faces. “It can not be as bad as that.”
Mia handed her grandfather a brown paper bag. “This is from Tess. She made huckleberry muffins this morning.”
Nick’s smile was instant. “She is a woman after my own heart.”
Her grandfather’s thick, Greek accent made Mia chuckle. “You’re nearly seventy-five years old, granddad. Tess is married and too young for you.”
“I am young at heart. Now tell me what is worrying you, Claire. It is not like you and Hannah to be sad.”
“We’ve been asked to plan a huge wedding, but we can’t fit it into our schedule.”
“Show me this schedule.” Nick perched his reading glasses on the end of his nose and peered at the computer screen.
Claire stood beside her sister. “Most of the work has already been done for the local high school and mall contracts. I could still do the corporate Christmas party.”
“And these?” Nick pointed to something on the screen.
“They’re our regular events,” Hannah said. “Our part-time staff could look after them.”
Mia moved closer. Even though she knew Claire and Hannah were busy, she was surprised at the number of events they were juggling.
“This is the one that worries me the most.” Hannah tapped her finger against the screen.
Nick leaned closer. “A charity gala for the hospital?”
“They booked us six months ago. We can’t let them down.”
“What does this charity gala involve?”
Hannah opened another file. “It will be a Christmas themed event. There’ll be a buffet dinner, dancing, and a charity auction. As soon as the hospital director approves the concept plans and budget, we’ll start booking what we need.”
Mia studied the photos that Hannah had opened. It looked like your typical North Pole Christmas scene, complete with snowmen, candy canes, and Santa’s reindeer.
Nick pursed his lips. “I have an idea. Mia can work on the hospital gala for you.”
Mia shook her head. “I’ve never done anything like that in my life, granddad. It would be a disaster.”
“Your friends need help.”
“It’s okay,” Claire said. “You don’t have to help us. You’re busy teaching at the college and your next exhibition isn’t far away. We’ll just tell Mrs. Jenkins that we can’t organize her daughter’s wedding.”
Mia pulled out a stool and sat down. “When are Beverly and Craig getting married?”
“The second Saturday in January. They didn’t want a long engagement and that was the only date the caterer could manage.” Hannah closed the Jenkins’ file. “It’s a big ask for anyone to organize a wedding of that size in four month.”
Mia glanced at her granddad. Big mistake. His pale blue eyes bored into her soul, making her feel guilty for not saying yes straight away. “You know how busy I am.”
“You are a good girl, Mia. You will do the right thing.”
She sighed, wondering how on earth she could say no to her granddad and two of her closest friends. “I’ll let you know tomorrow morning if I can help.”
Claire and Hannah’s relieved smiles made her feel worse.
Nick patted her hand. “Your pappouli has complete faith in you.”
And those, thought Mia, were the words that would ultimately seal her fate.
***
A light tap on Stan Lewis’ office door didn’t stop him from typing. He needed to finish the report he was writing by the end of the day. Nothing, barring a bomb threat or an outbreak of the plague, would stop him.
“How can I help, Gina?”
“Sorry to interrupt, but have you had a chance to look at the proposal for the charity gala?”
He glanced at the folder in his in-tray. It had been sitting there for more than two weeks. “Not yet. Is Deirdre desperate for an answer?”
“She needs to let the caterers and staging company know whether they can go ahead.”
“I’m busy at the moment. Can it wait until tomorrow?” He opened another document, copied some text, then returned to the report he was writing.
“If you don’t look at it today, your major fundraiser for the neonatal unit might not happen.”
Stan glanced at his secretary. “The gala is three months away.”
“The only two contractors that Deirdre booked are the caterers and the staging company. If you don’t make a decision soon, they won’t be able to finalize their plans.”
He rubbed his forehead, wondering how he ever thought being the director of a Level III Trauma Center could be easier than his job in Chicago.
“I’ll look at the report as soon as I’ve finished what I’m doing.”
Gina walked across the room and placed the folder in front of him. “As soon as you’ve made your decision, let me know.”
Stan leaned back in his chair. “Tell me again why I employed you?”
“Because I’m bossy and keep you on your toes.”
He picked up the folder and read the first page. By the time he made it to the second page, he knew their major fundraiser was in danger of becoming a major flop.
“Whose idea was it to do a Christmas theme?”
“You’ll have to ask Deirdre, but it is Christmas.”
“And everyone who buys tickets for the gala would have been to at least three Christmas events before they walk through our doors. There’s only so much Christmas spirit to go around.”
Gina’s eyebrows rose. “You sound like the Grinch.”
Stan closed the folder. He’d seen enough to know what his answer would be. “I’m a realist and my answer is no.”
“No?”
He held out the folder. “Tell Deirdre to make an appointment to see me, but not today. If she brings two or three new ideas to the meeting, it will make the whole process a lot quicker.”
Gina took the folder. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Trust me. Santa won’t have enough pulling power to sell all the tickets. We need something unique that no one else has done.”
“I’ll let Deirdre know. You’ve got fifteen minutes until your next appointment arrives.”
Stan looked at the time and groaned. As much as he wanted to delay the meeting, he needed to see his Chief Financial Officer. The future of the neonatal unit could depend on it.
Other Contemporary Romances by :
Montana Brides:
(Gracie and Trent)
(Amy and Nathan)
(Nicky and Sam)
(Erin and Jake)
(A Montana Brides Christmas Novella)
(Emily and Alex)
(Kate and Dan)
(Sarah and Jordan)
The Bridesmaids Club:
(Tess and Logan)
(Annie and Dylan)
(Sally and Todd)
(Molly and Jacob)
Emerald Lake Billionaires:
(Rachel and John)
(Sophie and Ryan)
(Holly and Daniel)
The Protectors:
(Hayley and Tank)
(Kelly and Tanner)
(Mallory and Grant)
(Ashley and Matthew)
(Mia and Stan)
(Hannah and Brett)
(Claire and Jason)
(Becky and Sean)