- Ella -
probably shouldn’t have hugged him. Looking back, I can see that it may have been a little inappropriate. It certainly seemed to make him uncomfortable, but I couldn’t help it. The guy saved my life in more ways than one. First he kept me from choking and dying in the lobby of his hotel. Then he gave me the opportunity of a lifetime for no reason other than the fact that I gave him the feeling I could pull it off.
Basically, the blue power jacket did the trick because he decided he could trust me not only with his own company’s Christmas party, but with a quarter of a million dollar budget, too! It was a dream come true. Finally, I would get to plan a party that didn’t involve tiaras, bouncy castles, or birthday cakes.
Of course the best part was that he was going to pay me big money to do it. Assuming I could pull it off, fifty thousand dollars was going to completely change my life. I thought my college loans would be hanging over my head for years. I thought I would have to choose between paying them off and moving out- which was priority number one- but I could afford to do everything I needed if I impressed Will. And if I secured a full time position at the end of this thing, I might even be able to get my Mom into a nicer place that wasn’t a hazard to her personal hygiene.
Plus, I got to work for the sexiest man in the city, and he wasn’t just sexy. He was a nice guy, a good guy. Everyone seemed to genuinely like him, and even though I still felt sort of stupid and mousy around him because of the confidence he exuded, I was delighted that I was going to get to spend more time with him. There was no question that I was going to learn a lot.
I could even forgive the fact that he was a little self-impressed. If anything, it was a miracle he wasn’t more conceited. After all, considering how much people fawned over him, it was amazing that his head didn’t explode. But I didn’t want to be one of those people. I wanted him to know that I could be focused around him, that I wasn’t just pretending to work while I was secretly plotting how to get into his pants.
Not that I wasn’t curious about what was in there. But I would have to keep my meaningless sexual fantasies separate from my job. I was a working woman now, and there was nothing more important than getting my career off the ground. I would be pleasant and I would be pretty, but above all, I would be professional.
As soon as I accepted the offer, our food came which was perfect because it meant I could eat and nod instead of giving away how hysterical I was. And as he explained the history of the hotel and the traditional importance of the company Christmas party, the reality of my responsibility began to hit me.
When we were done eating, he brought me to meet Emily, his personal assistant. She seemed quite stern and her beady eyes jutted around like she was a bird of prey. It was obvious that she took her job seriously, and she didn’t waste any time on small talk. Will told her to organize a space for me to work somewhere near her and explained to both of us that she would be working closely with me to make sure I was on the right track. Then he asked her to get the “Christmas Party Planning Files” for me so I could start looking over them right away.
While Emily went to retrieve the files, I watched Will adjust his cufflinks with his thick fingers and did my best to pretend I wasn’t wishing it was my nipples he was tweaking. When she reappeared, she was carrying a stack of papers so big it looked like she should’ve just wheeled the whole file cabinet over.
That’s when I realized I was in way over my head.
Emily said there was no reason for me to try and look through them all tonight, so she just gave me half of the binders to start with. It was a workout just getting them out of the building, and by the time I got home, I was wet with sweat. And it’s not like I wasn’t used to lugging a bunch of paper around. I’d just done that for four years straight. Still, I was shocked that my Mom’s flimsy kitchen table didn’t collapse under the weight of the materials.
I poured myself a ginger ale, sat down in front of the files, and slid the first one off the top of the stack.
The inside contained everything: budget breakdowns, contact information for party goods suppliers, and countless pictures of the parties during the planning process and the actual event. There were Christmas trees made of champagne bottles, ice sculptures of Santa’s entire village, there was even a picture of a pig with a shiny red apple in its mouth. I had never seen such decadence, and I turned through the pictures in awe. I would have to get used to seeing such creative ideas before I could even worry about what everything cost and where the heck it came from.
Then I found two pictures, one of all the staff and one of Will and a few other people. One of them was Emily. In it, her hair was black instead of grey. Will looked younger, too, but I actually preferred the way he looked now. He was a little too pretty then. A few shallow wrinkles around his eyes actually made him look a more ruggedly handsome in my opinion.
I heard a key in the door.
“Hi Mom.”
“Hi Honey,” she said, hanging her purse and keys on the mismatched hooks beside the door.
“How was your day?” I asked, closing the folder. I put it back in the stack and scooted the whole pile towards the corner.
“Good. The sun came up didn’t it?”
I stood up and gave the electric kettle a shake before topping it up with tap water.
She stepped into the kitchen and nodded towards the kettle. “Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“How was your meeting with William today?”
“I think you should sit down.”
She furrowed her brow and pulled out the chair at the end of the table. “What’s all that stuff?”
“I’m about to tell you.”
“Spit it out already. I’ve been dying to know what happened all day.”
I sat down next to her. “He’s going to give me a shot.”
“That’s fantastic, Ella. Oh my God!”
“I know.”
“What will you be doing?”
“I’m going to be in charge of planning the Christmas Party.”
“That’s wonderful! What an exciting opportunity.” She reached out and squeezed my hand.
“That stuff is for me to look over to get an idea of what they’ve done in the past.”
“Good Lord. You’ll be lucky if you get through that by Christmas.”
I laughed. “I know. I’m freaking out. Guess what my budget is for the party.”
“How could I possib-“
“A quarter of a million dollars.”
My Mom gasped and brought her hand to her mouth.
“I’m afraid that’s how I might have reacted when he told me.”
“I hope he’s paying you fairly if he’s trusting you with such a big responsibility.”
I nodded. “He is. My contract is for thirty thousand dollars.”
That’s when my Mom started to glow.
“With a bonus if the night is a success.”
“Oh, honey. I’m so happy for you.”
“And if it goes well, he said he would be open to discussing giving me a full time position with the company.”
“He would be a fool not to.”
“Thanks, Mom. I just don’t want him to regret hiring me. I have to do whatever it takes to impress him.”
She smiled. “I think it’s safe to say that you already have.”