“Emma, what is the problem? Did you break up with your boyfriend? It seems you want lots of attention today.”
“Humph… what do you know about the attention of a boyfriend. You haven't been in a relationship in forever,” Carrie grunted.
Emma laughed and she said, “Bye, Carrie. Talk later.”
She set the phone down and before she could think of anything else, her intercom buzzed. She pressed it and Ava’s voice floated to her.
“Hi, Emma, Miss Castillo is here to see you. Can I send her up?”
“Yes, please do, Ava. Thanks.”
The door swung open moments later and Ava stepped in with two women and a man in tow. The younger woman was dressed in what Emma could only guess was the latest fashion of the season. She really did not care about all that. Faded jeans or dungarees did it for her most of the time. Emma could see the eyes of the younger woman, Brianna Castillo flitting around the office. She was probably trying to figure out if sitting in the office was worth her time.
“Hello, I'm Emma Price. Thanks Ava,” Emma said and Ava left the office.
“I’m Brianna Castillo,” the younger woman said as she stepped forward. She shook the hand that Emma had outstretched and she turned to the people beside her. “My personal assistants. Their opinions are irrelevant in the general scheme of things but I do need them to take down important notes, and of course, my bag needs to be carried.”
“I see. Right this way please,” Emma said as she led them to the sitting area in the office. “Please sit.”
They all sat and before Brianna could speak, Emma said, “Would you like anything? Tea, coffee, appetizers? They are absolutely delightful.”
Brianna observed her with stern, gray eyes. Finally, she said with a careless wave of her hand, “Sure, I guess you can bring them in.”
After Emma put the call through, she turned to Brianna and she said, “So, Miss Castillo, what do you want us to do for you?”
“What do I want?”
“Well, yes. You obviously want something, that is why you came knocking, right?”
Brianna scoffed and she crossed her legs as she leaned forward, “Emma, was it? I didn’t come knocking because I did not have options. I have lots of them in fact but I decided to spare a bit of my time for you. So I believe you should be telling me what you have for me and why you want me to stay with you.”
Emma smiled and she said, “Your fiancé, Miss Castillo, why aren’t you wedding venue hunting together? Is he busy? If you don’t mind my asking, that is.”
Brianna paused and it was obvious that the question shook her. She regained herself immediately and she said, “He is a very busy man, he actually does work, you know, real work, not what you do here.”
It was time for Emma’s brow to go up and in a sweet tone, she said, “I am more inclined to think that he is not here because he is tired of country-trotting searching for venues. I mean, heprobably wonders why he should bother coming along when you alone know what you are looking for.”
“How dare...” Brianna started saying when Emma's next words interrupted her.
“My point, Miss Castillo is that you alone know what you want, and what is the point of wasting your time and mine if I do not have what you want? So, you have to tell me what you want so I know if I can be of help. Do you understand what I mean?”
Brianna sat back, visibly pacified. She tucked a strand of deep red hair behind her ear and said, “Indeed you are right. Not everyone can handle my demands, I have quite a lot. So it is better to stop before we get started sometimes.”
“Exactly. Here and now, we can know if we are a good match,” Emma told her calmly. She was taking a risk not being subservient but she knew enough about Brianna’s history. She had canceled on a lot of great places, places of higher-class than them. She had to be straight with the woman and they had to understand each other well if they were going to move forward. Nothing was perfect for the woman and Emma had come to a conclusion. Nothing was perfect for her because she could never come to a decision. She got easily swayed and moved on to the next option. What she had to do was convince the woman and get her to plant her roots in one spot, and she wanted those roots to be Price Emerald. It would not be easy but she was determined to tame the woman.
There was a knock on the door just then and a kitchen staff entered with a trolley of finger foods and beverages. She set them out on the coffee table and turned to Emma.
“Would you be needing anything else, ma?”
“No that will be all.”
Emma watched the faces of her guests. She saw the exact moment Brianna’s eyes lit up after a bite. She looked at Emma and said, “This salmon skewer is an absolute delight.”
“I know...” Emma said with a smile. She pushed another platter toward her, saying, “Why don’t you try the bacon cream cheese bites? Go on.”
Brianna did as did her personal assistants. When she was done swallowing, she smiled, her first genuine smile since she entered the office and said, “I know what you’re doing.”
“What could I be doing? Enticing you by showing you how delightful the food is here, knowing how much of a food critic you are? Now why would I do that?” Emma grinned.
