“Mr. Kramer. I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding, but I can do this. Give me the afternoon to pull it together. I’ll have the venue locked down and Evites sent out. It’ll be the best party you’ve ever seen.”
He stared at her for a minute, letting her stew in her own discomfort before sloughing the whole thing off. “Fine. Prove it to me. If you don’t get it done today, the party is off, and you’re fired.”
The minute she got out of his office, she leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths. Spying was too much.
For his part, Markus was in problem-solver mode. “Go somewhere we can talk. Let’s figure this out.”
But Gabby didn’t want Markus’s help on this one. If she told him her plan, he would probably try to talk her out of it. Bringing in Justin wasn’t a classic EOD move. No doubt Markus would be worried about her compromising her cover. The rules had been clear: “Not one word of your role at the EOD or your undercover work to anyone in your real life. All they can know is that you’re a personal assistant for a financial adviser. That is it!”
The only rule Gabby was following right now: it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. It was a matter of national security, and she needed the best party planner in Hollywood. If he could plan a celebrity wedding in a month, he could do this.
“Markus, I got this handled. Don’t you worry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. I just didn’t understand the assignment before.” With Markus still in her ear, she walked out to the parking lot to make a call. “Justin,” she said stepping into the sunshine.
“Gabby, is everything okay?”
In her ear, Markus groaned. “Gabby, don’t do it. We can take care of this in-house. Valentina can help.”
Sorry, Markus. There was no way she was ignoring the fact that she was best friends with LA’s top party planner.
“I have an emergency,” she said, like she was talking to 911 dispatch.
Justin gasped. “The kids? What happened?”
“No, nothing like that.” Although if she couldn’t do her job, Smirnov would make it that kind of emergency.
“I have to throw a party this Saturday. If I don’t pick the venue and send Evites by this afternoon, I’m fired.”
With a self-satisfied laugh, he said, “Honey child, you have called the right man.”
“Charge whatever you want. I’ll bill my boss.” She’d be long gone by the time he had time to complain. “I can’t guarantee he’ll be good about paying. I don’t know him well enough.” Easier to explain than “he might not pay his bills because he’ll be in jail.”
Justin immediately shifted into party-planner mode. “I want the guest list as soon as you hang up.”
“Okay.”
“I need to square away essential details in the next hour or two. When does he need the Evite by so that you don’t lose your job?”
“By end of the day.”
“You go do executive assistant things. I’ll let you know if I haveany questions, but it’ll be easier if I can get this planning done on my own.”
“Thank you, Justin. I owe you.”
“Yes, you do. Don’t worry, I will be calling in so many favors.”
Just as she was about to hitEND CALL, Justin interjected, “Before we hang up, do you have any thoughts? Anything I should consider while I’m putting this together?”
“None. As long as I don’t lose my job.” Her incompetency was officially getting in the way of national security. This was worse than the time she managed only one shift at Chili’s.
And the hits just kept on coming. Before she could catch her breath, the school called. Lucas had forgotten his lunch.
If it were Kyle, she wouldn’t worry, but Lucas had allergies. She hustled down the hall to the bathroom to discuss. “Markus, I have a problem,” she reported. Her voice sounded panicked even to her.
“Another one? Already?”
