This did not seem to be the case with children as the teen became more emotionally distressed than actively motivated. “I’m sorry, I just—”
She itched to put her hand on him to get the kid to go away, but there were far too many people around who might notice. The last thing she needed was more questioning about what she had done. There was nothing friendly in her tone as she cut him off. “Youjustneed to put it back. Without breaking it. We’ll talk after that.”
The sad look in his eyes made her feel guilty, but it seemed to finally reach him. He hung his head and hurried toward the front of the cathedral, leaving Maya to finally return to her list of things to do.
Unfortunately, she only had a couple of seconds before another voice cut into her work. And this time, the wedding planner knew she wouldn’t be able to just send the person away.
“You don’t need to be so hard on him. He’s just a kid, Maya.”
Frustrated and annoyed at the nerve of her business partner in chastising her, Maya refused to look up. “Welcome back, Naomi. I could have used you a bit ago to assign tasks. And, of course, that was before some child decided that the altar was in the way. Not sure if we need you here now.”
Of course, that only made things worse, as Naomi became defensive. “Hey, I was talking to the bride and groom.”
Maya wanted to counter with the fact that she shouldn’t even be dealing with the staff, but because Naomi had disappeared without a word, Maya was having to manage people. They both knew just how difficult that was for Maya, especially as an event approached. Apart from the interruptions, there really wasn’t too much left to do to set up for the wedding.However, the reception was behind schedule, so that was where Naomi really needed to focus her skills. With little left for Naomi to do at the wedding venue, Maya just wanted her business partner to go away and let her work. As a result, she didn’t hold back the frustration that had been mounting since the break. “Sure, because getting married is an entirely new ritual that requires a lot of explaining.”
Maya didn’t need to look at Naomi to know exactly what expression she was making as she responded, “Someone was here to give Miss Rothchild something. It took nearly 20 minutes to get her to the room with all of the current precautions.”
It was a reasonable explanation, but Maya also knew exactly how long itshouldhave taken. The reason Naomi had taken longer was because she felt the need to chatter with people instead of just getting things done. And that’s exactly what Maya tried to say, although she went about it in the wrong way. “It wouldn’t have taken so long if you took things more seriously instead of leaving all of the work up to me.”
Although Maya refused to look up, the edge to Naomi’s tone made it clear that she was just getting ramped up to argue. “You aren’t the only one working here, Maya. Some appreciation would be—”
Not willing to sit and listen to her business partner argue further about something that didn’t matter, Maya cut off whatever Naomi was saying. “I’ll offer some appreciation when you actually do something for me to appreciate. Now, if you would, please go to the reception area. I clearly don’t need your help here now.”
This just made her business partner much more agitated and defensive. “Look, I’m sorry I wasn’t back quickly, but that’s no excuse for you to treat me like this. Without me, this businesswould have failed a long time ago, with your non-existent people skills.”
Without pausing, Maya shot back, “And you wouldn’t have even gotten the idea off the ground without me. Since I’m the brains and coordinator, I’m telling you that you are not needed here. Please go shmooze with the people in the reception area so that I can focus on work.”
Naomi retorted, “Actually, I’m needed here. I told the bride I would get her before the ceremony.”
Nearly out of patience, Maya finally looked up from her work, her fingers itching to reach out and force her business partner to stop talking. “I feel certain she and her groom know what to do without you distracting them.”
“I’m not a distraction, Maya. Just because you have the personality of a corpse and zero emotional intelligence doesn’t mean you can treat me poorly.”
No. We don’t have time for this. Maya stretched out her mind for a second, ensuring that no one was paying attention to them. She could sense that they were uncomfortable with the spectacle. It was yet another reason to shut Naomi up. Certain that people were too busy pretending not to be listening to them, Maya reached up and placed her hand on Naomi’s forehead.
Her business partner’s eyes glazed over as Maya pulled her hand away and hovered it over the tablet again, making it look like she had been actively working as usual. In a low tone, she said, “Now, you are going to chat with me like we’ve reached a resolution. Be logical, not reactionary, Naomi.”
Then Maya took a deep breath and said loud enough for anyone within earshot to hear, “I’m sorry, Naomi. But in the future, you really need to stay close by. I may not be close to Sasha, but I do know what she wants for this wedding.”
Naomi almost sounded normal as she replied, “I wasn’t sure. She seemed to be happy, though. I just wanted to makesure that everything was perfect for her big day. Especially after all of the rumors.”
“Yes.” It wasn’t at all what Maya was expecting her business partner to say, and she felt a pang of guilt. She knew a lot more about her cousin’s experiences, and the rumors didn’t remotely touch the worst of what Sasha had been through. “I can understand that. But the best way to do that is to manage the staff because you know that I’m horrible with people. You just pointed it out.” She smiled a little, knowing that Naomi wouldn’t hear or remember anything they were talking about.
“I get it, Maya, I really do. But you can’t treat people the way you do, or even those who are close to you will eventually turn on you.”
It was jarring and went against what she had specifically told Naomi she should do. The words acted more to heighten the situation, and Maya looked around them, nervous to see how the staff was reacting. The looks of concern heightened her nerves. “I understand, and I am sorry. I will try to do better.”
Maya sighed heavily, then looked at her business partner, who had a look on her face that suggested focus. In reality, it was Maya’s magic keeping her under Maya’s control, if only for a little while. Guilt made Maya look away, back at her tablet. “I will take care of everyone here since things are under control. And don’t worry about Sasha, I’ve made sure that nothing will go wrong for her and Noel. I have every reason to want to see her happy, Naomi, so you don’t need to worry about things here. The same cannot be said about the reception, and based on my list, they are missing several deliveries. Go take care of things there because there are several people there who are not … eager to see me again.”
She looked around again, making sure no one was paying attention. Then Maya held up her hand slightly and created a little ball of magic. It would expand her control over others atthe reception area, but all of the direction would be through Naomi. Whatever she told people to do would get done. For a second, Maya considered telling Naomi how to manage the other venue, but she just as quickly decided against it. She may not approve of the way Naomi handled some things, but Maya knew her business partner would be able to get things done at the reception. Especially since Maya was going home as soon as the ceremony ended. Naomi had repeatedly proven she was capable when Maya wasn’t around, which made it so much harder to understand why she allowed distractions to keep her from getting things done when they were in the same place.
It’s her family. She will never have confidence as long as she doesn’t stand up for herself.Maya’s hands twitched as she was very tempted to initiate certain changes. Just like the other times when she had been tempted, though, she knew that it wouldn’t last, and as soon as the spell wore off, Naomi would act the same way she always had. And her family would likely make sure that she never felt confident again. The best Maya could do for Naomi was to keep pointing out when she did things right. But that was very difficult to do when things got stressful.
As soon as she started second-guessing herself, Maya knew that she needed to refocus on the here and now. There would be time for doubt later. Right now, there was a lot to finish, and far more eyes were on this event than any other event they had ever planned.
Almost as soon as Naomi left, Maya felt something bump into her legs. Turning around and looking down, she found herself looking into the large, blue eyes of a boy who couldn’t have been older than five. He looked down, his chocolate-covered hands quickly disappearing as he hid them behind his back.
Swiveling her legs and crouching down, Maya smiled a little. “Well, hello there, kiddo. Are you lost?”
