“Fuck, Zach, I didn’t mean to piss you off.What you do is your business.”
“Then why’d you say it?”I cross my arms, stepping farther into his space.He takes another step back.“Your father may be the chairman of our board and a man I respect, but don’t think it gives you the right to run your mouth and insult Paige or anyone else for that matter.”
“Okay, okay.I got it.”He raises his hands.“I’ll keep my mouth shut.Just so you understand, I meant nothing by it.”
“Zachary,” Nan says, waltzing into the room.“Oh, hello, Donovan.”
“Mrs.Rothwell, lovely to see you.”He plasters on a tight smile and bends to lightly kiss her cheek.“I was just leaving.”
“Oh, I hope you’re not going on my account.”
Before he responds, I say, “No, Donovan and I are done.”
26
Paige
They stand in silence.Stunned.Most of the gala planning committee have their backs to me and the tension builds in the air like a noose tightening around my neck.
I told Zach they didn’t intimidate me and for the most part, they don’t.But this could be the moment they realize they’ve made a huge mistake by letting me run the Rothwell Foundation’s biggest event of the year.
The stranglehold on my insides—it’s been there for days—intensifies and I swallow with difficulty, fighting to keep my anxiety in check.
Most days I feel like a fraud.
Between my fake relationship with Zach and this role as director of gala planning, something I’m highly unqualified for, I’m an impostor in my own life.It’s a sickening feeling, especially when I find myself falling for Zach.Believing our lies.
Some of the board members slowly spin around, eyes darting to the far reaches of the concrete parking lot.They are searching for what they obviously think I’m hiding—the reason why I brought them here in the first place—that one thing they all seem to think is missing.It’s written on their faces.
Right now, the only thing missing is my mind.I’ve lost all common sense.Why did I think they’d get it?That’s when Zach’s husky voice, from earlier today, echoes in my mind.
“…my one piece of advice for you—you’re going to have to sell the parking lot to them like your life depends on it because none of them are going to get it.”
He’s so right.Suggesting a parking lot is a far cry from some high-end ballroom.But I never liked the idea of a ballroom to begin with and when I got the call from the hotel telling me they couldn’t fulfil their commitment, a small part of me thought this was my chance to do it right.
Now I’m wondering how I got it so wrong.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?
“Paige, is this it?”Cormac finally breaks the silence and all eyes land on me.
“It doesn’t look like much, but you’d be surprised how much this place can be made over with little effort.It’ll blow you away.”I’m lively, beaming at him as I clasp his arm in a silent plea to trust my vision.In turn, his countenance softens and the crinkles around his eyes and mouth smooth out as he nods.
“Blow us away?”Reagan stands away from the crowd with her hands on her hips.“We’re already blown away by your stupidity.You can’t be serious in bringing us all down here for this.”
“Reagan,” Cormac chides.
She twirls around in her pink two-tone Chanel suit and white kitten heels.Her hair is in a fancy chignon and next to her, in my cute cotton romper, I look cluelessly youthful and so out of place.And that’s the point, isn’t it?
I somehow fit in this abandoned parking lot at the end of a street bordering the lake, whereas Reagan doesn’t.And she isn’t the only one—neither do the rest of them with their haute couture.They’re better suited for a fine dining room surrounded by wealth and opulence.
“The location is fitting.Outdoors and surrounded by water.”I attempt my sales pitch.
The multiple light standards pop on, flooding the parking lot with bright white light, and we all blink a few times to adjust our eyesight.I don’t know if the lights are a good thing because now we can see everything, or if it’s worse because now we can see everything—the stark bare bones of asphalt, metal, and dirt.
“This is a waste of our time,” Reagan huffs, making eye contact with each person there, save me, ready to rally the troops.
A few committee members don’t need any persuasion, they are eager to leave and inch toward her, while most are uncertain as to what to do.Sympathy flickers in their eyes as they look to me before seeking out Nan for direction.She’s been unusually quiet, and now her expression is grave as her eyes sweep across the large, empty space.
