I nodded sharply.
“And overall, in the interests of keeping things professional…” he added, “I’d like to make you an offer. If you do everything you can to make sure this wedding goes off without a hitch—and without any major drama in front of the cameras—you’ll get a bonus, payable after the ceremony. You know that I need this to go well. So what’s that worth to you?”
I paused a beat to process what he was saying.
“I’m sorry, are you trying tobuyme? Like, I’ll be beholden to you instead of my clients? I don’t work for you, I work for them.”
His perma-furrow shifted. “But what if you did?” he asked.
“Did what?”
“Did work for me.”
For a moment, I just stared at him. Then I threw my head back and laughed like a hyena, so loudly that I was glad we were in an enclosed room with no cameras around.
“Never! Oh my god, not in a million years,” I said through my laughter.
“I’m serious,” he said, stalking closer to me. “You know we need an on-staff event planner. We could consider this event a trial run. Then you’d come work for the resort and enjoy all of the benefits of fixed, permanent employment. Paid vacations. A 401(k). Excellent healthcare. Free lodging at any of our resorts. None of the endless headaches of being self-employed.”
“Why would you care about my headaches?” I asked.
“I care aboutmyheadaches. And this would solve a couple of them. You’d have an incentive to make the wedding run smoothlyandmake the resort look good on camera. And I wouldn’t be stuck handling the events here myself once you officially start the job.”
“After all that garbage you just said about me not being qualified?”
“I go for the easy shots when I’m aggravated,” he said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. “You seem to bring that out in me.”
“Yeah? Well,ditto,asshole. So how are we going to square that withme working for you?” I shuddered to sell how unpleasant the idea was.
He shrugged. “We have properties spread throughout the world. I don’t even live in Carmel—I’m just sticking close for now to try to get the resort through this rough patch. Once things get back to normal, you’ll barely see me. So, you’d be stuck with me through this wedding and that’s it.”
He fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped on the screen. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Drew held up his phone to show me the job description. He tapped the salary amount on the screen. “You agree to the deal, and I’ll double this.”
I forced my expression to remain neutral, because holyfuckit was a lot of money. I could get all the renovations done at once, with top-of-the-line new fixtures, and rent a place to stay while the work was completed. No more construction mess! Poppy and Winston would be thrilled.
And honestly, the job sounded amazing. Yes, I loved planning weddings—but the resort saw all sorts of different kinds of events. Galas, social celebrations, charity benefits… sure, they all had their challenges, but it would be great to get a break from bridezillas. And to have a steady paycheck. And to get paid vacation and sick days. And a 401K.
But I needed to play it cool. I raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”
“And?” He circled his hand in the air impatiently because people were shuffling back into position at the table. “Is that a yes?”
Oh how I loved letting him dangle. Was I about to make a mistake? Maybe. The next few weeks werenotgoing to be easy. But the reward would make it all worthwhile in the end. I stuck my hand out to him.
“Put it in writing and we have a deal.”
6
DREW
Going back to the house I grew up in felt so different now.
As usual, the mix of good memories and sad ones went to war as I pulled up the driveway and the grand white building slid into view. Our home looked as beautiful as ever, but now it felt more like a model house and not the heart of our family.
Our mom was the one who made sure to fill the place with love. Yeah, it was essentially a mansion but somehow she managed to make it feel cozy. Her absence was tangible. It had been years, but we all still missed her terribly.
My heart squeezed as the flood of memories threatened to overwhelm me. It hurt every time to know that she wouldn’t be there waiting for me just beyond the front door, arms outstretched and ready for a hug with a smile on her beautiful face.
