I leaned back to look into his eyes. “Wow. That’s Evan’s agent, right?”
He nodded. “Yes. I’ve been really happy with how she handles his representation, so I thought I’d see if she was a good fit for me.”
I hugged him tightly. “I’m so happy for you. Things seem to be falling into place.”
“Thanks,” he murmured into my chest.
“Do you want to borrow my laptop for your video call? It would be a lot better than using your phone.”
He leaned back, his eyes bright with pleased surprise. “Really? That would be great. Are you sure you don’t need it?”
“I’m sure,” I said as we walked toward my office. “I have a bunch of stuff to do, including checking in a delivery, most of which is for Evan’s wedding.”
I set him up at my desk and left to handle the delivery and run some checks around the hotel, inside and out. Tony’s crew had done an excellent job removing Nat’s graffiti, and the gardens were blooming beautifully. If the weather was nice on the day of the wedding, we would set up a canopy and have a mini bar with a few tables and chairs outside so guests could wander and still get a drink.
I had just finished checking in the last of the inventory from the delivery when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I fished it out and saw it was Caitlin. “What’s up?” I asked. “How was Maya’s concert?”
Caitlin snorted a laugh. “About what you’d expect from a bunch of six-year-olds. Mayhem and cuteness all at once.”
I laughed. “I hope she had fun. Did you get my text? I decided to hire Miguel, and he starts tomorrow.”
“I saw,” she replied hesitantly. “I thought he had another job.”
“He does. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you tomorrow before he gets here.”
“Listen,” she began, her tone more serious, “I called because one of the moms from Maya’s class works at Borough Hall. She told me that someone filed a permit to hold a protest in front of the hotel on Evan and Raphael’s wedding day.”
I felt rage explode in my gut. “Are you fucking kidding me? We’re in the twenty-first century. It’s been almost a decade since same-sex marriage became legal. What the hell?”
I heard her sigh. “I know. It sucks, but it’s legal.”
“Fuck. I have to tell Evan. He’s going to be so pissed. It’s going to mess up their wedding day.” I wanted to throw my phone. “Damn it!”
“Hold on,” Caitlin said, breaking through my freak-out. “I have an idea.”
I took a breath and tried to calm down. “Okay, hit me.”
“We can’t stop them, but we can have people on our side too,” she said.
“But then that’s twice as many people shouting,” I interrupted.
She huffed impatiently. “Hear me out. I actually got this idea at Maya’s concert. My church is LGBTQ+ affirming and has a youth choir and an adult choir. I’m going to ask the director if she could bring the choirs over to stand on the steps and sing while the protesters are trying to be disruptive.”
I took a second to think about it. “Yeah,” I said slowly. “Yeah, that could work. Maybe there are other churches around who would be willing to do the same.”
“That’s a great idea,” Caitlin replied.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I still have to tell Evan, and he’s still going to be pissed, but at least we’ve—well, you’ve—come up with a solution of sorts.”
“The best counter-protest to hate,” Caitlin said. “I’m going to start making phone calls. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
She ended the call, and I headed back to my office, muttering, “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” the whole way.
Jeremy was just leaving my office when I got there. He took one look at my face and asked, “What’s wrong?”
I gestured for him to go back in and told him the whole shitty story.
“Damn it,” he muttered. “Evan’s going to be so upset.”
