Chelsea giggles when I roll my eyes.
“Speaking of that stick in the mud, I have to go. We have a meeting this morning. There’s so much to do before everyone leaves!”
After a quick hug, I grab my breakfast and decide to eat it on the way to L’Corte’s office.
L’Corte
Checkingthe buzz coming from my tablet, my secretary L’Wrayth has notified me that Trinh is here. Before I can send a response to send her in, my door slides open. Trinh’s familiar voice cuts over L’Wrayth’s rushed speech.
“It’s fine. He’s expecting me,” Trinh says over L’Wrayth’s protests.
Standing up, I head over to my office door.
“Miss Le, please, I must insist.” L’Wrayth is valiantly trying to block Trinh from entering my office without touching her. They are doing a strange shuffling back-and-forth dance. Trinh lunges to the left, and when L’Wrayth steps to intercept her, she quickly darts to the right and past him. L’Wrayth, usually an unflappable male, makes a noise of such outrage I have to swallow my smirk. I’m pleased to see that I’m not the only one who Trinh drives insane.
“It’s okay, L’Wrayth. I have been expecting Trinh,” I tell my flustered secretary. “Trinh, please allow my secretary to do his job. You can’t just enter my office without warning.”
“This was a scheduled meeting. Maybe you should inform your secretary to expect me next time, and we won’t have this problem,” Trinh haughtily says, sweeping into my office.
Before I can stop myself, I glance down at Trinh’s shoes. Despite the tall, thin spike of a heel, the shiny black shoes are more understated than usual. No lace or metal adornments or straps, just black leather so glossy it looks wet. I wonder for a moment if her choice of shoes is somehow a reflection of her feelings. We have to deal with the grave issue of announcing that most of our males will be leaving for war at the end of the week, after all.
Mentally taking myself to task for getting distracted by her footwear once again, I offer her a seat.
“We only have about an hour to talk, Trinh. I have to meet with Chancellor L’Forn after this, and then he will be gathering the entire ship so he can explain the situation to all the brides.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later,I rub my temples, trying to stave off a pending headache. Looking up at the ceiling, I implore the ancient Cerastean gods we no longer worship to grant me patience. Trinh paces on the other side of my desk, clearly as agitated with me as I am with her. I hear her whisper, “If he quotes any more regulations at me, I’m gonna stuff them up his ass.” I have to hide an inappropriate grin at her agitation. Swallowing my amusement, I attempt to reason with this unreasonable woman.
“Trinh, we can’t order that many flowers. We don’t even know for certain there will be any brides wanting to have a Presenting Ceremony. We need to keep our assumptions realistic.”
“Realistic! Are you seriously going to deny these women the wedding of their dreams?” Trinh exclaims, throwing her hands in the air dramatically. She somehow manages to make unreasonable requests sound sane.
“I am not trying to deny our brides the ceremony of their ‘dreams’. I’m just suggesting we stay realistic in our expectations. Until you can give me firmer numbers on how many brides to expect, I can’t grant you that big a budget. For now, I will approve one-third of your requested amount for flowers. I will find out from the vendor how much advanced warning they need to fulfill the order. When they get back to me, I will let you know how much time you have to finalize numbers.”
“I know you believe I’m being frivolous, but this party isn’t just for the brides. Everyone needs a reason to celebrate with this looming cloud of uncertainty hanging over us.”
“Looming cloud of uncertainty,” I repeat with a grin.
“Hey! I was being poetic! Stop making fun of me,” Trinh says, furrowing her brow at me in a mock frown.
She throws herself into a chair and picks up her tablet to check her notes. When she crosses one of her legs over the other, a flash of color catches my attention. Surreptitiously, I take a closer look. The soles of her heels are not the same black as the rest of her shoes. The splash of blood-red color dries my mouth and steals all thoughts from my head. The bright color, such a vivid contrast against the rest of the shoe, feels almost daring, like I got an accidental view of something I wasn’t supposed to see. I am momentarily rendered speechless.
“Dresses are the next item on my list,” Trinh says, not noticing my temporary state. “I don’t know how to make that work.” She taps the top edge of her device in a staccato pattern, lost in thought. “How do we get enough designsandsizes in time?”
I open my mouth to respond, but no words emerge. I cough into my fist, trying to cover my discomfiture.
“Why don’t we provide five or six styles the women can choose from?” I finally offer.
Trinh’s gasp of horror warns me that we are in for yet another argument.
“You can’t expect any of the women to wear the same design on their special day!”
“Alright, then. Tell me what you think we should do,” I request, just about at the end of my patience for the day, even though it is still only morning.
“How about I head to the Requisitions Office and find out what dresses they can acquire quickly? I will work with them to find out how many styles we can have ready to order. I’m sure we can get more than six designs,” Trinh says in a way that conveys she believes she is the patient one in this scenario.
“That sounds like an acceptable plan,” I say with a nod. The Requisitions Office is used to dealing with Trinh and her requests by now. Let them be the ones responsible for reining in her unattainable demands. However, I will admit, if only to myself, that Trinh is tenacious enough to usually find a way to get what she wants.
