“After the meeting with Ms. Frankel, we’ll order pizza,” Ivy said soothingly.
I fanned my face. “Another day, another wedding.”
“Let’s be nice and cheery for our new bride!” Ivy said, trying to pump me up. “Just think about all that cheesy goodness.”
“We’ll order Chinese too,” Amy promised, patting my hand.
“And,” Sophie added, “I have an extra chocolate cake that I’ll bring over with the super fudge frosting.”
“I love how you just always randomly have cake,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
I liked Ms. Frankel. I’d worked her last two weddings. She loved weddings and wedding planning. It wasn’t fair for her to have to deal with my heartbreak. Because that was what it was—Chris had said he loved me. Now he believed I was trying to screw him over.
“I should have been more careful,” I said dejectedly. “I never should have trusted Addison.”
“We’ll fire her,” Ivy said decisively.
“No!” I exclaimed. “We can’t afford the hit to our reputation, especially not with Chris gunning for us. We’ll just have to be more careful.”
“Girls!” Ms. Frankel sang as the elevator doors opened. She sailed out, flanked by a retinue of corgis.
“My favorite darlings in the entire world!” She air-kissed each of us.
“Grace, you’re looking a little red.”
“Allergies,” I lied.
“Here.” She pulled a small glass vial out of her enormous handbag and spritzed it in my face. “Refreshing, yes?”
I nodded.
She beamed at me. “Keep it! It’s a gift.”
We settled around the table where Ivy had assembled all the wedding planning supplies.
“Oh, girls,” Ms. Frankel trilled, “I’m getting married! Can you believe it?”
“Who is the lucky guy?” Elsie asked.
Ms. Frankel sighed happily and pulled out her phone. “He is a hunk! Six foot five, brown hair, and blue eyes. Handsome as you can imagine!”
“Loaded, I hope,” Amy joked.
“It was touch-and-go there for a while. He was living at his son’s house. But he’s moving out soon. Apparently his father had left a sizable inheritance. Ten billion, can you imagine? Now where are my glasses?”
She perched the delicate gold spectacles on her nose and peered at her phone.
“Whoever married first, his son or him, would earn the inheritance. I can never work this dang phone. Where are my photos? Anyway, apparently his son was on track to earn the money, but shit went down, as the kids say! And my darling is going to be inheriting. There is a deadline, ladies, so we unfortunately cannot spend years planning the wedding. We need to have it done in a month!”
“A month!” Ivy said.
“Yes. Ah, here is the photo.” She passed around the phone.
“He is attractive,” Elsie said, handing me the phone.
I peered at the screen and felt the room closing in on me.
“That’s Chris’s dad. That’s Chris dad!”
