“But you knew my cousin’s wedding was this weekend. Remember me talking about all the plans?”
“Yes, but you just told me to block out the weekend. I figured Sunday was the wedding since you clearly said put the Bellons on today.”
Kenya placed a hand to her cheek, suddenly feeling weak. Her dyslexic brain had struck again. She had gotten so much better, but what were the chances of the name of this group causing the perfect storm of misunderstanding? And blasted military time. If she’d just said 4:00 p.m. like a normal civilian, she wouldn’t have added to the confusion. But a.m. and p.m. always got mixed up in her head, so sometimes military time did a better job of keepingher inner clock straight. And words didn’t always come out of her mouth in the right order, especially when she was stressed or excited. Like she’d been for weeks leading up to this wedding.
“Ugh, Dedra, my plan was to meet them on the twenty-second of August! Not the sixteenth!”
Dedra released a shaky breath. “What do you want me to do? They’ve been here for twenty minutes, and by the look on all their faces when I left to go to thebathroom, they are not happy about waiting.”
Think,think,think.Kenya paced the kitchen, her heels click-clacking on the laminate floor.
“I can’t miss my cousin’s wedding. I’m her plannerandmaid of honor. I still have a toast to give.”
“I understand that, but what about Evelyn and the team expecting you to bring the final touch to the pitch we’ve been working on for weeks?”
It had been a group effort, which included Evelyn, their agency director, and it was one of the last hurdles for Kenya to earn the promotion she craved. Now she was about to kiss it all away because she couldn’t get her communication straight.
No,no, she couldn’t go out like that.
“Can you go find out when their flights leave?”
“I already know. Tomorrow morning. But—”
A bang sounded in the background. Dedra’s voice was drowned out by muffled sounds. Kenya bit the inside of her cheek, momentarily engaging the nervous habit she’d been intentional to break. She needed an opening.
“Okay, tell Evelyn—”
“No, Stewart, you tell me right now.” Oh, mercy. First her friend called her by her first and last name, and now her boss was calling her by only her last name.
“Evelyn. Hi!” she managed to squeak out.
“Kenya, where in the world are you, and why are we waiting at a meeting thatyouscheduled?”
“I know how it looks.”
“I’m not quite sure you do, Stewart.”
Kenya winced. “Evelyn, this was my mistake. And I am very aware that it is a bad one. I switched days and times in my head and communicated those details inaccurately. And because my cousin married a well-known actor, some of these wedding details had to be hushed. Because of the paparazzi, I couldn’t share everything.”
“Not even with your assistant?”
Kenya gulped. Dedra was not just the office assistant, she was her friend. “I didn’t want Dedra to be put in a position that would pressure her to release anything. She was aware that I had to leave much of the information under wraps.”
“That’s an amateur move. The better one is to have everyone sign an NDA and sue their socks off if they don’t comply.”
In no universe would Kenya think of doing that to her friend or anyone on their team. Okay, well, maybe Vance. But that was different. He was her nemesis and a total piece of work. And he would take over everything she’d worked so hard for if she wasn’t careful.
“Noted. And believe me, I’m so sorry for this mix-up. But if you can have them reschedule, I will make it up to them. I’m absolutely ready for this meeting,andremember that I’m also the coordinator for this kind-of-big-deal wedding.” Her voice dipped and rose in supplication. “And you know it’s close to my heart because of my cousin...”
Evelyn sighed. The sliver of hope began to grow into a salvageable path forward. Evelyn had been enamored with this whole scenario ever since Adanne had asked Kenya to help plan a party for actor John Pope last year to benefit kids at the hospital. And when she was asked to plan Adanne and John’s wedding, the door swung wide open for more opportunities. This event was a milestone moment, and she wouldn’t miss it for the world. Evelyn had salivated at all the potential for their agency and just about promised Kenya the creative director role. And now Kenya couldn’t see herself doing anything else.
“Evelyn, I know that this doesn’t look good on our agency or me.”
“Not at all.”
“But maybe we can still make this work. If they will forgive my lapse of judgment because of my planning for and celebrating my cousin’s wedding, I will be ready on Monday morning to wow them over Zoom with an incredible pitch for their convention.” Kenya paused. “I promise.”
Evelyn’s sigh rumbled through the phone. She wasn’t happy with this outcome, but Kenya knew she’d make it work. She hadn’t become the head of one of the southeast’s fastest-growing agencies for nothing. “Okay, I will speak to them and do my best to salvage this blunder of yours.”
