Chapter 10
New York
Early December
F rankie was busy at her desk when her phone rang.
“Hey, babycakes! Bravo on Thanksgiving dinner! Every thing was absolutely delicious, including your not-so-turducken,” Nina complimented.
“Yeah. That turned out quite well,” Frankie said with a huge sigh of relief.
“And everything else you prepared. Richard and Robert were moaning and groaning when we got back to my parents’ house.”
“Did they enjoy themselves?”
“Absolutely! I have to say, Robert was quite taken by Rachael.”
Frankie let out a yelp. “Ha! I knew she could get results if she downshifted.”
“And get this. They are going to a play this weekend.”
“Whoa. How long is Robert in town?”
“He and Richard have been discussing forming a partnership. Richard wants to find a better solution than trapsing back and forth to Philly.”
“Oh?” Frankie was intrigued.
“He said he wanted to spend more time with me. Can you believe it?”
“Yes, I can. Why wouldn’t he? How did you manage to pry that out of him?”
“I didn’t have to.” Nina recounted the conversation.
“When we got back to my place, he told me he was getting weary of all the travel. He said watching you and Giovanni together in a normal setting made him think. He’s been commuting back and forth for nearly three years, and I’ve been on the other side of the world for one third of it.
He went on to say that he appreciates how important it is to have quality time with someone.
Kiddo, he is thoroughly impressed with the relationship you’ve developed with Gio. ”
“Heck, even I’m impressed with the relationship I have with Gio!” Frankie snorted.
Nina continued, “I explained that I still have a lot of work to do on the script, but I think I’ll be able to convince Jordan that I can do most of that from here.”
“You mean you won’t be jumping the pond every other month?”
“That’s my plan,” Nina said.
“Fantastic!” Frankie cried. “It will be so nice to have you close by, and in the same time zone.”
“Richard said the same thing.”
“So, if Jordan asks you again, will you tell him you are in a committed relationship?”
“I’ll tell him that if I don’t stay put, I will never be in one,” she said, and chuckled. “I know he can understand that. I’ve put my career choices before my personal life for too long.”
“I hear ya,” Frankie mused. “Does that mean we’re getting old?”
“No, honey bunch. We are getting wise. Seasoned,” Nina replied.
“I like that. Seasoned,” Frankie said in agreement. “So, tell me more about this partnership with Richard and Robert.”
Nina shared what little she knew, including the thought that her life was moving in a calmer, more fulfilling direction. How? That remained to be seen, but Nina was up for the adventure.
Matt knocked on the doorjamb of Frankie’s office.
“Honey pie, I have to go. My watchdog is hovering,” Frankie joked, smiling at Matt.
“Okay, babycakes. To be continued,” Nina said as she ended the call.
“Watchdog?” Matt said, smirking.
“You no-likey?” Frankie said with a grin.
“Do I growl when I see you?”
“Not usually, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t growling behind my back.”
“I only growl when you are late for a meeting and my phone is blowing up, or when you are working too late.”
“See? My watchdog.” Frankie flagged him in. “What’s up?”
“Just going over the last-minute details for the tree lighting gorge-o-thon.” He flopped into one of the seats across from her desk.
He had his tablet and a notepad with him.
Frankie was a bit “old-school” when it came to taking notes.
Paper first, check, recheck, then input.
Check and recheck again. Frankie discovered that having backup notes that were not under the influence of power outages, computer crashes, hacking, or just dumb deletions was the smart way to go.
She learned the hard way. And always use a thumb drive or external hard drive to save your work.
“Okay. Let’s have the bad news first,” Frankie said, as she leaned on her forearms.
“What makes you think there’s bad news?” Matt said, and gave her a sideways glance.
“You’re right. I should not presume there is bad news.”
“Everything is coming together. The only hitch is that the conference room isn’t going to be available until five.”
“But we reserved it,” Frankie whined.
“I know, but Mr. Big Cheese usurped your reservation. He is having a meeting with a big agent.”
“Aren’t they all big agents?” Frankie said, and smirked. “Why does he have to be a show-off on such a big day? Can’t he use the executive conference room? His own office?”
“Those are for his private party.”
“Oh, the one he has while we’re having ours?” Frankie said with a touch of annoyance. The CEO knew that an office party had become a little tradition in the editorial offices, but he declined to attend.
“Of course. He realized what a fabulous idea you had and decided to copy it. Besides, the view from his office is much better than yours.”
“Oh, phooey,” Frankie muttered. “When does he go to St. Barth’s?”
“Not soon enough. His executive assistant is about to pull all her hair out.”
“And who is catering his soiree?” Frankie asked, folding her arms across her chest.
“Per Se.”
“Of course. The most expensive restaurant in New York.” Frankie heaved a huge sigh. “And I am sure he is going to put it on his expense account.”
“I am sure. But. …” Matt paused.
“But what?” Frankie could not imagine what else could possibly annoy her at that point.
“But when I was in the facilities offices, I ran into Mike Winslow.”
“The CFO?”
“Yes.”
“And so?”
“And so, I asked him what forms you should fill out for reimbursement for the party.”
Frankie blinked several times, then said, “You asked him what?”
“I asked him which forms we needed to submit. It was worth a shot.”
“Well, what did he say?” Frankie was once again leaning forward on her desk.
“He said that since this is considered a company function, you should fill this out.” Matt was about to hand her the form. “I mean I should fill it out.”
“They are going to reimburse me?” Frankie was stunned.
“I played a little dumb. I asked him if he was planning to attend.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he didn’t get an invitation. I told him that it must have gone into his junk folder.”
“Matt, you are brilliant!” Frankie exclaimed. “I could kiss you!”
“Ew. Cooties,” he said, and pretended to flag her away. “Anyway, he said he would be delighted to attend.”
“Even better. Maybe after a glass of wine, he’ll be amenable to reconsidering my idea of moving the office party here and make it a combo celebration.”
“I’ll be hot on the trail with whatever he’s drinking,” Matt said in a conspiratorial whisper.
“You are a man of many talents, but I didn’t realize stalking was one of them.”
“Only when necessary,” Matt said, and rolled his eyes.
“Say no more. They can’t get any information out of me if I don’t know anything,” Frankie said, chuckling. “Everything else good?”
“Perfect. I’ll get a few people to hustle after Mr. Big Cheese is finished with his meeting. And if he isn’t, I’ll just have to put a few trays on the conference table and light the chafing canisters. I’ll function as if no one else is in the room.”
“You are the best,” Frankie said, and smiled. She knew Matt was not kidding about ignoring everyone else in the room.
Two days later, the halls of the editorial offices were decked out with garlands, long streams of stars, candy canes, and holly.
As promised, Matt stood in the doorway of the conference room with his arms folded and was giving the agent the stink eye.
Matt wasn’t too concerned. He sensed the agent couldn’t wait to get out of the room.
He, too, knew it would be a madhouse at the plaza below.
The agent stood and shook Mr. Big Cheese’s hand.
“We’ll talk,” he said over his shoulder as he inched past Matt.
“Oh, Mr. Snyder. My apologies. I didn’t realize you were in a meeting,” Matt said as he glided into the room.
“No worries, Mike.” Snyder picked up his two cell phones and pushed himself away from the marble table. “I have to run. Excuse me.”
“It’s Matt, you knucklehead,” Matt muttered to himself when Snyder was no longer in earshot. “How long have I been working here?” he said in a slightly louder voice. Rosie from the art department walked in to give him a hand.
“Do you always talk to yourself, Matt?”
“Matt? Oh, is that my name?”
“Er, yes.”
“Tell that to Mr. Big Cheese.”
Rosie burst out laughing. “He thinks my name is Rita.”
Several other people stopped in to help, and within a half hour, the room went from stodgy conference room to holiday magic.
The menorah, tree, and Kwanzaa candles were proudly displayed down the center of the table, surrounded by the catering trays.
By six o’clock, the party was on a roll, with a lot of rollatini.
By eight o’clock, most people were stuffed, and restless. Frankie decided to make an announcement.
“Hi, everyone! I hope you’ve enjoyed the festivities.
I know it’s been a long day, and we still have a lot of holiday merriment over the next couple of weeks.
Please do not feel compelled to hang around until ten.
The lights will be on for the next four weeks, so you will surely have an opportunity to see them. I am sure you have plenty to do.”
“Are you tossing us out?” a voice called from the back of the room.
“Not at all. But if you want to head out, please do. I’d say take whatever food is left over, but we seemed to have cleaned our plates. Now shoo. Get home to your families—fur, people, or otherwise. Be safe out there, and we’ll see you in the morning.”
Matt moved next to her. “Are you really throwing everyone out?”
“Look at them. They are tired. I don’t want to be that boss who insists people hang around until the fat lady sings.”
“I think she’s singing now,” Matt said about one of the performers below.