Chapter 30
I got up early and had breakfast with Maddox in the room. I had plans to meet with Ronan this morning. I needed to let him do his job and not allow my feelings to sabotage his career. I wanted to share my thoughts about the upcoming events and get some feedback on what he thought might happen.
“Are you getting the security team in-house before everyone arrives?”
“Yes, I have all the wheels turning as we speak. I have to coordinate with multiple other security teams. I will be busy finalizing plans for most of the day.” I knew Maddox had a lot on his plate.
“Later around dinner, I wanted to show you where everyone will be staying. You haven’t toured the grounds yet—there are outlying cabins.
It allows for privacy and proximity at the same time.
You have a cabin out there too—it was Ray’s. ”
“Oh, I would love to see that. I’m not really an apartment person—I hated living in one.
I understand if I’ll be staying here overnight, but I prefer to have extra room, especially since I will have people coming in and out all day.
It can get crowded in here. I also like being able to walk outside without having to take an elevator down six floors and walk through a lobby.
Not everyone needs to know when I go outside. ”
“Not everyone, but when you are here, I need to know. I am not trying to control you, Joslyn, but it is my job to keep you safe. So, if you want to go outside, then we go outside. Okay?”
“Yeah, I get it.”
I got up from the table and headed to the bedroom to get dressed.
I slid on a pair of high-waisted linen shorts with a black silk tank and a three-quarter sleeve blazer.
The shorts and jacket were deep purple. I chose a pair of strappy wedges and put my hair into a ponytail.
I returned to the sitting room and Maddox was on the phone.
I walked up behind him and slid my arms around his waist. He turned around and leaned down to give me a kiss.
“Hold on one minute, man.” He hit the mute button on the phone.
“Are you going to meet with Ronan right now?”
“Yes,” I answered and kissed him again.
“Can you wait till I can get a security detail to go with you? I still don’t fully trust him. You can’t go from blinding jealousy to being just fine in a day. Joslyn, you know that I never speak out of turn.”
“Maddox, I will be fine. I don’t think he plans on jeopardizing his job and his whole life over a girl he slept with once.” I looked at him skeptically.
“I happen to know the girl. The sex had nothing to do with it and if it did then it simply sealed the deal.” He had a knowing look on his face. I laughed through my nose.
“You overestimate me.”
“I promise you that I don’t,” he responded.
He leaned down and kissed me as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me to him. When he finally released me, I had to catch my breath and convince myself not to climb him and forget every task scheduled for the day.
“Just so you are aware, putting your hair in a ponytail is driving me crazy, and it will for most other vampires too.”
He kissed my neck and then let his breath wash over my skin; sometimes I wanted him to bite me, but I didn’t want it to go too far, and I kind of preferred my blood inside my body.
“Not today, my love,” I said, pushing his head away.
“Mmm, say it again.” He closed his eyes.
“Not today?” I asked.
“The other part.” He put his ear close to my lips.
“My love,” I whispered before grabbing his face and catching his lips with mine.
I let the kiss linger before turning and walking toward the door, leaving him standing there. His eyes were still closed, and he wore the sweetest smile. He began to open his eyes as I let the door shut behind me.
Once I was in the hallway, I called Ronan. “Hey, where are you at? Where would you like to meet?”
“I am in my room. We can meet in the conference room on the first floor. If you go past the elevators and then take a right. At the end of the hall is a conference room. It’s next to the door, going to the parking garage.”
“I am on my way.”
I ended the call and put my phone in my blazer pocket.
I rode the elevator down to the first floor and then exited and went right where Ronan directed.
At the end of the hall there was indeed a conference room with a large table that had multiple chairs along each side.
Ronan hadn’t arrived yet. I took a seat in one of the chairs and waited.
A few moments passed and Ronan entered the room with a folder in his hands. He sat down adjacent to me and placed the folder on the table.
“Are ye sure dis is what ye want to do, Joslyn? Leave de decision to all five? What if dey all feel differently than ye and de decision isn’t de one ye were looking for?” Ronan was trying to lay out the possible outcomes of my decision.
“They will see and hear the same things I did. Before we come to a decision, we will meet, just the five of us, to deliberate. As a whole, we will decide the best way forward. I don’t think it’s fair for me to be the one deciding everything.”
“I can appreciate dat, I just want ye to be sure dis what ye want before ye proceed. I am not agreeing or disagreeing, just trying to keep ye informed.”
“I understand that, and I really do appreciate you checking where my head is at.”
“Well, den dis whole process should be pretty cut and dry. Everyone is arriving on Tuesday, and ye have de cocktail party and dinner dat should give ye quite a bit of time to spend wit dem. You can feel each other out and build working relationships.”
“I am meeting with Bonnie for most of the day today. I need to know that everything else is falling into place smoothly.”
“I am working on transportation for everyone to and from de airport and assigning de cabins.” He tapped the folder on the table indicating that his task related documents were inside.
“Bonnie will be taking care of de welcome baskets dat will be left in de cabins.
Dey vary in size and content. Maddox is calling today to confirm ‘ead counts so we can assign de accommodations appropriately; ensuring that everyone has enough room.”
“Great. I’m thrilled that everyone is pulling together to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.”
“Ye are easy to work for,” he responded. I could see the affection in his eyes. I really hoped that it would fade soon. I felt guilty every time I looked at him.
“Thank you. Well, we all have things we need to get accomplished today. So, I am off to see Bonnie. We will meet up tomorrow morning and go over what is left on our task list then.”
“Happy to ‘elp. I will see ye tomorrow.” Ronan and I both rose from our chairs and exited the room. When we reached the elevators, we parted ways.
“Bye Ronan.”
“See you tomorrow, Joslyn,” he replied.
It took me a short elevator ride and two wrong turns before I eventually found my way to Bonnie’s office. I knocked on the door and she opened it immediately. Her aura instantly calmed me, while simultaneously elevating my mood, all before she spoke a word.
“Joslyn! I am so happy to see you. I love that outfit.”
“You’re too sweet, thank you.”
I entered her lavishly decorated office that felt like the sitting room of a cozy cottage. A lot of light, neutral, colors and soft fabrics gave the space a warm, welcoming feel. Her desk was a statement piece and looked as though it was created—not built. Her taste was impeccable.
A rolling clothes rack was loaded with attire—suited to the plethora of upcoming functions—set against the wall next to the door.
A long table showcased place-settings, flatware, stemware and centerpieces—each one drastically different from the others.
I knew that we were in for a day full of decision making.
These decisions would hopefully be easier to make than others have been lately.
“I have samples displayed here. We can put together a design scheme for each dinner and the gala.” The place settings varied in design from soft and welcoming in black and white, to artistic and bold with brushstrokes in shades of red.
We ended up spending a considerable amount of time comparing all the place-settings, trying to envision them within spaces that I had yet to see. The end results were striking; Bonnie was a wonder, truly.
We chose floral arrangements, adding flowers to some while foregoing others altogether. The end results of each ensemble made my excitement for the coming events real. I was anxious but knew, the sooner I got all of this done with, the sooner I could learn about this world I had been thrown into.
Finalizing the menus was something I enjoyed.
I loved feeding people and planning elaborate meals was fun for me.
We picked main courses, desserts, even wine to accompany each course.
When that was checked off the list Bonnie suggested we take a break to order lunch.
All that talking about food had me craving a lot of different things.
Also, it was well past one o’clock, and breakfast was hours ago.
A short while later Christina knocked on the door and wheeled in a cart with sandwiches, fries, side salads, iced tea, and lemonade.
She commented on the flowers, and we exchanged a few pleasantries.
She then excused herself and exited back through the door.
I poured tea over a glass of ice and took a long drink.
The cool liquid felt so good. My throat was dry.
We had been talking nonstop, and the few sips of water I had weren’t cutting it.