Chapter 22
Tuesday, after lunch, finally about to get some work done, well, after a cup of coffee
F or Gabby, the eStocks job was more about snooping than being the best executive assistant she could be. Getting to know her co-workers was paramount to that goal, meaning she needed to network, aka gossip.
“Hey, Fran, want to grab a coffee?” There was a Starbucks down the street with her name on it. “My treat.”
In her ear, Markus said, “Is that worth your time?”
Fran might be a stick-in-the-mud, but at least she wasn’t working for Smirnov—more than she could say for the EOD agents.
“Really?” Fran narrowed her eyes.
“We haven’t had a chance to talk about anything but work.” She added, “At least lately.” Who knows. Maybe Fran and Darcy used to talk.
Two professional women walking down a sunny LA street toward the closest Starbucks—finally, something Gabby could get into. A row of palm trees marked the way, each probably a hundred feet tall, and leaning the same direction, naked except for one silly bunch of leaves at the top.
Reflecting on the trees, Gabby said, “The palm tree really only had one idea: get tall.”
Fran frowned back.
“They have a real last-minute, I-threw-this-outfit-together vibe. Don’t you think?”
Fran frowned harder. “What are you trying to tell me?”
“Just goes to show you really only need one idea, but you need to commit to it.” It was the lack of sleep talking—it always turned her into a pothead philosopher.
“Are you… suggesting something? I know I come across as single-minded sometimes.”
“You are being cryptic,” Markus agreed in her ear. “Are you accusing Fran of something?”
If anyone was limited by one idea, it was her. Her identity started and stopped at “mom.”
Fran was in the zone, though. “You’re right. I’ve been working too hard.” She shook her head. “I really thought I was getting ahead, about to make some real money, move up the ladder. And then, wham, someone else is hired from outside the organization and given the good work. Happens every time.”
Gabby’s jaw dropped at the prospect of juicy gossip. “Who was hired above you?”
“You, Camille.”
“Me? I’m just an executive assis—” She cut herself off. Maybe it seemed like a dumb job to her, but if it was Fran’s dream, she didn’t want to knock it. “I had no clue this was your dream job?” Gabby hadn’t even been aware of an office hierarchy. Was she above Fran?
“I need money. LA isn’t cheap.”
Gabby felt that deep. That seek work order from the court was what started this whole mess. She was just trying to keep the kids and the house and stay out of court.
Fran opened the door for Gabby, and a blast of air-conditioning hit, drying the sheen of sweat she’d worked up on the short walk. “It’s for my kid’s tuition. Public schools haven’t been the best fit. He has some sensory issues…” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do, but I might as well be sending him to Harvard.”
Gabby’s heart squeezed. Of course Fran was killing herself at work, making a pest of herself trying to look valuable. “Good job, Mama. I totally get where you’re coming from.”
A lightbulb went off. “You’re sending him to a Waldorf School, aren’t you?”
Fran’s eyes went wide. “How’d you know?”
In her ear, Markus said, “Wow, nice detective work.”
“There’s a rumor going around that you’re living out of the Waldorf Astoria.” Gabby laughed at the absurdity. What kind of assistant could afford that? “I saw Waldorf on your caller ID yesterday. Do you have a partner or are you doing this on your own?”
“I got the job at eStocks right after the divorce.”
With feeling, Gabby said, “Girl, let me get your coffee.”
Fran looked at her skeptically. “You don’t need to do that.”
Gabby smiled. “We women have to have each other’s backs. It’s not like Kramer’s going to understand. That man’s phone background is a picture of his car.”
Fran unzipped her purse, a cross-body brown leather bag that looked like it had seen better days. Poor thing was spending all her money trying to give her kid a better life.
Gabby won the quick-draw competition and slid a card with the name Camille Walker into the machine. “That’s what friends are for.”
When Fran said, “Thanks, Camille,” Gabby smiled back, the fake name ringing in her ears. She couldn’t keep any of the friends she made on this job. It was summer camp without pen pals.
At 4:59 p.m. the Evite arrived. She was saved! Thank you, Justin!
First Annual eStocks Investor Soiree
Calling all Mob bosses and capos for the party of the year!
Where: Velvet Underground Speakeasy, behind Velvet’s Drag Bar
Password: Capone
When: Saturday 5 p.m.
Theme: The Mob!
Gabby’s jaw dropped. Justin had sent the actual Mafia invitations to a mob-themed party with the suggestion to “take a break from racketeering. Channel your inner Capone! Wear a hat. Fake guns only.”
Fake guns only—this was insanity.
When she dialed Justin in a frenzy, he picked up immediately. “You’re welcome!” he trilled.
“Justin…” She didn’t know where to start.
“After I picked the venue, it all came together organically.”
When she didn’t respond because she was trying not to have a panic attack, he said, “What, is it too on the nose for financial people?”
He had no clue how on the nose this theme was.
“Gabby, I don’t think you’re grasping just how amazing this is for three hours of planning. I went for simple and easy. And I picked up your kids!”
Simple and easy would have been an overpriced caterer and a rented conference room at the Marriott.
“Trust me, it’s going to be a hit.”
Wrong choice of words. A hit was exactly what she was worried about.
At least she had provided an invitation. Gabby poked her head into Kramer’s office and waved an overly cheerful goodbye while he was distracted so she could slip out before any discussion of the invitation or her job status. Better to give him a minute to process that one. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Kramer. The invitation should be in your inbox.”