Chapter 12
Emerson and I have just finished showing a new couple through our beautifully landscaped gardens and function center. I listened intently to all the features, knowing next time I will be on my own for the tour. I only hope that I can come off sounding as enthusiastic and passionate about this place as she does.
“How are you settling in, Gisele?” Emerson asks with a warm smile.
“Okay, I think. I’ve taken two new corporate bookings today, some ideas Victor had. They’re a lot easier to deal with than the brides, aren’t they?”
“Sure are. Those brides, you need to kill them with kindness. Weddings are all smoke and mirrors, that’s why I knew you would be good at this job.”
A hesitant smile plays on my lips. “Yes, I’m learning that. I thought I was all over it yesterday. This weekend’s couples seem lovely, but the girl I talked to this morning kept saying one thing, then sending me images of what she wanted, and it was the complete opposite of what’s already on her file. She said she talked to Paisley about the flowers, but I’m pretty sure Paisley’s going to flip her lid when she sees what she wants her to create for the budget she has.”
Emerson’s laughter fills the air. “Welcome to the world of weddings; they want Instagram opulence on a DIY budget.”
I join in the laughter, realizing the absurdity of it all. “What do I do about it?”
“Go talk to Paisley, she should be around today. Before you do, though, you may want to visit the parking lot.”
My curiosity is piqued. “Why?”
She pulls a set of keys from her jacket pocket and hands them to me. “Your new wheels. The position comes with a corporate car.”
My eyes narrow, suspicion rising. “For what? I do all my work here at the hotel.”
“You’ll have to discuss that with Brody.” She shows me through to the lot and points out a flashy new white Jeep.
I’m actually going to kill him. He’s so strangely overprotective of me when he has no right to be. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me he arranged a car for me because I drove to work with Parker this morning, and he didn’t like it. When Paisley said he offered me a lift, I was happy to take him up on the offer because I hadn’t figured out the bus yet. There was nothing more to it.
“I will. Thank you, Emerson.” I place the keys in my pocket and bring up the file for the Sierra wedding on my iPad, a mix of emotions swirling within me. Brody has boundary issues. Major ones. Just because I slept with him once doesn’t mean he has any control over my life. I didn’t move halfway across the country to escape my domineering father, just to have him replaced with a boss who thinks he’s my daddy, buying me an expensive car and threatening to punish me in text messages. I can laugh the rest of it off as harmless flirting, but this is going way too far.
“You’re not going to hop in, check out the fancy interior and new-car smell?” she asks, her curiosity obvious, and I wonder what she makes of her brother’s behavior. Surely, he’s not like this with every event coordinator.
“Maybe later, I have work to do.” I hold up the file, forcing a smile, not wanting to sound ungrateful. I know I need to conceal how much her brother’s actions annoy me.
She looks me over, a twinkle in her eyes, and I know for sure she’s heard the rumor now spreading through this group. “Suit yourself, darlin’.”
She walks away, leaving me with a racing heart and frustration coursing through me. Doesn’t he get that his protective antics will carelessly turn me into a topic of gossip among the staff? This is what I wanted to escape. I don’t want special treatment. If that means walking to work or catching the bus, I’m fine with that. I try to calm my breathing, glancing over at his office window, wondering if he’s inside watching me right now. Well, if he is, I’m going to tell him exactly what I think of this little stunt. I take a quick photo of the car and type out a text to him.
GISELE: You’re taking the protective hero thing a little far now. I don’t need this.
I wait for a reply, but nothing comes. I growl in frustration and stomp my foot. Turning on my heel, I go in search of Paisley, needing to pour myself into my work to stop from overreacting and marching into his office like I want to. Not concentrating on what I’m doing, I bump into a brick wall of a man. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” I mutter.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, I wasn’t looking where I was going either.” He smiles at me warmly, the rest of his face shadowed by the baseball cap he has on. He’s in construction boots and has a tool belt on. He must be part of Parker’s building crew.
“No harm done.” I smile back, continuing through the garden in search of Paisley.
I find her in a room off to the side of the conference center. Last night she told me that along with working for Wild Magnolia, the flower shop on the main street in town, she is also the in-house florist here. She works varied hours depending on when she’s needed, but she is always here on a Tuesday to freshen the foyer arrangements and prepare for the weekend’s weddings. I knock at her open door so I don’t surprise her while she’s arranging.
“Gisele.” She beams back at me, her curls bouncing as she transports a large vase arrangement over to the sink.
“Sorry to bother you, but I just talked to Eva Sierra about her wedding, and I wanted to run a few things past you.”
“Lucky you, you had the pleasure of talking to my favorite bride,” she says sarcastically. “What extravagance does she want now?”
I hold up one of the images of the ceremony flowers she has requested. “This looks like a lot to me, and I wanted to check with you, because the floral package they selected doesn’t say it includes whatever this is.”
“It’s called a half-moon floor ceremony cloud. And there is no way in hell they’re getting that for the amount they’re paying.”
I look at her, worried. I don’t want to screw this all up. The bride was full-on in the call I had with her. “What do I do then? She was pretty adamant.”
“Of course she was, she’s deluded. Don’t get yourself in a tizzy over it. I will call her this afternoon and explain, again, what is possible for her budget. If she wants to spend more, I can give her whatever she wants, but I doubt she’ll part with any more cash.”
“Thank you.” I smile, relieved she can help.
“Gotta look after you, I want you to stick around.” She smiles warmly, and I feel a surge of gratitude. “I’ve got a feeling you’re going to be good for this town,” she adds, and I wonder what on earth she means.
“I think this town is going to be good for me too. At least I hope so.” If Brody stops with all the controlling bullshit and I actually get to have some fun. I watch her as she goes about filling the massive ceramic vase with foliage. “Paisley, can I ask you something?”
“You bet,” she mumbles around the stem of a rather large peachy-colored rose.
“Do the other events coordinators normally get a corporate car in their contract?”
Her eyes go wide, and I already anticipate her answer. She removes the rose from her mouth dramatically. “He got you a fucking car? Seriously, girl, what the hell happened between the two of you when you met in New York?”
“Shhh. Nothing,” I mutter, glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one else is around. Her voice is like a foghorn.
She comes closer to me. “Do I look like I was born yesterday? No other coordinator has ever been given a car. The only ones with company cars are Emerson and Victor, but that’s because they’re management,” she says more quietly this time, her disbelief making me feel even more uneasy about the car. Part of me had hoped she would tell me it’s totally normal.
She checks her watch. “I just have to finish this up, then I’m meeting Mae for lunch behind the kitchen. You’re joining us,” she tells me like I have no choice in the matter.
“Umm, alright, I’ll meet you there,” I agree, already knowing better than to argue with Paisley when she makes up her mind. I’m actually grateful that I don’t have to sit in my office and eat alone with my thoughts. Because the way I’m feeling today, they might just drive me crazy.
Twenty minutes later, we’re all sitting out the back of the hotel in the allotted staff area, basking in the sun while we eat our lunches. Mae brought some of Elliot’s new creations for us to sample, and they look a whole lot more appetizing than the sandwich I packed.
“We got a fried chicken salad, with crispy fried chicken strips on a bed of mixed greens with pecans, goat cheese, and a honey-mustard vinaigrette, and shrimp-and-grits croquettes. Dig in, girls.” Mae describes the dishes she has just placed in front of us, making my mouth water.
We each take a plate and fill it with the tasty-looking food. I moan around my fork at the first bite. “This is so to die for.”
Mae nods around her mouthful. “Only catch is you have to give Elliot your opinion. I can’t eat any more of his samples alone, he’s going bonkers trying to get ‘em all perfect.”
“I’ll sample his food any day! The guy can cook,” Paisley says, shoving another croquette in her mouth.
Mae smiles at me like she has something on her mind. “Paisley tells me you have been gifted a car.”
I glare at Paisely; this girl has a real big mouth. “Not gifted, it’s a company car. And I’m not accepting it. Why would I?”
“Because you need one. It’s hard to get around this town without a car, and Brody knows that.”
“He must really like you,” Mae gushes like this is some romantic gesture, when we all know it’s not.
“He doesn’t like me at all.” I glare at Paisley. “And this stays between us. I don’t want anyone around this place thinking I’m getting special treatment. I feel awkward enough with our history.” I exhale heavily, scooping another mouthful of chicken into my mouth and trying to block out the situation with this delicious food.
“Why would he be giving you special treatment? Because you guys screwed each other’s brains out on a sexy one-night stand in New York? God, your life is exciting. First, you’re like some superstar, now this. I want to be you,” Paisley says dreamily.
I give her a look. “You said you wouldn’t bring up the star thing.” She promised me this morning she was going to keep it to herself. I’m so angry with Brody for telling Parker, but his explanation did make sense; it was before he knew I was coming here when he thought he would never see me again.
She winces. “I lied, sorry. I won’t tell anyone else, but girl, you’re like the coolest person I’ve ever met, and I couldn’t care less who your parents are, or where. It’s all because of you. Isn’t that right, Mae?”
Mae nods, agreeing around her mouthful. “Sure is. We love you already, Gisele. But you have to come clean with us. Roomies share everything.”
“And Parker already knows. He was acting all dodgy after he worked out that he’d said too much last night, then I couldn’t get anything else out of him.”
I shake my head. “I can’t confirm or deny anything.” I smirk, unable to help it. That night was one of the best of my life. I relive it on the daily, but I’m not talking about it with the girls.
“He’s big, right?” Paisley nods, using her hands to show what size she thinks he is. “I bet he is. You can tell he has that whole big-dick energy thing going on.”
Mae hits her on the shoulder. “Hush, you can’t say stuff like that, he’s our boss. And Emerson’s brother.”
Paisley rolls her eyes. “Oh, that’s right, a good Southern girl doesn’t talk about sex. I’m not Emerson!” She shakes her head. “That girl’s got secrets, good ones.”
“Secrets are that for a reason. Sometimes it’s best they stay that way.” I shrug my shoulders, not wanting to give anything away. I don’t know what Emerson’s secrets are, but if she hasn’t told her best friends, there must be a reason for it. And while I’m enjoying making friends with these girls, it’s nice to have something just for me. The night I had with Brody was perfection. And even though he’s determined to ruin it by being a controlling, overbearing ass, I’m hanging on to the memory of what we shared.
Mae points her fork in my direction. “You can’t deny the chemistry between the two of you. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s so hot for you.”
“You have seen us together once,” I grumble. These two are relentless.
She shrugs. “It was that obvious.”
Paisley nods, agreeing with Mae. “And if that were me, I’d be all over it, screw the consequences. You only live once, right?”
I stare out over the beach, enjoying the salt spray hitting my face. “Can’t we talk about something else?” I whine. “What about you, Paisley? Did you leave last night with the cute bartender you were checking out?”
She looks at us both, guilty as hell. “Nah. I’m off guys, remember? Jake’s just a friend from school. We played some pool, that was it.”
Mae gives her a funny look. “Guy drama normally only lasts a day with you. You’re over it now, right?”
They continue ribbing each other, and I eat the rest of my food, in culinary heaven, wishing I didn’t have a Jeep-sized problem that now needs addressing with Brody. I was hoping to stay away from him for a few days, create some much-needed space. But I guess I’m not that lucky today.