Work
Greer
Why do I let that man get under my skin?
What he thinks doesn’t matter. He’s one grumpy, judgmental man whose opinion of me is of no concern. He could think I am a prostitute, for all I care.
I turn off the minivan and hop out, slamming the door behind me.
At least coffee with Bram will be a nice point in my day.
I should probably get something to eat, too.
Figuring out what meals I can make with the ingredients in my house is going to be interesting.
I stop at the door and search for Bram in all the little nooks of the Ivy Café, but instead stare at the little river running through the bar.
Who came up with that? Probably the same person who thought letting ivy grow up the walls inside would be amazing…they were right.
This town surprises me. I know for Cordelia to live here, it couldn’t just be a sleepy little town. Its quirkiness is fun…If only all the people who lived here weren’t grumpy.
That man has some serious issues.
Don’t think about him. Enjoy your time with Bram.
Maybe I should introduce my neighbor to Winnie…twisted. Winnie might set him straight without killing him…might. Havoc made me feel feral today, it seems.
Bram gives a small wave from the little nook in the corner where he nabbed us a table. The place is packed today.
As I walk over to our table, I pass Bram’s biker friends. They give me a smile and a nod.
See, people can be friendly…even stranger bikers. Havoc rides a motorcycle. Does Bram know him? Like I want to turn my problem into Bram’s problem.
We’re just barely friends.
Bram’s friendly smile lights up his face. It switches to concern pretty quickly. “Everything alright?”
“Fine.”
“I know what that word means, so I’ll leave it—” An unspoken ‘for now’ hangs in the air. “—But maybe this will cheer you up.” He pats a large folder that is sitting on the table. “I found a job for you.”
What? “A job?” Nerves I didn’t expect kick in, fluttering around in my belly. “What kind of job?”
“It’s a short-term job setting up a charity event.”
Oh. “You had me nervous for a second.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve planned or helped plan hundreds of charity events in my life. This is something I could do in my sleep.” I’m pretty sure for a dozen of them, I was half asleep. They were so boring. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“You don’t want to know what it pays?”
Is that a test of some sort? “Nope. Just ask them to make the checks out directly to the charity. I’ll give you my lawyer’s contact information for the tax information.”
Bram shakes his head. “I’ve never met a woman like you.”
“Really? Head to Urbium. There are dozens of women exactly like me.” I reach across and take the folder.
“Doubtful.”
There’s a thick stack of paperwork inside. Way more than I’d expect for an initial plan. “Um, how much of the planning has been done already?”
Bram shrugs. “No idea.”
“Well, let’s have a little look.” The first stack I pull out is contracts for vendors and a permit to throw the event. “Is this a regular event?”
“Yeah, we’ve been throwing it every year for the last ten years.”
The next bundle lists the budget and prospective amount raised compared to the last few years. It’s steady. Nothing has changed in years.
The budget is generous and organized. That’s odd. “There’s a line item missing.”
“Huh?” Bram leans over. “Integer is usually really good about stuff like that. What’s missing?”
“Entertainment. There’s no budget set up for entertainment.”
“That’s because we don’t usually do any. The festival does well enough.”
Well enough? “Year-over-year increases barely match the cost of living. You could be making two to three times that with a big-name musician playing in the park. Not only could you charge to watch them, but they’d draw people in from several counties.”
“We talked about that. A musician with that kind of draw would cost too much for the club to risk on the event flopping.”
He’s right. The line item would far exceed all the others, probably combined. That’s assuming they had to pay for it. But I know several people who would do it for free if I asked. “What if I can add one within this budget?”
“Impossible.”
A Hestons doesn’t believe in that word. “What if I could get you one and still stay in budget?”
“That would be great, but—”
“No buts. I know the perfect person.” If she’s available.
“Who?”
“My friend, Kia.”
“You can’t mean Kia Lemaris?”
“That’s exactly who I mean. But I don’t know offhand what her schedule looks like. She’s been taking a bit of a sabbatical. If she can’t make it, there are a few other people I can reach out to.”
Bram leans forward. “How do you know Kia?”
Other than going to the same events practically forever? Explaining the insular world I lived in doesn’t sound like fun. “Um.”
“You’re blushing. You don’t want to tell me, do you?”
No. I get a tingling sensation in the back of my neck and glance over my shoulder to find his friends staring at us. “That’s weird.”
“Ignore them. They’re nosy idiots.”
He doesn’t mean—Yeah, he does. “They think we’re dating, don’t they?”
Bram shrugs. “I told them we aren’t, but again, they’re idiots.”
Today wasn’t the day for yet more men to make assumptions about who I am.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Greer?”
“Just a little evil. Want to play along?”
Bram looks over at the guys and back at me. “What did you have in mind?”
To brazen it out and mess with a man’s mind. I lean forward so our faces are super close and trail a finger down his arm.
“This won’t actually make them believe we aren’t dating,” Bram says with a grin.
I lean close enough that I can whisper in his ear, “No. It won’t, but it will make them feel silly when they actually find out that we’re just friends.”
Bram laughs out loud. “You have an evil streak in you.”
“Possibly.” It might also be true that I came up with most of the crazy ideas for the Spinsters’ Club growing up.
“Love that about you.”
How did I forget that wild, crazy streak when I married Darrel? “I do, too. Now, tell me more about this town so I can see if we can raise enough money to pay for all four years of college for a kid instead of one.”
***
This is the first time I’ve put anything on my new coffee table. Spread across it are all the papers from the file Bram gave me today. Whoever was running this before me was organized and efficient. There isn’t much to do for their standard event…but who loves standard?
The best two options after live music to bring in money are a ball or a carnival.
A carnival would attract a lot more people, but it’s very expensive, and there isn’t a huge amount of room in the town square after we add a concert.
A ball that evening or the next would be perfect.
This town has plenty of disposable income to afford the tickets.
All I’d need would be a venue, a caterer, entertainment…
Kia could do a private performance. The florist here in town might not be able to handle all the florals needed.
A motorcycle pulls in next door.
That must be Creed since his father took the SUV after dropping me off. I can give him the money I owe his father and ask him a few questions that Bram might have found weird.
Before he can get inside, I rush out to meet him. “Hey, Creed.”
“Everything okay?”
Huh? “Fine.”
“You sure about that?” He looks me up and down like I’ve lost my mind.
What am I…sweats. I’m wearing the same sweats I bought in college, with the school logo and everything. My hair’s in a messy bun. I probably don’t look at all like myself. “I’m good. Really.”
“You sure? I can call my dad.”
That’s literally the last thing I want. “No. I just ran out to catch you to give you this.” I take the envelope out of my pocket that I stuffed with cash from my safe room. “Could you give this to your father and tell him it’s from me?”
“Sure.” Creed takes it with a smile. “What is it?”
“Money. I forgot to carry cash in town.” That’s a mistake I won’t make again. Rothswyler will have to make sure I receive more regularly. There’s no way I want to be raiding my emergency cash.
“Do you want to give it to him yourself? He’ll be home in like twenty minutes.”
NO. “I have some things I need to get done.” Very far away from him. “Do you mind if I ask you a strange question?”
“Sure. Weird questions are my specialty.”
“Do people around here do date nights?”
Creed tips his head to the side. “Did you find someone you want to go out on a date with?”
Me? “No.”
“Um. Sure, all the time. There isn’t much here, though. The diner, the drive-in, and the coffee shop are the most common places here.”
Well, that makes even more sense why Bram’s friends think we’re dating. “What about for a fancy date?”
“Usually, people have to drive a couple of towns over to find a nice restaurant. Some people even head into Urbium. Why?”
“Research.” Yeah, that sounds totally not weird. “What about for teenagers? Do you guys have a lot of dances or whatever?”
His eyes narrow. “A couple. We used to have more, but they cancelled the fall and winter formals.”
“Why? Did the class do something to get in trouble?” Ours did junior year.
One girl snuck her boyfriend into her dorm room and got caught, so they cancelled our spring formal.
Winnie was so mad at how stupid that girl was getting caught.
To be fair it was pretty easy because our dorm attendant was half blind and mostly deaf and slept like a log.
She was also going on eighty and should have retired decades ago.
But you don’t force school icons like that to retire.
She’d cared for girls in that school since my grandmother went there.
“No. There wasn’t much parental support for it…or it was too expensive. I don’t remember what the stupid excuse was that the administration gave us. Why?”
Hmmm. It might be time to change all that. In a big way. “Thanks, Creed.”
“Those were definitely weird questions. Will you be coming over for breakfast tomorrow?”
Absolutely not! Never again. “Nope. But I was thinking of making french toast sticks.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you in the morning.” He waves because I’m already halfway back to my door.
“See you then.” And hopefully not your father.
Ideas are playing through my mind…They won’t fit within Bram’s budget, but with a little donation from my foundation…