Chapter 36
thirty-six
LOS ANGELES, CA
Avery looked down in horror. Her perfect black velvet dress was a complete disaster.
The gala was in two days, and she was picking it up from a last-minute, super simple alteration.
It had needed to be hemmed a couple of inches so that it hit her mid-calf instead of hitting her legs at the ankles, since she was approximately a foot shorter than whatever six-foot model it had been designed for.
She stepped out of the dressing room and onto the little platform in front of the tri-paneled mirror.
Somehow the front of the dress had been shortened to above her knees and the back was no shorter than when she’d had it pinned the week before.
She cringed as all three mirrors confirmed it.
Yep, it was the mullet of dresses. Just perfect.
The weather forecast was iffy, so the blue silk one in her closet wasn’t an option, and she certainly didn’t have time to go shopping.
“Patty, this is not right,” Avery said to the tailor, trying to sound assertive rather than shaken. “See how it’s too short in the front, and too long in the back?”
Patty knelt and tugged at the fabric of the dress. “You’re right, Avery, this is not how we pinned it last week. Let me see if I can fix it.” She walked back to the reception desk and pulled up what Avery hoped were her notes and measurements from when they’d pinned it.
Please, let this be fixable. Avery felt her eyes prickle with hot tears.
“Good news. We left enough of the hem in the front and I’ll have scraps from the back once we hem that. I should be able to make it work,” Patty said.
Oh, thank goodness. For weeks, when she’d pictured the gala in her head, it was in this dress.
While she was confident she could find something in her closet that would be fine, she didn’t want to have to settle for fine.
She could already envision how gorgeous it would photograph, and a small part of her hoped that a picture would make its way to Teddy.
Well, more than a small part. She’d imagined his reaction when he saw her in it the moment she’d first tried it on.
Despite how busy she’d been, Teddy still occasionally—more than occasionally, if she was being honest with herself—occupied her thoughts.
No matter how dead tired she was after a long work day, when she got in bed at night, her mind couldn’t stop replaying all of the fun they had earlier in the season, their most recent conversation after the helmet moment, the shower in Mexico…
Most nights she still fell asleep with the image of his dazzling golden green eyes and perfect hair flip in her brain.
She wanted him to feel regret, to feel a longing for her, when and if he saw photos from the gala.
It had to be this dress that he saw her wearing in photos.
There was one more obstacle, however.
“I need it ready by this time tomorrow,” Avery grimaced. She knew she was asking Patty to pull an all-nighter.
Patty let out an exhale. “I can do that for you. Your mother has been such a good customer all these years, and it was our fault.”
“Thank you, thank you. I really appreciate it,” Avery squealed. She could hug the woman.
Avery dashed out of the shop. She was due at Ben and Adam’s house, well, now. The rental furniture was being delivered today.
As soon as the house came into view, Avery felt adrenaline rush through her veins.
The massive white event tents were up. And the rental furniture delivery trucks had already arrived.
She couldn’t believe her vision was finally coming to life after all the hard work and planning.
By the end of the day, thousands of twinkly white and green lights would hang from the ceiling of each tent, creating a cozy, festive winter wonderland effect.
At least everything here was going according to plan.
“Hey. Where do you want these high-top cocktail tables to go?” Caroline was waiting for her, ready to pounce the moment Avery turned off the engine. It was go time.
“Don’t you have the layout diagram?” Avery asked, a bit annoyed that Caroline couldn’t refer back to the detailed instructions and event binder she’d spent hours putting together for exactly this sort of question.
The dress situation had put her on edge.
She knew she was the main person in charge of the event, but still, Caroline or anyone else on the team should be able to direct tables to the right spot without her, especially since it had all been carefully planned.
“I do, but the diagram shows seven high-tops on the pool deck, and these guys unloaded ten. Do you have somewhere you want three more to go? Or did they deliver too many?”
Avery’s phone buzzed. It was Josh. “Caroline, one second,” Avery said, her voice clipped. Why can’t she figure it out?
She stepped into the home’s cavernous entryway where it was quieter to take the call.
“Hi, Josh! How was your flight?” Avery asked, grateful for the momentary break from the chaos outside.
“Flight was fine,” Josh answered. “I made it out of LAX alive, and I’m all checked in at the hotel. But I was calling to say thank you. You did not have to send a car service to pick me up. And you had him pick up In-N-Out on the way? You’re too good to me.”
“You are welcome, and I wanted to,” Avery said. “You can’t come to LA and not get In-N-Out. Consider it a token of my appreciation for coming to the event all the way from London.”
“Avery, seriously, I wouldn’t miss it,” Josh said earnestly. “And, I’ll get to swing by Detroit to see my parents after, so it’s a win-win.”
Avery nodded. Good, I’m glad he didn’t make a trip overseas just to be my sidekick and purse-holder at an event.
“Avery,” Caroline peeked her head in through the front door. “The guys can’t unload all the heat lamps from the truck until we know where the tables go.”
Oh for heaven’s sake, can no one make a decision without me?
“I have to go. See you tomorrow night!” Avery hung up.
She walked back outside, firing at all cylinders, ready to take charge and get shit done.
“Caroline, you have my attention.” She turned to her second in command. “Let me see that diagram. Did you check the original order? How many high-tops were we supposed to get?”
Avery pulled her clipboard out of her bag and flipped through until she found what she was looking for. “See, you were right, seven by the pool deck, but we need one up on stage to display the watch and helmets, and the last two go…”
“Are you Avery Silver?” a male voice asked.
She turned around. “Yes, I am.”
“Hi, I’m Kevin, the A/V guy. I’ve got the video screens all set up in the tent. We’re going to run through the video presentation and slides now, can you come approve?” he asked, “Or will someone else queue the slides during the presentation?”
“Kevin, nice to meet you. Um, I’ll be seated at a table with guests by then, so someone else will have to do it…” she replied hastily.
“Avery, and the last two high-tops? Do you want me to have them take them back, or what?” Caroline asked again, a note of frustration in her voice.
The front door opened again, and Ben casually walked over in joggers and a fitted tee to join their huddle.
“We’ve thrown a lot of parties on this lawn,” Ben said, “but I’ve never seen it quite like this before. This is a real production.”
“Ben, you’re right on time. This is Kevin, our A/V guy. Ben is going to be your guy.”
“Yes, captain,” Ben saluted his little sister and ambled off with Kevin. Ok, that’s taken care of. What’s next? She needed Caroline to start making some executive decisions. She couldn’t be everywhere at once.
“Caroline,” It killed her to talk so sternly to a friend, but it couldn’t be helped.
“I know you work for my family, and your job as my dad’s assistant usually means that you defer to him on all decisions.
But this is different. I need you to step up and take control of things around here.
I’ll be here the rest of the afternoon, but tomorrow I have a full day of beauty and press.
The behind-the-scenes logistics are going to be on you. ”
“Ok, boss. I’ll do my best. But can you at least text tomorrow during your hair and makeup appointments?” Caroline asked, a nervous smile scrunching her cheeks.
“You can. But I might not be able to answer right away. You’re going to have to get comfortable with making some decisions, and fast,” Avery answered.
There was no time for hand-holding, not even for a coworker who also happened to be a dear friend.
The guests were going to arrive tomorrow at 6 p.m. whether they were ready or not.