Chapter Twenty-Two
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
NATALIE
A fter washing my face, throwing my hair into a messy topknot, and trading out my boutique dress for yoga pants and a razor back tank top, I slipped on my flip flops and went out to the lanai. The sky was sprinkled with a million stars. The waves came to shore in gentle laps. Few people remained on the beach at this hour, but I could guarantee they were all having a much better night than me.
Until an hour ago, Joel and I were having the most magical evening, with the promise of the perfect rest of the night ahead of us, and then everything blew up. Had I heard him correctly as he left? He loved me? Not just saying he couldn’t fall, but solidly did? There was absolutely no way. We had only known each other for six days. I was leaving in three. He knew I was leaving. I mean, what did he think was going to happen?
Who was I kidding? I was avoiding my return ticket like the plague. Denial had become my constant companion. And there was that longing for more every single time I looked at him. I desperately wanted more time with him. I wanted to know more about him. I wanted him in a way I had never wanted anybody else .
The buzz of my phone pulled me from my thoughts. Eagerly, I reached to the side table, hoping it would be Joel wondering if I were still awake and asking to come back and talk this out.
“Kate?” I answered, not hiding the surprise mixed with disappointment in my voice. “It’s really late. What’s going on?”
Her voice, void of its usual bounce, said, “Natalie, Big Foot Brewing—the craft brewery truck we hired—pulled out of our event.”
“Just now?” I stood to pace alongside the pool.
She sighed. “About an hour ago.”
Pulling back the panic that threatened to reign, I asked, “Why?”
“Turns out they got a better gig?—”
“Breach of contract,” I cut her off.
“That’s what I thought, except I pulled up our finalized contract, and it wasn’t submitted by the date determined by both parties,” she explained.
Ready to rage in self-righteousness, I scoffed. “Yes, we did! I submitted that one myself with the final payment two weeks ago!”
There was a pause on the other end before she brought me back to humility. “We submitted the final payment three hours after the deadline . . .”
I sunk into the lounge chair and slapped my forehead. “What was the timestamp?”
“It says accepted at three fifteen a.m. Friday, but it was due Thursday at eleven fifty-nine p.m.” There was no judgment in her voice. We both knew what had happened that night. Dane had come by. We were probably lucky I had even submitted the contract and payment with my headspace where it was.
An explicative left my lips. Loudly. “So what? They got a better paying offer for the same night and could pull out of our event because of me missing the deadline? Is that even stipulated in there? Isn’t that considered a bad business move, if not just straight-up tacky? We are a loyal client who would book them out yearly. It’s a huge event for a big company. That alone is worth the advertisement possibility for them. You’d think they’d give us some grace. It was three hours, not three days.”
“I read the wording, and it’s pretty specific that they can exit without penalty if we didn’t meet the predetermined date of signage,” she explained. “I agree, it’s completely tacky, but they have the right to do it, and I guess something better came up.”
“Blerg.” I exhaled. “First the caterer and now this. People need to be full and drunk to give from the bottom of their hearts. What do we do? We have the other beer truck, right?”
“Yeah, but that’s not enough to cover a crowd the size we’re expecting. Plus, the city is denying the exclusive use of the parking garage for event attendees.”
While I knew in the back of my mind that particular request was a stretch, it still dampened my mood. “Okay, thanks for keeping me updated. I’ll think on it and get back to you with ideas.”
We hung up. I sat back on the lounge chair replaying my marathon day, leading up to the final moments with Joel, and then the conversation with Kate. Emotionally exhausted, I dragged myself inside and threw myself on the bed face first, falling asleep immediately.