Chapter Thirteen
NATALIE
I spent the rest of the evening curled up with Jane Eyre, one of my favorite classics.
I was dazed from the kiss. It had been so unexpected.
Up until yesterday, I’d thought I annoyed the hell out of Jake—or, at the very least, that I was a thorn in his side.
But he’d wanted to kiss me all along? Talk about reading the room—or my chronic inability to do so.
Then again, many things would be different in my life if I were able to interpret people's intentions just by analyzing situations correctly.
The next day, I visited one more party location. When I came home in the evening, I wanted to call Jeannie but forgot all about it when I saw a message from Vince.
Vince: Did you get my letter?
Natalie: I threw it away.
Vince: Come on, Nat. Don’t be like this.
I breathed in and out, trying to stay calm. I didn’t want to give Vince any more power over me.
Natalie: I’m blocking your number. Don’t contact me again.
I blocked it before he had a chance to reply. I couldn’t believe he was still trying to get a hold of me. He’d done enough damage in my life.
I took in a few more breaths, bringing up Jeannie’s number. Then I had another idea. I texted pictures to Jake instead. I’d tried very hard not to think about him today—and failed spectacularly.
Natalie: Okay, what do you think about this location versus the last one? This one has more space for dancing.
After what he shared about his grandmother, the party started taking shape in my head.
Jake: Looks good to me.
Natalie: Can I get a more detailed opinion?
Jake: Only if you promise me two dances.
A vision of us dancing popped into my head, him putting one of those strong arms around my waist. And oh, damn it, I really wanted to dance with him. What harm could it do? Besides, I wanted to test how good his skills were.
Natalie: Deal.
He replied right away.
Jake: I think she'd prefer the other location more because the garden is bigger. She really likes nature.
Natalie: Okay, thanks. I'll call her tonight.
Jake: What are you doing right now?
Natalie: Heading to Gelateria Di Venezzia :-)) You?
Jake: Reading reports.
My jaw dropped.
Natalie: It’s eight o’clock. Don’t you do anything fun in the evenings?
Jake: Now that you mention it, I have some ideas. They all include you.
I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening.
Natalie: Nah, I don’t want to be the reason you can’t focus on work.
Jake: You already are.
My pulse was out of control now. Good grief. I’d already agreed to dancing with him. If we kept texting, who knew what else I’d agree to do?
I pocketed the phone when my turn came to order. After buying a cup with two scoops, I walked home.
Once inside, I headed straight to my small porch in the back.
Sitting in my chair with a huge pillow in my lap was my comfort spot.
I finished the ice cream regretfully only a few minutes later.
Why didn't I buy more scoops? I was tempted to rush back and get some more, but it was enough for one evening.
I messaged Jeannie with photos from today’s venue, and then instead of relaxing until she answered, like I’d planned to do, I opened the email app. I was still waiting to hear back from a few venues I wanted to check out for Jeannie’s party.
My stomach dropped when I saw the first email. It was from my recruiter.
Dear Natalie,
I regret to inform you that the position is no longer available. Among budget cuts this year, it was decided the job would be discontinued. Please call me when you get this, no matter how late it is.
What the hell? Anger simmered inside me. I grabbed the phone tightly and immediately dialed the recruiter's number, bringing the phone to my ear. It was 9:00 p.m., but she did say to call her.
"Hello, Natalie," she said. "I was waiting for your call."
"What do you mean, they decided to cut it? They wouldn't have strung me along for two months of interviews if they didn’t plan to hire someone."
It was the only promising lead I had until now.
"A new CEO took over last month, and CEOs always need to cut budgets to feel like they're being productive. I'm really sorry. This is only the third time this has happened in my whole career."
I pressed two fingers between my eyebrows. My head ached.
"But I don’t have anything lined up,” I said. “I thought you said this was a sure deal, so you haven’t gotten me any other interviews.”
"I know. I’m really sorry. I was overconfident that this would work out."
"Maybe they have another position in the company they could offer me? Something similar?"
"I already tried that. I like to fight on behalf of my clients, but they couldn't find anything."
I swallowed hard. I couldn't believe it. "So, I'm going back to the drawing board."
"Yes, unfortunately. Do you want me to put out some feelers?"
"I'll be fine on my own."
"Look, I'm really sorry."
“I understand that it isn’t your fault that they cut the budget, but the fact that I now have no prospects at all is, and that’s unprofessional.”
"I'm sorry you feel that way. If you change your mind about our collaboration, feel free to call me. Have a great evening."
"You too."
As soon as the call disconnected, I rose to my feet, walking from one side of the porch to the other one. My mind was spinning.
Oh God, what am I going to do? My savings were drying up, and my party-planning gigs were nowhere near enough to cover my costs.
I hadn’t sent any applications ever since I got to round four of interviews—I’d assumed they were seriously interested.
They’d even told me they didn’t have other candidates, that they just wanted to make sure I was a good match.
I would start applying for openings right away, but from experience, I knew these things took a while.
It would probably take closer to three or four months before I’d get another job.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, drawing in a deep breath and exhaling very slowly.
Usually this helped in calming me down, but right now, it simply felt like a waste of time.
I heard my phone buzzing and hurried to the armchair. Maybe it was my recruiter again and she had another solution. No, it was Jeannie. I answered immediately.
"Hey, Jeannie," I said.
"Hi, Natalie. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"No, not at all."
"Are you sure?"
“Yes.”
Was it my impression, or was she disappointed?
"Did you have a lovely evening?"
"Yes, I did."
"Were you out on your own?"
"Yes.” What an odd thing to ask. ”I went for ice cream after I saw the location I messaged you about. I'm still waiting to hear from some others I want to see this week."
"Oh, there's no need for that," Jeannie said. "The one with the huge garden from yesterday is simply breathtaking. Is it available on our date?"
"Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I only went to see the ones that were available."
"Then that's the one.”
“Great. Do you want to see it in person before deciding?”
"That would be lovely, but for now, I don't want to leave my Abe alone."
My heart filled with affection at the love in her voice.
"That's understandable. I’ll go there myself and make all the necessary arrangements."
"You are wonderful, my dear. Thank you for accommodating me. I have to say, even though you don't have any official experience, you’re one of the very best planners I've worked with."
"Oh, thanks for saying that. It means a lot to me.
" I hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to be direct.
No one was going to take care of me; I had to take care of myself.
"By the way, Jeannie, if any of your friends or anyone at all needs someone to plan an event, I'd be happy to do it for them. "
"But I thought the job you applied for starts soon."
"Turns out it doesn't," I said, sitting back in my armchair. Not even the sight of my beautiful tiny garden was going to lift my mood. "It's been cut." I sounded bitter, but why cover it? This was a blow.
"That's so unfortunate," Jeannie said.
"Yes, it is."
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"I'll start searching for a new job, though I'm probably going to have to expand my geographical area. Possibly even widen my search area outside of Boston. But I know from experience how long it takes to get a job, so I'll be around for a while, in case anyone needs party planning."
When I’d chosen my major, it had been hailed as having great career prospects. And in some ways, it did. It paid well, but the competition was huge. And my last employer refused to give me a recommendation, which put me at a disadvantage, even though I had five years of work experience.
"I'll tell that to my book club. Those old hags love to throw a party. Each wants to brag more than the other about how great they are. I'll talk you up. As soon as they know I snatched the hottest party planner in town, they'll be clamoring to get you."
I laughed despite everything. “You make me sound like quite a catch, Jeannie."
"You are, darling."
"We'll see.”
“We also like to throw parties in the family. I could talk my grandkids into having one."
"Oh no." My stomach clenched. "Jeannie, if someone needs my services, I'm happy to provide them, but I don't want anyone to feel pressured into hiring me."
How embarrassing. Oh Lord, why did I tell her?
This was something I had to figure out on my own.
But it was normal to tell your clients you were open for referrals, right?
This was the first thing I did on my own, so I wasn't sure what the dos and don'ts were. But I didn’t want to sound like a charity case.
"Oh, nonsense. My grandkids are stubborn. It's not like I can actually convince them to do something they don't want to."
"You did convince Jake to come to Boston," I pointed out.
"Oh, dear, I think that had absolutely nothing to do with me. Abe got sick."
"All right, Jeannie, I'm going to confirm the location tomorrow. I'll call you back as soon as everything is set in stone. Do you want me to go back and maybe take a video for you? Just so you’re absolutely certain it's what you look for?"
"That's not necessary. I can tell from pictures that it's what I want."
"Okay. Then I'm going to take care of everything," I said.
"Perfect. And, Natalie, darling, don't be too hard on yourself. I'm certain something will come up soon enough for you. Maybe something even better than you imagined."
"I certainly hope so.”
"I like your outlook. If you’re optimistic and believe the best is yet to come, you're going to attract good things."
Or you're going to fall flat on your face if you trust a recruiter too much.
But I didn't say that out loud. Jeannie had been through her fair share of difficulties in her life and was still happy and optimistic, so why should I drag her down?
I was usually all about noticing the rainbows and counting my blessings, but the news from the recruiter had thrown me off.
"Have a great evening, Jeannie.”
"And you too.”