Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
“I’m telling you, honey, you’re going to love this space,” Nat, my real estate agent and friend, said, already a half step ahead of me as we crossed the street.
I slowed down, taking in everything around me. Expanding my business to this level was everything I’d envisioned when I decided this would be my profession. This was my legacy. My chance to stand apart from every other event planner catering to the elite.
My eyes were instantly drawn away from the stunning building Nat was guiding me to and toward another new, impressive skyscraper. It was all glass and steel, and the tallest building around. It was clear that the building was designed to feel imposing.
Whoever worked there wasn’t just walking through those doors—they were making a statement.
Next to Jim Mitchell’s skyscraper, which dominated downtown Los Angeles, I hadn’t seen another building come close…
until now. This was exactly the kind of building that dominated the skyline, pulling your attention whether you wanted to give it or not, which was probably the reason I’d been eyeing this place instead of the one Nat was bringing me to.
My gaze lingered longer than it should have, tracking the sharp lines, the reflective surface, the quiet arrogance of something that knew exactly what it was worth.
“I know that look on your face,” Nat said, glancing back at me with a smirk. “But don’t fall in love with the wrong building, darling.”
I chuckled, glancing over at Nat sipping her coffee. “Yeah, it’s not my style. I like my spaces the way I like my clients.”
“Controlled?”
“Refined,” I arched an eyebrow at her.
“This, I already know,” she arched a brow. “That’s why I brought you all the way down to Newport Beach to tour this stunning building. You’re going to love this place.”
Nat and I walked toward the complex, so I could decide if it was right for me, and based on location alone, it was.
Set just off the main stretch of Fashion Island, it felt clean and modern, but quieter.
I loved that the complex seemed intentional without being loud about it.
Like wealth and power that didn’t need to brag.
That was me. That was exactly where my vision was leading me as I realized it was time to step up in my world.
As we stepped inside, the shift was immediate. I took in the atmosphere my clients would feel the second they walked through the doors. A fountain sat at the center of the foyer—minimalist, sculptural, the kind of piece that looked effortless but probably cost more than most people’s cars.
I glanced around, noting how the open space was lit by incandescent light filtering down from above. It cast the perfect glow across the area, catching on surfaces and throwing soft reflections across the polished stone floors.
Refined elegance...everything I needed to bring this vision and new place of business to life for my company, Veléz Global.
I exhaled slowly, already feeling it settle into my chest.
“It’s like the architect built it for me,” I chuckled. “Perhaps, Bree Grayson had something to do with this?”
Nat smirked. “Bree and Alex’s firm designed the other skyscraper. You know, the one I saw you drooling over before I brought you into this one?”
“Of course,” I laughed. “Why wouldn’t their firm design the most dominating building on Fashion Island?”
“Exactly,” she smiled. “Now, back to you, Cat.” She pointed toward the glass doors we had just walked through. “The clients walk in here,” she said softly, lowering her voice a bit, “and obviously, they’ll already trust you before you even speak.”
I nodded in approval because this wasn’t about impressing people; it was about making them feel like they were already part of something exclusive. That all of their luxurious and exclusive events would be handled and managed by an event architect who took it more seriously than they did.
“You’re already beaming,” Nat said, turning toward the elevators. “Just wait until you see the space. You’ll be able to visualize yourself in it instantly.”
The doors opened into a wide, unfinished floor, and I immediately understood what Nat was speaking about.
This is me.
I stepped in slowly, heels quieter against the raw surface, my eyes instinctively moving… visualizing my team and me working flawlessly in this space.
Floor-to-ceiling windows lined one side, flooding the space with natural light. The ocean stretched beyond them, softened by distance, just enough to feel like a backdrop instead of a statement.
I walked in further, already visualizing the space for my company. Directly in front, there would be a cream-colored wall with my company name in steel, backlit by gold lighting, where clients would be greeted by my receptionist sitting behind a stone desk.
Client seating would be positioned in the open space behind it, featuring comfortable leather sofas and offering a perfect view of the ocean, providing more comfort than a portrait of the ocean ever could.
Then, naturally, my office would claim the corner without hesitation, featuring glass walls that enclose it with minimal framing.
“Already redesigning the place in your head?” Nat teased, breaking through the silence.
I glanced back at her. “This screams everything that I am in business,” I stated factually.
She laughed. “I know, and that’s why I had to bring you here before anyone else found out it was going up for lease.”
I exhaled. “Thank God,” I said, glancing around the area, still visualizing myself working in this space.
Although I loved my office on Melrose, located above a charming boutique, it was time to move on.
It’d served my team and me well, and I owed everything to that space—I was where I was because of it.
However, when dreams outgrow their beginnings, growth becomes necessary, and that’s why I was with Nat, who’d called to insist I see this new space before it was listed for lease.
“My team is going to lose their minds,” I said with a laugh.
“Because it’s too expensive?”
“Because their work environment will no longer just be charming.” I looked around again. “We’re not going to continue to be the scrappy team pulling off miracles in a cramped war room anymore.”
Nat smiled slowly. “Spoken like a true visionary.”
I answered her smile with one of my own, “I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t think like that in business.”
“Lord, girl,” Nat said. “I wish you were in real estate with me. We would own all of Southern California.”
“That’s the damn truth,” I said with a soft chuckle. “However, my line of work has me saving the billionaire’s asses, and it’s a good fucking thing that a certain billionaire decided to have a crisis last week.”
Nat’s brows lifted. “I heard you saved Titus’s ass,” she laughed.
Nat was married to Spencer Monroe, Jim Mitchell’s VP and one of the few men who moved comfortably in the same circles as Titus.
If there was billionaire gossip worth knowing, she’d usually heard it before anyone else in Los Angeles.
“Did your husband fill you in?” I crossed my arms. “I was wondering what he took away from that event.”
“Just the fact that you handled that cranky old bastard—”
“Petrov?” I laughed. “I swear to God with some of these elites…”
“It’s really no different than any other asshole with more money than he knows what to do with.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “I stepped in to diaper that man while he was making a complete ass of himself, all while everyone stood there looking to Titus to put an end to the spectacle.”
“How did you get involved in that event? Titus is extremely exclusive about who plans events for him like that over-the-top yacht party,” she asked. “I swear to God, that man has been unstoppable since coming to the West Coast. Lavish events nearly every other weekend.”
“Well, that could explain why his planner had a nervous breakdown and walked,” I turned toward her. “That’s how I was put on it.” I rolled my eyes, “They called me like I was coming in to perform emergency surgery.”
“How did you handle it all at the last minute? I mean, one minute you’re dealing with the Stratus’s gala in Hollywood, and the next thing we all know, you’re planning a yacht event in Monaco.”
“Well, it was pretty simple. I told them I charged five hundred thousand dollars for a last-minute salvage fee,” I answered with a smile.
“Holy shit,” Nat let out a low giggle. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack,” I answered with a laugh. “Titus’s finance team didn’t blink.”
“I swear, these men will always pay whatever it takes to fix their problems and keep their image flawless in front of each other,” Nat said, shaking her head.
“That’s the truth, and I know it well,” I answered. “The money was wired before the first champagne glass was set.”
Her grin widened. “Whatever will these elites do without you?” she playfully patted my butt. “I love it.”
“Ha,” I said playfully, and glanced out at the million-dollar view in front of us. “So do my clients when everything doesn’t fall apart,” I finished with a wink to her, knowing this was the place where my team and I needed to be.
I pulled my phone from my bag.
“And now, for my finance man to see if this will be the place I take more of those emergency calls,” I said, smiling at her, eyes widening with the same excitement I was feeling.
My finance manager picked up on the second ring. “Tell me you’re about to spend an irresponsible amount of money,” Elliot teased, his voice dry and already halfway amused.
“Time to run numbers, my friend,” I said, turning slightly toward the windows again.
“What’s the location of the building again?”
“Newport Beach. Fashion Island. Nat just brought me to a new build on the premium floor.”
There was a pause.
“All right,” he said slowly. “I’m listening.”
I gave him the lease figures Nat had quoted.
Silence.
“…Jesus,” he whispered.
“Stay focused, Elliot,” I said.
“Okay,” he said. “Do you want honest or comforting?”
“Just give it to me straight,” I answered. “I want accurate.”
I heard him clicking keys fast on his end.
While Elliot ran numbers, I smiled back at Nat and glanced over toward the windows that framed the ocean.
Please God, let this place be ours.
Elliot finally came back on the line. “You can do it.”
My grin broadened at Nat’s eyes, glittering with excitement.
“That last-minute event?” Elliot continued. “The five hundred thousand you charged?”
“Yes,” I smiled faintly, “the one where I saved a billionaire from public embarrassment after his planner had a breakdown and walked?”
“It’ll put you in that place if you want it,” he said.
“Excellent,” I answered with a smile in my voice.
“Your current contracts sustain you for at least six months at this level,” he went on. “Without new clients.”
“And with new clients?” I questioned.
“Well, shit, with new clients, all of this becomes strategic, not risky.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” I said. “Okay, anything else I’m missing?”
“Only if you suddenly forget who you are,” Elliot said. “Which seems unlikely.”
I smiled in response. “Good answer. I’ll let Nat know.”
I ended the call.
“And?” Nat questioned.
I slid my phone back into my bag, “Let them know I’ll have the down payment wired over by Elliot after I get back to the office,” I said.
“Hot damn,” Nat eyed me. “Time to own Newport Beach, sweetheart. That decision was much quicker than I imagined it would be.”
“Well,” I shrugged, “I don’t tour spaces I’m not willing to own.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “God, your team is going to flip.”
“They’ll adjust,” I said calmly. “I’ll have it designed and furniture brought in before they even step foot in here.”
“Already know who you’re using?”
I smirked slightly. “Of course I do.”
“Breanne?” she practically purred her best friend’s name, the world-renowned architect. “You know she’ll set aside the time for you.”
“Thank God for that,” I chuckled.
Honestly, there was only one person I trusted to execute this level of precision, and with Bree doing a little interior side work for me, this place was going to be flawless.
As Nat and I left the building, more excited than when we had entered, I couldn’t help but think about that little girl inside me who knew one day she would grow up to be more than just the daughter of the chef working for the wealthy. She would command the events for which they hired the chef.
And here I was, leveling the fuck up in life. This is what I busted my ass for with event planning, and this is exactly why I never gave up on anything I set my heart on.