“Me too,” said Valerie, trying not to sound pathetic.
“Hot take, but maybe you should also leave. I called Josette. She’s my assistant manager and she’ll be here in less than an hour.”
“I can’t. I have to run this event.”
“Let your assistant take care of it,” he advised. Then he closed his eyes and held onto the desk, swaying. “Sorry.”
He was gone before she could speak, but that was fine. She needed a moment of privacy and was happy to not fight Ricky for the use of his washroom. After rinsing out her mouth again, she checked her phone to see a text from Nico, apologizing for having to leave “due to an urgent matter.”I have no concerns about how well Malcolm’s event will run without me, he’d added.
She relaxed slightly. He was right. She’d done a lot of work to make sure this would go smoothly. She would stay here in Ricky’s office and run interference. It would basically be like being downstairs in the heart of the event herself. Everything was going to be fine.
She leaned over again. Or not. At least this time, she managed to pull back her hair.
* * *
Half an hour later, Valerie lay moaning softly on the floor of Ricky’s washroom. Her blazer formed a crumpled heap in the corner. Her hair had been scraped to the top of her head with a rubber band she’d found on the floor and would have to cut out. Her throat was raw, her stomach a disturbing mix of empty and nauseous, and her shirt hung out of her unzipped skirt, which was draped haphazardly over her hips. Her knees in the ripped stockings were wet because she’d spilled water on the floor. She was grateful it was only water.
In her hand was her phone and on the phone was Alexis, who, despite Valerie’s hopes, was crumpling under the pressure like a cheap shirt in a sweaty palm. It didn’t help that Josette hadn’t arrived, and Alexis refused to come upstairs to talk through the event, citing her dislike of sick people.
“That Penny woman wants to confirm no-shows from the guest list. What do I tell her?” This was the tenth call in twenty minutes.
Valerie tried to sit but gave up. “We can give her a full accounting tomorrow. Annabel is scanning the invitations when people come in.”
“She was? I thought security did that so I put her on coat check.”
Valerie shut her eyes and tried not to pant. Talking took so much effort. “Then we’ll guesstimate.”
“Did you stuff the gift bags?”
“That was your job.”
“I couldn’t find the bread and figured you’d do it.” Alexis sounded grim. “I have to go. Someone spilled a drink and an old lady’s on the ground.”
“What?”
“She’s probably fine.”
Valerie tried to sip some water, failed, and lurched out to Ricky’s office to see what was happening on his CCTV so she could flag any issues for Alexis. She hugged the bowl she’d emptied of potpourri—the residual lavender scent was soothing—and her heart lifted slightly. So far, it looked like it was going according to plan. The room was full but not overcrowded, with the Badgertons solemnly circulating through their guests. Even better, there were no elderly people sprawled on the ground.
A text came from Nico.How is the event?
Valerie pawed at her phone.Wonderful!
After another bout of dry heaving that she thought might bring up her actual stomach, she returned to the cameras. Odd. It looked busier than usual. Was that…? She looked closer and confirmed the existence of visors and fanny packs. A group of tourists? Taking photos of the original stained-glass windows?
She tapped Alexis’s number so fast she nearly sprained her finger. No answer. Valerie dragged herself closer and saw a teenager sneaking off with a bottle of Malcolm’s thirty-two-year-old whiskey.
She called again and on the fourth try, Alexis answered. “What?”
“Get that bottle!”
“What bottle?” Alexis sounded frazzled.
“Where are you?”
“Stuffing the bags like you told me!”
“Alexis, Josette isn’t here yet. You need to be dealing with the event. There’s a kid stealing whiskey. Where’s the bartender?”
