Page 24 of Last First Date

"No!" I schooled myself. "I mean, no thank you. I can walk and chew gum at the same time. If I have an assistant with the event, I can manage both. Although it wouldn't be terrible if you lightened my load a bit."

He flashed another smile. "Understood."

I went back to my desk and immediately went through the employee roster to search for a part-time planner. Someone that would be willing to assist me and not try to take over the event.

Scanning the list, my eyes caught a name. Marcy Hansen. She was a recent hire who worked part-time as a junior planner. I remembered her enthusiasm and fresh approach during our weekly meetings.

"Marcy," I murmured under my breath, envisioning the perky redhead with a pixie cut and infectious laugh. She would be perfect for this task.

Pulling up her contact information, I shot her a quick email outlining the situation and asked if she could meet me later that day to discuss the event in more detail. She responded almost instantly.

It was about thirty minutes later when Knox sent me the information. I grimaced, realizing there was really very little information. I did what I did best and called the contact.

"Good morning," I greeted. "My name is Waverly Edwards with Elite Occasions. I'm the planner for the grand opening event for your new outdoor store. I'd love to set up a meeting to get more details."

The woman wasn't all that enthusiastic. She gave me a list of bullet points and not much else. She didn't seem to like her job.

"Okay, well, I am going to toss around some ideas, and I would like to schedule a time to meet with you to finalize the details. From there, we will jump right into things."

"Sounds good," she said and ended the call.

Marcy showed up a few minutes later with a heavy binder and her laptop bag. "I'm ready," she said with excitement.

"Why don't we move to the conference room? No one is scheduled to use it today. We can spread out in there. This is proving to be a challenge already. I'll meet you in there in a couple of minutes."

I stopped by Knox's office. "Hey, I'm going to be in the conference room working on a theme for this event. Do you need anything?"

He shook his head. "Did you talk to Benjamin?"

"I spoke with his assistant," I said. "They really didn't have a lot to tell me."

"Yeah, it's a tough one," he muttered. "Good luck."

Once again, I got the feeling this was all intentional. He was really hoping I would fall flat on my face. "Thanks," I said.

When I got to the conference room, it looked like a bomb went off. I was surprised by how quickly Marcy could make such a big mess in just a few minutes. Balloon samples, ribbon swatches, color schemes, mood boards, and a pile of reference books were scattered across the table. Marcy was kneeling on the floor, sorting through a box of fabric samples.

"Wow, you don't waste any time," I said, slightly taken aback by her energy.

She looked up at me with a grin. "Go big or go home."

"So, they say," I agreed. "Well, why don't we start with what we know? Our client wants a Valentine's theme to celebrate the grand opening of their store. They didn’t offer much else. Oh, black tie."

She stared at me with her mouth hanging open. "That's it?"

I nodded. "That's it. Marcy, this is a first for both of us. I know it's a monumental task, but I think we can handle it."

"Hell, yeah." She laughed.

"So, let's start with three different options to pitch to the client," I said.

"Sounds like a plan!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, clapping her hands together and bouncing up from her position on the floor. "We can do this, and we will blow their minds! We are going to get planners of the year."

For hours we worked together, brainstorming ideas, creating mood boards, and mapping out possible event layouts. I was surprised at Marcy's creativity. She was truly a breath of fresh air. Her optimism was infectious, and it made the monumental task seem somewhat manageable.

The first concept we came up with was an elegant “Midnight in Paris” theme. The setting would showcase romantic Eiffel Tower silhouettes against a starlit sky backdrop, with tables adorned with black silk tablecloths and golden candelabras, reflecting a luxurious twilight Parisian charm.

"I like the Paris thing, but I have a feeling they'll choose something else," I said. "I hope they don’t because I love it. Maybe we can give it to one of the other planners if our client doesn't pick it."