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"Good morning, Ms. Higgins."
"Hello, Ms. Connor. To what do I owe this surprise?"
"Oh, no particular reason. Thought I'd walk with him today."
She beamed. "You have a great boy. Was the only one who got over 90 percent on the math test last week. I'll see you and your brother at Soccer Day on Wednesday?"
"Of course." I wasn't a fan of any parents' day, mostly because it brought front and center that Milo only had one parent. He never said anything, but I saw the way he looked at the other kids, and no amount of his favorite food or goofing around on my part cheered him up after that. Quality uncle time worked though, which was why I was grateful Will was joining us. Yep, I was one big cheat, but if it worked, why not?
My thoughts returned to Jeff. What did he want? He’d said he just wanted to catch up first, and now suddenly he brought up his rights?
One thing was clear, though—I couldn't ignore him anymore. I'd hoped the last e-mail was a fluke, but since he mentioned rights now, things changed. He wanted a fight? I'd give him one. He'd broken Milo's heart by not being a part of his life, and I wasn't going to let him do any more harm. I replied to his e-mail.
From: Lori Connor
To: Jeff Finn
Why are you bringing up your rights now? You’ve had no interest in Milo. Ever.
After I left the school, I hurried across town to meet one of my assistants, Molly. We were scouting new wedding locations today. The restaurant scene in LA was ever changing, and staying on top of our game required knowing the scoop on the newest wedding venues. Today, we had three promising leads. If they cut the mustard, we'd be adding them to our list. My level of enthusiasm was surprisingly low when I arrived. I loved scouting new locations, imagining how they'd look with wedding decorations, the potential happy couples. Jeff's e-mail was still looming over me.
"Hey, boss," Molly said. "I have something for you."
She pointed to the box in her hands. I didn't recognize the brand, but by the shape of the carton, there were sweet treats inside. If Molly started anticipating my needs for sugar, the girl had earned herself a raise.
"Gimme, gimme!" I took the box with grabby hands, and my mouth watered when I discovered slices of cheesecake inside.
"When did you buy these?"
"I didn't. They were delivered. Luckily I had to pick something up from the office this morning. First, I thought maybe you ordered samples, or a local business sent them of their own accord, but the delivery guy said specifically they were from Graham Frazier. Weekend went well, I take it? He was satisfied with... the wedding?"
I nodded as I helped myself to a slice of cheesecake. Goodness, this was the elixir of life, right here. Molly was eyeing the second slice, and I realized common decency dictated that I had to share. I held the carton out for her, keeping my fingers crossed that she'd decline my silent invitation. No such luck. She downed the second slice before I even finished my own. Still, even the sugar rush from one sweet treat was an excellent mood booster. Graham had been thinking about me first thing this morning.
I was smiling when we stepped inside the restaurant. Oh yeah, this one was a winner. I felt it in my bones from the first sweep across the room. Floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed in plenty of natural light, a spacious dance floor. They even had a fountain in the patio that would make an excellent backdrop for photos. It had all the makings of a dream location.
"Ms. Connor, Ms. Black, nice to meet you." Joanna Worthington, the location manager, strode to us, shaking our hands.
"This is lovely," I said earnestly. "Can you give us a tour?"
"Of course."
"Is it okay if I take pictures while we're at it?" Molly asked.
Joanna hesitated for a moment. "Of course."
Every restaurant had a photo gallery online, but they were often only from the best angles, and I wanted to show our clients all angles. Nothing like falling in love with a location when you looked at their website and then discovering you'd only seen the good bits. Best to know everything from the get-go. While Molly clicked off the camera, I committed to memory the numbers Joanna was rattling. I didn't like them much, but I did like the location enough to persuade her to lower them.
"I'll be honest; you're charging a lot for the menu. Even your cheapest version is fifteen percent above comparable offers."
Joanna pursed her lips. Molly hid her face behind the camera. She liked to say I had all the grace of a bulldozer when it came to pricing.
"We're committed to offering our customers the best."
A rehearsed answer, but not necessarily a bad one. It wasn't good enough either, though.
"I know as a new business, you want to break even as soon as possible. But as someone who reviews dozens of wedding menu prices a week, I can tell you that the higher prices will work against you. Now, if you were to include a few standard alcoholic beverages in that price, we could work something out."
Joanna's lips were a thin line now, but I continued before she could protest.
