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Between the traffic, and the distance, it took me far too long to get to the place. Some sort of big, corporate space with floors one could rent out for parties and other important events. There was the signage that I had written in for and I could see the lights were on in the second-floor windows. Heaving a relieved sigh to myself, I headed up the stairs.
The door was propped open by a chair when I reached the landing, and let myself in. Sure enough, there was a team of interns and other assistants all setting up, as well as what looked like the DJ. Quickly, I did a walkabout, and I was relieved to see that everything was just as we had planned. How often did that happen?
I finally allowed myself a real sigh of relief and went to the large cooler that catering had brought. Just like I had requested, there were two of them, one with one containing allergen and gluten containing foods and the other free from all that. I figured nothing would crash a party like someone’s throat closing up or stomach turning itself inside out, so maybe I had been overcautious, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Hey there, Beverly, right?”
I looked up to see one of the head assistants in the entertainment division. Clinton, I was pretty sure his name was. A nice enough guy, and so pocket sized that it was hard not to want to shove him in my purse. He was a good worker and had helped to make a lot of my task easier over the past two days.
“That’s me,” I said, shutting one of the coolers and looking around once more. “But I prefer to be called Bev. Did you make sure that the bathrooms are fully stocked? Plenty of toilet seat covers, feminine hygiene products?”
He nodded, grinning. “Everything’s been checked off twice and then triple checked again. You’ve all planned a good party.”
“We’ve planned a good party,” I said matter of factly. “You were a part of it too.”
“P’shaw,” he retorted with a wink. “I just ran around and got you coffee. Ain’t no big thing.”
“Is that what you call it?” I asked, feeling myself relax ever so slightly. Clinton was a pleb like me. One of the few people I wouldn’t have to be as strict around. “Seemed like a big deal to me.”
“That’s only because you had an entire team’s workload thrown on you in just forty-eight hours.”
Now it was my time to shrug. “But hey, it worked out, right?”
“Knock on wood. You’ve worked hard. Why don’t you head home and finally get some rest? Trust me, we’ve got you covered here. I’m sure the head honcho is gonna be real pleased with everything you’ve done.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, feeling my face flush a little. “I guess I’ll just… head out then.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He gave me a friendly nod and I turned to go, giving everything one last look over while I did. But I didn’t even manage to get out the door before my phone rang.
And I mean really rang. Not as in a text message or a notification, but an actual phone call. Who called people nowadays?
I wrested my phone from my purse, not sure what to expect. Telemarketer, maybe? Did I forget a bill?
But in wasn’t any of those. Instead it was a contact that one of the secretaries had programmed into my phone. One that had only been previously used for the occasional text message containing an order.
Mr. Fitzgerald.
I stared at it, letting it ring one more time before I realized that I needed to answer. Taking a breath, I tried to gather myself.
“Yes, sir?” I asked uncertainly.
“Ms. Viello. I checked your desk and the secretaries said they hadn’t seen you all day. Where are you?”
“I’m at the party location. I just wanted to check to make sure that everything was set up properly. I’m about to head home now.”
“Head home?” he questioned, sounding cool as a cucumber while I was still trying to figure out why he was calling me when a text would have surmised. Fitzgerald wasn’t exactly one to waste time on inefficiency.
“Yeah. I double checked everything and it’s all going well.”
“But if you’re at home, how are you going to attend the party?”
I swallowed, feeling my mouth going incredibly dry. “Attend the party?”
“Of course. I need you there to take notes on everyone I talk to and what we talk about, and anything else interesting that sharp mind of yours might pick up.”
His compliment to my brain flew right over my head as panic quickly swirled inside of me. “I, uh, wasn’t aware that I would need to be present.”
“Of course. You planned it, it’d be a bit depressing to not get to enjoy at least a little of it.”
