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11
One of the things that Jane loved about her job was bringing celebrations to life. Normally, she dealt with events that were happy occasions like weddings, graduations, anniversaries, birthdays, and retirement parties. She felt honored to be able to sit with a family and make sure their special occasion was everything they dreamed of. Event planning had always been in her blood.
After graduating from Johnson & Wales, she immediately secured an internship with a swanky hotel in Boston. As part of that internship, she was able to work and experience every department from sales to marketing to human resources to event planning. She tried it all. The moment she began shadowing the Director of Events there, she was hooked. It was evident from the beginning that she had a knack for putting events together and managing every detail. Nothing went unnoticed, and her boss noticed her. When that internship ended, there wasn’t an open position available at the hotel, so they created one specifically for her.
It had been a tough choice to leave that hotel in Boston after being there for four years, but when a position opened up as an assistant to the Director of Events at a popular hotel in Newport, she decided to go for it. She loved the thought of being back in Rhode Island, and she knew that the Newport position would be an incredible addition to add to her resume. What she hadn’t expected when she started work was that she would be running the entire events planning team. The job had been advertised as an “assistant” position, but the director had basically handed off the reins to her. As difficult as it was being on a lower pay scale, and coping with a workload that was double what it should be, she loved the team there. As much as she would have loved to stay longer, after being there for almost five years she knew she needed a change. When she saw that The Oxford was hiring for a Director of Events, she jumped at the opportunity. She was 29 years old, about to turn 30, and up for the amazing challenge of a five-star property like The Oxford. Mr. and Mrs. Drew had interviewed her together and, much to her surprise, they had hired her on the spot, agreeing to her requested salary and welcoming her to The Oxford family. Her life changed in the space of an hour.
Her reverie was broken by a familiar voice, “Good morning, Jane.” She looked up to see Mrs. Drew standing in her doorway, “Happy Friday, my dear!”
Mrs. Drew was the epitome of style and grace, which Jane had noticed right away. She always looked like she was off to an important luncheon. She was a little bit short, only about 5’5,” which seemed tiny considering her four sons were 5’10” and taller. Mrs. Drew had dark hair that was styled to brush her shoulders, olive skin, brown eyes, and a petite figure. It was clear that she worked out regularly, but Jane wondered how she found the time. She was always at The Oxford, no matter the day or the time.
“Happy Friday to you, too! Any plans for the weekend?” Jane asked.
“You mean other than being here?” Mrs. Drew laughed.
“That’s my weekend, too,” Jane added, with a smile. “We have two weddings, a Sweet 16 birthday party, and a baby shower.” The best part for Jane was knowing that all the planning and organization were complete and it was now Jane’s job to make sure everything was executed perfectly. Thankfully, she had a team behind her who worked tirelessly to make sure that happened.
“Slow weekend,” Mrs. Drew winked. “So, I hear you had the pleasure of meeting my baby,” she said with a hint of amusement in her eyes.
Jane looked down at her desk and then back at Mrs. Drew. “Yes, I met Austin earlier this week. He’s going to be working with me on the Kat and Mike wedding. We had a good call with their wedding planner on Wednesday. I’ve created our to-do list with specific timelines, so if he’s going to be in today, we’ll go over it. As I’m sure you know, our timelines are very tight.”
Mrs. Drew smiled and nodded her head, “I would say this has to be the quickest timetable we have ever worked with, but it’s worth it. I’m happy that Austin will be involved, and I hope he will be an asset to you. He’s good at these kinds of things.”
Jane smiled, looking back at Mrs. Drew, wanting to ask what ‘these kinds of things’ meant. “Yes, I think once we start dividing up tasks, we’ll be in a good position for the wedding. We are working with Molly McKee, so she will help move things along, as well.”
“Oh, I love Molly,” Mrs. Drew answered. “I didn’t know she was Kat’s wedding planner. Austin didn’t tell me. She’s very nice and supposedly very good at what she does. It’s good to know that Molly is in good hands with you here.”
“Oh, thank you,” Jane blushed. She loved being told by Mr. and Mrs. Drew that they were happy with her work. She knew she was good, but it was always nice to be told.
“And listen,” Mrs. Drew remarked with a knowing look in her eyes. “If Austin gives you any trouble at all, you come let me know. Deal?” she added.
Jane shook her head up and down with a smile, knowing that she wouldn’t do anything of the kind. “Of course, Mrs. Drew.”
Mrs. Drew stared back, knowing that most likely Jane was just giving her lip service, because she was a professional and would never get involved in that kind of family business.
“Thank you, Jane… because, my dear, I’ve already heard through the grapevine that he was late for your first meeting, and pretty much late for the second one, too. He can be tough to rein in, so don’t be afraid to say something. This is a business. He needs to remember that. This isn’t one of his fun resort parties, and I don’t want him holding you up on anything. I’ve already talked to him about this, so please don’t think I’m going behind his back. It’s important to us as a family to bring our sons into the business, and we’re trying to see where each one fits. We feel Austin will be a great family representative when it comes to events. As you know, people love knowing that we’re personally involved in their events, but you’re in charge, not him… so please don’t feel uncomfortable saying anything to me.”
Jane sat there, not quite sure what to say. She was grateful that Mrs. Drew said something, but also knew that unless Austin messed up colossally on something, she would never tattletale to his mother or father. She hoped to God that he would get with the program and make this event easy on everyone. She didn’t need the extra headaches, especially with her current workload. She also couldn’t help wondering that if this all went well, did it mean that she would be stuck with Austin in her department on a permanent basis? Would her future at The Oxford mean dealing with him all the time?
* * *
A few minutes after Mrs. Drew left her office, Jane heard someone walking down the hallway. Fridays were always busy because Jane was prepping for the weekend events, making last-minute phone calls, and checking in with vendors and her team to make sure everything was set.
She had a feeling it was probably Mr. Drew coming to check on the weekend events and possibly reiterate what Mrs. Drew had just told her. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate their help or their support; it was that she didn’t have time to deal with Austin if he ended up slacking off and not performing. She had a job to do, and she was hopeful that once she was able to sit with Austin and work through the list she had created, everything would flow easily for them.
“Morning, Jane.”
Jane looked up to be greeted by the man of the moment: Austin Drew.
“Morning,” Jane replied, quickly glancing at her watch to see that it was 8:15 am. What was Austin doing here so early? Shouldn’t he be sleeping, or working out? “You’re here early,” she said, staring back up at him.
“Early bird gets the worm. Isn’t that what they say?” Austin asked, all casual and relaxed. “You mind if I come in? I brought coffee,” Austin added, holding up two styrofoam cups, hoping to win some points with Jane.
Jane suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach watching him walk toward her dressed in a cream-colored cashmere sweater, dark jeans with a brown belt, and brown leather loafers. He also smelled very good, which was something she had always noticed about the Drew family in general. She quickly looked away, not liking where her mind had just gone. He looked good, so what? He would look good in a paper bag. She just needed to eliminate those kinds of images from her head.
“You don’t seem to care about that denim policy?” she joked, as Austin took a seat in front of her, placing her coffee in front of her.
Austin let out a little laugh and looked down at his jeans. “If you ask me, that rule is kind of archaic.”
