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“Hopefully Hunter will find some friends of his own. Right here in Mesa,” Catherine adds with a bite that raises Adrienne’s antenna once again.
My phone buzzes and I use it as a necessary distraction. It’s Frankie. Normally I would ignore it but with the need to defuse the situation in front of us, I take it. “Hey Frankie, what’s up.” I raise a finger in the girl’s direction, pivot, and take a few steps away from them.
“I need you to work tonight.” No hello, not even the minimal of social graces. This is Frankie in a nutshell. To him I’m just a worker. He provides a paycheck, and I should hop to his every whim.
I huff out a breath and bury my initial reaction, something I’m good at. “I just clocked out a few hours ago. Besides, I thought we were dark tonight.” After the Morgans canceled tonight, the awards dinner followed suit, the power of local gossip quick and deadly. A catering hall being dark on a Friday night is unheard of.
I can feel this is the tipping point. After the cancellation I didn’t waste a moment. I had Melody’s assistant set me up with a round of golf with Mr. Franklin in Tucson Sunday. Time to close the deal.
“Yeah, but then I spoke to my friend Palmer. I got him to convince Carlos to move their bachelor party from the cramped back room at the bar they were planning to our hall. They were already going to pay a ridiculous amount for drinks, so I offered them the food for free and three times the space for the same price.”
Frankie may think he’s making a shrewd move, but it will be seen for what it is, desperation. Every person that attends will be talking about how they waltzed into an empty Legendary last minute on a Friday night and ate for free. “You have five people on the books for tonight. Why do you need me?”
“I don’t need anybody.” I feel his sense of entitlement through the phone. “You work for me, and I said for you to come in.” I picture him in his office prancing around, his arms in a constant whirlwind. The moves of a little man attempting to seem important. “Make it around midnight. And for your information, I had dismissed everyone after the second cancellation, and you were the only one picking up their phone. I can handle the party; I just need you to do the cleanup.”
Cleaning up after a bunch of drunk guys is not what I had planned for my Friday night. But with the end so near this can only provide more ammunition for my discussion with Mr. Franklin. “Fine. I’ll be there.” I push out a frustrated breath and disconnect.
“Is everything okay?” I expect the question to come from my fake girlfriend, but it doesn’t. Her little sister rolls her bike toward me with a look of concern on her face that matches her voice.
“Yeah. Just got called into work tonight. Carlos’ bachelor party has been moved to the Legendary.”
I look over Adrienne’s shoulder hoping that Catherine is past whatever is troubling her. I search her face for a sign that we can get back to the fun we were having with her sister.
Her words tell me she isn’t. “See, the universe provides. Perfect opportunity for you to make friends.”
I refuse to bite, not in front of her perceptive sister. “I’ll do my best,” I joke and adjust my bike helmet, putting an end to this conversation. I’m not sure how but I need to find a way to get Catherine alone and figure out what’s truly bothering her.
