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“Happy new week, ladies. How is everything coming along?” Ramesh asked, clapping his hands together joyously.
“I am so very happy to announce I have a full book of models who have agreed to work for the gala.” I swore Riva wanted to pirouette or something.
“I knew you’d have a way with them. You’re a gem, Miss Riva. Definitely, the type of person models love.” Ramesh touched his fingers to his chest. “I am happy to say that the who’s who of London will be front and center at the gala. As soon as Elton accepted the invite, the crème de la crème followed suit. We have former pop stars, reality TV stars, London’s latestItgirl, a couple of rich Americans and British entrepreneurs, and even royalty attending. I am super excited.”
“Wow.” I felt the weight of the world settling upon my shoulders—I had yet to complete my tasks.
Ramesh turned to me. “What about your, Sienna?”
“I managed to secure the Children’s Health Foundation as our charity. On the musician front, the first one was a bust, I’m afraid.”
Ramesh’s shoulders dropped. “Oh no. Why was that?”
“She disagrees with our business as a whole.” I shrugged it off. “But never fear. I have an entire list to run through, and my neighbor happens to manage a band and said he’d be more than happy to take me to listen to them, to see if they would be suitable.”
Riva’s eyes lit up. “I think your neighbor’s band would be perfect for this,” she said excitedly.
I ignored the familiar tone of her voice and pushed on before Ramesh could question her. “I’m thinking the first artist should be chill, considering everyone will just be arriving and settling in. A more upbeat artist would suit the party at the end of the gala.”
Ramesh clapped. “Love it, sweetie.”
“Now that the autumn press tour is over, I can focus more of my energy on this. Sorry if I’ve dropped the ball at all.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Honestly, honey, Lord Huntington is a handful, even I know that. You had your work cut out for you. Well, good riddance to him and onto the next thing.”
I bit my tongue. Ramesh didn’t need to know that my boyfriend and I wanted to participate in a three-way with Augustus or that we’d spent time together yesterday at his house. The thought of those two on each other and myself had me squeezing my thighs together. And here I had another five hours of work left.
Riva’s eyes narrowed at me suspiciously, butI ignored her gaze. “Now, what else do we have to plan?”
Ramesh followed my lead. “Oh, plenty. Catering, decorations, seating plans, venue, the night’s program, many things. So, let’s get started, shall we?” Ramesh opened his Surface Pro and tapped on a planning program.
Planning events was something I was always good at back home. I’d planned my sister’s bachelorette party, her baby shower, and my parents’ surprise thirtieth wedding anniversary five years ago. I would always throw the best birthday parties too.
The memories flooded back to me, making me miss my folks on their idyllic little farm in Wayborough Valley. It had been ages since I’d visited my sister too. She lived in San Diego with her husband and their newborn daughter, Gillian, who I had yet to meet in person.
This was something I loved to do. I pulled my tablet from my bag to help search and discuss each part of the event. We were at it most of the day, allowing me to push aside my desires that were wholly inappropriate for my current environment.
Ramesh was thoughtful enough to order a lunch of gourmet pasties and a selection of juices, which meant we didn’t have to leave our planning bubble until we had everything sorted. I was proud of our efforts and knew Linda would be as well.
“This is wonderful work,” Linda said during our early evening meeting. “I’m impressed with how quickly the plans for this year’s gala are coming together. You three are working like a well-oiled machine.”
Ramesh beamed. “These two young ladies are the best young recruits I’ve worked with on this gala in years. Sienna and Riva are almost as good as I am at event planning.”
“Interesting feedback, thank you, Ramesh,” Linda said and inclined her head at him.
I wondered what was going on in Linda’s mind. For once, she wasn’t mad at me, but I knew her well enough to know that she was concocting ideas and plans that I’d die to be privy to.
Linda turned to me. “I understand you’ve yet to secure musical artists for the gala, Sienna?”
I squirmed. “Yes, my first prospect wasn’t successful. But I do have others lined up to speak to and audition. I should have some artists secured by the end of the week.”
“That’s good to hear. I promise to keep your workload a little lighter now that the autumn catalog is complete. You can focus solely upon the gala for now.”
“I totally appreciate it.” I breathed a sigh of relief. It would be nice to focus on one project for a while.
“Well, it’s getting late, and I still have to contact Sonja with all of this planning you’ve provided me with. Head on home, you lot. Riva, Sienna, I’ll see you tomorrow at ten- thirty. You’ve earned yourselves a sleep-in. Well done.”
Riva clasped her hands together. “Oh my goodness, thank you, Linda. You’re a doll.”
