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18
On Sunday afternoon, Molly McKee walked up to the entrance of The Oxford arm-in-arm with Austin, smiling her 100-watt smile. Just looking at them, you would think a celebrity couple had arrived to book an event. Molly was quite the package - successful, bubbly, funny, and gorgeous. Her five-foot frame looked tiny next to Austin as they casually strolled into the lobby of The Oxford, laughing and teasing each other about something.
Jane stood in the lobby watching them approach, having the feeling that she would be the third-wheel with them throughout the day. She hadn’t met Molly in person, just via phone and video, but for all intents and purposes, she liked the woman. Molly was direct, smart, easy to work with, and definitely knew her stuff. Jane was unclear why Molly would fly cross-country to narrow down choices for Kat and Mike since this could be done via phone or video, but as she watched her with Austin, she had an idea as to why she decided to make this quick trip.
“Jane,” Molly smiled brightly, walking toward Jane to air kiss her. “You look wonderful,” she said, looking at Jane’s outfit. Jane had worn a red sheath midi dress with a thick black belt, and high black heels today. She wanted to look good for her meeting with Molly, and she knew this dress hugged her body in all the right places.
“Thank you,” Jane smiled, looking at Molly’s outfit. She was wearing a long floral maxi dress that gave off a west coast boho vibe, paired with leather ankle booties and a distressed denim jacket. “You look lovely,” Jane replied.
Molly squealed a little and then looked up at Austin, “See, I told you my dress was cute,” she said, playfully sticking her tongue out at Austin.
Jane looked over at Austin, wondering what prompted this exchange, “I asked her if she borrowed her dress from the Little House of the Prairie set,” he explained.
“He’s too much,” Molly laughed, as she looked up at Austin with smitten eyes.
“Well, for what it’s worth,” Jane added, looking at Molly. “I love it. You look like a west coast chick, whereas I,” she said pointing to her outfit, “clearly look east coast.”
“You look professional,” Molly said, smiling at her, “and chic, with a body to kill,” she winked again. “Your boyfriend must die when you leave the house, especially when you are around all these handsome guys every day,” she said looking over at Austin.
Jane looked up and locked eyes with Austin, and felt herself blush for a second, though it was clear that Molly was trying to capture his attention, not hers.
“Oh,” Jane said coolly, feeling her stomach tighten, knowing Austin and Molly both had eyes on her, “that’s sweet to say. Work doesn’t allow me too much free time for dating at the moment.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Molly shot back, “Come on,” she said looking at Austin, “you must know some single guys for her that would work around her work schedule. She’s gorgeous!”
Jane felt her cheeks turning red, and she didn’t want to look at Austin. She had already embarrassed herself enough by coming clean with him about high school, so the last thing she needed now was Molly trying to get Austin to hook her up with one of his friends.
“I’m fine, really,” she said, looking at Molly, feeling uncomfortable.
“I mean, aren’t all your brothers single?” Molly asked Austin directly, ignoring Jane’s response.
Austin looked like a deer in headlights, for once not sure what to say. As suave as he was, he wasn’t prepared for Molly putting him on the spot like this. He knew Molly was bold, but for this, he wasn’t prepared. He also suddenly felt a little guarded about the thought of hooking Jane up with anyone, even his brothers.
“Yeah, I mean… I think so,” he muttered, not knowing what else to say.
“Honestly, Molly,” Jane added, looking up at Austin, “the last thing I’m sure Austin wants is to hook me up with one of his brothers,” she laughed uncomfortably.
“Well,” Molly shrugged, “we can’t let those cute boys go to waste,” she winked.
Jane politely laughed and looked over at Austin who was trying to play it as cool as a cucumber. “You didn’t come all this way to talk about my dating life. Why don’t we head into the dining area and start working through some of the logistics for the wedding?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Austin interjected, wanting to move this train along. The last thing he felt like doing was standing here any longer, listening to Molly try to hook up Jane with one of his brothers. He couldn’t pinpoint why he was feeling strange about it, but he didn’t like it.
“I already called ahead to have the kitchen prep the dishes that Kat and Mike had liked from the sample menu, Molly,” Jane said as they walked into the dining area. “They made some great choices for the wedding. I also went ahead and pulled wine and dessert options, too.”
“The toughest part for Kat and Mike,” Molly replied, “seems to be making the final choices. If I let them have their way, they’d do everything on the menu, which is just too much food.”
“Well, they could if they wanted,” Austin interrupted, looking over at Jane. “Right?”
Jane nodded in agreement, knowing that although Austin hadn’t worked at The Oxford, he knew enough about the business to talk sensibly and that the most important thing was making the client happy. “We can do whatever they want. Their wish is our command,” Jane said.
“As much as I’m obsessed with Kat and Mike… because believe me, I am… if I give them too many choices, the sky will be the limit, and your life and my life will be hell. We have about three weeks now, so I need to rein them in a bit. My goal for this trip is to go back with solid options in each category and have them choose,” Molly said.
“Whatever you think is best,” Jane smiled, approaching the table that had been set in the dining room in full wedding magnificence.
“Oh, Jane,” Molly said, beaming at the table set for two, as well as the centerpieces. Everything was done in creams and whites, just as Kat had originally requested on their very first call. The napkins had pearls running along the edges, adding an elegant touch. The flower centerpieces were simply calla lilies in tall, clear vases, giving a simple, yet pretty touch. “You did this?”
Jane nodded, appreciating her approval and obvious pleasure. “I can’t take all the credit. My team is exceptional. I wanted to make sure we were able to give Kat and Mike photos of everything we discuss here today. I know it’s in the details, so I wanted to make sure they were happy with what we had in mind for the table setting.”
