A New Assignment

Evie

I loved P*******t. It was such an amazing website. I could literally spend the entire day staring at the endless pictures and ideas. I didn’t like to steal anyone’s great ideas, but I liked to take what I saw and add my own special spin. It was what made me good at my job.

I loved themed parties. They were so much fun. It gave me an opportunity to fill every fantasy. I could be under the sea, in Paris, or on the moon. I was known for planning parties that were ridiculously over the top. No detail was missed. When someone told me they had this idea, I took it and ran. One day, I would own my own business. For now, I worked for one of the top party planning agencies in the country. At least, that was what we advertised.

I took a quick screenshot and saved it to my file of ideas that I didn’t need right away but was hoping to use eventually. I clicked off the site. I had to. It was too tempting to keep open. I pulled out the file for the party I was preparing a proposal for. It was a sweet-sixteen party for a very wealthy young girl, but it wasn’t happening for another year. The family was very serious about the party being the best of the best.

“Evie,” my boss, Clara, said as she walked into my small office.

I greeted her with a smile. “What’s up?”

She sat down in the soft chair across from my desk. “I have a bit of an issue. I am hoping you can help me.”

“What do you need?”

“We have a last-minute party request,” she said with a grimace. “Like this weekend. Saturday.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Last minute is right. How big?”

“Two hundred.”

My mouth fell open. “Two hundred?”

She nodded. “It’s for a cargo-shipping company. Apparently, they are pulling in some pretty good business and the owner wants to throw a party to celebrate and recognize his employees.”

“Ah, that’s sweet,” I said, completely ignoring the fact the party he wanted would normally take weeks, sometimes months, to plan.

“Yes, sweet, but seriously, this is a big deal. I’ve tacked on a fee for the short notice. This could be a good account. We were the only planners willing to take it on. If we prove we can handle it, we will earn their regular business.”

“Okay, what do you need me to do?” I asked. I loved a challenge.

“I want you to handle it. I have that wedding this weekend. I cannot possibly spare a minute for this. I have Amber and David with me as well. You would be on your own.”

A knot formed in my gut. “Me? Alone?”

“I know you can handle it. They don’t want a lot of flair. You can do it, right?”

It wasn’t like I could say no. “Yes. I will not let you down.”

“Thank you. If you need help, reach out, but this wedding is a big deal. I can’t let down this family.”

I nodded. The wedding was right up there with the likes of Will and Kate and Kim and Kanye. It was big. I had been picking up the slack while Clara focused all her energy on the one wedding. It was great for me, giving me a chance to grow and gain some experience. “I will give it my best.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging forward. “Thank you. I knew I could count on you. This wedding will be the death of me.”

“I have seen some of the plans. It is a doozie. They are going to love it.”

“They better. I’ll send you the details in the next ten minutes.”

“I’ll get right on it,” I assured her.

She left my office. I slapped my hands over my face. “Oh shit,” I breathed. “You can do this, Evie. You can do this.”

I quickly cleaned up my desk, putting away the sweet-sixteen folder. I needed organization. I needed everything in its place. I pulled out the yellow pad I insisted on keeping notes on and tore off the top page. It wasn’t written on, but it wasn’t pristine. I liked pristine.

I heard the chime alerting me to a new email. It was from Clara. I took a deep breath and put myself in the right frame of mind to tackle a new project. A big project. I opened it and immediately printed the document. We used a standard form and then the planner would reach out and get more information from the client.

I pulled the forms from the printer, put them in order, tapped them on the desk to get them perfectly even, and put a staple in the corner. Only then did I start to read through the forms. I made little notes on my yellow pad about things I needed to clarify.

With the notes made and an idea already forming in my mind, I packed up my things. I needed to do a little window shopping. I needed fresh air and a change of scenery. It was the way I worked. I needed to get my juices flowing.

I knew just the place—my favorite bar. I wasn’t a heavy drinker and I rarely liked day drinking, but my best friend in the whole world worked at the bar. It was really the only time we got to chat. She worked nights. I worked days and sometimes nights.

Right now, it would be nice and slow in the bar. The few regulars and the guys having really bad days would stick to their corner of the bar and I would hang out at the other side. I said my goodbyes to the small staff that worked in the office and headed out into the beautiful San Diego sun. I slid on my sunglasses and walked to my car. The heels I wore were sensible, which was a necessity considering how much I was on my feet most days.