with a marble mantel. The investment firm bought the hotel a few years ago to save it from being torn down. They restored it, then sold it to a small hotel chain. It's a gorgeous building, and perfect for this event.
"Nice job on the centerpieces," Beverly says. "Was that Celine's direction?"
"She directed me on the idea but I made it come to life," I say with confidence. This is not the time to be humble and downplay my work. I need her to know how much of myself I put into this project, and how hard I worked to make it a success.
"I need to get going." Beverly comes up to me, her thin red lips curling up just enough to let me know she's pleased. "Best of luck tonight. I hope to hear great things from the client on Monday."
"You will." I give her a confident smile. "Thank you, Beverly, for stopping by."
As she leaves, Bianca and Celine appear. They must have walked in together because they're in the middle of a conversation.
"We totally need to do that," Bianca says, flipping her hair. "I've wanted to try that spa for months now."
Celine grabs her arm. "Let's go tomorrow afternoon. We're going to need a long massage after this dinner. It's been so much work. I'm exhausted."
She's exhausted? From what? She didn't do anything except order me around. I haven't even seen her since Thursday. She's just been phoning me with her demands. She said she'd be here today to help but then she didn't show up.
"That sounds fabulous!" Bianca squeals. "You think you could get us in?"
"Are you kidding?" Celine says with a laugh. "They love me there. They'll do anything I ask."
Celine and Bianca have become best friends. They go shopping together, go out for drinks, and meet for dinner at least once a week. I can't tell if Bianca actually likes Celine or if she's only being her friend to get her business. It's probably a little of both.
I walk up to them. "Everything is ready." I look at Bianca. "Beverly was here. She was very impressed."
Celine smirks. "Unfortunately she's not the one you need to impress." She walks over to the table. "It looks just like the photos you sent."
"Yes. You told me not to change anything."
Bianca rushes up to her. "But if you'd like to make a change, it's not too late."
Actually, it is. The guests will be here in a half hour.
Celine walks around the table, looking for something to criticize or change. I hold my breath, waiting for it. "It's acceptable."
That's it? Acceptable? After all the hours I spent planning and re-planning how to set up the table, the only word she can find to describe it is acceptable? I guess that's better than having her complain about it.
Bianca and Celine continue to talk while I go to the kitchen to check on the caterers. Everything's good, so I return to the dining room. Bianca isn't staying but I'm glad she showed up. She's keeping Celine occupied so she's not walking around looking for problems.
At seven, the guests start to arrive. They're all older couples. The women are dressed in long gowns and the men in dark suits. The last person to arrive is Aiden. My heart nearly stops when I see him. He's wearing a tailored black suit, white shirt, and gray-striped tie. His dark hair is styled without a single strand out of place and his face lacks even a trace of stubble, like he shaved right before he left. He sees me across the room and gives me just the slightest smile, which I find so incredibly sexy that I nearly drop the tray I'm holding.
"I'll take it," Katy says, grabbing the tray from me. She's one of the servers. She follows my gaze to Aiden. "Wow. Who's the guy?"
I almost say he's my boyfriend but stop myself before I do.
"Oh, he's with her," Katy says, noticing Aiden with Celine. "Figures. Rich girls always get the hot guys."
Celine raced up to Aiden the moment he walked in, wrapping her arm around him and giving him a kiss on the cheek, letting everyone know that he's hers.
My anger rises as I watch Celine walk Aiden over to an older couple, introducing him as her boyfriend. It makes my stomach turn.
I look away and walk over to the bar set up in the back of the room.