It was the day after he’d decided to throw a Christmas party in order to appease Thea Sorentis, and they needed to move fast if they were to pull everything together in time.
“There’s still one, though,” Ken said, choosing to look on the bright side.
“Hold on,” Aaron chimed in. “He texted me right now. Let me read his response…”
Aaron’s sigh said everything. “Nope. He is also too busy to take on another project.”
Ken closed his eyes and counted to ten. Not to curb anger, but to curb disappointment.
“Let’s keep trying,” he said. “There has to be someone available. Broaden your searches beyond Buffalo. We’ll fly someone in from New York if we need to.”
“Yes, sir,” Aaron and Sabine said at the same time.
Ken hung up, doing his best to not feel discouraged. The party had to be a great one, and he knew nothing about what made great parties possible. He was a man of efficiency. He found pleasure in numbers, statistics showing the impact of his work. In order to impress his potential donor, he needed someone who saw the world through another lens.
Leaving his office, he passed through the adjoining room where his assistants’ desks were and walked down the hall that led into the main work space. At the sight of him, employees sat straighter and suddenly became a whole lot busier.
There was a personal break room adjacent to his office, but recently he’d taken a liking to the main one. The coffee maker in there was decent, and there was a nice view of the nearby park.
Plus, he had the chance of running into her.
His stomach warmed at the thought of Adison. He knew next to nothing about her, but she’d caught his interest nonetheless. There was something magical about her. He couldn’t put his finger on it yet, but he wanted to find out what made her so special.
Dating employees was a no-no. He’d never done it, and he didn’t plan on making it a habit anytime soon. Which was why his curiosity about Adison could only go so far.
In the break room, there was only one other person, but it wasn’t Adison. It was Jazzie Hale.
At his appearance, she put her phone down and smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Montoya.”
“Good morning.” He opened the cabinet and chose a mug.
“How is everything?”
“It’s…” He hesitated, considering not saying a customary “fine” but instead opening up a little more. “I’m having some trouble planning a party. There doesn’t seem to be an event planner available in this whole city.”
“Did you ask Adison? She used to be an event planner.”
He set the mug on the counter without pouring any coffee into it. “You don’t say.”
“Mm-hmm.” Jazzie's eyes brightened. “She showed me some pictures of a baby shower she did last month. It was amazing. It had this ‘High in the Sky’ theme. She made clouds out of balloons, and everything was glittery.”
Ken couldn’t believe his luck; it seemed too good to be true.
“Do you think she could do a Christmas party?” he asked.
“Definitely. She could do any party.”
“Great. I’ll talk to her now.” He headed for the door.
“She’s not at her desk,” Jazzie said. “She took her lunch early. She said she had to meet someone down at Drip.”
Drip was the coffee shop a couple blocks away. Ken was familiar with it since he often stopped there in the mornings.
“Thank you for your help,” he said on his way out the door. “I appreciate it.”
He could wait until Adison returned from her break, but that had never been his style. Ken owed his success partly to jumping on opportunities the moment they presented themselves.
Plus, honestly, he wasn’t about to say no to a little time with Adison away from the office.
Chapter 7
Adison
Sitting at a table window at Drip, Adison pulled her phone out and used the front camera to check her makeup. She’d put extra thought into getting ready that day, but of course had to walk the line between looking amazing and not appearing to be trying too much.
The paisley blouse, paired with a tight skirt that made her butt look amazing and red high heels, had been perfect. She’d gone a little extra with her makeup, after watching a tutorial on how to create a daytime smoky eye. With her hair loose and falling over her shoulders, she both felt and knew she looked amazing.
Just to be clear, she wasn’t trying to get Danny back. Screw that guy. No, she only had two goals to meet in