I met at work. A complete lie. And right then you walked over. I’m sorry that I drew you into it.”
“Ah. I see.” He nodded. “Well, I don’t fault you at all. If I might insert my opinion, I’d like to say that your ex seems like a terrible person. That’s my initial read.”
“He cheated on me. I came home early on Thanksgiving and he had a girl over.”
Ken literally saw red. If he’d known that when Danny was there, their conversation might have ended differently.
“That’s awful,” he said.
She shrugged. “It is what it is. I’m moving on. Just not…” She fiddled with her bracelet. “Not right away. Again, I’m sorry.”
“And again, it’s fine.”
She watched him from the corner of her eye. “You sure? You’re not going to…”
“What?”
“Never mind.” She flipped her wrist, then grabbed the paper cup next to her and tried to take a sip. Her coffee was gone, though, so she put the cup down and went back to messing with the bracelet.
“Can I get you another coffee?” he asked.
“No, thank you. I’ve had enough.”
“Did you think I would fire you?”
She cringed. “Maybe?”
Ken’s chest constricted. It sucked to know she thought he would can her after such a small infraction—if you could even call it that. To him, it had been an opportunity to help out a nice person who was clearly in a crappy situation.
“We hired you because you are an asset to the Montoya Foundation, Adison.” He paused, liking how it felt to say her name. “I would never let you go over something such as this.”
“Okay.” The tension released from her shoulders. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
There was a pregnant pause, and Adison’s throat rolled with a swallow. “Do you need to get yourself some coffee?”
“No.” He was surprised to find he’d almost forgotten all about asking her to plan the party. “That’s not why I came here. I have something to ask of you.”
Her cinnamon eyebrows knit together. “What is it?”
“Jazzie told me you were an event planner before you joined the Montoya Foundation.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“I’m throwing a Christmas party, and I would like you to plan it.”
She couldn’t have looked more surprised if he had asked her to plan a mission to Mars. “Christmas? Like the holiday?”
“Is there another Christmas?”
“No, no, it’s just…” She pressed her thumb to her cheek, an adorable gesture. “It’s well-known around the office that you don’t like Christmas.”
He tried not to cringe at that. He wasn’t Scrooge, but hear someone talk about his preference for skipping the holidays and you might think exactly that.
“Perhaps I’ve had a change of heart,” he said lightly.
She didn’t look convinced, but she also didn’t know him well enough to contradict him. “When is the party?” she asked.
“The twenty-third.”
“Where will it be? How many guests? Are you doing a meal?”
“Uh…”
“Oh. Wow,” she said, her eyebrows raising. “This is pretty impromptu.”
“I will pay you for it, of course,” he said. “Whatever your planning rate is, plus extra for doing it last-minute.”
“Considering the fix you just got me out of, I’d do it for free.”
“And I would not hear of that. You will be compensated for your time.”
“Okay. Thank you.” She opened her phone. “If we’re going to do this, we need to start now. Tell me any ideas you have for it.”
He drew a breath. “It will be a company party, so plan for everyone at the Montoya Foundation along with a plus-one for each.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” She nodded as she typed. “What about themes? I know it’s Christmas, but do you want to spin that a specific way? And what time of day are you thinking? Is this a dinner party? Brunch? Cocktails and apps?”
As soon as they’d started planning the party, her demeanor had changed completely. Gone was the embarrassed, nervous Adison; she’d transformed into a woman who was in her element, confident and assertive.
“Evening, I think,” he said. “We can do dinner. Live music would be great, as well.”
He thought on it some more. What would impress Thea?
“You like Christmas,” he said.
Adison’s fingers stilled on her phone screen. “Um. Yeah. I do.”
“I want this party to be a Christmas lover’s dream. Do it any way you wish.”
Her eyes lit up. “What’s the budget?”
Now there was another detail he hadn’t thought about.
But Ken had plenty of money. Billions. And he wasn’t reckless with it, either. He continued to invest, and he’d flipped several mansions across the country. Dropping a little extra on a party that could end up helping struggling health