7 - Party

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All week Lilli watched the weather and worried about potential snow. Ann wasn't phased. By Thursday morning, Lilli had figured out Ann didn't even want the party. Lilli had been wrapped up in the preparations, hoping to impress Mr. Dwyer, but she never thought about Ann. Her boss was an introvert who enjoyed literature and her passion was seeing other people's stories come to life. Except for Zach, who she wasn't dating at all, there were no indications Ann even had a social life. She never left early or took long weekends. Lilli didn't make dinner reservations unless it was a meeting with an author. Lilli was busy planning a party Ann probably preferred not to attend.

Would Zach be doing all those things? Would she be setting up his dates? Booking reservations for lunch or dinner? They would have to be hot dates because the man was steaming. She imagined a quiet corner booth side by side sharing a chocolate torte and touching one another. Maybe it was a good thing she didn't see him after he rescued her from Chelsea, but everything would change on Monday morning. All week he breezed into Ann's office first thing making a statement about how few days before it would be his and Lilli tried to be busy working when he strolled out. It was futile to avoid him when she would soon be unable. A part of her was trying to impress him by working diligently.

The biggest mystery was about Leo, the agent who was taking Ann's place. Lilli had looked him up on the company webpage. He was good looking, but thankfully too old for her, at least thirty-five, which wasn't that old, but too much of an age difference for her tastes. She didn't need two crushes in the same office. Besides, his interests included hiking and outdoor activities with his family. Family meant wife and children.

He would probably make friends with Austin, who was in his forties and had the whole wife and kids thing going. Poor Zach would be left out. Who was she kidding? He and a slew of friends must go out for drinks three nights a week. He probably meets beautiful women for lunch and comes back to the office with his hair messed up.

After taking calls all day from clients who promised to attend if the weather held, there wasn't even a flurry in the air when she left the office at three carrying a bag with her dress. At the restaurant, she would check the setup and answer questions before she changed.

Meagan, the events manager, greeted her when she walked in the door of The Public House. She ushered her into the space where the party was to be held. Lilli listened as she pointed to each table. They hadn't put the food out. It was too soon. Guests wouldn't arrive for an hour.

"The Mediterranean bar will be here." Meagan pointed to a small table by the bar with a linen cloth on it. "And the cheese and charcuterie here. The rest of your items the servers will pass. Now the bar, as you can see, is here, but servers will come around with prosecco as well. Any questions?"

She couldn't hide her smug smile. She had done well. Hopefully, it would impress Zach. She shook her head. "It looks amazing. Is there some where I can change?"

Megan smiled. "Come with me. You can use the bride's room."

For a moment, Lilli imagined being the bride at a reception in a restaurant such as this one and her mind lept to Zach as the groom. She halted her thoughts. Besides, you always wanted your wedding at the Inn at home with pictures taken on the beach.

Lilli was waiting when the first of the guests arrived, including Shania and Chelsea. They shouldn't be the first ones, but of course they left the office early. Immediately, they each picked up a glass. Lilli stood taller in her new dress. The room looked inviting, and she was ready to play hostess for Ann's clients. She looked at the table of food and told herself she would eat later. If only she trusted herself to have a glass of wine to soothe her nerves. After all the guests were gone, she would relax.

"Wow, Lilli! This looks good." Shania giggled before taking another sip of bubbles.

Lilli had already had a conversation with the bartender. Katie would keep Lilli supplied with fizzy water. Served in a flute, no one would even notice. Lilli may like to drink, but she didn't drink during work functions. She didn't want to risk looking stupid in front of Zach and Mr. Dwyer from New York. He and Mr. Mitchell decided who received promotions.

She stood at the entrance to the room and greeted Ann's clients by name. She shook hands with their spouses and significant others and asked about their children or their writing. Because of her niche, Ann had a wide range of clientele. There were the overweight women pushing sixty who no one would believe had written steamy love scenes. Then there were the younger men and women who penned the nonheterosexual books. By younger, she meant just not sixty. Cora arrived and greeted Lilli with a hug. She was one of Lilli's favorite authors. She was in her mid-thirties and wrote stories Lilli used to dream about writing.

"Where is Zachary who I've heard so much about?" Cora said. Lilli admired her classy dress. Lilli would like to have her wardrobe too.

Cora had opted to keep a local agent and Lilli was glad she wouldn't be saying goodbye to her. Lilli watched as the sons of Roche-Sumner Publishing approached Ann. Lilli recognized them from her tenure at the publishing company. Joshua Roche hugged the guest of honor. When he pulled back, he held both her hands as they spoke. Lilli looked away. To stare felt like an invasion of privacy. She had never known they were friends.

While Cora caught her up on her latest project, Lilli scanned around the room. She froze when she spied Zach and it wasn't because he looked better than ever in his suit, but attached to his arm was a woman. A drop dead gorgeous woman. Lilli thought she pulled off her new dress, but not compared to the sophisticated beauty on his arm.

Taking a sip to wet her dry mouth, she smiled at Cora until she leaned in. "Is that him?" Lilli nodded. "Introduce me."

Like a dead man walking, she crossed the crowded room to Zach. He looked up as she approached. She didn't notice his date continued to talk while his focus switched.

Smiling, she ushered Cora to step closer. "Zachary Steele, this is..."

He immediately reached out his hand to Cora as Lilli turned away. She had made the introduction and didn't need to stand with Zach and his date, whom he would obviously go home with later.

It was a good thing and would make working together easier since he wasn't single. Keep telling yourself, Lill.

Her eyes kept being drawn to Zach. Every time she looked his way, he met her gaze. What was he thinking with his crooked smile? He turned away from her when Oliver Sumner approached him with his hand out. Zach shook it and laughed along with Sumner, Roche and Zach's date. Oliver kissed the beautiful woman's cheek and Roche pounded Zach on the back. When the two impressive men walked toward her, they smiled. Her voice cracked. "Thank you for coming." She didn't see their response, because Zach was looking at her smiling and she couldn't look away.

Her face hurt from smiling and her brain was mush from the small talk. Her greatest talent was her memory. She had an ability to remember minor details. Even when she was in kindergarten, her mother complained she didn't know all her letter sounds, but she came home and told her what all her classmates ate for snacks or did over the weekend. Obviously, she learned her letter sounds, and her social memory only improved. All of Ann's clients thought of her as their best friend. Some she had even given relationship advice, which was a joke. She was far from qualified. It was sad to say goodbye to the ones who were planning to continue to work with Ann.

The evening took an emotional toll on Lilli. She almost cried when she glanced out into the public bar area and saw three smiling faces waving at her. The crowd had thinned, and the beauty queen was still attached to Zach.

She was about to go see her friends when Mr. Dwyer approached her. "I want to say you outdid yourself, Ms. Caron. Ann confided just how much she will miss you."

Lilli smiled uncomfortably at the praise. "I'll miss her."

The head of the agency had a warm smile and put her at ease. "I understand Zachary has plans for you."

Not quite the plans from her fantasies.

"Working with Ann, I have learned so much. With Zach, I plan to prepare myself for the role I really want." Her eye traveled briefly to Zach who raised his glass to her.

"I'll keep my eye on you. At Dwyer Mitchell, we value hard work, and few have worked harder than Zachary. I know you'll work just as hard and reach your goal."

"Thank you, Mr. Dwyer."

Her palms were sweaty as he shook her hand. He was an attractive man with salt and pepper hair, brown eyes and a physique which looked like he played tennis or racquetball every day. If all men aged so gracefully, women wouldn't be afraid to get older.

Lilli stopped breathing when Kendall walked past her just as Mr. Dwyer released her hand. Her old boss looked the same, like her cleanses and no carb fads hadn't been helping. She stopped to talk to one of Ann's clients who signed with Roche-Sumner when Lilli still worked for Kendall. She really needed a drink. Seeing Kendall again and Zach with the beauty queen, she might run away. When Kendall looked at her and frowned, Lilli walked over to the bartender. "I changed my mind. I need the real stuff."

As if Lilli sent up a secret SOS, Ainsley walked over to give her a hug. "You look amazing."

"I hope so." She scanned the room and froze at a little gathering of Ann, Zach with his cling on date, and Kendall.

"His new nickname is Mr. Creamy, because every woman in a ten-foot radius..."

"Stop!" Lilli hissed. "Go back to the boys."

"Fine, but we plan to wait for you. Who's the supermodel?"

"Must be Olivia." Every time Lilli glanced in Zach's direction, his date was laughing, and looked at ease. Silly, she had hoped Zach would have at least complimented her appearance.

A few minutes after Ainsley left, Terry appeared and hugged her. "I want to get a look at your heart throb. Oh, he is nice." Lilli laughed and shooed Terry away. As she turned back to the crowd, Zach frowned.

Screw him. She wished. He had Olivia, and he disapproved of her talking to a friend.

For so many reasons, she had tried to keep to the opposite side of the room from Zach all night. Truthfully, she didn't want to meet Miss. Perfect. As Kendall turned away from the grouping, Lilli pasted on a smile. Her heart raced and her breathing was shallow, as if the two years had been erased, and she was back in the same nightmare.

In an overly professional voice, Lilli said, "Thank you for coming."

"Lillian. I hear you'll be working with the playboy."

"I will be working with Zachary Steele."

"At least you earned your position, unlike..." Kendall paused and looked at Zach and frowned before walking past her. What was she saying about Zach? Kendall had been convinced Lilli had slept with one of her authors. Lilli might have if he was interested in her, but another girl had caught his eye. Just like Zach's date. I will always be the girl who comes in second. Did Kendall imply Zach slept with someone to get his position? Lilli lifted her glass with her shaking hand.

Giggling caught her attention from the corner. Chelsea and Shania were busy getting drunk. She frowned as they each snatched another flute. Her eyes traveled from the girls to Zach, who also took in the scene. Lilli regretted giving up her time to read Chelsea's story. It was another night when Lilli worked while Chelsea was drinking. Was Lilli just as stupid at twenty-two? She had cornered the other assistant at the copy machine the day before. Chelsea was excited about the party and Lilli reminded her they would be representing Dwyer Mitchell and so Lilli didn't plan to drink.

Chelsea's rote response was Lilli didn't know how to have fun. All she did was work, work, work. Her high tolerance had her laughing like a hyena with not just Zach's eyes on her, but also Ann's, Mr. Dwyer's, and Zach's date. She didn't want Chelsea to be their last memory when they went home. She wanted them to remember how amazing the event had been.

When Meagan handed Lilli the bill for the evening, she discreetly brought it to Mr. Dwyer. As he approached him, he waved his hand toward Zach. "Give it to Olivia. She'll take care of it."

She was too tired and confused to figure out why Zach's date was paying for the party.

The woman reached out her hand for the packet of paper. "Thank you, Lillian. You did an amazing job."

She smiled and mumbled a thank you. The entire exchange left her uncomfortable. Olivia knew who she was and somehow felt her praise of Lilli should mean something.

It was like the f'ing twilight zone.

Thankfully, Zach's group, including Mr. Dwyer, left with murmurs of getting dinner. Meagan had pulled Lilli aside, so she was spared having to say goodbye. There were a handful of guests lingering. Ann was talking to Cora, and Justin had joined Chelsea in the corner.

Lilli waved her friends over. There was plenty of food, and she was starving. She encouraged them to fill plates, and she took another flute for herself.

Ann stopped on her way out. "Lilli, thank you." She looked at her friends. "I'm glad you decided to have some fun. See you tomorrow."

Lilli smiled. "Don't mind me if I cry when I hand you your coffee."

Ann smiled. "Now I just might. Good night."

After Ann left, Ainsley leaned into Lilli. "You're right, she couldn't be more opposite of bosszilla if she tried."

"I saw Kendall," Rhys said scandalously.

Ainsley asked, "Any word about who the sorority sister was? The one clinging to Creamy."

The boys snickered, but the mystery woman perplexed Lilli. "It's so strange. She paid for the event."

Chelsea wobbled over. As her hips swung, Lilli thought of a ship in a hurricane just before it crashed into the rocks. "Lilli, which one is your boyfriend?"

Rhys and Terry looked at each other and exchanged a smile. Before they could cause trouble, Lilli exclaimed. "Neither. Rhys and Ainsley are my roommates and best friends. Terry is dating Rhys. Don't they make a beautiful couple?"

She walked right past their table. Gripping the corner for support, and didn't respond as she stumbled out the door, presumably to the ladies' room.

Lilli asked, "Hey Justin, how are drunk and drunker getting home?"

Justin laughed and spoke to Shania. "The T."

Oh shit! How liable was the company if something happened to them?

She texted Ann, Will DMLA pay the Uber for two drunk employees?

Ann responded, yes, expense it.

Chelsea returned and Lilli announced. "Ann said all female employees get an Uber."

Lilli would bring an extra pastry in the morning because Justin helped her convince the girls they shouldn't go to another bar and herded them into the waiting Ubers.

Ainsley asked, "Do you get an Uber?"

Lilli shook her head. "I'm not drunk."

Ainsley added. "Now I have a face to go with the stories and the awful writing."

Lilli groaned. She wanted her bed, but she hadn't logged onto Novelpost. Having two jobs was hard. She planned to take a break when she finished her current story. After all, her career came first.

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