For six months I tricked myself into believing Brendon would see the error of his ways and come home. It’s why I fought so hard for the china even though I hated the hideous blue and brown pattern that his mother had picked out. I did everything I could to keep the divorce form being finalized without letting on that I didn’t really want it to be final. I could not understand it at the time. Why would I want to take back a man who had broken every vow we had taken?
“Did you hear me?” Taylor’s voice snapped me back to the present.
“Right a date is really what I need right now,” sarcasm dripped from my words. I was planning five weddings, trying to keep my house with some resemblance of being clean. I didn’t have time to go out looking for a relationship. “What I really need is a partner in crime.”
“We can’t kill her no matter how much you want to.”
“The thought hadn’t crossed my mind.”
What I needed was somebody to help me get past the guard at North Point. I had been there twice already. Each time Eric Cleaver, Mr. Covington’s business associate, had shot me down. The last time he told the guard not to let me back into North Point. If I planned to keep my job I needed to get past Eric and go straight to Alexander Covington’s office. I was certain that Mr. Covington, after listening to me, could come to appreciate the need to have the wedding at North Point.
“You want me to help you break into North Point?”
“Well when you say it like that...” Breaking in sounded so unethical of me and highly illegal. I preferred the term entering without invitation.
“I’m up for it, how about Wednesday?”
“Great. He’ll be there between ten and two and then at four,” or so my source had told me. I was starting to feel oddly as if I were becoming a stalker, but Shelly did say we at Tiffany Weddings would do anything to ensure the “perfect Tiffany wedding.” I figured I could remind her of that if I needed bail money.
Before I joined Tiffany Weddings, if anybody had asked me what lengths I would have gone through to keep a job, I would have told them that I would in no way humiliate myself for employment. As my mother would say, never say what you won’t do until you’ve been given the opportunity to do it.
I knew that no matter how much my mind told me I had to get through this wedding with a brave face and as much loyalty to the Bridal Consultant’s creed as I could, my heart was slowly winning the battle. It was all the little things really.
Allison had wanted lilies, but I had convinced her that sunflowers were the new rave in weddings. I laughed about it secretly, but then I felt guilty. Apparently I did not feel guilty enough to change the plans. I thought I would stop there. There would be no more interfering; I would make sure Allison and Brendon had a beautiful wedding. Well, with the exception of the hideous yellow flowers that would be at the center of every table.
I justified my lapse in judgment as closing the gap on the score, even if only by a small margin. I swore never to do it again.
When I went to North Point I needed somebody to bring me back to ground level. It’s why I asked Taylor to go along. Instead of keeping me grounded she spent the entire time getting lost in the beauty of North Point while I crawled around on the floor—literally.
The day had started normally with the exception of hiding in the back seat of Taylor’s car while she managed to sneak me past the first gate. It seemed like a lot of trouble to go through for a wedding that was not even mine.
For the bride who would not compromise I put aside my dignity and proceeded to gravel and beg. The most humiliating part of the entire event was that I was crawling on the floor trying to clear the second obstacle to getting in to see Mr. Covington when the elevator doors opened and there he stood.
“Hello. Did you lose something?” He was much more attractive than the picture. Of course me on hands and knees staring up at him was not the best time to go girly.
“Hi. My name is Anise Meyers.” I pulled myself up as gracefully as possible. I can’t imagine it made much difference.
“I know who you are.” He laughed. “Though I must say I never imagined you wedding planners went to such lengths.”
“Bridal Consultants,” I corrected. There was something in the way he said “wedding planner” that made it seem less than important. I barely knew him and already I despised him. Mr. Covington was like every other man in the free world, arrogant, self-assuming and sexist.
“Mr. Covington if you would just hear me out for two minutes you’ll no doubt see the benefits of hosting a wedding at North Point.”
“My time is precious. I’m not sure I can spare two minutes.”
I could deliver my case in less than sixty seconds if I had to. Breathing was definitely optional at that point.
“I’ll make a deal with you. Convince me before this elevator reaches my office and you might have yourself a wedding venue.” I could have sworn he was coming down not going up, but who was I to argue. He was giving me a chance. That was more than I had gotten with my last four attempts.
I stepped into the private elevator with the incredibly gorgeous, yet extremely arrogant, man and began to state the facts—quickly. I hit all the usual points. Free publicity was my introduction. I told him he would look favorable by opening his doors to accommodate a very special day, and it could bring in more clients. I thought I was hitting all the high points until he looked at me with those sexy blue eyes and said, “So what does any of this have to do with me?” For a second I thought he wasn’t serious. I had played up all of the “I” points and he still wanted to know what it had to do with him. All of my points thus far had involved money and image; there was only one point of attack left.
“You’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you did a good thing by saving the bride’s special day and my career.” If money wasn’t an issue then maybe faith and good will would be. “Not that it’ll matter much if I can’t get over my bitterness and successfully plan my ex’s wedding to his slut girlfriend.” I wondered what he was smirking at until I realized, “I just said that out loud didn’t I?”
“Yes you did.” He laughed. I had just broken rule number one of being a Tiffany consultant; I had let my personal feelings slip off my sleeve and into the business world.
The loud ding of the elevator signified that my time was up. “Well?” If I had not persuaded him then Evelyn would probably have me fired, and Brendon could gloat about another one of my failed careers.
“You haven’t convinced me to have a wedding at North Point.” He paused; probably trying to decide if he would have to call the cops to cart me away or an ambulance to resuscitate me. “You have convinced me to give you a little more time to try.”
It was at that moment that I realized that Mr. Covington was not the cold-hearted selfish bastard I had made him out to be. He was a very nice man who deserved humanitarian of the year or something better.
“Over lunch.”
At that point I thought my first impression might have been accurate.
“Don’t worry. If I were trying to get in your pants I would have invited you to dinner.” I wondered if I had once again opened my mouth without thinking. “No you didn’t say that out loud. You’re just an easy read.” He stepped off the elevator and into the elaborately decorated office space. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to follow, but I did. I wasn’t going to let him out of my site until he agreed to a North Point wedding.
I followed him past the receptionist; I think he called her Tonya. He mumbled something about ordering lunch and then kept walking. I stuck with him until I realized… “Unless you’d like to stay.” He unzipped his pants and for the first time I noticed I was in his bathroom.
“Um, no that’s okay.” I walked away as quickly as I could, probably doing what could have passed as a brisk walk and a slow jog. I had certainly gotten off to a glorious start. Despite my embarrassing first impression he listened intently to all that I had to say.
“Why bridal consulting?” He mo
cked in my previous tone of voice. I guess when I corrected him I sounded slightly less than friendly.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” It sounded better than saying I was desperate, had tried all the other jobs and figured why not add one more career to my list of failures.
“And now?”
“I love the possibilities. Helping people have their dream, seeing couples in love and happy. It gives me hope. I really think I have a chance at being good at this.”
He wanted to know why I was the one planning my ex-husband's wedding. “Surely Tiffany Weddings has other consultants,” he had said.
“Yes several, but unfortunately…” I told him about Donna and how she had convinced Brendon to hire me. I mentioned how competitive the office was, and how turning down an assignment was not an option. Somewhere in my ramblings I managed to tell him about my mistaken, or not so mistaken, lie. “…So that’s why I’m working in overdrive. I have a lot to prove.” That was the understatement of the year.
“I have to say you’re the most dedicated bridal consultant I’ve ever met.”
“So does that mean we can have the wedding here?”
“No.”
“You can’t say I didn’t try,” I smiled. Lunch with Alex was the most fun I had had since the divorce, and it really helped to talk to somebody. I was sure Shelly wouldn’t care how cathartic my visit with Alex was; she wanted to ensure that the Chase wedding was going off as planned.
“North Point really isn’t the place for a wedding, but I do have another property your bride is sure to love.”
“Oh you don’t know this bride.”
“Then we’ll just have to convince her,” he looked in my eyes and I nearly forgot what we were talking about. Had it been that long since I had felt the rush of sexual intimacy? “Together,” he smiled. It had obviously been long enough for me to go completely weak in the knees at his overtly sexy demeanor.
“You’re brave; I’ll give you credit for that.” He had no idea how stubborn a bride could be.
“Maybe you can bring her to this address Friday.” He slid the light gray stationary in front of me.
“Eleven.” I nodded as he agreed to my request. I hadn’t wanted to move from that moment. He was gorgeous, sexy and amazingly sweet. I wanted to talk to him forever, but then I remembered Taylor. I grabbed my purse.
“Thanks for lunch, but I really have to go now.” In my haste I once again managed to go through the wrong door. “Bathroom,” we said in unison as I walked back into the office. “Priceless,” I laughed nervously as I managed to finally get through the right door. Flirt of the year was not an award I was ever going to win.
When I finally managed to meet up with Taylor I found myself apologizing profusely for ditching her for so long.
“So did you enjoy yourself?” I knew this tone. It was laced with innuendo and I was determined to stomp out that fire before it spread.
“We were discussing business. How did you know where I was?” Last I had seen of her she was headed toward the snack bar.
“Some very nice lady came and told me where you were. She offered me something to drink too so you’re driving home,” she winked. “So?”
“The wedding is not happening here, but he’s offering another property.”
“And you think she that shall not be named will go for it?”
“I don’t know. If she doesn’t I’m screwed.” The thought had occurred to me that if I didn’t make it work I might have to change my name and move to some remote place like Kalamazoo.
All I had to do was convince Miss Evelyn Chase to look at the other offer; a task that I knew would be difficult at best. Since I had started planning Evelyn’s wedding she had refused to look at any reception halls I offered as alternatives. I had even said, “Just in case Evelyn,” and even then she didn’t go for it. I could break rule number two and lie to my client, but I had told enough lies and they had all landed me in deeper waters than I was prepared to swim through.
I knew that if Evelyn did not book by the weekend there was no way we could have the invitations printed and mailed in time. Thank God she had gone for the save the date cards I recommended. At least the guest who planned on attending had, or at least I hoped they had, planned for the time away from their normal, everyday routines.
Ray Sanders was my other silver lining. He had promised me that Evelyn’s invitations would have priority, assuming she ever decided on having them printed. He completely understood my bride from hell moment, and he had given me the utmost respect and consideration. He hated Donna too, which is another reason he took to me so kindly.
The feud between Donna and I had put me on automatic friendship terms with Ray. “Any woman who can knock that witch off her throne is a friend of mine,” he had said in an unusual catty manner.
Donna and Ray had long ago fallen on odds with each other. Apparently she was as rude to him as she seemed to be to everybody she knew. Ray; however, was not impervious to her insults. Their feud worked to my advantage.
Ray was the exclusive Tiffany Wedding bridal invitation supplier. From showers to engagement dinners if it were a Tiffany event Ray supplied the invitations. To go against this natural chain of events was to defy nature and ultimately burry one’s career.
I liked Ray. Despite his incessant need to give me makeup tips he was a fun guy to be around. He always made me laugh, especially when I was meeting with Brendon and the new girl, to pick invitations. I had only known Ray for a few short weeks, but I knew we were going to get along just fine.
Those are the Breaks
I was nervous, terrified actually. Evelyn wanted North Point more than she wanted the wedding itself. I wanted to keep my job. This meeting would be the deal breaker in my new career. If I could not convince Evelyn on a venue other than North Point I could wave goodbye to Tiffany Weddings.
During the divorce, and shortly there after, I learned that no one can promise forever, life will always be predictable in that it’s unpredictable, bad things are not limited to only happening in threes, and a lie, once told, is hard to correct and even harder to maintain.
My friends, in their effort to get me past the divorce, had even further fabricated my lie and embellished with their own. The one good thing to come of all of it was that I was very much enjoying my job.
Two of my assignments were merely wedding day coordinating. This was not usual for Tiffany Weddings, but it worked out great for me. I was a novice planner not an expert. When I first saw the pile of folders on my desk I wanted to quickly walk away. After the first few weeks I managed to impress myself with my ability to plan for my brides.
Bridal consulting was the first job I actually loved doing, the first job I saw as a career and the first job I was afraid of loosing. Tiffany Weddings had come to mean so much to me in such a short period of time.
My first bride was set to be married on May twenty-first. Excited? No. I think nervous would be a more appropriate word to describe what I was feeling at that time. Stefanie had hired us to be the wedding day coordinator, which made my job more difficult. I had talked to Stefanie once in order to introduce myself and arrange a time that we could meet. With that one phone call I found out what type of bride Stefanie was. She fell into the category that I call “the know-all, do-all bride”. The only help she wanted was maintaining order on the wedding day and therefore meeting with me to discuss the wedding was not necessary. I understood the need to see that things were done precisely as she wanted, but knowing exactly what those things were was something that would have helped me immensely.
Brendon had once told me I was born to worry. I worried about vacations that were a year away, bills that hadn’t come in yet and dinner that wasn’t for another four days he had said. He thought I was crazy for stressing what he called “the small stuff”.
I worried about vacations because I was the only one planning them, bills because their arrival was imminent, and dinner because I was the one shopping for it
.
I worried about everything. I made list for everything, but I saw my behavior as an asset. My advanced planning always worked out for the best. When Brendon was having a phenomenal time in Tuscany I didn’t hear him complaining. When our credit limit was raised because I paid the bills on time he was the first to spend the money. When he came home to a well prepared dinner he was the first to eat it. I might have worried about everything from retirement plans to matching my underwear to my outfit, but the benefits far outweighed the worry.
“T-minus two hours and counting Tay.”
“Are you nervous?” My entire career depended on Evelyn’s decision. Shelly had made it perfectly clear that there was no margin for error at Tiffany Weddings. I would say not having a venue in time for the wedding would be considered a serious error. I would have to convince Evelyn to take this new place at all cost. “Of course, Evelyn is bridezilla on speed.”
“I wasn’t talking about that. I’m talking about Alex.”
“He’s already offered the place. I don’t think there will be a problem on that end.” I knew that wasn’t exactly what she had in mind when she asked her question.
“Tay it’s not even like that. It’s strictly a business arrangement.” Alex is definitely the type of man that can set a woman to thinking. I; however, was not looking for a relationship. I was on a break from the dating scene. That’s what I tried to convince myself of anyway.
“Right, sure, I believe you. Business has you spending an extra thirty on hair and makeup.”
I looked at my perfectly pushed up hair and flawless makeup. “And how long did it take you to pick out your outfit?”
Two hours and twenty minutes, but who’s counting. “Not long,” I replied.
Taylor, despite my protest, knew the unmistakable lift in my voice and she had made it her mission to see that the lift stayed right where it was.
The Bride Wore Black Page 2