“Oh, hi. I thought I heard you in here,” TJ said, holding onto the door to regain his balance.
“What are you doing down here?” Veronica asked.
TJs brows lifted. “What are you doing hiding in this room?”
“I’m not hiding. I got locked in.”
TJ bent down to inspect the knob. “Really? It locks from the inside.”
“What?” Had she locked herself in by mistake? If so, then why couldn’t she open it, but TJ had from the outside? “Then how did you open it?”
TJ rattled the knob. “Looks like it’s broken. Must have gotten jammed when you shut the door. I guess that’s why I had to jiggle it and push hard to open. You should really leave the door open when you are in a creepy basement like this. Haven’t you ever watched a horror movie?”
“Very funny. I didn’t close the door.” Had someone pushed it closed after her? No, probably just gravity. These old floors weren’t level and… “Wait… you like horror movies?”
“Yep. Used to watch them with my sister all the time.” TJ flashed a boyish smile that chased the scary basement feeling away.
“So what are you doing here?” Veronica asked.
“Gertie sent me to check out what was going on down here. Apparently Marly had some questions for her that didn’t make much sense. She didn’t like the stuff you picked out for the reception or something like that.” TJ eyeballed the items Veronica had placed on the table. “Then I heard you yelling behind the door. Lucky thing. You could have been in here a while.”
“Huh? How could she not like them if she hasn’t even seen them yet? I literally just picked this stuff out. And I’ve been locked inside this stupid room the whole time.”
TJ shrugged.
“I don’t know. I only know she wasn’t happy. She blew into Gertie’s office like a hurricane.”
“Well, who showed her the stuff then?” Veronica asked, becoming agitated. So she had heard Marly and Sarah. Someone had brought them down here and shown them the wrong things. Had it been on purpose? And if so, who did it, and more importantly, why?
“I don’t know. Look, I’m just the messenger boy here. Gertie was wheeling around looking for you, and I offered to see if you were down here because I couldn’t find you anywhere else. We can figure out later who showed her the wrong stuff, but for now, I’m still waiting on that proposal. Edward is antsy about the final figures.”
Veronica sighed. TJ was right. Figuring out who had done it would have to wait. The proposal was the priority. Besides, she knew Marly would love the things she had just found.
“Okay. Can you help me carry this stuff upstairs? This is going to knock a few thousand off the proposal. I’ll get back on it as soon as we get this upstairs.”
“That’s a lot of stuff. Let’s see if there’s a cart or something down here. I think I passed one,” TJ said as he headed out to the main room, Veronica right behind him.
Several carts were parked in the corner. As Veronica walked over to grab one, she spotted the table of crappy linens and monkey centerpieces.
“Wait. What’s this crap?” she asked, running her fingers along the coarse linens and sticking her finger through one of the many holes, holding it up for TJ to see.
“I don’t know, but look at these things. What the heck are they? Besides ugly, I mean.” TJ held up one of the monkey centerpieces.
Veronica gasped. “Wait. Is this the crap that Marly thinks is for her reception? I would have stormed into Gertie’s office like a tornado too!”
“No kidding. If it is, someone is playing a very mean joke.” TJ shook his head at the table and then pushed the cart back toward the room where Veronica had piled the real items for Marly’s reception.
Veronica followed, pausing to look back at the table full of hideous crap. A joke? She didn’t think so. It seemed as if someone was trying to ruin Marly’s wedding and in the process, get her fired. The question was who, and why?
10
“Hm. Let’s see. No shrimp cocktail at the reception. That knocks off a couple thousand, but I seriously doubt Edward would be happy without it. So maybe just cut it in half and use regular shrimp instead of jumbo shrimp.” Veronica talked out loud to herself as she reworked the wedding budget.
She’d been able to reduce the costs fairly well, thanks to all the material she’d found in storage, but that extra wedding gown expense had really messed things up. She just needed to get a bit more creative to slash some more money. She was so close!
“We have a bit of a problem!” Gertie’s voice rang through the air as she wheeled herself into Veronica’s office. “Marly went bridezilla again, something about tacky brass monkey centerpieces and tattered table linens? What the heck did you show her that junk for?”
Gertie had rolled her wheelchair next to the plant in the corner of Veronica’s office and ran one of the dying leaves between her fingers.
“Huh? I haven’t even shown her anything yet.” Veronica grabbed the watering can she had found downstairs and emptied it into the semilifeless plant. She had meant to water it yesterday, had even filled the watering can on one of her coffee runs to the break room, but had forgotten to actually water the plant.
“Well, someone showed her some of the crap that’s been tagged to donate to the shelter. I assumed it was you. Everything that’s in bay three is for the homeless, not our customers. Now she thinks you planned to use that junk at her reception!” Gertie was obviously agitated.
Veronica sat down in one of the cushy club chairs next to Gertie’s wheelchair.
“It wasn’t me. I got locked in one of the storage rooms earlier today. While I was locked in, I found some great stuff for the wedding. Table linens and place cards, some dishes and chargers. All elegant yet simple, as well as saving us money because we don’t have to rent or buy any now. But I don’t know who would have shown Marly the wrong things. Whoever it was could be the person who locked me in.”
“Locked you in? What is this, a regular Nancy Drew mystery with wrong wedding gowns, crappy centerpieces, and people getting locked in rooms?” Gertie snickered.
Veronica reached for one of the sticks of lip balm on her desk. Gertie had a point. Maybe she was overreacting. “Okay, maybe that was an accident, and if all that stuff was out on a table, maybe Marly saw it and just assumed that was for her reception?”
Gertie wheeled her chair around so she faced Veronica. “This wedding must go off without a hitch. It simply must be perfect. It is our first event, and Marly and Jasper are well-known in this city. I’ve always trusted my instinct, and my instinct told me to hire you to run my events. Did I make the wrong choice?”
Veronica’s eyes burned. Oh no, not now! She wasn’t going to cry. She needed to act professional! She pinched the skin between her thumb and forefinger to stop the flood of tears. She’d learned the old trick in middle school when the kids all made fun of her.
“Gertie, you made the right decision. I promise. This wedding reception will be amazing and the talk of the town. Everything is on schedule, and Marly will be thrilled with the results.”
Gertie eyed Veronica skeptically and then nodded quickly before wheeling herself out of the office without a word, making Veronica even more anxious.
She sat back behind the desk to finish the proposal, swiping on more lip balm and nibbling her lip a bit. The waxy cherry-flavored balm soothed her. She hacked away at the budget, cutting out the champagne fountain and replacing it with a champagne toast. Edward might balk, but they had an open bar, and Veronica was sure Gertie could persuade him that they could stock the bar with plenty of champagne if need be. She whittled away at some of the food and finally finished up.
Just as she was hitting the print key on her computer, a knock on the door gave her a jolt. She turned in her chair to see TJ with a worried look on his face.
“Sorry if I startled you. Any progress on the budget?” he asked as he took a seat across from her.
“Just finishing it up no
w. I’m printing a copy and emailing it to you as well.” Veronica’s printer whirred to life and started to spit out the budget. TJ grabbed the papers, nodding his head slowly as he looked the pages over.
“Nice. This looks good. Under budget; that’s pretty impressive.” He winked at her as he thumbed through the proposal, and Veronica felt a surge of pride bubble up—along with another strange feeling as his eyes lingered on hers.
It may have taken what seemed like forever, but she had done it. The proposal had come in under budget and on time.
“It’s been a long day. I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink. I was going to grab one at O’Brien’s down the street. Care to join?” TJ asked casually.
Veronica’s heart rolled in her chest. Is that what co-workers did after work or did he mean something else by the invitation? Her hand tingled where he’d squeezed it. Ugh. She was being silly, of course. It was just a co-worker thing. If nothing else, she liked TJ’s incessant optimism. It might be fun to get to know him better and maybe even have him for a friend.
“Sounds great,” Veronica said, shutting down her computer and reaching for her purse. “I’ll meet you out front. I just want to run to the ladies’ room first.”
Inside the ladies’ room, Veronica stared at herself in the mirror. Hair up or down? It was down, but she felt as if maybe she looked better with it up. Wait. If she put it up, TJ might think that was strange. She opted to keep it as it was and ran her fingers through it.
Opening her purse, she grabbed some lipstick, wiped off the greasy lip balm and swiped the lipstick across her lips. She didn’t look too bad, passable she supposed, though she doubted TJ would even notice.
11
“All set?” TJ asked as she walked through the reception area toward him.
“Yep. Should we walk there? It’s on the next block, right?”
TJ nodded. “We’ll probably get there faster that way.”
They walked the busy sidewalk and ducked into the bar, which was about a block from the office. Veronica had walked past the Irish pub hundreds of times but had never been inside of it.
TJ held the heavy wooden door for her, and she walked ahead of him into the busy bar. It was dark, a combination of only two windows, the dark woodwork from the floors and bar, and the dimmed lighting. The walls were covered in various pictures of all things Irish, and a giant Irish flag hung on the middle of the side wall. Booths lined the walls. They meandered toward the back, tucking themselves into one of the smaller ones meant for two.
A waitress appeared almost immediately, and Veronica ordered a beer and TJ a soda, making Veronica wonder if she should have ordered something nonalcoholic. She had assumed he would get a beer when he had said he needed a drink.
He leaned back in the booth, looking relaxed and content, and she told herself to just chill out and enjoy his company, and to stop second-guessing everything. He probably didn’t order a drink because he’d been out late last night or something, or maybe he was hungover. Besides, this is kind of business-related. It’s not as if he had asked her out on a date.
“Cheers,” TJ said as he raised his glass.
“Here’s to the first proposal being done within budget.” Veronica tapped her glass lightly against his.
“So how do you like working for Gertie here? A bit different than on the cooking show, isn’t it?” TJ asked as he eyed the menu.
“Yeah, not having the stresses of a daily TV taping is good, but there are other stresses with the tight timeline. Gertie’s been great, though. Not a micromanager at all, which is really the only thing that worried me when I took the job. I’m grateful she gave me this opportunity.”
“Me too. She believed in me. I doubt I would have landed a good job like this without her. Gotta hand it to Gertie, she seems to like to ‘collect’ people and give them second chances.”
Veronica wondered just exactly why TJ wouldn’t have gotten a good opportunity. What was his deal, anyway? Had he done something bad in his past… as bad as the things she had done?
TJ continued, “Between you and me, I know that she’s sunk everything she has financially into O’Rourke Signature Events. If this wedding isn’t amazing, it could sink her business.” TJ’s face turned grim, and Veronica saw he really cared about Gertie and her business.
Veronica nodded. Hearing that made her more determined to ensure that Marly’s wedding was a success and Gertie’s business would be the place to host an event. But for once in her life, her determination wasn’t just about her. She really cared that Gertie was successful.
“The wedding will be amazing,” she said confidently, locking eyes with him.
“So what did you do before you met Gertie? How did you come to work on the chef show?” TJ asked as he closed the menu and placed it on the table.
“Oh, um, I was an administrative assistant. That’s how I know Marly actually. And then for the show, I knew someone who was able to get me a job.” Veronica hoped TJ wouldn’t press her for more details about her past as she glossed over it. She didn’t want him to know about the horrible things she had done and how mean she had been to Marly before. “How about you? You told me a little, but there has to be more.”
“Not much more to tell really. I was an accountant and had a run of bad luck. Eventually ended up on the island as a dishwasher. That’s the past, though. Like you, I’m grateful things are better now.”
Veronica could tell by the way that TJ had glossed over his past that he didn’t want to elaborate, and she was fine not pushing him further, even if she was curious. She admired him for pushing through whatever had happened. Being in charge of finances was a good job with a lot of responsibility. He probably wanted to stick to co-worker topics.
“It looks like the weather will hold out for the wedding. There’re so many people attending that I’m having the dance floor extended into the tent. So much for ten percent of the people invited not coming! There were only ten people who declined. So about three-hundred people will attend. I know Gertie said that almost all the staff will be working the wedding. Do you think you will go?” Veronica hoped that he would.
“The tent?” TJ asked, his face draining of color.
“Um, yeah. You know, the big white tent?” Veronica wasn’t sure if there was an issue with the tent that she wasn’t aware of. She reached for her lip balm. “It didn’t cost anything, so don’t worry. Gertie already had it. You know, huge white tent with sides.”
“I know what you’re talking about. I’m just not a fan of tents. I was in one once that caught fire, and I could have died. I mean, I almost did die. I just… I don’t like being anywhere near them anymore. It freaks me out.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Veronica studied TJ. So that must be part of his mysterious past. Had he been a firefighter or something? Or maybe it had happened camping? Probably better not to ask. She could tell that TJ was serious, his usually cheerful and upbeat demeanor replaced by nervousness and what seemed to be fear.
The waitress interrupted the awkward moment, and they decided to order potato-skin appetizers. When the waitress left, Veronica decided to change the subject from tents to what was really on her mind.
“So I think someone might be messing with us. I mean, with Marly’s wedding. First, there’s the wedding gown alterations fiasco. Then I get locked in the storage area, and someone just happens to show Marly the wrong things for her wedding. It’s kind of strange, don’t you think?”
TJ sipped his drink and thought about it. “Nah. I mean, the dress thing could easily just have been a misunderstanding. And the door in the storage area, well, those doors are all old and heavy. And the floors down there are all uneven. The weight of the door could have easily pulled it shut on you. There’re so many people working for Gertie that someone could have shown Marly the wrong things by mistake. I mean, Gertie takes it all on herself, and I can already see people get confused a bit because she has some of them doing the same jobs. She definitely needs a few mana
gers.”
“You’re probably right. I mean, why would someone want to sabotage Marly’s wedding? I should just shut up and focus on making it to the actual wedding day.”
TJ laughed. “So, funny coincidence that we end up working together again, huh?”
“Yeah. Will you be washing the dishes at the wedding?” Veronica cringed at her lame attempt at a joke. Hopefully he wouldn’t think she was talking down to him.
But he laughed. “I hope not. But I will if I have to. Whatever it takes.” He tilted his glass toward her.
“Agreed. Whatever it takes.” Their eyes met as she clinked her glass against his, and for a split second she thought maybe they were toasting more than just pulling off the wedding. Maybe a long fruitful association working together. Maybe even a friendship.
The waitress brought their order, and they focused on putting the bubbling cheese-topped potato skins on their plates. Veronica was careful to take only a small amount. She didn’t want to blow her diet.
“So what brings you to New York? I mean besides Gertie. Are you from here?” TJ asked as he spooned sour cream on top of the skin.
“Yes. Upper State growing up. I moved to the city after high school. I just wanted to get away.” She left out the part about how she had left because her mother had treated her so badly her whole life. And how she had basically lived with no money the first few years, causing her to lose a ton of weight.
“Wow. So you just moved to the city on your own? No job?” TJ asked, seeming genuinely interested.
“Yep. No plan, just a suitcase filled with hope, and some money I had saved for years. I worked some odd jobs and found an apartment with a bunch of other people. It was far from the glamorous city life I had envisioned, but I learned a lot.” It was true. Those times had been hard, but Veronica had learned a lot on her own. Plus, anything was better than living with her mother.
What Goes Around Comes Around (Corporate Chaos Series Book 3) Page 6