she’d bumped into in the hall a week ago. She’d been intrigued by the man and the dog she’d met on the beach. She could imagine going out to dinner with that guy. He’d been charming and kind and quick to smile. But she didn’t like the man who’d burst into her office a few days ago to question her about her contracts. She wouldn’t have thought twice about the man who delegated tasks to an already overworked staffer.
Moping around the office wouldn’t help her now. She pulled up her calendar to figure out when she’d have time to oversee set-up and tear down of the concert dinner and cocktail reception. If she scheduled her day to the minute, she might be able to squeeze everything in. She shook her head. She couldn’t believe the turns her job had taken in only a few days.
Downgraded from event planner on the rise to an assistant in an instant. She hadn’t begun to process how losing the job to someone else affected her. Now she was expected to help with tear down? She clenched her jaw, replaying his words. Did he even know what he was talking about? She never oversaw tear-down, maintenance did. And they did a great job. She’d had to learn how to let go of controlling everything and delegate as the only planner on staff. It sounded like Mark needed to learn what his job entailed before he started giving her orders.
Would she have to teach him? She groaned. She’d gotten in early to the office in the hope of getting work done without her new office mate hanging around. That plan hadn’t worked out so well.
Her desk phone rang.
“Lizz—sorry. Hello this is Elizabeth Shaw, Event Coordinator at the Resort on Jekyll Island, how may I help you?”
“Geez, that’s a mouthful,” Patrick replied.
“Ugh, Patrick,” Lizzie groaned.
“What? I wanted to hear how the job interview went.”
Sighing, she turned her chair to look out the window. The sun shone too brightly, the guests ambling along on the path seemed too cheerful, and the birdsong too happy for her. Couldn’t a sudden storm strike up and soak a certain person as they carried a computer across the lawn? Couldn’t something go her way?
“It was terrible. The catering boss who interviewed me apparently hates everything about me. And they gave the job to a guy who I kind of liked,” she stopped on the word. Even that morning, when he’d been so cavalier about her job and how she worked, she couldn’t stop the connection between them. She’d wanted to throw a binder at him just as much as she wanted to kiss him. Kiss him? She didn’t understand the fine details of his new role but he now occupied a position of authority above her, even if he wasn’t directly her boss.
“But now he’s kind of a jerk. So there you go,” she concluded, the words tumbling out in a rush.
“What? Stop, go back. What do you mean the boss hates you?”
Closing her eyes to take in a deep breath and gather her thoughts, she rested her forehead in the palm of her hand. Everything had to change now, didn’t it? How could she possibly buy time to stay? She took in a shaky breath.
“I can’t seem to do anything right for this guy. Including how I answer my work phone, thus the new introduction you heard.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you, Frizz. Don’t exaggerate. It makes you sound young and inexperienced.”
“I don’t know how else to explain what’s happened,” she whined. She frowned at the sound of her own voice. Yikes, I do sound young. “But moving on, now I apparently have to take on more work for the guy who got the job. And I don’t think there is any kind of plan to help me out with my events but I have to take on theirs.”
“Frizz, can we talk about what you don’t want to talk about? Can you listen and not shut me out?”
Her nose tickled. She scrunched it up, trying to stop the sob that hovered under the surface of her cool demeanor. She didn’t want to have this conversation, but she knew they needed to. It was time.
Moping around the office wouldn’t help her now. She pulled up her calendar to figure out when she’d have time to oversee set-up and tear down of the concert dinner and cocktail reception. If she scheduled her day to the minute, she might be able to squeeze everything in. She shook her head. She couldn’t believe the turns her job had taken in only a few days.
Downgraded from event planner on the rise to an assistant in an instant. She hadn’t begun to process how losing the job to someone else affected her. Now she was expected to help with tear down? She clenched her jaw, replaying his words. Did he even know what he was talking about? She never oversaw tear-down, maintenance did. And they did a great job. She’d had to learn how to let go of controlling everything and delegate as the only planner on staff. It sounded like Mark needed to learn what his job entailed before he started giving her orders.
Would she have to teach him? She groaned. She’d gotten in early to the office in the hope of getting work done without her new office mate hanging around. That plan hadn’t worked out so well.
Her desk phone rang.
“Lizz—sorry. Hello this is Elizabeth Shaw, Event Coordinator at the Resort on Jekyll Island, how may I help you?”
“Geez, that’s a mouthful,” Patrick replied.
“Ugh, Patrick,” Lizzie groaned.
“What? I wanted to hear how the job interview went.”
Sighing, she turned her chair to look out the window. The sun shone too brightly, the guests ambling along on the path seemed too cheerful, and the birdsong too happy for her. Couldn’t a sudden storm strike up and soak a certain person as they carried a computer across the lawn? Couldn’t something go her way?
“It was terrible. The catering boss who interviewed me apparently hates everything about me. And they gave the job to a guy who I kind of liked,” she stopped on the word. Even that morning, when he’d been so cavalier about her job and how she worked, she couldn’t stop the connection between them. She’d wanted to throw a binder at him just as much as she wanted to kiss him. Kiss him? She didn’t understand the fine details of his new role but he now occupied a position of authority above her, even if he wasn’t directly her boss.
“But now he’s kind of a jerk. So there you go,” she concluded, the words tumbling out in a rush.
“What? Stop, go back. What do you mean the boss hates you?”
Closing her eyes to take in a deep breath and gather her thoughts, she rested her forehead in the palm of her hand. Everything had to change now, didn’t it? How could she possibly buy time to stay? She took in a shaky breath.
“I can’t seem to do anything right for this guy. Including how I answer my work phone, thus the new introduction you heard.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you, Frizz. Don’t exaggerate. It makes you sound young and inexperienced.”
“I don’t know how else to explain what’s happened,” she whined. She frowned at the sound of her own voice. Yikes, I do sound young. “But moving on, now I apparently have to take on more work for the guy who got the job. And I don’t think there is any kind of plan to help me out with my events but I have to take on theirs.”
“Frizz, can we talk about what you don’t want to talk about? Can you listen and not shut me out?”
Her nose tickled. She scrunched it up, trying to stop the sob that hovered under the surface of her cool demeanor. She didn’t want to have this conversation, but she knew they needed to. It was time.
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