"What do you have to lose?" he asked. "Other than this clunky system that's holding you back."
"Have you worked with anything similar before?"
"Much more complicated than this will be." He pleaded with his eyes.
"Okay. Three days. And if you don't come up with anything, you're going to have a lot of makeup work." She glanced down at the files. "Oh, and I need to get you up to speed with the big-name client I mentioned. If she calls, we have to drop everything and come back to this later."
"Sounds good." Clay held out his hand. "We have a deal. You won't regret it."
Dakota glanced around at the piles of paperwork and the cabinets. "I'll be the judge of that."
One corner of his mouth curled up. "You'll be thanking me. I guarantee it."
"We'll see."
He chuckled. "Want to make a wager?"
She stared at him. "You're a betting man?"
"No, I'm confident in my abilities. Apparently the woman who hired me isn't. I'll put my money where my mouth is."
Dakota shook her head and laughed. "I wasn't expecting him to come in give her a whole new online system. Go ahead. Let's see what you can do." Her phone buzzed. A text from her favorite cousin, Cruz. "I need to deal with this. You can… do whatever it is you need to."
Clay rose and cracked his knuckles. "You got it, boss." He grabbed his computer bag and pulled out a laptop that certainly was on par with the upmarket smartphone he'd been using the other day.
Dakota knew all about it, including the expensive price tag, because she'd been drooling over it for some time. "How do you like that?"
"This?" He held it up. "Love it. Couldn't go back to anything else after using this baby."
"I've been thinking about getting one."
"I would. Oh, wait. I did." He threw his head back and laughed.
Dakota loved the sound. She cleared her throat. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
Her phone buzzed again. Cruz could be insistent when he wanted something. Dakota went across the room and stood by the window where the sun shone in.
She checked his latest text.
Call me.
Dakota sighed. She was exhausted after spending—she checked the time—two hours showing Clay the systems. She leaned against the wall and sent Cruz a text.
I'm a little busy.
Urgent!
She sighed. She'd never been able to say no to him, and he knew it.
Fine.
Thx.
Dakota stuffed her phone into her pocket and turned to Clay. "Are you—?"
He was busy inputting information from the files into the computer. "What?"
"Never mind. I'll be down the hall if you need me."
"No problem." He clacked away at the keyboard.
Before she even made it out to the hallway, her phone rang.
"Cruz, I have a situation at work. I told you I'd be more than happy to help, but I can't drop everything today."
"Then tell me how to calm Talia down," he begged. "The florist went out of business—and she'd promised us a huge discount. Then the cake chick said she'd double-booked and can't make the cake. Talia's in tears. I told her we can fix all this, but she won't listen to reason."
"Deep breaths," Dakota said, speaking to herself as much as Cruz. "I think she's upset about her mom not being able to be there."
"Oh…" Cruz swore. "I can't do anything about that."
"Do you talk like that around her? You're marrying a pastor's daughter, you know," Dakota teased.
"I hadn't realized that. Thanks."
"Look, everything is going to be fine. Tell her I'll personally see to the cake and flowers, okay?"
"You're a lifesaver."
"I'll do my best to drive down this coming weekend, but if I can't, can you guys come up here?"
"Yeah, I'll do anything. Thanks, Dakota. What do I do about her mom?"
Dakota frowned. "Obviously, not much. Just be there for her. Let her talk about how much she misses her and stuff. Don't try to fix her, okay?"
Cruz grumbled. "Just listen?"
"Exactly. She'll love you forever."
"If that doesn't work, I'm calling back."
"Okay. I'll take care of the rest."
Another call came in.
It was Charlotte Pemberley.
"Cruz, I have to go."
Four
Clay set the file down and leaned toward the door. Dakota sounded stressed from the tone of her conversation. He got up and stood in the doorway.
She paced, tugging at her red hair. "Yes… yes… That's no problem. Would you be able to travel down here at any point this week, Charlotte? There are some things you really need to be here for."
Dakota spun around and walked down the hall in his direction. She shot him an annoyed glance, and he went back to work.
A few minutes later, she came into the office and sighed.
"Everything okay?" Clay asked.
"We've got to get that nondisclosure statement signed." She dug into a file and handed it to him.
"You have my word that I won't give out any details of the wedding. Can I tell people she's a client?"
"That much and no more—but nothing to anyone in the media."
"Sure." He looked over the document and filled it out.
She glanced over the paper. "Okay. Charlotte Pemberley is getting married here."
Clay stared at her. "For real? From Real Homemakers of Seattle?"
"That's the one, and it's beginning to look like we're going to have to do most of the planning with her up there."
He rubbed his chin. "A challenge. I like it."
Dakota gave him a double take. "Come again?"
"Like I told you before, I like challenges."
She leaned against a wall. "That's great, but you need a bride and groom to plan a wedding. Well, at least the bride."
"You can do pretty much anything remotely." Clay thought about it. "I don't see why a wedding would be any different."
"Oh, you'll see."
"What's the first thing we have to do?" Clay asked.
"I'll let you know." She grabbed a three ring binder and flipped through the pages, mumbling to herself.
Clay watched her curiously. Though flustered, it was obvious she knew what she was doing and wanted to get everything right.
She glanced his way, and he got back to work on the files. Time flew by, and before he knew it, his stomach rumbled.
Dakota stretched and took stock of the desk. "You got through a lot. I'm really impressed."
He picked up a stack of papers nearly as tall as himself. "These can all be recycled. Everything is in the system now."
Her mouth gaped.
"Also, to make things easier in the future, you need a form that people can fill out online."
"I don't suppose you know anything about setting that up."
"Yeah, but if I'm going to help with Charlotte's wedding, you might be better off hiring a web developer."
"Okay. I'll add that to my mile-long to-do list."
"Don't worry about it. I know a guy."
She arched a brow. "Why am I surprised?"
He chuckled and pulled some hair behind his ears. "Oh, and I'll shred these papers before recycling. Wouldn't want all that personal information getting into the wrong hands."
"Right. I was going to mention that. Thanks." She glanced up at the clock. "Well, I'm going to take my lunch. Feel free to take an hour when you're ready."
Clay readjusted the pile in his arms. "I'll take care of this first."
"All that shredding? It'll take forever."
"We'll see."
"Okay. Don't feel like you need to get it all done right now though." She left the room, and a moment later, he could hear someone stop her in the hall.
He found a small shredder in a closet. No wonder she thought it would take a long time. A pile like this one could take days.
Clay set the pile down and made a mental note to ask her a
bout the policy of spending company money because they either needed a better one or to take boxes down to a place that shredded documents for a small fee.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
Lauryn.
"Hey, what's up?"
"How's your first day going?" she asked.
"Pretty well. I think I've impressed the boss."
"Are you inspired yet?"
He held in a sigh. "I've been entering information into a computer all day."
"Ugh. So, you're basically a secretary."
Clay snorted. "Hardly. I'm working to set up a more efficient system."
"Fun. Are you bored yet?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Lauryn asked, sounding put out.
"Apparently."
"I want you here in Portland, Clay. With me."
"What about our conversation the other night?"
She sighed. "Yes, I want you to get inspired and I also want you happy, but I want you to find that with me. It's your first day. Surely, you can get out of it and find something up here. I had a lull in clients and found a couple—"
"This is what I want. Not you finding something for me."
"Don't you want to hear what I've found?"
He ran his hand through his hair, pulling tightly at the end. "I need to get going. Can we talk tonight?"
"I have an important client dinner. It'll probably go late."
"See? You're not even going to miss me. You're so busy with work all week that we wouldn't see each other, anyway."
"But at least we'd be close. We could talk more about getting the paperwork signed."
Clay thought about the beautiful building he worked in with and glanced around the walls at the elaborate wedding pictures. How could she think that working here would inspire him to go to a courthouse?
"Are you still there?" Lauryn asked.
"I'll call you when I get done tonight."
"Think about it at least. There are some good opportunities for you here. You can get your foot in the door in so many ways."
"Sure, I'll think about it."
"You will?" She finally sounded happy. "Oh, Clay. Thank you. I promise you won't be disappointed."
No, but she was bound to be. "Talk to you later."
"Oh, my next client is here. Gotta go, hon."
The call ended.
His heart sank. Had Lauryn returned to Portland and spent the rest of the weekend cooking up ideas to lure him there? By the end of their dinner, she'd seemed genuinely happy for him having this opportunity. She had even admitted the distance could be good for them.
He grabbed his coat and headed outside for his bike. As hungry as he was, a ride to clear his head sounded better.
In the future, he'd have to ignore calls from Lauryn. At least if she was going to make a habit of pulling what she just did. He didn't have the time or the energy to deal with it.
Clay climbed on the bike, started it, and headed for the bay. The air was nice and crisp. He wouldn't have been surprised to see flakes coming down, except that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The water would be especially nice.
He rode the length of the bay, allowing the scenery to calm his nerves. It worked. By the time he reached the end and was ready to turn around, he noticed a little burger place. His stomach rumbled, so he pulled in and ate a couple greasy burgers and fries before heading back to work.
It was nice to be able to do something simple like that when Lauryn wasn't around, forcing green smoothies and sandwiches with kale leaves instead of bread his way. He appreciated that she cared about his health, but sometimes it was just nice to have some good old-fashioned grease.
On the way back, his full stomach and the crisp, sea air started to lull him to sleep.
He pulled over at the first coffee stand he came to and ordered a sugary mocha.
"Anything else?" asked the chipper brunette.
Clay thought of Dakota running around stressed. "Yeah, actually. A…" What would she like? He had no idea, so he ordered Lauryn's usual. "A nonfat soy latte. Hold the cream."
"Size?"
"Uh, the one I got."
She told him the total and he ran his card. The girl smiled. "That'll be just a few minutes."
Clay leaned against a tree and stared at the water, his eyelids heavy.
The barista called his name. He grabbed the two drinks and secured them into the cup holders before heading back.
Dakota was back in her office, staring at a table full of papers and shaking her head.
"Is everything okay?" Clay asked.
She shook her head and looked up at him, her expression frazzled. "The bride has completely changed her mind on just about everything—and the wedding is this weekend."
"Ouch. Don't you have a policy about that? Like they can't make changes after a certain point?"
"That would certainly make my life easier in times like this. Most are pretty easy-going, but every so often, we get one like this."
"Here, have some coffee." He held out the latte toward her.
She glanced at the white cup and back to him. "You… you got me coffee?"
"I thought you could use it. I hope that's okay."
Her eyes shone. "I… I… Thank you."
"Hey, it's nothing." He shrugged. "I was just getting one for me and thought you might like one."
Dakota took the drink and sat back in the chair, staring at him. "Thanks."
"Sure." He put the mocha on the desk and slid out of his jacket.
She sipped the drink and then scrunched her face.
"Is it okay?"
"A little more bitter than I'm used to, that's all."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't sure what you'd like. Would you prefer a mocha? I haven't drunk from this one."
Her eyes widened. "I couldn't."
"Take it." Clay took the latte from her and replaced it with the mocha. "I should've known you'd like something sweet."
Dakota's cheeks flushed pink. "I don't want to take your mocha."
He took a swig of the latte—she was right. It was horribly bitter. How did Lauryn stand those? He fought to keep a straight face.
She giggled. "Sorry you had to drink that."
"This? It's great." He drank some more, forcing himself to smile.
Clay went over to the desk and began entering more paperwork into the system. He needed to call Andy, his friend who could help him get something more efficient going.
A little while later, a phone rang.
"Hi, Charlotte," Dakota said. "Did you have a chance to look over the email I sent? … No, I—" Her eyes widened. "Well, I suppose I could do that. It's a little… unorthodox, but it could work. When would you like to schedule that? … Oh, now?" She flipped through some papers on her desk. "Well, sure. Just give me a few minutes. … Okay, bye."
Dakota put the phone down and took a deep breath.
"Need any help with anything?" Clay asked.
She pulled some hair from her face. "Charlotte wants me to give her a personal video tour of The Chateau. The pictures on the website aren't enough."
He rose and cracked his knuckles. "Well, let's give her the tour of a lifetime. I'll hold your phone, and you do the talking."
"Really?"
"Yeah, that'd be a lot easier than you trying to hold the phone and do everything else, too."
"Okay." She sat taller, took a drink of her mocha, and slid her finger around the phone's screen. She held it out for Clay to see.
It rang and then the video came on. Clay would have to take Dakota's word that it was Charlotte Pemberley on the screen. The woman had on a speckled, seafoam green mud mask on and cucumber slices over her eyes.
"Dakota?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm here with my assistant, Clayton Harper."
Charlotte pulled off the food from her eyes and focused on the screen. "Nice. I need an assistant that looks like that." She winked. "Let's get this show on the road. I only have an hour befo
re I have to leave for my interview with Buck Lagrange."
"Okay, let's start this, then. I'm going to hand the phone over to Clay. Any questions first?"
"Nope. Just show me what I need to see—the courtyard, reception hall, bridal room, and anything else."
"Sure thing. We'll have you on your way long before you need to get ready for your interview." She handed Clay the phone and started talking about the courtyard.
He aimed it at her and knew this job would be far more interesting than anything Lauryn could find for him.
Five
Dakota stepped into the entryway of her parents' home and immediately relaxed. Laughter sounded from the kitchen. Her dad laughed the loudest, but Sullivan wasn't much quieter. Her mom and other siblings also joined in.
After such a stressful week, it felt good to be in her childhood home. She threw off the stresses of unhappy brides-to-be and trying to get in touch with Charlotte. The only good thing about the week had been Clay. Every day, he proved himself more and more helpful. He was a real asset, and Dakota loved every moment with him.
Her parents' house smelled of lasagna—one of Mom's favorite dishes. It brought back many memories of family dinners over the years. She loved their weekly family meal.
She slid off her winter coat and hung it on the rack before going into the kitchen.
The full table in front of Dakota relaxed her further. Her parents, three brothers, sister, and brother-in-law all sat together, happily talking.
"Dakota finally made it," Sullivan teased.
"Sorry. Busy day at work."
"Have you met Charlotte yet?" Freya asked, her eyes wide. She was a model and as a result, really into actors and actresses.
"Not in person."
"Is she as obnoxious in real life?" Shale asked. Freya's twin didn't have the same stars in his eyes as his womb-mate.
Dakota slid into the seat next to him. "She has a strong personality."
Shale snorted. "I'll bet. I saw a video where she—"
"Let's focus on our meal," Dad said. "Mom spent hours slaving over it."
Mom chuckled. "Hardly. I don't mind hearing a little celebrity gossip. It's not every day one of the kids meets someone famous."
Dakota piled some lasagna onto her plate and turned back to Shale. He had a black mark on his cheek. She studied it. "Did you get burned?"
Bayside Evenings Page 3
