I’m the first one at the office and the peace and quiet is nice. I set the date to move furniture into my new office for a few weeks out. That will give me time to close out Faith, Fashion, and Hope before I resign. Then I think I need to take a few days off, maybe go to Vegas with Luke if he is still taking the weekend trips there. That is one thing I’m really looking forward to. Working for Carrie’s Classic Events doesn’t allow for any vacation time. Of course, how could I since Carrie is on a trip almost every weekend? I’m also planning on meeting up with my parents in Florida when they get there in a few months. I need to call them and set that up. I think a few days at Walt Disney World would be awesome. I have always wanted to go there. I grew up going to Disneyland here in Southern California, but I have heard the Florida one is different.
“Good morning,” yells Craig. “You’re here early.” He pops his head in my door. “Is it safe? Are you happy Sienna today or bad mood Sienna?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say, feeling slightly offended. Maybe I have been in a bad mood lately. The more I think about it, I probably should think about doing one of those motivational seminars. It couldn’t hurt.
“I know I haven’t been myself lately. But I’m back on track. Soooo, let’s rock out this event and get the hell out of here.” We give each other a high five, and I open my email.
The first email is from Mr. Canton’s assistant.
Sienna,
Thank you for sending over all of the remaining paperwork. Unfortunately, Carrie failed to sign the attached two documents. I tried to contact her by phone and email and have gotten out of office responses. I need these documents ASAP in order to finalize everything. Please let me know if you can get in touch with her, the sooner the better.
Much Appreciated,
Maria
My heart sinks as I grab my phone and try to call Carrie. I get the same out of office response. I leave an urgent voice message and text.
“Craig, is Nicole here yet?” I call.
“Not yet.”
“Please tell her to come in here as soon as she gets here. I need to get the info of whatever spa Carrie is trying this weekend. She did it again, and I need her signature ASAP. I begged her to review all that paperwork.”
“You could always sign for her,” Craig says as he pops his head in my office again. “No one would know the difference. This is so typical of her. It’s Friday morning, and she probably will be unreachable till Monday.”
“NO way!” I exclaim. “I am not forging any documents, especially considering I am quitting in a little over a week. Please follow up on the printing. I’m starting to panic about that.”
Nicole finally comes strolling in a little after 10:00 a.m. She always does this when Carrie is out of the office.
“Nicole, I need the info of where Carrie is staying,” I demand.
‘Sienna, you know I can’t disclose that. She gave me strict orders. She will fire me.”
“Seriously, she will not fire you, and if she did, do you really care? I promise I won’t use it unless I haven’t heard back from her by this afternoon.” I practically have to beg on my hands and knees for her to turn over the information. She finally gives it to me, and it turns out she is at a resort and spa in Palm Springs, which is not that far away. At least she thought enough not to go miles away a week before a huge event.
I send Maria an email back that I will get the info signed and sent back over as soon as I can. I know myself all too well that if I don’t get it today I will stress about it all weekend. I try to focus on work and not worry about it, but I have a bad feeling.
I have actually never tried to get in touch with Carrie while she was on one of her weekends away. It’s not that I’m worried about her getting mad, the worst thing she could do would be fire me.
Craig and I have had many conversations about what goes on at her spa weekends. We are pretty sure that Carrie, Lucinda, Gwendolyn, and Elizabeth sit around and eat overpriced meals, drink excessive amounts of alcohol, get head-to-toe spa treatments, and gossip about everyone else they know. She has never invited me to attend, and I don’t think I would want to. The only fun part would be to catch the making of what could be another train wreck reality show. Craig is actually dying to go one time, and if I can’t get her on the phone today, we may have to take a road trip.
“Craig, can you come to my office?” I call over the phone intercom.
“Here I am.” He comes in eating a bowl of cereal.
“What are you eating?” I ask.
“Um, Lucky Charms. Don’t judge me, OK. It’s my guilty pleasure.”
“Whatever,” I say, rolling my eyes. “So, Carrie has not called me back yet. I’m starting to panic. I need those documents signed today. I’m going to try her at the resort, but if I can’t get in touch with her, we’re taking a road trip,” I say, smiling.
“Are you serious?” he yells excitedly. “We can crash the sorority weekend? This is my dream come true.”
“Wow, you are sad. You need to find a hobby or something.” I am really starting to feel sorry for him. I know since his last relationship ended he has thrown himself into his work, but this is ridiculous.
“Anyway, I’ll take her the documents and give them to her. You’re just coming along for the ride.” I’m praying that she will call me back before we have to go down there. I would rather spend my Friday night doing anything other than dealing with the wrath of Carrie.
Craig leaves my office, and I check off a few more items on my daily to-do list. I send another text to Carrie’s phone. Madison calls me a little while later, and I tell her all about the missing documents and the missing Carrie. I tell her that Craig and I may take a drive down there later today.
“It’s the last thing I want to do, but I have to get this done today for my sanity. You know me, I will never make it through the weekend with this hanging over my head.”
“No way. This is probably throwing your OCD completely into a tailspin,” she says, laughing.
“Funny,” I say, not amused. “Anyway, we will probably head down to Palm Springs after work.”
“Cole took me to this amazing little Italian restaurant near there. I’ll ask him the name,” she adds. “Wait a second, he’s working tonight. Can I crash your road trip?”
“Of course,” I exclaim. “This reminds me of the days when we were just hanging at home and decided to pick up and stay at the beach. I miss those carefree days.”
“Me too,” she says. “This will be a blast. We can stop at that restaurant on the way.”
“My only request is that I wait in the car when you go to see Carrie. I am too much of a chicken to be there when you ask her to meet you in the lobby.” She giggles.
“I don’t blame you. I wish I could just get a courier, but I need to return them tonight. At least with you guys coming, we can make a fun evening of it. OK, I have to finish working; meet us here at the office around four o’clock.” We hang up and I tell Craig that Madison is coming with us. In the meantime, I continue to leave several messages for Carrie. I would think she would check her phone at some point today.
Nicole is a complete wreck when she finds out we are going to the resort. Carrie has not returned one single call or text. I even called the resort and was told that she asked not to be disturbed and would not be taking any calls. Knowing Carrie, she got my messages but probably thinks it can wait until Monday. I wouldn’t be surprised because on more than one occasion Carrie has told me that I overreact to things. In all fairness, she’s probably right, but I wouldn’t be that bad if I knew I could actually depend on her.
Madison arrives at the office right around 4:00 p.m. On the way to the resort, we stop off at Marcello’s, and it is as amazing as Madison said it would be.
We were in the middle of a great game of ’80s music trivia when Madison asks me about Ace. “Have you talked to him lately?” she says, turning to face me. If I weren’t driving in nightmare traffic, I would have
turned around and punched her. That was all she had to say to get Craig all fired up.
“Ya, I am really interested to hear more about Mr. Eckelund,” Craig says, sticking his head in between the front seats. “I know we are planning a launch for his company, but you haven’t said much more about him. It’s time to spill it.”
“There isn’t much to tell.” I turn and give Madison the evil eye. “We can’t officially plan that party until we are working as Sheer Happiness Events. I already told you this, Craig.”
“I know that part. I mean, what is your relationship with him for real? Not just the whole ‘he is Luke’s friend’ story,” he asks.
I take a deep breath, now is as good of time as any to just be honest.
I sigh deeply. “Honestly, I have been attracted to Ace since I first met him, and the feeling is mutual. I really enjoy talking to him because he is positive and cheerful. It always seems like he is happy to talk to me, and he takes the time to ask about my life. At the same time, attraction isn’t love. I love Luke, and I realize it’s OK to feel attracted to someone else. It doesn’t always mean that something more would come about. So, yes, we are attracted to each other, but that is where it stops.” When I stop talking, both Madison and Craig are silent. Either they are surprised at my explanation or surprised I was honest. Either way it feels great to talk about my feelings.
I think they are shocked by my candor. They don’t even respond. After that, the conversation moves on to Madison’s wedding. I’m just grateful to not be the topic of discussion any longer.
We finally arrive at the resort after a few hours on the road due to all the Friday night traffic. The resort is absolutely gorgeous, and we make our way to the concierge desk. Craig and Madison decide to take a tour while I try to contact Carrie.
I do have her room information that I practically had to kill Nicole for. I will try every method I can to find her other than go to her room.
“Excuse me,” I ask as I approach the desk. “Can you please call Carrie Anderstone in Suite 1500? It’s an urgent business matter.”
“One moment, Madam,” says the desk attendant. I glance at his nametag, which reads, “My name is Emmitt. How can I assist you?”
“I am terribly sorry. However, I see a Do Not Disturb message on that suite. I’m afraid I have to honor our guests’ wishes. I will be happy to leave a note for when she comes by to check,” he says apologetically. “I believe Ms. Anderstone comes by in the morning or early afternoon.”
“I’m afraid that will be too late. This is absolutely an emergency. Please. I will take full responsibility,” I beg.
Finally, after several more minutes of begging, pleading, and even a little flirting, Emmitt places a call to Carrie’s room.
Of course, she doesn’t answer, so he leaves a message for her. Crap! She’s probably out for the evening. This really was a horrible idea. Why do I have to be so obsessive about things? Then I remind myself that this paperwork should have already been sent over. This is not my fault, but it is my responsibility to do whatever I need to do in order to get things done.
I sit down on a huge chaise lounge chair and try to figure out my next step. Of course, I can’t go to her room because she is on a concierge floor, and we have no chance of getting past the elevator rent-a-cop guarding the floors. Even if I could, I don’t know if I would go through with it. Considering how private Carrie is, I know she would fire me on the spot regardless of the upcoming event.
I send Madison a text to meet me in the lobby. I am really regretting this rash decision to come here; we should probably just go home. A few minutes later, Craig and Madison return raving about the resort.
“Sienna, you need to see this place. We have to host some events here. It is amazing,” Craig says as he sits down and sprawls out on one of the huge wingback chairs. “So, did you get in touch with Carrie? Did she go crazy on you?”
“No. But I did manage to beg my good friend Emmitt over there to call her room and no luck. He left her a message, and I’m sure he will get written up when she contacts the manager, and you know she will. This was just a bad idea from the start, so let’s just go home.” I grab my bag and start to look for my keys. “I’ll just send an email to Maria that I will have the documents signed on Monday. Hopefully that will be OK.”
“Why don’t we just go up to her room?” asks Madison innocently. “We could pull the room service or housekeeping card just like on TV.”
“No way!” exclaims Craig. “You don’t know Carrie like we do. She will probably fire us or have us arrested or maybe even killed.” We all kind of laugh at that last part, but really you never know.
“Don’t you think you two are overreacting? You have a legitimate reason to find her and it will only take two seconds. What’s the big deal?’
“The big deal is that Carrie is extremely private, and she hates when people infringe on that. Let’s just go,” I insist.
All of sudden Craig grabs my arm and stares over my shoulder. “Sienna, is that Luke?”
“What? No! Luke is in Vegas,” I say as I turn to look behind me. “Oh my gosh, it is Luke.” He is strolling through the lobby with an overnight bag over his shoulder. He turns toward the elevator and gets on the first one that opens.
“What is he doing here?” Madison asks.
I don’t really know. I’m kind of in shock seeing him here, actually. I just look at Craig and Madie and shrug.
“Well, I’m not going to stand here wondering. Come on, let’s go find out why he’s here and not in Vegas like he said he would be,” Madison says loudly as she gets up to go catch him. I grab her arm to stop her.
“Wait a second. I think he’s supposed to be in Vegas. To be honest, I’m not sure where he was going this weekend. I have been so preoccupied I don’t even remember asking. I just assumed because that’s where he’s been going.”
“Call him and tell him you’re here,” Craig says.
“OK.” I pull my phone out of my bag and dial his number. It goes right to voice mail, so I leave him an urgent message. I’m sure there’s an explanation. Could I have been so busy with my own stuff that I completely ignored the fact that he was coming to Palm Springs?
“Let’s go ask your good buddy at the desk to call his room,” exclaims Madison. I groan. That poor guy, he will probably have security escort us out before too long. I feel so bad. Maybe I should slip him a twenty-dollar bill.
We walk up to the desk and wait for Emmitt to finish with a guest. He looks up at me, and I can see by his expression that he is agitated.
“Hi, Emmitt. I’m so sorry to bother you again. We just saw a friend in the lobby and wanted to say hello, but we missed him as he was getting on the elevator. Could you call Luke Price’s room please?” I give him the friendliest smile I can.
“One moment,” he says as he grits his teeth and starts typing on his keyboard. “I’m sorry, but I have no guest listed by that name.”
“Really?” I say, shocked. “Maybe it’s under his company? Can you check Lance Summer or Summer Advertising? I promise that’s my last request. I won’t bother you again.”
“Sorry. I’m not showing any of those names. I wish I could help you, but I have guests to tend to.” He turns away and goes back to work.
What is happening? Everything suddenly seems a little fishy. Did Luke lie to me? Why would he do that?
I turn to Madison completely frozen with my heart racing. She puts her arm around my shoulders and guides me back to where Craig is still sitting.
“Did you call his room?” he asks.
“There are no guests here with his name,” Madison answers softly.
“That makes no sense. Is he doing something illegal where he would use an alias? Maybe he’s meeting a client?” Craig tries to give me different scenarios. We’re all silent as we try to figure out an explanation. Craig finally speaks up.
“Don’t just jump to conclusions that he’s here meeting someone. Luke is not that type. There
has to be a good reason,” he says insistently. I want to agree with Craig. I want to believe that he would never do that to me. Madison has gotten pretty quiet.
She finally chimes in. “You could call his brother-in-law? Tell him that you need to talk to Luke, but he’s not answering his phone. Do you have his number?”
“Yes. I do.” I scroll though my phone to find it. I dial his number, and Lance answers on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Lance, it’s Sienna,” I say cheerfully. “I’m trying to get in touch with Luke. But I can’t seem to get through to him. Any chance he’s there?”
“No, I am sorry, Sienna. I would have thought he would be home by now? He left the office before I did today. Maybe his phone died?” A huge lump is growing in my throat.
“You’re probably right. I’ll try him again. Thank you.” I quickly hang up. I try to make sense of this. There has to be a reason. Luke said he was traveling for work. If that were true, Lance would know where he was. But Lance doesn’t know. That can only mean one thing. Luke lied to me.
“What did he say?” asks Craig.
The lump in my throat is getting bigger. “He said that Luke left the office today before he did. That means that he was never going away on business this weekend. So, whatever he is here for, it’s not for work.” We all sit there in silence. I’m not sure what to do at this point. I don’t know whether I should go home and wait for his call or sit right here and wait for him to leave. Who knows how long that will be? I grab my phone to send him a text.
“So, what do you want to do?” Craig asks a few minutes later.
“I don’t know.” I really want to go just go home, but if I leave, I will never be able to focus on anything else.
“Maybe we can go get some dessert and just hang out for a bit,” Craig says. “I’m sure Luke will call you soon. There really must be a good reason.”
Dessert doesn’t really sound that good right now, but I don’t know what else to do. Craig and I stand up to go.
An Event to Remember. . .or Forget (Event to Remember Series Book 1) Page 12
