Evie
I made it to the bar, parking in back next to Nelle’s car. I went around the front. The bar was in one of the better neighborhoods of the city, tucked in between several other bars. It was where the college kids came to do their pub crawls. Nelle’s bar was more of a sports bar by day and a millennial hangout by night. It was where the young people with man buns and skinny jeans liked to hang out. A lot of rich kids hung out in the place as well, which was really how Nelle paid the bills.
“Hey.” I greeted her with a small wave as I walked through the doors. The place was plenty bright in the late afternoon hours. At night, the lights were down, and the music was up.
“Uh oh, you got a new job,” she said with a bright smile. She knew me very well.
Her long, shiny, blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. The woman could have been a model. She was gorgeous. I admired her beauty and the perfect figure she had but it was the beauty on the inside that made her special. She was kind and ferocious enough to run a bar and deal with stupid, sometimes mean, drunks.
“I did,” I said with a grin.
“You are happy, so it must be especially challenging,” she commented. She quickly filled a glass with my usual diet soda and put it down in front of me with a little square napkin underneath.
I took a sip of the soda. “I am. It’s for a big party this weekend.”
Her perfectly sculpted brows, darkened with the skilled hand of a makeup expert, arched up. “This weekend? How big?”
“About two-hundred guests,” I answered. I was excited and couldn’t hide it.
“Wow. That’s not a small gathering.”
“Nope.”
“You will, of course, pull it off,” she said with a bright smile.
“You bet your ass I will. It does mean I’m going to be working around the clock for the next six days.”
I pulled out my yellow pad, ready to jot down ideas as they came to me. I took another drink and looked around the bar. The usual suspects were gathered around their table talking about football. I didn’t even think it was football season, but what did I know? It was the middle of July, hot as hell, and shaping up to be even hotter next week.
“What kind of party?” she asked as she filled a glass with foamy beer before handing it to one of the regulars.
“Shipping.”
“Shipping? Like the post office?”
“No. Cargo ships. I have to do a little homework, but they ship things all around the world on their really big boats.”
She didn’t look very excited. “How boring. What kind of theme?”
“No theme. I’m thinking I’m just going to have some big ropes, anchors, and stuff like that around the room.”
“Where is it being held at?”
“One of the local hotels down at the waterfront. I’ve worked with the rooms so many times before, I already know what I’m going for. It’s going to be tight quarters, but I’ll make it work.”
“Of course, you will.”
I put my pen down and focused on her. “How have you been?”
“Good, busy. You know how the weekends are.”
“I know. You work yourself to the bone. I was going to ask you to go shopping with me yesterday, but I figured you would be sleeping most of the day.”
She laughed. “I was. I got home just after four on Saturday—I guess that would technically be Sunday—and slept until about two. Got up, ate, showered, and went right back to bed. There were back-to-back concerts Friday and Saturday. You know how they flock in here, all hyped up on music and alcohol.”
“Did you have to kick any ass?”
She winked. “Just once. Two young bucks thought they were going to fight in my bar. They now know better.”
“I bet they do,” I said with a giggle. “Being attacked by all one-hundred-twenty pounds of you must have terrified them.”
“I think it might have been Martha that really scared them,” she said with a grin. Martha was her bat. It was her lucky bat. She’d played softball in school and kept it behind the bar. Her Louisville Slugger was not to be messed with.
“Martha is an intimidating gal,” I agreed. “I want a beach day. I’ll be busy this week, but what about next week?”
“I’m off Tuesday,” she answered.
“Then a week from now, we have a date. I have a feeling I’m going to be running my ass off this week and probably won’t see you.”
“Don’t work too hard,” she cautioned. “You know how very Type A you can get. I don’t want you having a breakdown or something.”
“I won’t have a breakdown. I promise.”
“Famous last words.”
I took another drink. “I’ve learned. I’ve gotten more organized. I’ve gotten better at scheduling. Now, there is no need to panic. Everything will be done on time. It will be last minute, but it will be done.”
She nodded. “Good girl. I don’t want you having a stroke at the ripe age of twenty-eight.”
“I won’t.”
“Speaking of Type A, how is your dad?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I have been busy. He’s been busy. I have barely talked to him at all. I really wish he would relax a little more.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black. You two are both wound very tight.”
“He made me this way,” I protested.
“Yes, he did.”
“Now that you mention it though, I probably should check in on him. He works way too much. When he isn’t working, he is doing something else that is far from relaxing.”
She gave me a knowing look. “Yeah, weird. It’s like I know someone just like him.”
“Ha. Ha.”
An idea popped into my head. I quickly jotted it down. When I looked up, she had her arms folded over her chest. She was right. I did work hard. I worked a lot. I liked working.
XanderI picked up a tool but I had no idea what it was. I examined it and put it back down on the table alongside Charlie’s workstation. I looked around the massive warehouse with various parts of cargo ships being manufactured or repaired. I knew exactly what I was looking at when it came to the bits and pieces of the ships.“This baby is almost finished,” Charlie said, lovingly patting an engine housing.I walked around the massive piece that would eventually be a part of one of the cargo ships I had designed. “It looks good.”“Of course, it looks good. I made it.”“I designed it,” I reminded him.He grinned. “Damn straight you did. And I’m glad you did. If you didn’t, I wouldn’t be working as much as I have been. Look at this place. We have work lined up for the next two years. Your fancy ships are the bee’s knees.”I rolled my eyes. “When did you turn ninety?” I asked, referencing his very old, outdated phrase.“Do you want a tour?” he asked.I shook my head. “Nah, once you’ve s
XanderI shook my head as Charlie nodded, grinning big. I waited while Al spoke.“You know, that is an excellent idea,” Charlie said. “He would love to attend. There will be a plus one included with the invitation I gather?”I groaned, putting a hand to my head. Charlie turned his back to me. “He will be there. Thank you so much. Take care.”Charlie turned back to look at me with a very satisfied expression on his face.“What did you do?” I asked.“We’re going to a party! Free alcohol and food.”I rolled my eyes. “I don’t need free food and alcohol.”“But I do.”“No, you don’t.”“Okay, maybe I don’t need it, but I want it. I like to party. It will be a great way to meet new people.”I let out a long sigh. “You mean new women. I think you’ve about run through most of the women in San Diego.”“Not even close, my friend, not even close.”“What did you get me into? When is it?”“Saturday,” he answered.“This Saturday?” I asked with surprise. “What if I had plans? That’s not a lot of notic
EvieI parked my car in front of the small antique store. I often shopped at the place when I was looking for that little something special to make a party theme complete. I had a good relationship with the owner and appreciated the many stories he had about the old days.I walked in, the bells on the door alerting him to my presence. The bells were a necessity. The shop was packed, wall to wall. In some places, things were stacked so high one couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of them.I walked inside, being careful not to knock anything over with my purse. “Bob!” I called out the owner’s name.I heard a muffled reply. “Back here.”I followed the sound of his voice. He was kneeling on the floor, unpacking a box of what looked like skeleton keys.“Those are awesome!” I exclaimed.He softly chuckled. “These are trendy right now,” he commented. “The rustier, the better. I’ll sell these in no time.”“They are very cool,” I agreed. I considered buying some just to have them. I w
EvieI drove to my father’s house in La Jolla. It wasn’t one of the big, fancy homes, but it was comfortable. It was older. It was my childhood home and held a great deal of memories. It was small, but as a single dad, it was all he could afford. I pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. It was clear he wasn’t home. I made my way up the cement walk with little cracks that were in need of repair but would likely not get done anytime soon.I collected the mail from the box and used my key to go inside. “Dad?” I called out, just in case his car was in the shop.There wasn’t an answer. I put the mail on the small table near the front door. It was where the mail went. It never went on the dining table or on a kitchen counter. It always went on the table. My slightly obsessive nature was absolutely the product of my father’s upbringing.I looked around the living room that was clean and neat. It was who he was. Organized. He could give Marie Kondo a run for her money. I walked into the
XanderThe car pulled to a stop in front of the hotel. I could see Charlie pacing in front of the building. He was irritated. Pissed, judging by the flurry of texts he’d sent over the last twenty minutes. I was late. I could admit I nearly backed out. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of going to the stupid party. The only reason I was going was because of Charlie.I got out of the car, buttoning the suit as I moved toward him.“It’s about fucking time,” he said. “You need a better watch.”“I don’t need a better watch.”“You are late.”“I know. See? My watch works fine.”He growled. “Why didn’t you text me back?”“Because I knew what you would say. I was on my way.”He shook his head, clearly still pissed. “Can we go in? I need a damn drink.”“You could have gone in,” I told him.“No, I couldn’t. You are the one invited. I’m the plus one.”I nodded and moved to open the door. I gestured for him to go inside. “Let’s get a drink.”“I’m going to get a drink. And some damn good food.”“I’ll
Xander“We all are very happy Al took the chance,” Gary said with a laugh. “I’m not a gambling man. I didn’t want to see one of my ships sink to the bottom of the ocean.”“Lucky for me, the ship didn’t sink. None of them did. If you excuse me, I need to say hello to someone.” I walked away, anxious to get away from them.I moved through the crowd, nodding at a few familiar faces. Charlie made his way to me. “See? It’s not so bad.”I glowered at him. “It is painful.”“Nah, it’s not so bad. I’ve already met two very lovely ladies. I could introduce you.”“No thanks, I’m good.”“Incoming,” he said in a hushed voice.“Xander,” Al, the man hosting the party and the owner of the company, said. “Thank you so much for coming.”“Thank you for inviting me,” I replied. “This is nice.”Al smiled and looked around. “It is nice. We owe my lovely wife Deidre the credit.”The woman stepped forward and smiled. She had Texas-big hair. “Hello, Xander. It’s nice to finally meet you. You’ve made my husban
EvieThe man was handsome as hell. I had a feeling he knew it as well. Not that he acted stuck up or arrogant but there was a vibe about him, like a “don’t bother me, I’m too sexy for my suit,” kind of thing. He seemed bored, like he attended parties like this all the time. My party was another in a long line of boring engagements he was forced to attend. I wondered if he was part owner of the company throwing the party. Maybe he was the pain in the ass brother that lurked in the shadows.I turned, leaning my shoulder against the wall as I faced him. His hair was a little too long for him to be one of the usual suits that ran a big company. His eyes were a light shade of brown, almost a yellowish gold tone. His brows were thick and his lashes were long. His jaw was square and chiseled. I liked that he had a hint of a shadow along his jawline. He was definitely not the average suit. Every other man at the party, not counting those that had beards, were freshly shaven.Not him. I was gu
EvieHe gave me a dry look. “Do I act like a party crasher? Wouldn’t I be enjoying myself a little more?”I looked at his drink. “You’re enjoying the free liquor.”“I’m here under duress,” he claimed.I laughed. “I don’t see the chains.”“I came because I was invited and my friend insisted I show up.”“You were invited but you don’t work for the company?”He looked uncomfortable. “No.”I waited for him to explain. He didn’t. “Are you related to Al?”“No.”I burst into laughter. “I think I understand a little more about why you are here in the corner. I feel like I’m giving you a root canal.”He shrugged. “I told you I’m not a big people person.”I studied him. I felt like I was pretty good at reading people. I had to be in my line of work. I had to be prepared to jump in and rescue a bride that was on the verge of hysteria or a bitch fit. When I read him, I saw a guy that was uncomfortable but could be fun given the right circumstances. “You haven’t found the right people.”“Pardon me