Page 71 of Savannah Sweethearts

I quickly opened our finances program and scanned everything. People were paying an arm and a leg to use this space. The entire property was paid off, so aside from taxes, utilities, and maintenance, there weren’t many expenses for the building itself. I pulled up the big numbers for the past five years. Even with the pandemic we were well in the black.

There was a lot of thinking to be done, but first, I needed to get my mother out of sight.

“Orlando, darling, I’m running to have brunch with Rebecca Gloss.” My mother’s small frame filled my doorway. She looked like a modern day Jackie O with her large sunglasses and flowing scarf. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Relief flooded me, but I steeled my jaw so as not to show it. “Enjoy yourself, Mom. You’re supposed to be retiring, right? You’ve earned a life of leisure at this point.”

She waved a bejeweled hand at me. “Leisure? What’s that? I like to stay busy. I’ll be back this afternoon.” She disappeared from view, her scarf fluttering after her.

Shaking my head, I pulled up my email to check it before my appointment. There was an email from Amaya.

Mr. Daniels,

I am interested in hearing more about the option that come with a job at The Promenade. Can you give me more specifics? Would this be full-time? Are there benefits? What are the company policies?

I want to give this my due consideration. Thank you.

Amaya Journet

There were no set answers to those questions because it had all been my mother’s idea. Would an event planner be needed full-time? I checked the schedule and every weekend was completely booked a year out, with only a few dates open after that. There were a few lunch and evening events as well. It could certainly warrant a full-time position.

But I was going to sell the place, right? And despite that, I didn’t date coworkers and I wanted to date Amaya. Maybe I should ask her out for coffee to discuss details.

When my appointment arrived fifteen minutes early, I was happy for the distraction from Amaya. These potential buyers were a couple who had always dreamed of a beach-side event venue. The wife was immensely disappointed that we were not oceanside.

I toured them around, showing them the ballroom, several conference spaces, and ending in the gardens. The husband appeared bored, the wife grew more and more disappointed as the tour went on. She had wanted a beach-side castle and this was not it. No amount of uptalking would convince her to alter her vision.

As they left, my mother returned. “Was that a couple looking for a wedding venue?” She watched them drive off in a neon green convertible.

“They had heard about us and wanted to check it out,” I told her. “But the woman wanted ocean-side, it seemed.” I turned to go inside, expecting my mother to follow me.

Once we were in the shade of the colonnade, she spoke again. “I need you to set up a meeting with Alexander. We need to go over the books.”

When I looked back at her, her mouth was in a thin line and her brow was furrowed. Did she know what I was doing in showing the place to potential buyers? It was best to appear unflummoxed. “Okay.”

“You’ve been learning the ropes here wonderfully, but I want to talk to Alexander about future projections. How we can expect to do in the next five years, maybe ten years. Especially if we bring Amaya on and perhaps a chef.”

In my office, I leaned on my desk and Mom took a seat. “Good idea, Amaya actually emailed me just a bit ago and wanted to know more details about the job. If it came with benefits and what the salary would be.”

With a huff, my mother shook her head. “I don’t know that right off. Call Alexander. See if he can come in this week.”

I leaned over and kissed her temple. “I’ll call right now. Don’t worry, Mom.”

Standing, she waved her hand in the air. “I never worry, Orlando. It gives me wrinkles if I worry.”

Amaya

The idea of working at The Promenade raced through my mind the entire day while I waited for a return email. I would love to not worry about job security and being able to see Orlando’s smile would be a perk. A smile crept across my face as I thought about that smile. It would be great to see him every day, but then, if we ever did date that could become incredibly awkward. Best to push it from my mind.

A reply finally came from Orlando telling me to come into his office at lunchtime two days later. I couldn’t have hidden the smile that crept up on my face if I’d tried.

I strode into The Promenade before noon, my low heels announcing my arrival. I wore a short, flowy black skirt and a hot pink button-up blouse with the top two buttons undone. Before I got to Orlando’s office, I undid a third button.

Yes, we would talk business, but I knew he had invited me at the lunch hour for a reason and I did not intend on giving him the upper hand. Giving my hair a final fluff, I approached his office door, which was wide open.

“Amaya, right on time,” he said, setting his cell phone down. “Come in. We’ll go over for lunch in just a few minutes.”

I clutched my bag in my left hand while I shook his hand with my right. “Go over? Where?”

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