Page 73 of Wild Hearts

"We don't have a lot of money for decorations. I should have mentioned that upfront. I was planning on using my personal savings for this. We don't usually have something so elaborate." I'd gotten caught up in our plans, forgetting we didn't have unlimited funds.

"I have the casino stuff from last time. I store it in the garage of my mom's house. So that doesn't cost anything. I also have black and gold curtains we can use for the decor."

I frowned. "Yeah, but you don't plan parties for free."

She smiled softly. "It's a charity thing. I can use it as a tax write-off."

"Noelle, you need to get paid for your work."

Noelle shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's fine."

"Can I at least pay you for your time?" I asked her, my stomach knotting. I knew how much she needed the money to support her family.

"You can help me move what we need out of storage and set it up." Noelle offered.

"I can do that," I said even though it didn't sit right with me.

Noelle smiled. "Great."

I didn't like not paying her, but I didn't have a choice. I'd help out as much as possible so it wasn't too much work for her.

"Things are better now that Christopher has a job at the resort. Xander makes sure he has enough hours but still time to do his schoolwork. He's been a good mentor for him."

"Are you talking about Xander Wilde? I thought he was the wildest of them all?"

Noelle laughed. "I think that's Killian now. Xander has been amazing with Christopher, and I heard he's really come through for the resort."

"I had no idea."

Noelle stood, gathering her things. "I think a lot of that was just a rumor anyway. Tori said he's a good man and not nearly as much a player as everyone said. I wouldn't leave him with Christopher otherwise. He needs a male figure in his life, and Xander has been great for him."

"Huh. I guess you never truly know someone," I said, feeling a little stupid for assuming things about Xander. "Maybe you could give Killian the benefit of the doubt too."

Noelle scoffed. "He acts like a diva, as if he deserves special treatment because he can snowboard."

I sighed. I wasn't sure if this consternation was because she was jealous of his success, or he'd done something to her at one point. "You never know."

"I didn't realize how much real personal assistants make. Maybe I need to raise my proposed prices for my business."

"You can always raise them later too. Might be better to get off the ground first."

"Yeah."

"Thanks for your help. I couldn't have done this without you, and hopefully, it will help us raise more money. I need to get the flyers printed today and distributed."

Noelle nodded. "Forward me a copy. I'll share online."

I followed Noelle out of the room and into the lobby.

"I have another client to see about a design, but I'll talk to you soon about getting the stuff out of storage."

I hugged Noelle, then made my way upstairs to the resort offices. At some point during my meeting with Noelle, Walker had texted to say he was in the conference room since he didn't have an office yet. I knocked on the open door, and Walker lifted his gaze.

A smile spread over his face. "Addison. How did it go?"

I walked inside, shutting the door behind me. The room had a nice view of the mountains and one of the slopes. "Noellewants to do a casino night, and she's the expert, so I let her do her thing."

"From what I'm hearing, Noelle is good at everything she attempts."

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