Page 12 of Addicted

Apparently, all the mail that The Pointe had received in the past month had been placed on the desk in said office, but it had overflowed and poured onto the floor. The mess had attracted other paperwork so invoices, old contracts, and other miscellaneous things had been mixed in. There was even a pink flip-flop sandwiched between two bridal magazines.

Walking over, Owen picked up a postcard for a wedding show that had happened weeks ago and sighed heavily.

“Sorry, man. No one knew what to do and John yelled at anyone who asked.” Dylan pushed some of the papers together with the toe of his shoe but he’d have to do that for an hour for it to have any impact.

“I did anticipate some problems but this is…” Owen searched for a good word. He couldn’t find one.

“Oh!” Dylan lightly hit his forehead with the heel of his palm. “And the e-mail thing? I think Dean had another one that he gave out to clients. Not the one from the website. It’s on the business cards.”

“There’s a different e-mail on the cards than the website?”

“So he knows where the leads are comin’ from.”

“Ah.” Honestly, Owen should’ve realized that but, facing the disorganization he’d unearthed in the last few hours, he was a little off his game.

They went back to Owen’s office to log in. Marci had given him all the passwords that she was aware of; it took some hunting to find the second e-mail, and even longer to figure out which password it might be. Finally, they managed to get in and Owen’s mouth fell open when he saw the number next tonew. There were over six hundred unanswered emails. Sure, some were spam but a lot were inquiries. People who wanted to book but never heard back and most likely took their business elsewhere.

“Holy crap.” Dylan stared at the screen in shock.

“Agreed. Considering the filing cabinet, the mail, and the e-mail, I’m afraid to ask about my phone, or finances, or payroll, or…or where I can find contracts.” At this point Owen wasn’t wading through shit, he was swimming in it, and he was maybe in over his head. But all these issues together still weren’t as bad as his life had been lately, which gave him perspective.

“You know what, Bossman? You need an assistant,” Dylan proclaimed.

Owen blinked. “You’re right. Are you applying for the job?”

“Nope!” Dylan put his hands up in protest. “I’m not good in one place all day. Organizin’? Not for me. I gotta move around, you know? I’m a free spirit.”

“Of course.” Although Dylan had been a huge help, Owen agreed with his assessment. “Can you recommend anybody? I’d need someone who’s been here a few years, knows what’s going on, and,” he nodded at Dylan, “who wants to stay in one place.”

“Hmmmm…” Eyes on the ceiling, finger on his chin, Dylan looked like an emoji. “There’s Kate. She does dessert but she’s already Emma’s assistant so probably…not? Maybe Brian? He manages janitorial and knowseverythingthat happens here.“ Then he snapped his fingers. “Oh! And Liam might be good too.”

Owen jolted, his heart beating wildly.

“Liam?” he managed to croak out.

“Yep! My man Liam is quiet but he does good work. He’s certainly been helping Marci with a bazillion things.” Dylan kept going, oblivious to the loud thumping of Owen’s heart. Owen had been hoping to come across Liam by meeting the staff, wanting to put his curiosity to rest. Was it Liam who he’d seen that day? Or was it another false sighting, something Finn would poke him about?

“Uh,” Owen’s words sounded far away from him, like he wasn’t speaking them. “Do you know Liam’s last name?”

Dylan’s brow furrowed and he went full emoji again. “It’s a word. Like, a name and a word? Or mayyyybeeee a color?”

“What about Gray?” The question came out of Owen in a surprising rush.

“Yeah! Gray, thassit!” Dylan pointed at him. Then his arm dropped. “Wait. You know Liam?”

“I think so.” Owen exhaled, not expecting so much relief. With everything that had happened to him this year, there was at least this silver lining. He could talk to Liam again, see that he was okay, and put away the guilt; plus, it would be nice to work with a familiar face. “Is he here today?”

“Lemme ask.” Dylan pushed a button on his headset and repeated the question. After a moment he laughed. “Good timing, Bossman. Marci just saw him pull into the parking lot. She’ll bring him up next.”

5

LIAM

“Liam,Liam,Liam!”Marciscurried over as soon as he was in the door, immediately latching onto his arm. “Guess what? We officially have a new venue manager!”

Liam blinked, trying to get his bearings with her attached to him. Despite how drunk she was the night before she showed no signs of a hangover and was her usual hyper-chipper self, bubbling with energy. Liam wished he could siphon some off her. Between being social and his weird conversation with Zach he’d come home completely drained yet he couldn’t sleep. He’d ended up on the floor again, pressed between the bed and the wall as the sun came up, and he felt weary down to his bones.

“Is it the guy you wanted?” Liam tried to put on his headset while she clung to him, walking them both upstairs.

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