Page 111 of When Fate Breaks
Yeah. So much happiness.
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” I force a chuckle.
I have to be there for him before I let him be there for me. I owe him that much.
“Okay, I was totally waiting for the ‘shut up’,” Blake says. “You must be tired.”
“You have no idea.”
Blake’s chuckles, eventually fading into a sigh. “Not to be a total dork, Evangeline, but…thank you. For suggesting this. I’m really looking forward to it. And…I’m really happy to not be alone tomorrow.”
Same. Alone is definitely when it’s the worst.
“Of course, Blake. I–I’m really looking forward to seeing you too. To getting to talk.”
“Yeah, it’ll be nice,” Blake says, a smile in his tone. “Are you still good to meet at Angelo’s at six tomorrow night?”
I nod, then realize he can’t see me.God, I’m a mess. “Yep!” I squeak. “Conference lets out at five so that should give me plenty of time.”
“Alright, perfect. Talk to you tomorrow?”
“Yep. Um, good night, Blake.”
“See you, Evangeline.”
I hang up at the same moment a voice equivalent to the sound of nails on a chalkboard invades my ears.
“Um, Frannie?” I look up, seeing Evelyn poking her head in from the exit door of the plane and then register that I am the last person still onboard. “Are you planning toattendthis conference or should I just let Margaret know you’ve resigned?”
“Sorry, coming,” I say, sliding into the aisle and grabbing my suitcase from the open carry-on bin.
“Are you sure? Because I’m sure this plane could just head back to Alabama–”
“I said I’m coming, Evelyn,” I cut her off, wishing in this moment that looks could actually kill.
“Well, how considerate of you,” she patronizes, nodding at me with the snobbiest smirk I’ve ever seen before turning and leaving me alone on the plane.
“Tomorrow is going to be fun,” I mutter to myself before trudging after her.
* * *
Tomorrow wasnot,in fact, fun.
Not from the very first moment.
The moment I woke up by my own internal clock just seven minutes before I was supposed to be downstairs to find I had passed out in full clothes and makeup from the night before without setting an alarm or plugging in my phone, leaving me with only 22% battery life for the day.
After barrelling downstairs in a slightly less wrinkled blazer in a different shade from the one I wore on the plane, complimentary hotel lip balm, a flick of mascara, and a smear of eyeshadow, on only one eye, I’m fairly certain, I was greeted by (perfectly pressed, polished, and on their A-game, of course) Evelyn and Matthew. Though Evelyn managed to throw some snide remark in my direction about it being lovely of me to join them, I didn’t stop to give either of them the time of day. I may not have been the brightest eyed or bushiest tailed of the three of us, but I was going to be the first one in place at our first conference session.
Though I twisted my ankle twice and nearly snapped a heel in the process, I found the correct room listed on the itinerary we had been given and made my way inside, quickly scanning the rows of tables lining the room for theMontgomerysign. I spotted Margaret standing towards the front of the room schmoozing with a few other executives from other branches, Lucy standing behind her like a wide-eyed statue awaiting command. At the same moment I located our branch’s seats, nestled between the Houston and Phoenix tables, Margaret’s gaze flicked to me. I steeled myself instantly, plastering the biggest grin I could manage and waving at her confidently, taking my seat at our currently empty table while I still had her attention. Once Margaret nodded with the faintest of smiles, acknowledging me, I frantically turned my attention to my notes, intending on cramming the two hours I had planned for final preparations into the next five minutes.
This particular meeting wasn’t actually a part of the conference as it was more of a Briar & Brooks company-wide meeting. A couple of executives were going to speak on company numbers as an introduction and then the interns from each of the twelve branches would take turns presenting on what we have achieved over the summer and what we could see as a vision for the future of Briar & Brooks. Evelyn and Matthew took their seats beside me just a minute or so later, but I zoned them out completely. This presentation had to be perfect.
And, by some stroke of a miracle I’ll never be able to explain,it was.
Though Evelyn and Matthew were clearly more rehearsed and polished in their sections of the presentation, my contributions far and away received the most visible reactions from the audience. Even though I had felt like a total frazzled mess, several executives made positive comments to me afterwards along the lines of me beinga complete naturalandpleasantly approachablein my presenting. Never in my life did I think I would be thankful for a lack of thought and planning.
Following the initial meeting, the three of us ran between various seminars and organized breakout sessions that all blurred together over the next six hours.
