Page 28 of Lorna's Savior
“Yes, I’ll have my maintenance crew on hand to help with everything you need. They know all the back ways around the facility. They can even move the tables from the front to here for you.”
“That would be perfect. I’m thinking finger foods for the buffets. You wouldn’t want anything heavy so late at night. My famous chocolate fountain, shrimp rolls, baby spinach quiche. Things like that.”
“Will you have gluten-free items?” Silver asked.
Vincent frowned at her, then snapped his fingers. “You’re gluten intolerant?”
“I am. It’s so hard to eat out for the fear of eating the wrong thing. I think it’s been six years, besides today, that I went out to eat. I usually cook all weekend, so I can freeze the meals for lunch and dinner during the week. Sorry for the language, but it’s a pain in the ass to eat that way.”
“I’ll make sure that there are gluten-free items on the menu. Will you be here with Lorna?”
“She will, she’s my new assistant, and today is her first day.”
“Congratulations,” Vincent laughed, and hugged Silver. “Stick with Miss Lorna, she won’t steer you wrong, and you can go places with her.”
“Thank you, I plan on it.” Silver laughed and hugged him back. They continued to walk around and make notes, and discuss what they wanted to see for the night of the fundraiser. When they were all satisfied, Mr. Jones walked them back out, and outside, Vincent looked at Lorna.
“Would you like me to send those gift certificates over with a messenger? Or would you like to stop and pick them up? It’ll be a few days before I can get them together.”
“I’ll stop by,” Silver volunteered. They made plans, and an hour later, the two women walked back into Lorna’s office.
“What did you think?” Lorna asked Silver as they went toward the break room, for a cup of coffee.
“It was interesting. Nothing like I thought. And I’m sure it will be completely different from what will actually happen, but I’m looking forward to it, and I’d like to thank you for calling me your assistant today.”
“It’s true, you’re assisting me with my phone calls, and you assisted me over at the aquarium. Keep up the good work, and I’ll recommend Finn hire you permanently.”
“Thank you so much.” Silver was so excited, she hugged Lorna. After retrieving their coffee, they went back to Lorna’s office, and she showed Silver how to retrieve the messages from voicemail. While Silver dealt with them, Lorna worked on her paperwork.
Chapter 12
“Mr. H. this is Andy Ball, thank you for taking my call.”
“No problem. Are you making progress?”
“I am. I’ll be honest and tell you that I stalled the first week, but I’ve stumbled onto a shitload of useful information. Unfortunately, it would be premature of me to inform you what I’ve found so far. Let me tell you that I need to do some further investigating to get to the bottom of a few things.”
“Do you need me to increase your daily expenses?”
“No, that’s good. Thank you for offering, but I find myself in a little pickle.”
“What’s that?”
“In order to personally handle the information I’ve come in possession of, I need to fly out to several different locations. I’m talking New York, Philly, Vegas, over to Wyoming, and even down to LA. I’ll be hopping planes for the next couple of weeks.”
“Why don’t you take my private jet? Will that help you?”
“It would, but won’t I leave you in the lurch?”
“If you did,” Mr. H. laughed. “I’d leave you stranded and call my jet back. But, I have no plans for the foreseeable future. It’s just sitting on the tarmac taking up space. Let me contact my pilot, have him fire it up. When would you need it?”
“If you’re sure I can use it, then later today. No sense sitting on this information. The faster I can substantiate it, the faster you can get your results.”
“I knew I liked you. I’ll contact Jarvis, and if you agree, I’ll give him your direct number.”
“Please. I’ll gather what I need and start packing.”
“Thanks, Ball.” Mr. H. hung up, and Andy shook his head with a grin. After he put all his information in his briefcase, he went to his bedroom and packed enough clothes for a week. Just as he was zipping up his bag, his phone rang. Not recognizing the number, he answered anyway.
