Page 10 of Snowbound in Her Boss's Bed

Fortunately, he had enough money to ensure all three.

With his system up and running, he turned back to Ms. Howard, covering the strange jolt he had felt each time he laid eyes on her with a frown.

“Where are we with that? Concept? Progress? All of it in two minutes,” he commanded.

Frown flashing across her own face, Ms. Howard turned her gaze to the many tabs, images and pdfs open on the screen in front of her. With a faint shake of her head her eyes flashed from detail to detail, the wheels of her mind obviously turning as she bent herself to the unexpected task of trying to so succinctly summarize the bulk of her work for the foundation thus far.

Benjamin, however, did not modify his request.

If she could not summarize her efforts, she did not have command of the situation.

Could she deliver?

When her eyelids lifted there was a steady resolve in her bright amber orbs.

Her gaze, direct and clear as it was, rattled him, shaking him as if she had some power to influence the tectonic plates of his subconscious, but he processed the impact in the back of his mind, keeping his primary focus trained on her full lips.

Moistening them before she spoke, she said, “I reserved Vibiana. They’re full service and since time is short, I thought it best to take them up on that. Because it’s a decommissioned cathedral, it’s got a lot of very old-world European detail, so I have been conceptualizing a Secret Gardentheme. I looked through previous files and it has never been done before. It’s pretty and festive, but still far from Christmassy. Picture lovely architecture and detail, mosaics, greenery all around. There is also an outdoor garden area that will serve as the ballroom floor, so to speak.”

Her ideas were fresh, possibly exciting—as long as they were carried off with taste as opposed to kitsch. They were certainly nothing like anything the foundation had done before.

There was a big gap between a good idea and a solid execution, however.

“You’re telling me the plan is to gather the city’s wealthiest Jews together in a Roman Catholic cathedral?” he pushed.

Had she thought her plan through, or was she merely carried away in imagery? Did she understand what was at stake, or did she think this event was merely an opportunity to plan an almost-wedding?

Her frown deepening, Ms. Howard repeated and emphasized her first word when she spoke. “Decommissioned and now one of the trendiest event spots downtown, so yes, it is. The location is ideal, the full service and reputation for excellent catering is beyond a time-saver, and the capacity is exactly what we need for this event. It’s large enough for the dinner service, while also offering private and intimate spaces for smaller groups to gather and converse. Honestly, it’s better than we could have hoped for. That they could even fit us into their calendar was a matter of dumb luck and cancellation. They have a kosher kitchen, and the chef is well versed. I really can’t see how we could have done better, especially given the circumstances.”

Benjamin appreciated her thinking, though he continued to search out any flaws in her ideas.

“It’s not the Getty,” he said.

Letting out a little noise of frustration, Ms. Howard’s response was both sharper and quicker than her previous. “No. It’s not the Getty. And, as I’ve discussed with the rest of the senior staff, as well as some of the more involved donors who somehow got word, given the situation we’re presently dealing with, not to mention the fact that it is now absolutely unavailable to us, the Getty is unfortunately no longer an option on the table.”

There was that interesting spine of hers again.

Benjamin allowed a small smile to tilt the corners of his mouth upward. “That’s a rather politic way to describe a scandal,” he said.

Ms. Howard gave an unconcerned shrug. “My job is to ensure that the foundation’s events continue to run smoothly, now and into the future. I’m not interested in rehashing the past.”

“Well said,” Benjamin replied, “and, as I said, politic.”

The previous events director had been fired due to the revelation of her ongoing affair with the foundation’s married executive director.

Fraternizing between employees was prohibited at the JCF.

Both actors had been fired, deeply damaging the reputation of the foundation and rattling community faith in its capacity to carry out its mission.

Ms. Howard wasn’t the only new hire, nor the most important.

But, as opposed to Ms. Howard, the hiring committee had gone with the most experienced and proven candidate for executive director in order to re-instill faith in the community and steer the organization through the rocky transition.

The former executive director had bowed to the decisions of the board, cooperating and supporting it with as much grace as she could.

The former events director, however, had not been so accommodating.

Choosing vengeance, she had taken her contacts with her when she left as well as sullied the foundation’s name among her network of service providers.

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