For Eliza Donoghue life hasn't been easy. She got dumped in the most cruel way and she's left pregnant by the guy. So, she leaves the small town she grew up in for the City. There she finds true love and happiness.
Cover by @zxaestheticss
Pulling my car in front of The Vance Estate. I press the button on the gate and wait for someone to pick me up. A female voice answers. "Hello, The Vance Estate. May I know who's at the gate?"
Looking at the camera that's connected close to the button I say clearly. "It's Chad Whitehall. I'm supposed to meet Sebastian Vance here."
"Come in, Mr Vance will meet you at the entrance of the house." The gate opens and then I drive down the driveway. That has heaps of flowers lining it.
It looks like Mrs Vance went over the hill with the flowers this time. I wonder how Mr Vance is taking the new line of flowers for the estate.
Sebastian works at the estate every Monday and Friday, helping his parents out. The rest of the week he's at the office.
When I left work earlier I had to come up with an excuse, one that Katrina would believe.
Shit, that reminds me I better call Mom and tell her that I used her as a way to leave the office early without being Kat knowing the real reason, is her husband and I planning a surprise party for her.
When I get closer to the house I see Chad waiting for me. It doesn't take too long before I'm pulling up next to him.
Getting out of the car I look at my best friend and say. "I have to call my parents. I used their names as an excuse to leave work and early and we both know that Kat will end up calling them before the day's over to see if they're okay."
"Okay, how about you make that call and I'll meet you in the conference room?"
"Sounds good. I'll see you in five." I pull my phone out of pocket and call Mom.
The phone rings a couple of times before she picks. "What's wrong, Chad?"
Me: Why does there have to be something wrong for me to call you?
She laughs lightly and it makes me smile.
She knows I call when I need her to do something for me.
Me: Okay, you've caught me again.
Mom: I know. So, what am I doing this time for you?
Me: I left work early today to help Sebastian plan a surprise party for his wife and I came up with an excuse to leave. I used you and Dad like that.
Mom: You want me to tell her that one of us was sick and we needed you?
Me: Yep, will you help me out?
Mom: You know I will. I love you, son.
Me: I love you, too.
Hanging up the phone I make my way to the conference room, which is located at the back of the house. I round the house and head towards the room.
When I get there I see Sebastian on the phone and he's laughing. He looks up when I approach him. He mouths. "Give me a minute."
I nod and walk into the room. Taking a seat at the back of the room. Pulling my phone out of my pocket. I send Eliza a message.
Me: Hey, Eliza. When you come in tomorrow I want you to meet me in my office. We have a few things to talk about.
It's taken her a couple of minutes before she sends me back a text.
Eliza: Yes, Mr Whitehall. Don't forget Kat won't be in the office until 11 am. She's got a doctors appointment.
Me: I haven't forgotten. Thanks for the reminder though. When's your next appointment?
Eliza: It's in a couple of weeks. I'll give you two weeks notice. That way you'll be able to add it to your ledger.
Me: Okay,
Sebastian walks into the room and moves over to the seat close to me looks at me and says. "Do you know any good party planners that we can use? I remember one year that you used a company and they did a great job. What we're they called again?"
"Masquerade, I'm not sure if they're still open. It's been a while since I've heard of their events."
"Just give me their phone number and I'll call them."
Pulling the number up in my phone I give it to him.
He types the number into the phone and turns on the loudspeaker. The phone rings a couple of times before someone answers it.
Voice: Masquerade party planner. This is Lynda Reyes.
Sebastian: Hi, Lynda. I would like to hire your company for a surprise party for my wife.
Lynda: Can you give me the date for the party and I'll let you know if we're free to do it?
Sebastian: It's in two weeks on a Saturday. I have the venue set up. I just need someone to put decorations up and other things.
Lynda: So, that's the 16th of October?
Sebastian: Yes, that's correct.
Lynda: Just give me a moment and I'll go through the books and see if we're free.
The line goes quiet for a bit and then it's picked up.
Lynda: You're in luck. That weekend we're free. I'll book you in. Both myself and Dallas will meet with you. When are you available?
Sebastian: You can come to my office tomorrow or the day after. Just let me know the time and I'll make sure you have easy access to the office.
Lynda: We can meet with you tomorrow at 2 pm? We have a few things that we need to do in the office before we can meet with clients.
Sebastian: That's fine with me. I'll see you at two, Lynda.
Lynda: Bye,
Sebastian: Bye,
He hangs up the phone and turns his attention to me. "Looks like they're in. Thanks for your help, Chad. This birthday is going to be the one that's not going to be missed."
Of course, it's not. It's Katrina's 30th Birthday. She deserves to have a huge party to celebrate that milestone.
Mrs Vance walks into the conference room at that moment. She looks between her son and me. "What are you two up to?"
Sebastian stands and I follow. "We're planning a surprise party for my wife."
She throws her head back and laughs. "You two can't organise something like that. You know nothing about throwing a party. I could have helped."
"Mom. I hired an event planner to do that for me. They're meeting me in my office tomorrow so we could go through everything together."
"I wish you would have come to me first. Doing something like this for my daughter-in-law would help me form a better bond with her."
I can understand why she wants to help with something like that.
"The meeting is at 2 pm at the office. You should be a part of it, Mrs Vance. I won't be there as I have a lot of things to do in the office." Looking at the time I see that it's time for me to head to an on-site meeting. "I better get going. I have a meeting with the Jessup family." Walking out of the conference room I make my way over to the car and climb inside.
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