𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐫 | 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢

411

After forcing down two store-bought quiches, courtesy of Veronica, I took the subway to Blossom Enterprises to meet Jason.

Upon entering, he immediately greeted me with a wide grin. "Toni, it's delightful to see you again."

I smiled. "Hey, Jason. It's good to see you too."

"I usually have to do all the planning myself which leaves me drowning in caterers and decorations, but now we can drown together." He chuckled.

My brows furrowed. "You're not trying to sell this, huh?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, T. I thought we could be honest with each other. Let's go get our hands dirty." He held onto my arm and led me into his office.

We rolled up our sleeves and jumped right into work. Jason went over to his desk drawer and pulled out a stack of papers. "Here's Veronica's list for us."

I looked at the six pages, front and back of phone numbers, rules, tasks, and just overall incoherent words. "Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke."

"Even I'm not this funny." Jason said dryly. "I don't know why she bothers asking for help if she's going to micromanage like this."

I held up a list, reading the contents. "Entree suggestions, decorations do's and don'ts, party games that highlight not only Lodge and Blossom as companies but also as a couple. Damn. On the bright side, this should make our work easier, right?"

Jason snorted. "If you think that then you really don't know Veronica." He passed me yet another list. "Ready to wade through the appetizers?"

I skimmed through it with a confused look. "It's all deconstructed fancy stuff. Aren't there going to be kids at this thing?"

"Kids have never been Veronica's strength."

"Well, how about we sneak sliders in there?" I smirked.

Jason's eyes gleamed with mischief, and he grinned. "Somebody not liking Veronica over there?"

"What? Psssh."

Jason simply hummed, unconvinced.

"No, really. She's so.. refreshing. Like a cold jog. Reminds you that you're alive."

"Because you feel like it's killing you?" He stifled a laugh.

I looked at him with an annoyed expression. "No comment."

Thankfully, the phone rang before he could respond. He gave me a long look, which I ignored, before crossing the room to take the call.

. . .

A few hours later, Jason hung up the phone after bargaining with an antique dealer over the chandelier Veronica apparently had to have at the party.

"I think that's everything. Drinks?" He asked as he moved to the cart in the corner of his office, casually pouring two glasses.

"I have to say, I'm pretty impressed by the way you tackled everything." I admitted. "When we first met, I figured you were.."

"Just a party boy?"

I shrugged. "Can you blame me?"

He nodded. "I know Cheryl introduced me as her assistant, but my actual title is Deputy Chief Operating Officer. It's a little more complicated than taking messages and scheduling meetings. There are days Cheryl and I don't even see each other. Or our father, for that matter."

My brows twitched. "Our father? I thought you were just unofficial siblings?"

"I lived with the Blossoms throughout middle and high school. They practically adopted me. All that was missing was the paperwork."