Page 98 of The Wedding

Jamie walked quickly past the gossipers, but it didn’t shield her from them.I don’t give a fuck who the owner knows.Jamie knew the owner too. They weren’t friends, but sometimes when she was around, the owner would come out and chat with Jamie. It pissed people off, and Jamie was starting to appreciate that.

The other regulars were there. People Jamie was never formally introduced to, thank goodness. Yet there was one regular, Kathleen, who took up a whole table in the corner, swigging a bottle of red wine as she poured over binders and tablets full of important-looking information. Jamie caught a glimpse of colorful graphs, charts, and printed emails covered in E-signatures. She sat a good distance from Kathleen, but the blonde remained the one person who never once looked up to laugh at Jamie. She was too deep in thought to care about scandals.

Jamie placed her order and flipped open a notebook she stuffed in her purse that morning. After clicking a ballpoint pen to life she wrote down the title “THINGS I WANT TO DO” and tried to come up with a bucket list of sorts. Except every time her pen hovered over the lined paper, her brain kept going back to what she should write and not what shewanted to write.

The only thing she could come up with by the time her lunch arrived was a list of places around the world she wanted to visit for the first time or for the umpteenth time… with or without Etta.Could I do that? Could I make traveling the world my hobby?Plan a trip from home one month and then go on it the next? Jet off to Japan, South Africa, Brazil for a week… experience foreign cultures and shopping?

Jamie knew that she could ask Etta for the money to go wherever she wanted. She could also use the opportunity to curate collections that would at least impress the locals, even if they still didn’t like her personally.“Jamie Coleman cordially invites you to a private viewing of her recent acquisitions.”Whatever those acquisitions were… those country club snobs wouldn’t be able to say no. And then plot how they were going to legally acquire those pieces from her!That’s how I’ll make money. Reselling. Jamie laughed to herself over soup and a sandwich.

She texted Seena throughout lunch. When she mentioned her current plight to find something meaningful to do, her friend replied,“Don’t you remember what we were always told in school? When in doubt and floundering about, volunteer, asshole.”

Oh, right. Volunteering was a thing. Jamie had already forgotten that it wasn’t just about public relations. Most of the women she knew volunteered and conducted fundraising for charities to keep up appearances with the press… and because it was a wonderful, tax-free way to move some money around. Jamie was already becoming too jaded, and she wasn’t married to the billionaire yet!

After she finished her lunch, she looked up. Still sitting across from her on the other side of the restaurant was Kathleen, punching a wadded-up piece of paper into her fist and mumbling something.She actually cares about what she does…Kathleen mostly did her charity stuff pro-bono, and not because it made her look good. Most people knew about her temper… they let her get away with it because she was the richest woman in her own right. Until Adele Thompson stole the title, anyway.

“She’s running herself ragged with this charity she’s trying to start up. Nobody will help her since they’re all busy with their own bullshit, or so they say.”

When Jamie suddenly put her mind to something, it was difficult to convince her that it was a terrible idea. Granted, this was how she got herself into so many spots over the past few years.Remember that time you decided it was a great idea to fuck Etta over? Twice?Jamie shuddered in embarrassment, but she quickly shoved that out of her mind as she marched up to Kathleen’s table and unabashedly peered at the figures on her papers.Wow, this is a mess.Didn’t Kathleen have a personal assistant to deal with these things?

Kathleen dropped her pen and looked at Jamie with nothing short of surprise on her face. “Can I help you?” she asked, almost sarcastically.I say almost because there’s no way to know with this woman.

“Is this for that shelter you’re trying to start up?”

“Uh… yeah. Why? You coming over to help, or are you here to distract me? I’m on a deadline. Also, I’m meeting someone in about half an hour.”

“Don’t mind me.”

“You’re sort of in my personal space. How am I not supposed to mind you?”

That cat I gave her better have done some good… this woman is more tense than a tightrope.Is that what it was like to grow up filthy rich and still somehow manage to give a fuck about things outside of oneself? Jamie would never know.

“I meant don’t feel like you have to socialize with me because I came over here.” There were a million jokes Jamie could have taken this conversation in, but she didn’t dare. Not in front of Kathleen, who only tentatively liked her. Or put up with her. Whichever it was. “I had heard on the grapevine that you were struggling getting this off the ground. Do youneed help?”

If Kathleen were still holding her pen, she would have dropped it. Again.

“Do you have any charity, grant, or shelter experience?” She almost sounded hopeful.

“Well, no… outside of mandatory volunteering in high school.” Before Kathleen could look more annoyed, Jamie continued, “I’m an impeccable personal assistant, though. Need something looked up? I can do that in five seconds. Need shit organized? I once color-coded the contents of my fridge based on perishability. I come with great recommendations. Ask my former employer.” Jamie couldn’t help but grin at that one.

“I’m sure I could get all sorts of recommendations from her.”

“Point being, I got that job because of my polished résumé.” Jamie couldn’t stop smiling. “Also because my fiancée has a thing for brunettes.”

She thought Kathleen might scoff at her, but Jamie received a pleasant countenance she could have never counted on. “Don’t I know about such women with hair fetishes,” she mused. “Anyway, why in the world would you want to help me?”

“Quite frankly? I need something more meaningful to do with my time. Everyone knows you’re the queen of charity around here.” Jamie was starting to learn how to play these banter games with her “peers.” Time for another sly comment. “Even if a lot say your ambitions are foolhardy.”

“They do say that. I’ve learned to ignore them.”

“Also, I like animals. A lot. I know everyone says that, but if I had to pick a single ‘cause,’ it would be animals. Family-friendly, and I care.”

“Go on.”

“I’m not asking you to hire me. I’m asking you to let me help you. I’ve got the skills to do whatever you need on the administrative end. Even though I’m sure you have an assistant.”

“I do. Unfortunately, her time is better spent on other projects of mine.” Kathleen had to hide a grimace. “Projects that makemoney. You know. The boring shit.”

Jamie pulled out a chair adjacent to Kathleen’s and sat down without further invitation. “Let me help.”