Authors: Sean D. Young
Jonathan already knew that, but he hadn’t known any other way to get her alone.
“Good, I’ll just make sure Myra ordered the linen in the morning, then.”
Ivy straightened. “I hope the game hasn’t started.” She headed for the door, and then turned back around. “I thought we really had a problem.”
Jonathan walked over to her, all the while thinking this would be his only chance tonight to talk to her privately. “I want you to go out with me,” he blurted out.
Ivy wondered if he could hear the accelerated beat of her heart. He was so close, looking at her so intently, that she had to look away.
As if she didn’t have enough complications in her life, he had to add more to it.
Feeling the need to pull herself together, she finally responded. “No, Jonathan. We don’t make the right decisions when we’re together.”
Jonathan reached out, lifted her hand and held it in his grasp. “You won’t even consider it?”
There
was
something happening between them; Ivy could feel it, but she didn’t dare try to figure it out. Not with all that was going on in her life. She pulled her hand back and was relieved when he let it go.
“I don’t know how many ways I can tell you no,” she said. “Should I say it in Spanish? In Japanese? Will you get it then?”
Jonathan threw back his head and laughed. “You got jokes. Hey, as the old people say, strangers can get married, but you really should know each other before you get an annulment.” He gave her his best smile.
Ivy tried not to laugh. “That is ridiculous and you know it.”
Jonathan, satisfied that his story was working, tried to keep from laughing himself. So with a straight face, he continued his tale.
“No, seriously, my Aunt Rachel told me about a friend of hers who married a stranger, but before she got the thing annulled they went out on a couple of dates. Especially after she found out the man was wealthy.”
Ivy frowned. “Staying with someone for financial reasons isn’t love,” she said.
“No, it isn’t, but this woman stayed on even after he’d lost all his money.”
“Really? So she did love him.”
“Sure she did, and they’re still together to this day.”
Ivy glared at him for several moments. She doubted that the story was true. “I’m going to ask Ms. Rachel about this.”
“Go out with me, I promise you’ll have the time of your life,” he said, ignoring her last remark.
Ivy sighed in resignation. “When do you want to go out?”
“Friday if you’re free. We have two receptions planned, but its Myra’s turn to supervise the events.”
“This coming weekend I really need to study the portfolio the producers of the show gave to me. I’m meeting with them next Thursday. I’ve also been asked to write a column for the weekend edition of the
Post-Tribune
called ‘Big Weddings, Small Budget’. The article will run in next Sunday’s paper.”
“Even more reason to relax and have a good time. And I could help you with the article,” he offered, hoping to persuade her to say yes.
There was a war going on in Ivy’s mind. On the one side, she didn’t want anything else to do with him. On the other side, she hadn’t been on a date in a long time. And if she did maybe he would leave her alone.
“This Friday it is then.” She opened the door and walked out, leaving Jonathan alone. His lips curled up in a smile.
He was definitely making progress.
* * *
The phones at Hearts and Flowers were ringing off the hook. The articles, photos and announcement of the winners for the host of the reality show that were posted on the Wedding Channel website had spread like wildfire.
Brides read the article and then posted a link on their Facebook pages, tweeted and re-tweeted on Twitter and blogged about it.
In addition, the mailbox from the Hearts and Flowers website was being inundated with e-mails. Gwen, their receptionist, couldn’t keep up with replying; for every one reply she received two new e-mails.
Ivy had quickly become a hot commodity. She needed to call a special staff meeting in order to put procedures in place to handle this newfound popularity.
“Man, the phones are ringing like crazy,” Lili said as she walked into the conference room on the second floor of Hearts and Flowers. Placing her notebook on the round oak table, she pulled out her chair and sat down, joining her sisters at the table.
“Poor Gwen. I’m so glad she has a headset so she won’t have to hold the phone between the locks of her shoulders all day. It would get on my nerves,” Rose commented.
Gwendolyn Clark was a petite young woman in her late twenties with fine features and shoulder-length hair. She’d been working for the Harts for five years.
“Do you think she’ll need some help?” Violet asked.
“That’s why we’re here, to figure that part out,” Ivy responded. She opened up her leather notebook and flipped the pad to a clean sheet of paper.
“What I want to find out is if the callers are potential clients with legitimate business, or are they just people who just want to see what’s happening.” Ivy scribbled some notes on her pad. “We should start with the e-mails.”
“First let’s make sure it’s not spam,” Lili said, interrupting Ivy’s thoughts.
“Right, that’s key. The last thing we need is a computer virus,” Violet said.
“If the calls or e-mails are about floral design/décor Gwen will send them to Rose, apparel to Violet, cakes to Lili and planning and all others to me.”
“Our big sis is now a big star,” Lili joked, emphasizing the ‘r’ in ‘star’.
They all laughed.
Ivy blushed. “I wouldn’t say all that. This is going to benefit us all.”
“We’ve come a long way,” Rose commented.
“We sure have, and it hasn’t been without a lot of hard work and sacrifice on all of our parts,” Violet added.
“Oh, and don’t forget the fights we’ve had in this very room,” Lili said.
Lili was a petite young woman with her father’s walnut-colored skin and their mother’s small build. The twenty-seven-year-old pastry chef spoke her mind, which sometimes caused problems between the sisters.
“You were always the instigator, Missy,” Ivy said. She shook her head.
“I was right most of the time,” Lili replied.
“Don’t start, Lili,” Violet warned.
“Now, girls, we have a lot of work to do. I think I may need a floral assistant,” Rose said, studying the notes in her pad.
Ivy and her sisters had been business partners for more than five years. When they inherited the mansion that now serves as one of the biggest bridal retailers in the Midwest from their uncle, Henry Hart, who owned the first black newspaper in the city of Taylor, they didn’t know what to do with it.
Of course no one wanted to live in it. For one, it was entirely too large. None of them were married or had children at the time, so Ivy came up with the idea that they should open their own bridal business, since everyone already had their certifications.
Ivy had earned hers from the National Bridal Service, Association of Bridal Consultants—the industry standard of wedding excellence—as well as joining the National Association of Wedding Professionals. Her ultimate goal was to become a certified member of the International Special Events Society, the hallmark of professional achievement, which she accomplished in twelve months.
Thirty-year-old Violet had earned a fashion design degree from the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago. With an eye for fashion, she assisted with bridal attire.
Thirty-two-year-old Rose handled the flowers, having been a floral consultant and designer with a degree in horticulture before the siblings decided to go into business together.
The sisters discussed their plans to turn the mansion into a bridal Mecca with their parents, and they were tickled about the idea. So they applied for a business loan.
The girls worked with the general contractor, tailoring the Southern-style building to their specifications.
By the time they held their grand opening, they’d transformed it into a fantasyland for brides. White wrought-iron gates, meticulously manicured lawn, towering trees and a decorative running fountain in front of the circular driveway that led to ample parking in back, was only the start of what they hoped to be a one-of-a-kind shopping experience for their clients.
When it came to the décor of the mansion they wanted classy, elegant and royal. From the white marble flooring in the foyer, crystal chandeliers, fluted columns, wall coverings and draperies to the
Gone With the Wind
-style staircase and balcony; they wanted every bride to realize their wedding dream.
They’d come a long way, but Ivy wanted to make sure they continued to live up to their reputation for excellent customer service and attention to detail.
It was important that they discussed sales figures and unusual requests, talked about any problems and/or needs for supplies, and so on for each aspect of their business.
It was usually done on a monthly basis, but with the new surge of potential business they would have to report weekly just in case they really needed to hire additional staff.
Just before the meeting was over, the receptionist buzzed in.
Ivy picked up the phone. “Yes, Gwen.”
“There is a young woman on line one who said she read the article on the Wedding Channel website and she needs our services right away.”
“What’s her name?”
“Lauren Kabins. She’s twenty-six years old and she wants to get married in three weeks.”
“She wants to get married in three weeks,” Ivy repeated so her sisters could hear.
Weddings with short timelines only meant a lot of rush work for them. If the client was uncooperative and unresponsive to their requests it made it even more frustrating. Ivy hoped this would not be the case with this young woman.
“Thanks, Gwen.” Ivy ended the call and cleared her throat before she spoke.
Pressing the button, she said, “Good morning, Lauren, this is Ivy Hart speaking.”
“Ms. Hart, I read your bio on the Wedding Channel website and I need your services right away. My fiancée is going to work overseas in three weeks. Can you help me?”
“You have a three-week timeframe?
“Yes. Can we put something spectacular together in such a short time?”
“Yes, we can, but we’d have to start planning right away. Are you looking to have a ceremony in a church or synagogue?”
“Neither. I’d like to have the ceremony and reception in the same place.”
“How many guests do you expect?”
“One hundred of our closest friends and family.”
“Will you have a large wedding party?”
“Eight. Two bridesmaids, two groomsmen, a maid of honor, best man, flower girl and ring bearer.”
“Have you purchased a wedding gown?”
“No, the only other thing I’ve done is call you.”
Ivy chuckled as she wrote quickly on her writing pad. There were several banquet halls that came to mind. She’d have to call Jonathan’s first.
“Lauren, are you free this afternoon?”
“Yes, I’m free. Can you see me today?”
Ivy could hear the excitement in the young woman’s voice. “Hold one moment; I need to check the calendar.”
Ivy turned to Violet. “Can you pull up the schedule and see what we have in three weeks? I don’t want to tell this young lady we can help her when we’re booked solid.”
“How does she sound?” Lili wanted to know.
Quickly everybody gave her the eye. They didn’t want her to start causing trouble. Lili hunched her shoulders. “Hey, I’m just asking. I don’t want to have to bring out the Vaseline and the straight razors if this girl is a fruitcake.”
Ivy shook her head. “Anyway, Violet, what do we have?” she asked, ignoring Lili’s comment.
The schedule popped up on the large screen of the laptop computer they kept in the conference room. “We have one event, the Chamberlain wedding, that Saturday afternoon, but that’s it.”
Ivy was satisfied. They didn’t have a lot to do for Shauna Chamberlain, so planning Lauren’s wedding would be a breeze. “Good, we can handle that.”
She went back to the caller. “Lauren, we are available.”
“Yes, yes, yes. Oh, I’m so relieved.”
Ivy could hear the excitement in the young lady’s voice. She nodded, confirming to her sisters that they had a new client.
“I have to put you on hold one more time, Lauren. I want to call the banquet hall to check their availability. I may be able to get us an appointment for this afternoon, and we can get started.”
“I’ll be right here until you get back.”
Ivy put her new client on hold, and then switched to another line and dialed.
“Magic Moments, Bessie speaking, how can we help you?”
“Ms. Bessie, Ivy Hart calling for Jonathan.”
“Ms. Hart, how are you today?”
“I’m great. Is he in the office?”
“Yes, let me get him on the line. Hold one moment, please.”
Suddenly butterflies swarmed in Ivy’s stomach. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, she waited only moments before that rich baritone voice wafted through the phone.
“Jonathan Damon.”
“Jonathan, this is Ivy Hart.” Why she said it like that she’ll never know. Of course he knew it was her, the receptionist probably already told him.
“Do you have any events scheduled for three weeks from now?”
“Sounds familiar, but let me check.” Jonathan pulled up his meeting calendar on his computer. “Saturday’s booked solid, but we do have the Embassy Ballroom available on Friday night. Maximum capacity is one hundred people.”
“I’m not sure if the bride is set on getting married on Saturday. I’ll have to find out. Do you have some time to meet with me and the bride this afternoon?”