When Love's at Work

When Love’s at Work

By Merri Hiatt

Copyright 2011 Merri Hiatt

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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# # #

All rights reserved. No
part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior
written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages in a review. All characters in this book are
fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is
coincidental.

# # #

Cover image credit:
PhotoAlto/Sigrid Olsson/

PhotoAlto Agency RF
(RF)/Jupiterimages

# # #

For Jen, my soul sister.

Chapter One

“
I was not told that we
would be using paper plates. This is unacceptable!” Marsha
Persimmony proclaimed as the well-worn indentions on her hips were
made deeper by thick fingers attached to firmly planted
palms.

“
We’ve rented everything
you will need. We’re just waiting for items to arrive,” Sheila
Martin explained to the frustrated caterer.

“
Kathy’s Rentals will be
here within half an hour. Sheila is correct, everything you need
will be made available to you. Nothing will be served on paper
plates, I can assure you,” Purity said as she stepped between the
two women who were now only a few feet apart.

“
Well, I hope they get
here soon,” Marsha grumbled as she turned her back on the duo and
headed for the kitchen.

Purity winked at Sheila. “So, how’s it going
so far?”

“
Everything is going
according to schedule, boss.” Sheila presented Purity with a
checklist attached to a clipboard. Over half the items were marked
with a red checkmark.

“
I’m beginning to think
they should hire you for the job.”

Sheila smiled at the compliment, but Purity
saw hesitation in her eyes. She wondered why Sheila hadn’t applied
for the job as events coordinator at The Kids’ Place. After all,
she’d been practically doing the job for the past five years.

Putting her hand on Purity’s arm, Sheila
said, “You have to come see the raindrops. They’re gorgeous!”

As they entered the multi-purpose room at
the community center, Pure’s eyes danced with delight at the sight
that met her gaze. Everywhere she looked she saw shimmering glass
in varying shades of blue gently suspended from the ceiling. They
were swaying in a faux breeze created by fans strategically placed
throughout the area. Some rivaled the ocean in color while others
were as creamy as a midnight sky. The effect was enchanting.

Sheila and Purity watched as Tapestry Jones
tied the almost invisible fishing line through the puffy cloud
material and attached it to a wooden frame. When about 15-20
raindrops were all secure, Tapestry used a pulley system to raise
the entire structure high into the air.

Purity waited until the fixture was in place
before giving her friend a big hug. “It’s perfect!”

“
Hey!” Tap greeted her
friend and returned the heartfelt embrace. “It looks good,
yes?”

“
Good, no. Fabulous, yes!
You’ve certainly come a long way from art class seven years
ago.”

“
We both have.”

“
I hate to interrupt,”
Sheila began, “but Kathy’s Rentals just arrived. I thought you
might want to make sure everything goes okay with Marsha
Persimmony.”

“
I definitely do. Thanks,
Sheila.” Purity headed for the building entryway.

“
Hey, Pure, I only have
four more of these to hang,” Tap said, “then I’m done. When’s this
gig going over so I can come take them down?”

“
If all goes according to
plan,” Purity said, crossing her fingers for emphasis and for good
luck, “everyone should be out of here by 9:30.”

“
So, if I plan to be here
around 10, would that be okay?”

“
Sounds
perfect.”

Purity saw Kathy Jacobsen
just as Marsha Persimmony was making a beeline toward her.
Purity quickened her pace so she would reach
Kathy before Marsha.

“
Let me introduce you,”
Purity intervened with an ease borne from communication and
conflict resolution class role playing exercises, not to mention
dealing with her own family dynamics.

Everything seemed to be under control and
Purity couldn’t help but notice her eyes wandering to the entryway
for signs of Alex McCallister.

Pure’s adrenaline had risen to a medium-high
level, creating a soft glow on her face and a lovely pink tint to
her cheeks.

It was the first thing Alex McCallister
noticed when he walked through the door. That and the fact that
Purity never looked as beautiful as she did at that very
moment.

Alex figured she was a shoo-in for the job.
All the board members thought she was wonderful, not that they had
told Purity that. They were stringing her along like a fish with a
hook in its mouth. They had finagled it in such a way that they
were able to get three fundraisers organized in two months. They
should perpetually be looking to hire someone, he thought
tactically. Then they’d never have to pony up a dime to hire an
events coordinator at all.

“
Looks damn good, eh?”
Mark Watterson said, slapping Alex on the back
cordially.

Alex wasn’t sure if he was referring to the
room or Purity. Either way, the answer was yes.

“
Yes. I’d say Ms. Zyetta
has done a wonderful job and potentially raised the highest amount
of money of our three candidates,” Alex said.

“
We’ll see after she gives
us her report on Wednesday.”

Sheila Martin overhead the conversation and
couldn’t be more thrilled. Purity Zyetta might just be her new
boss.

It was almost 10:00pm and only a few
stragglers were left talking and gathering their belongings. Pure
was ready for the event to be over. She desperately wanted to
remove her shoes, put her feet up and indulge in a second piece of
Marsha Persimmony’s white chocolate cake with raspberry cream
filling and mocha ganache. That alone had been worth the price of
admission.

Tapestry would be back soon to take down the
raindrops. Pure hoped she would get some additional business from
the event. All of Tap’s brochures had been taken from the vendor
promotion table, which was a good sign.

The only slight glitch in the festivities
happened when the guitar player in the band, who apparently had a
few too many drinks or a bit of chemical overload, fell off the
stage area and almost landed in Alice Anderson’s wild alaskan
salmon. Luckily he wasn’t injured, nor was the salmon, nor Alice
Anderson.

She was glad tomorrow was Sunday. She’d be
able to gather up the myriad of receipts, paperwork and notes and
create a report out of the hodge-podge.

Tapestry Jones and her sometime
assistant/sometime boyfriend came walking into the room with a
dolly loaded to the brim with boxes.

“Hi Chance,” Pure said, giving him a hug and
a quick peck on the cheek.

“Hey, Pure, how’d it go?”

“Sheer perfection. And, thank God it’s
over,” Purity leaned forward and whispered the latter half.

“Pure likes to plan and organize and make
to-do lists but when it comes to the actual event, she loses
interest,” Tapestry explained to Chance. “Is it okay if we start
taking stuff down now?”

“Absolutely. Do you need any help?”

“Nope, I’ve got my muscley lover here to
help me.” Tapestry linked arms with Chance and led him toward the
far corner of the room.

Sheila approached Purity and told her the
folks from Kathy’s Rentals had arrived to retrieve their tableware
and Marsha Persimmony and her crew were all packed up and ready to
head out.

“Sheila, you’re amazing. This event would
not have gone as smoothly if you had not been involved. You’re
taking Monday off, right?”

“I hadn’t planned to take Monday off, but if
you okay it, I’d really love to,” Sheila said, gratitude evident in
her voice.

“It is well-earned. I think you can head for
home now, too. I’ll stay until Tapestry and Chance are done taking
down the raindrops and then I’ll follow the procedures for
returning the keys, turning off the lights and heat, and securing
the building.”

“Great,” Sheila said, more than ready to
slide her tired body between her favorite cotton sheets and curl up
for a good night’s rest.

As soon as the “official” vendors were out
of the building and the doors had been locked, Pure took off her
shoes, sat down by Tapestry and Chance and breathed a heavy sigh of
relief.

“Did you get a chance to spend much time
with Amazing Assed Alex?” Tapestry asked.

“No. He didn’t stay for the entire event. I
didn’t even get to exchange two words with him. I saw him talking
with the president, but then he was gone.”

“Do you think you’ll get the job?” Chance
asked, carefully putting a glass raindrop in bubble wrap before
placing it in a thick cardboard box.

“She’ll get it,” Tap answered with
confidence..

“I hope so,” Pure said.

After all the raindrops were safely packed
away, the trio headed out the door, with one last check to make
sure everything was as it should be and the doors were secure.

“Lunch next week sometime?” Tap asked.

“Definitely. E-mail me.”

“Good to see you, again, Purity,” Chance
said.

“You, too, Chance.”

As they all left the parking lot, Pure felt
a twinge of jealousy that Tapestry had someone special to share her
life with. Someone who could be trusted and counted on.

Within fifteen minutes, Purity was pulling
into her apartment complex, thankful the managers believed in
lighting every nook and cranny of the parking area and landscaping.
It made her feel more comfortable when she came home late in the
evening since she hardly knew any of her neighbors, even though
she’d lived in the complex for almost five years.

Pure grabbed her briefcase, and the Diet
Coke she had gotten from the McDonalds drive-through, and headed
toward her home.

It always felt good when she opened her door
and the familiar surroundings embraced her. The warm color scheme
of creams, beiges, and taupes, offset by a few splashes of burgundy
and a deep turquoise, brought rest to her spirit.

Right now her little haven needed a good
cleaning and a shovel to make a path through all the debris.

Once she got the job as events coordinator,
Pure promised herself she’d get back into a routine. She missed
doing Yoga and hadn’t been on her stationary exercise bike in
weeks, which she always considered the very least amount of
exercise she could do.

Purity slipped her shoes off and began to
undress. She couldn’t wait to change into her well-worn pajamas and
head for the internet. Meg and Courtney would be waiting to hear
how things went at the fundraiser.

While flossing her teeth, something her
dental hygienist had finally gotten her to do on a daily basis,
Pure remembered when the three women met nine years ago.

The Methodist Church she attended was having
a women’s retreat. Pure had not wanted to go, but several of the
women she met said they were going and it had been a huge success
the previous year, so Purity signed up.