Mandy pulled up the IWC Security website on Lorelei’s laptop. “Some guy named William Manning is the CEO and Chairman. Must be a real uggo—there’s not even a photo of him on his own company website.” She surfed a couple more sites. “This gossip site says he was seen with a model named Iliana a year ago, but again there’s no picture,” Mandy said.
“An uggo who dates supermodels? He must have a huge—”
“—bank account,” they both said at once before dissolving into fits of laughter.
Two minutes later Lorelei wiped her eyes; the good laugh had helped ease some of the tension. “As they’ve already sent a donation I guess we’ll leave it for this time. Dustin would probably flip his lid if I went behind his back. We’ll just have to work with what we’ve got.”
“I think he’s intimidated by you. He’s not very good at his job. Rumor has it he’s somehow related to the Chairman and that’s the only reason he’s still here. When he heard Head Office was appointing an Event Director he lost it. He started spreading rumors about you even before you arrived.” Mandy flushed a little and Lorelei could tell she wanted to ask if the story was true.
“What kind of rumors?” Lorelei held her breath.
“Oh, something about you getting the job here because you had to leave Buffalo. Evidently you were caught sleeping with some other woman’s husband and the charity was afraid your reputation would damage their image.”
Lorelei’s stomach sank to her knees. The whole office knew. No wonder the staff had looked at her strangely. She knew the Fundraising Department hadn’t been pleased at her appointment, considering her job part of their remit. But to be labeled a home-wrecker as well…
“Having spent the last four weeks working with you,” Mandy said, “I have to say, you don’t seem the type to have an affair with a married man.”
“I’m not. I had no idea Barry was married. I thought we were on our way to wedded bliss. We’d dated for almost a year and I never once suspected. In hindsight I can see the signs—we only went out on weekdays and only to small restaurants nowhere near where either of us worked. He only gave me his cell number and we always went back to my place—he said his apartment was too far away. He was such a charmer, he made everything sound believable.” She’d always been too trusting, always thinking the best of people. That, plus her crushing need to be loved, had blinded her to Barry’s real situation.
“How’d you find out?”
“My mom sprained her ankle one Saturday night and I took her to the ER. Barry was sitting there with his wife and three-year-old boy who’d shoved a marble up his nose.”
“The dog!”
“Well, that wasn’t what I called him. And after my little tirade, his wife added a few more names I’d never even thought of, and my mother would have slapped me silly if I’d said them in public.”
“How’d the big cheese find out?”
“Barry’s wife made a complaint to the charity, threatened to go public if they didn’t do something about me. It wasn’t really grounds for dismissal but the Chairman felt it would be better if I stepped out of the limelight as he called it, for a period of time.”
“So you got shipped out here.”
“Yeah. I had no idea about the dynamics of the office here. Dustin is sure not happy to see me.”
“No, but the rest of us are. It’s time things got a shake-up around here. And I for one will be ecstatic if I don’t have to attend another Little League baseball game. Fancy dinners are much more my scene. Hey, can I expense my shoes and dresses?”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have our own budget yet and have to get all expenses approved by Fundraising. I’ve already had a run-in with Dustin about the cost of the flowers. Can you believe he actually asked if we could use plastic ones? And what’s with not giving us the guest list until two days before the event?”
Mandy’s laugh rang through the office. “I think he’s paranoid. He guards his contact list like it’s a state secret. Only he and his secretary have access to it. I was more than happy to leave his department. I like working with you—coming to work is fun again.”
“Same here. You’ve made the transition from Buffalo so much easier. Speaking of transitions, any news on your fiancé’s visa?”
“No, nothing yet. It’s been almost a year.” Mandy twirled the small diamond ring on her left hand.
“I never got a chance to ask, how’d you two meet?”
“I’d broken up with my last dog boyfriend and decided to treat myself to a holiday in Italy. I’ve always wanted to go there. So I sold my car and off I went for two weeks. I met Antonio on my first night in Rome and we’ve been in love ever since.”
“Don’t you worry he’s just after a green card?”
“No. We’re in love. I can tell.”
Díos mío, was that how I sounded when I was dating Barry? She’d been a complete idiot to trust him, so desperate to be in a relationship that she’d been a blind fool. It was a good thing she was better at her job than choosing men. Although…
“Do you think I’ve been set up to fail?” Lorelei asked the question that had been bugging her since she’d taken the call from the charity’s Chairman instructing her to hold a gala fundraising dinner.
“I don’t know. We’ve never raised a million dollars in six months before, never mind one night. Another rumor I heard is that Head Office is looking to consolidate and the San Fran branch might be disbanded with everything run out of L.A.”
The sinking feeling in Lorelei’s stomach doubled. If this event flopped, she’d be taking the blame. And now she not only had her job on the line, but the entire staff’s. “Well, then we’re going to make this an epic night. All of San Francisco will hear about it and be begging to come to our next one,” she said with more confidence than she felt.
Two hours later, Mandy tapped the table with her crimson fingernails. “I think this is going to be spectacular. Now if Dustin can fill the place, the guests will be so amazed the money will leap out of their wallets. Shall we go get a drink to celebrate?”
“I can’t tonight. I have a date.”
“Wow, you go, girl. Not even in the city a month and you’ve already met someone.”