“Why is this being hosted at a restaurant? Why not just use space at city hall?”
“Mayor Park wanted something different. He was afraid that if he invited everyone to city hall, he’d be stuck listening to formal proposals all night. Basically, he’s sick of looking at slide shows.”
“Interesting.” She knew very little about the mayor. It wasn’t like she ran in those circles. Inside, Kevin led her straight to the mayor, who was flanked by three very large men.
“Good evening, Mayor,” Kevin said.
“Kevin, glad you’re here.”
Kevin pressed slightly on Kathy’s back to nudge her forward. “This is my date, Kathy Hendricks.”
“Mayor,” she said with a small nod, and extended her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Hendricks. How long have you and Kevin been dating?”
Kevin flinched beside her. He obviously hadn’t thought the mayor would get personal. “Kevin and I go way back,” she started. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “But this is relatively new.”
She felt his tension slip away.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here tonight. Help yourself to a drink and mingle. I hope you won’t be offended if I occasionally need to steal your date away.”
“Not at all. This is a working cocktail party, right?”
“That it is.” With a nod to Kevin, he said, “I’m going to greet guests as they enter. Before you leave tonight, I want to touch base to debrief.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kathy swallowed a giggle. Hearing Kevin call anyone sir went against everything she thought she knew about him.
“I need a drink. How about you?” he asked.
“Sure.” Although she wasn’t thirsty, she wanted to have something in her hand as she mingled. At the bar, she ordered a white wine and Kevin ordered a whiskey. “Kind of strong for a business meeting,” she said.
“I’ll make it last. Probably. But I know a lot of these blowhards are gonna bore me out of my mind.”
They stood near a high-top table, and Kevin waited until the first wave of guests wandered past them to get to the bar. When drinks were in hand, it was time to start talking.
“Kevin O’Malley. And this is Kathy Hendricks,” Kevin said to introduce them to a guy who said he was the head of an event planning company.
“And what’s your specialty?” the guy asked.
Kevin took that moment to drink and eye Kathy. Weird, but she could take a hint. “I’m a florist.”
“Interesting.”
“Kathy is excellent at her job. I happen to know that the mayor was very pleased with the last job she did for city hall.”
“Really? I’d love to hear some more about the work you did. What makes you stand out compared to any other florist?”
“I don’t know that I do anything particularly special. I listen to what my customers want and what price point they’re looking for, and then I deliver.”
“Don’t let her fool you, Tom.” Kevin said. “She has an excellent eye for detail and anticipating what a client wants before they do.”
“Did you do the work here?” Tom asked.
Kathy glanced at the centerpiece near her elbow, one that they had shifted back and forth numerous times because it interfered with seeing across the table. “Oh, no,” she said, and then realized that it came across as condescending. “What I mean is—”
“You don’t need to apologize. They’re hideous.”
She grinned.
“What would you have done instead?”
Kathy took a moment to review the entire space before speaking. “First, I would’ve used a smaller setting completely. Something this tall inhibits people from talking across the table. And given that each table also has a candle, I would’ve gone simple, something that would play against the firelight.”
“Not bad for an off-the-cuff response. Here’s my card.” He slid a card onto the table. “Send me your information and we’ll add you to our database of vendors.”
“Thank you. It was nice to meet you.”
Tom walked away and began chatting up the next table. Kathy stood and stared at the card. She hadn’t even been trying to network that time. She’d thought Kevin would want to ask some questions, but he never did.
“You’re good,” Kevin said.
“Not as good as you. Throwing out compliments left and right about things you know nothing about.” She sipped her wine.
“I don’t need to know about flowers.”
“I was talking about me. You have no idea if I’m any good or if I have an eye for detail.”
He shifted closer and set his glass on the table. “That was no bullshit. I didn’t need to see the centerpieces you made for Deb. I know Deb. She’s hard to please and she was singing your praises. And I know enough about you that you would do right by anyone who was counting on you. That’s just who you are.”
Suddenly she didn’t feel like they were talking about flowers anymore. “Thank you,” she whispered. She wasn’t used to having someone believe in her unwaveringly like that. Her mom and Moira, of course, but other than that, she’d mostly just depended on herself.
“Will you be okay on your own for a while? I need to go talk to people and if I stand here, they’ll be distracted by your beauty.”
Kathy rolled her eyes. That was the Kevin she was used to. “A cheesy compliment like that will get you nowhere.”
“I’m well aware. I’m saving my sincerity for when we don’t have an audience.” He winked and walked away, leaving Kathy feeling warm in all the wrong places.
* * *
Kathy spent the next hour and a half talking with local businesspeople, some of whom might’ve considered using her services, others not at all, but she was still grateful for the connections. She’d been able to talk marketing with one person and tax incentives with another. During some conversations she felt completely out of her depths, but no one treated her like an imposter.
Kevin had mostly disappeared for the night. So much for thinking he’d been trying to wrangle a date. He came by twice after their initial conversation: once to deposit a fresh glass of wine on the table and again
