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“So, you want everything organized by date instead of name?” I asked.
“Yes, I remember dates better than I do names, as odd as it sounds. If someone gives me a ticket, the first thing I look at is the date of the purchase. It’ll be easier for me to sift through if I can look at dates before I look at names,” Louise said.
“What if everyone had their own file, and then those were organized by date within the file?”
“We could try that, so long as you don’t mind refiling them if it doesn’t work.”
“Let’s try that. I’m all about organization, so organization within organization is my jam,” I said, grinning.
I had been at the florist shop for almost a week. Louise had essentially hired me on the spot without hardly looking at my resume. Which was nice, because I wasn’t sure if my resume played in my favor when it came to a job like this. It seemed she was in desperate need of help after the original owner decided to pass the shop on down. I still couldn’t figure out why Richard passed this place down to someone who wasn’t related to him in any way, but I wasn’t going to ask questions.
I was just glad to have a job.
Louise was kind and enthusiastic. The work wasn’t that bad, either. I liked how she was trying to work in pops of color into the muted elegance this shop was renowned for, and her customers seemed to enjoy it as well. She called it a “flair.” Whenever someone came into the shop and started ordering, Louise asked them what kind of “flair” they wanted.
In other words, what accent color did they want to try and temper the blacks and whites and silvers.
Business was steady, but in the downtimes Louise even showed me how to arrange flowers. She taught me the different bouquet styles and showed me some flowers I wasn’t too familiar with. She showed me how to make corsages and boutonnieres, as well as how to swirl the silver and black colors onto the white petals of roses she grew in the back.
Between learning and working the steady back end of things, I stayed busy. While Louise took orders, rang people up, and did the bulk of the designing, I was organizing paperwork, answering the phone, and scheduling appointments for people to come in and talk about their big orders.
The last person who did this job—which I assumed was Louise—wasn’t very organized. So, I had my work cut out for me. But I didn’t mind. It kept me busy and my mind off things I didn’t need to be thinking about. Like Ray. It would give me a steady income, which was needed, and another tick on my resume that might help me snag a full-time florist job in the future. If I needed it.
If things with my event planning career never took back off.
The phone rang up front, and I went ahead and picked it up. Louise was in the back trying to gather an order, so I took the initiative to learn how to take orders over the phone. I listened while the woman rattled some things off. Types of flowers she wanted and the “flair” she wanted for each bouquet of flowers. I told the woman I wasn’t sure if each bouquet could have a different flair, but that I’d take down all of the colors she wanted and then get back to her.
That seemed to please her well enough, which was nice.
It was nice to not have someone yelling at me for fucking up, for once.
Just as I put the phone down, I smiled. I held up my first phone order I’d taken before placing it on the register where Louise would see it. Then, the bell on the front door began jingling.
And in walked a familiar face.
Nathaniel Lamont stood in the doorway with a sort of shocked stare on his face. The man who’d fired me on that tropical island for something beyond my control. His eyes narrowed as he looked around the shop, and when he looked back, a sinister smile crossed his face.
He approached me at the front desk before clearing his throat.
“Violet.”
“Nathaniel.”
His eyes looked me up and down before his smile settled into a knowing grin.
“How’s life been treating you?” he asked.
He was clearly enjoying my fall from grace, and I wanted to slap that smirk right off his face.
“Can I help you with anything?” I asked.
He chuckled. “I’d like to place a large order for a wealthy socialite wedding. Or, at least I intended on doing so.”
“Do you not plan on doing it now?” I asked.
He looked me up and down again, a motion I really wished he’d stop doing. It might mean his death if he didn’t.
“I’m having a few seconds thoughts now,” he said as his eyes connected with mine.
“Well, we’ve got a wonderful selection, as well as some new flairs to add to bouquets and table placements. If you’d like to take a look, I could—”
“You know, I’ve spoken with Vivien many times since Pearl Island,” Nathaniel said.
I nodded. “I figured as much, given your questions.”
“She’s got quite the vendetta against you, and she’s not a woman easily crossed.”
“I’m sure we both beg to differ on that point,” I said.
Nathaniel quirked an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
I needed to keep my mouth shut. That was something that would already make its way back to Vivien because of Nathaniel’s big ass mouth.
“If you’d rather place the order with the shop owner, Miss Louise—”
“What happened with Richard?” he asked.
“He moved,” I said plainly.
“Oh.”
I nodded softly, knowing there was more to the story I knew he’d spew into my lap.
And I was right.
“You know, your actions at the Brant-Rose wedding nearly got me raked over the coals as well,” he said.
“Glad to see you’re still standing,” I said.
“It took a lot of ass kissing to get back into Vivien’s good graces.”
“Something I’m sure you’re very good at.”
His face fell. “What was that?”
I plastered on a smile. “Would you like to place that order now?”
“Look, Vivien might not be as rich as the richest in this town, but she’s got a big mouth with a voice that carries. I’m not going to piss that woman off again and risk losing my business. You’d do well to do the same.”
“And now you care about me?” I asked.
“Mr. Lamont!”
Louise’s voice pierced through my thoughts, and I saw Nathaniel smile softly at my boss.
“Miss Louise. I hear you’ve taken over this wonderful shop. How is it treating you?” he asked.
Louise walked around to give the man a hug, and I wanted to vomit.
“It’s so good to see you again. Yes, yes, I’m technically the shop owner now. Richard moved due to some family things or something of the matter. I honestly never paid attention half the time to when he was running that mouth of his,” she said, giggling.
“Glad I’m not the only one,” Nathaniel said with a grin.
“So, are you here to place an order? I’m sure I can pick up where Miss Violet left off,” she said.
“Actually, I just came in to say hello. Though, I do want to warn you of something,” he said.
I glared at him as he looked over at me. He guided Louise over to the front door, but he wasn’t much of a whisperer. I caught every word he said to that woman, and I was ready to claw his damn eyes out.
“I want this shop to flourish under your guidance, Miss Louise. So, I just want you to know that hiring Violet will tank your business faster than a busload of aphids. It’s nothing personal, but...”
Nathaniel looked back at me as I gripped a pencil so hard it snapped.
“I have to take my business elsewhere,” he whispered.
Louise looked back at me with a curious stare before she nodded.
“I understand. But thank you for coming in to see me,” she said.
She ushered Nathaniel out the door, then turned her sights onto me. I knew what was about to happen. I knew what was coming. The sweet old woman came around the counter and looked up at me, then ushered for me to speak.
“What is it he’s talking about?” she asked.
I sighed before I launched into the story. I told her about the wedding. About Raymond and Emeline. How their marriage was nothing but an arrangement. A business thing. I told her about the fiasco and my getting fired as Mr. Lamont’s assistant at the behest of Vivien Brant. I gave her the down and dirty. Even how Ray and I continued our romance until things with his family got too tense.
And the more I talked and tried to make her understand, the deeper she frowned.
“I see,” Louise said.
“I didn’t ruin that wedding, Miss Louise. It was still a beautiful affair. Emeline married Shannon that day. And Ray completely supported—”
She held up her hand for me to stop, and I braced myself.
“Miss Violet, you were blacklisted, weren’t you?” she asked.
I slowly nodded my head as my stomach sank.
“What you must understand with high society is that it is notoriously fickle. Things phase in and out of season quicker than you can blink your eyes. My business is already at risk with me taking over so quickly. I’m having to earn the trust of regular customers all over again simply because Richard isn’t hovering over my shoulder.”
“I’ll stay in the back. Out of sight. I can—”
“Nathaniel’s already seen you, honey,” she said solemnly.
I felt my eyes water as Louise drew in a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, but—”
“Please don’t do this,” I begged.
“I’ve got not choice, Miss Violet. I’m sorry, but I have to let you go.”
I felt myself reeling. Teetering on my feet as the words came out of her mouth. How had things gotten this bad? How the hell had I pissed one woman off so badly that it had ruined my entire life here in New York? I knew Louise felt terrible. I saw it in her eyes. I felt it in the way she rubbed my back. I didn’t even try to cover up the tears streaming my cheeks.
I nodded softly. “I understand.”
“I’ll try to put in a good word for you somewhere, yeah? Maybe somewhere that doesn’t deal with high society often. Or at all,” she said.
But that’s what I want to do. That’s what I want for my life.
I thanked her for her kindness, then gathered up my things. She opened her till and paid me right out of it. And I knew why she did it. Though it was covered up with a smile and a kind gesture of faith, I knew why she paid me that way.
Under-the-table payment couldn’t be traced. Which meant she could deny my employment here in the future.
