“Can you drop them on my desk?” Elena asks. “Wait.” She reaches for the stack beside her. “These, too, please.”
There’s a delay then the woman walks up to the table, giving me a wide berth, and picks up the additional documents. I turn to see her holding a stack that’s almost a foot high.
“Is this normal? The number of invoices coming through?”
“That’s just one vendor.” Elena gives a faint smile, the first I’ve seen directed at me. “You should see what we get at the end of the month.”
Okay, that might merit a pass on me giving her a hard time. In fact, I’m going to do the one thing I hate most, put myself out there. I pick up my cell, tracking down the number for the community center. “Give me a second.” I hold up a finger, gaining one positive out of all this. I’m annoying her to no end.
* * *
Elena
“There you go.”
I glance at the monitors on opposite walls. Damn, I almost made it out of the room. I have no choice but to sit down. Taking a deep breath, I pick up the cell. “Let me check on the food order.”
“Elena,” Sage calls from the doorway. “I have some invoices for you,” she says, holding them up.
“Can you drop them on my desk?” They’re going to have to wait until Monday for stamp and coding. “Wait.” I pick up the invoices on the table. “These, too, please.”
Sage hesitates, her gaze hitting the back of Addler’s chair. Eyebrows steepled, she steps into the conference room, giving Addler plenty of space. As soon as she takes the additional stack, she beats a hasty retreat. I can’t judge her over it, not after he decided to mess with her.
“Is this normal?” he asks, jerking his head to where Sage was standing. “The number of invoices coming through?”
It’s all I can do not to burst out laughing. “That’s just one vendor. You should see what we get at the end of the month.”
He nods his head thoughtfully then picks up his cell. “Give me a second.” He holds up a finger, leaving me spinning my wheels. “This is Addler de Marco. Elena Santos—” He winks at me. “Glad I caught you. Elena Santos will be calling for a reservation.” His gaze meets mine. “Yes, it’s for me. I’ll let her get you the details when she calls. Thanks, you, too.”
I glare at him. Considering how many people around here reserve that location for meetings, I doubt his call made an impact. She’s always impossible to track down. If he had her on the line, why didn’t he just pass me the phone? I may have to swing by to try and catch her before—
My cell rings. The tone echoing around us until I reach out to check the screen. To my chagrin, it’s the community center. I press the answer button, tamping down my annoyance. “Hello.”
“Elena! Hiiiii. How are you?” Alicia, the coordinator, says loud enough for even Addler to hear. She’s never been this friendly. And she’s never returned my call this quick.
“Just fine, thank you.” I check the screen to make sure I saw the right contact name.
“You’re booked for Monday,” she announces, her voice dripping with Southern hospitality. “I’ll make sure the doors are open by eight.”
“Oh, thank you.” Eight o’clock? In the past, I’ve been lucky to have enough time to set up before people start arriving for the safety meeting.
“I just need to clear something up. You said it was Kelly Oil, right?”
“Well, the construction division was bought out.” I’m hesitant to share anything else before the official announcement.
“Oh, who bought it?”
Addler nods, giving me the go-ahead to let her know.
“Addler de Marco.”
“Oh! That’s wonderful. So you work for him now,” she says expectantly.
I look over the laptop screen at Addler, hating what I’m about to say. “Yes, I suppose I do.”
“Oh, you have the best luck,” she says dreamily. “Well you just keep me in mind whenever you need anything.”
“Will do.” I can’t believe the change in her. “Let me get you a credit card number for payment.” I open my email to search for Bill’s card number.