Challenge? There would be no challenge. Graham wasn’t hers. And she didn’t want him to be. Did she?
“What I want to know is why we would help someone who’s kicking us out of our homes,” Grace Taylor asked.
“I don’t have anywhere to go,” one person said.
“Neither do I.”
As other residents chimed in with their discontent at helping the enemy, Alina felt caught in the middle. It was a very strange and uneasy place to find herself.
Because she was beginning to really know Graham as a man, not the high-powered CEO. He w
asn’t the big mean monster that people wanted to think about him. He was fun. He was caring. And he was hot. Very, very hot.
“I understand your hesitation,” Alina said. “But what if in exchange Graham had his people track down affordable housing for all of us?”
“He agreed to do this?” Merryweather asked.
“Well, uh, no.” Alina worried she was about to lose any chance of them agreeing to help. “But he told me how important this party is to him. I think he’ll be agreeable to our term. Trust me. I’ll work it out.”
Mr. Jackson frowned. “I still don’t like it. No matter what they find, it won’t be home. Our home.”
“I know.” Alina’s heart ached at the thought of them all being separated. “But I haven’t given up hope that he’ll find an alternative building site.” She’d seen Graham take to the people in the building. Tearing down this building was no longer going to be a case of faceless numbers on a report.
For a moment, everyone chatted among themselves. Alina hoped they’d see it as an opportunity to win Graham over.
“What do you say?” Alina asked. “Are we going to do this?”
Though they lacked enthusiasm, they all agreed.
“Thank you.” Alina smiled at the people she thought of as family. “Let’s get to work.”
Everyone stated their special talents. The people who claimed not to have any talents befitting a grand party were relegated to the decorating committee. Their first task was tracking down a live Christmas tree that was relatively slender but tall, something close to twenty feet. And second on their to-do list was buying an enormous amount of twinkle lights in blue for the ceiling and white to drape about the various support posts in the ballroom and the Christmas tree.
“I know the Stirling has some snowmen in storage,” Alina said. “I’ll pull them out and see if they’re usable.”
“I’m assuming you’ll want music for the event,” Mr. Jackson said. He played the sax professionally until he retired. Now he and his retired bandmates played local venues. When she smiled and nodded, he said, “I suppose I could see if the band is available.”
She’d wanted to ask him, but she hadn’t wanted to pressure him. “Thank you. Your band is amazing. I’ll mark you down. Let me know if there are any problems.”
Mr. Jackson nodded before adjusting his bifocals. He started to type a message on his phone.
Merryweather offered to check with the theater where he used to work and see if they could borrow some props. Someone else had connections with an art gallery and was going to see if they could track down a bunch of winter-themed pieces to decorate the walls. Piece by piece and person by person this event was coming together.
She hoped when it was all pulled together that it would live up to Graham’s expectations. She knew this event had to be high end and she planned to do everything to make it so.
CHAPTER TWELVE
A DAY OFF.
Today would be Alina’s day to catch up with everything that hadn’t been done around the apartment building—that is, whatever Graham hadn’t been able to complete. She was expecting a really long list. She knew Merryweather always had problems—lots of problems—though most of them were quite minor.
Merryweather’s family didn’t live in the state and so he didn’t get many visitors. And now that he was retired, he stayed in his apartment most of the time. He was lonely and she couldn’t blame him.
As she rushed through her Wednesday morning routine, her thoughts returned to Graham. She’d heard from some of the residents that Graham didn’t appear to have a clue about the difference between a nut and a washer, but he’d persevered. More times than not, he’d called in outside help. That wasn’t surprising. She had to do that, too, when a task was beyond her ability. But what surprised her was that he stayed and observed the hired help, even asking questions. The man was certainly full of surprises. She smiled.
When she moved to the kitchen to feed Prince, her gaze strayed over to the calendar. Time was running out before everyone had to move. Her good mood dimmed, but she wasn’t giving up on a Christmas miracle.
With her coffee made, she headed for the door, planning to stop in at Graham’s office. She would check to see what messages the tenants had pinned to the punchboard on the outside of the door to the building manager’s office. It wouldn’t hurt to give Graham a helping hand.