Bridesmaid for Hire

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY,” DEANNA SAYS as she walks up to my desk, holding a piece of cake on a plate and grinning like she knows something I don’t.

Christ, she’s a vile human.

Pen in hand, I lean back in my chair and try to seem as casual as possible even though Satan’s hangnail is standing right in front of me. “Thank you.” I nod toward the cake in her hand. “I see that you’re enjoying the festivities.”

“And I see that your cake choice is just as bland as your face.”

See…Satan’s hangnail.

“Marion chose that cake. I dare you to say that to her.” Marion is the mother of the office, the crotchety old lady who has hung on to the job since Reginald Hopper started Hopper Industries. Once a sophisticated boss lady in a pencil skirt and pill hat, she’s now an elderly woman who complains about needing a permanent but never books herself an appointment, lending her to sport a more Albert Einstein-like look. If you ask me, I think she’s rocking it.

Deanna’s lips purse and she shifts, clearly not taking the bait. No one messes with Marion, not even Reginald. Hence why her job responsibilities include cake ordering, fridge restocking, and overall crankiness.

“Have you heard that Daddy Reggie is making a decision about the new arm of the business after Princess Haisley gets married?”

Firstly…Haisley is anything but a princess. Haisley Hopper is so misunderstood within the company. The youngest of the three Hopper kids, she has stepped away from Hopper Industries and, with her own money, invested in a vacation rental house that she redecorated and themed to Dolly Parton in Nashville. From the earnings and revenue, she invested in another house here in San Francisco that she themed around the movie Clueless. And from what I’ve heard, she’s expanding even more.

Secondly, the term “Daddy Reggie” is only used around the lower-level employees in the office and if he ever heard that’s what we call him, we’d find our asses hitting the curb.

Thirdly…how does she always know this insider information? Drives me nuts. I swear she never works, just hovers around the office like a fucking troll, listening in on conversations and logging it away to annoy me later.

“Yeah, I heard that,” I lie. I never show my cards to this woman. “You nervous?”

“Not in the slightest,” she says with a grin that makes her lip curl into a snarl that would scare the dead skin off any snake.

I click the top of my pen, keeping my eyes trained on her. “Maybe you should be.”

She rolls her eyes. “Please. The Hopper family will be coming off the high of an extravagant wedding in Bora-Bora. Their heads will still be ringing with wedding bells, and when they’re presented with the two ideas, they’re going to be more attracted to my wedding services proposal than your idiotic boutique rental proposal.”

It’s not idiotic.

It’s actually quite intelligent.

A business proposal that not only helps the city’s economy but also Hopper Industries. Deanna just can’t look past her inflamed eyelids to see that.

Keeping my face neutral, I say, “Well, I guess we’ll see.”

“Just admit it, you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared.” Maybe a little scared. Her idea has merit. She wants to expand into the wedding industry, using commercial buildings as venues. And the fact that the Hoppers are going to be fresh from vows on a beach in front of a lagoon—The Regency magazine did an entire article on the event—I might be in fucking trouble. “Cute that you think I consider you competition at all.”

She stabs a piece of cake and brings it to her mouth. “Keep pretending—it will keep you in a delusional state so your fragile male ego doesn’t shatter into nothing.” She starts to leave but then nods at my computer. “Also, might not want to have the competitor’s website up on your computer for everyone to see.”

“It’s called research,” I say as she walks away, her stupid, frizzy ponytail swaying with every step. “She’s so fucking annoying,” I mutter as I turn back to my computer where the Cane Enterprises website is in full view.

Huxley, JP, and Breaker Cane, the brothers who own the company, are Hopper Industries’ largest competitors. Based in Los Angeles, they’ve taken their business to both coasts and have recently moved up the Pacific Coast and started renovating old office buildings into affordable housing units. It’s a huge tax break for them and sheds a positive light on their company. It also spurs on the economy, creating an environment where lower-income families don’t need to spend all their money on putting a roof over their heads, meaning it can be spent elsewhere. It’s brilliant and I’ve been watching the transformation from a distance.

So has Daddy Reggie. And he’s not happy that the Canes have “encroached on his space.” It’s why he tasked us to come up with a new idea that will expand Hopper Industries into the commercial space. And with technology advancing, allowing employees to work from home, empty commercial spaces have been popping up all over the city. Daddy Reggie wants to cash in on the buildings with a grand idea.

Deanna and her ill-fitting pants have come up with the wedding industry expansion.

Me…well, I came up with the idea that I think is way more creative and has high merit. Something new and innovative. I’m proposing that we take some of the smaller, empty commercial spaces and turn them into pop-up shops for rent.

I know what you’re thinking…how is that going to compete with a billion-dollar wedding industry?

Well, it doesn’t.

But…what it does do is add a modern twist to the company.

Currently Hopper Industries is known for their Hopper Hotel chain, ranging from luxury vacation stays to affordable overnights, as well as being the largest almond producers in California. With over five hundred acres of farmland in central California, you can find Hopper Almonds in every grocery store, gas station, and airport. But that’s it.

Between farms and hotels, there is nothing modern about Hopper Industries.

That’s where I come in.

My proposal: take the empty storefronts in popular shopping districts, renovate them into clean, white spaces or give them a moodier twist, and offer them up for rent as pop-up boutiques or even meeting spaces for businesses that come in and out of town for short periods of time and might need a brick-and-mortar venue or meeting space.

Like I said, is it a billion-dollar industry? No.

But will it bring in a younger market, create buzz through social media, and be something we can expand throughout the country as a unique experience? Yes.

Do I think it’s going to beat the spectacle Deanna is drumming up? Well, let’s just say…I might be a little scared.

“Did you get some cake?” Jaleesa asks as she steps up to my desk, pulling me from my panicked thoughts.

Jaleesa is my direct manager, my best friend in the company, and the reason I have this opportunity to come up with a proposal for the Hopper family in the first place.

I turn to face her, more relaxed since I get along with her so well. It’s easy to work with someone who believes in you. “White cake and vanilla frosting really isn’t my thing,” I answer.

“It’s Marion’s, hence why it’s ordered every single time.”

“Not surprised.”

She looks over her shoulder and then pulls up one of the other desk chairs near my area. “I saw Deanna over here. Was she taunting you?”

“When is she not taunting me?” I shake my head. “She thinks she has a leg up with her whole wedding idea.”

From her immediate silence and the twist of her lips, I can deduce that Jaleesa knows something that I might not.

“What?” I ask.

She glances around again and when the coast is clear, she leans in. “I actually came over here because I heard Reginald is leaning toward the wedding idea.”

Of course he fucking is. It’s the easy choice.

“Fuck,” I growl as I rub my hand across my forehead.

“That’s not even the worst part.”

I pause my hand mid rub. “What’s the worst part?”

The sorrowful look on Jaleesa’s face nearly makes my scrotum crawl up inside of my stomach. Whatever she’s about to say, I know I’m going to hate it. “If Deanna wins, she’ll become manager, this branch will dissolve, and you’ll fall under her management.”

I feel all the life drain from my face.

And my scrotum that was teetering on a visit to my stomach? Yeah, it’s now in my goddamn throat.

There is no fucking way.

Imagine coming into work, day in and day out, having to work under the smuggest individual you’ve ever met. Having to say , “Yes, ma’am”.

Let me get you those reports.

Oh sure, I would love to work late with you.

Is this what you were thinking of with this presentation? Or should I redo the entire thing that I spent two weeks perfecting and have it done in five hours for your approval?

It can’t happen.

She would make my life a living hell.

“From the bleak look in your eyes, I’m going to guess that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“It’s really not,” I say. “What about you, where would you go? Would you no longer be managing? Oh fuck, would you have to have Deanna report to you and me report to Deanna?”

“I don’t know the logistics, but I do know I’ve been thinking about leaving.”

“What?” I ask, sitting taller. “Why?”

“I want something remote. My wife is retired, and we want to travel. We’re thinking about vanning it across the country. I want a job I can do while we’re on the road.”

This is news to me. I’m closest with Jaleesa, and this is the first time I’m hearing this.

“What about your house?” Jaleesa and Mary Anne have a beautiful brownstone in San Francisco’s coveted Marina neighborhood.

“We would sell. Right now, it’s paid for and worth over a million.” She shrugs. “It would be all we need.”

“Jesus,” I say as I lean back in my chair and try to comprehend the last few minutes. “So…are you leaving no matter what?”

“Probably,” she says. “I hate to break the news like this to you, but I figured you should know. I’m staying on until the decision is made to give you the best chance at winning the proposal. I don’t want Reginald thinking I’m abandoning the project.”

“I appreciate that,” I say as I sigh. “Well, fuck, Jaleesa, it won’t be the same without you.”

“I know.” She smirks. “But I have faith in your proposal. Enough faith that I’m going to give you this.”

She hands me a cream envelope embossed with the Hopper crest. “What’s this?” I ask.

She taps the envelope. “Open it.”

I flip it over and slide my finger under the flap, snapping it open. The heavy paper screams luxury and as I pull out the contents, I know exactly why.

“An invitation to Haisley’s wedding?” I ask.

Jaleesa nods. “The executive managers were all invited, but between selling the house and trying to get our life in order, it’s not something I can do—but you can go in my place.”

“Why would I go?” I ask.

She gives me a look, as if I’m an idiot. “For one, it’s the event of the century. Two, it’s in Bora-Bora. Three, it will give you the perfect opportunity to get closer to Reginald. It won’t grant you access to the family, but if you can pull it off and somehow make a good impression without talking about business, he’ll remember you the second you propose your idea when they’re back. It’s the extra edge you might need. And hey, if you somehow get them to notice you crying during the beautiful, moving nuptials, that might give you even more of an edge.”

I don’t even know how to cry, let alone at a wedding that I have no interest in.

Although…if Deanna becomes my manager, I very well might figure out how to work these tear ducts.

“You don’t think they’ll get mad that I’m there in your place?”

“I’m going to tell Reginald that something came up with my family, but I’m sending my representative to help with anything they might need. Not that they already won’t have a hundred people helping, but you know, it’ll make him feel like we’re there for the family and that we care about this momentous occasion.”

I glance down at the invite, my finger trailing over the gold embossed names.

Haisley Hopper and Jude Galloway

Can I really pull this off?

Fly to Bora-Bora, attend the wedding, get close enough to Reginald to make a good impression?

Seems like a suicide mission if you ask me.

How could this possibly work?

Sure, I could attend the wedding, but would there really be a spare second where I can really talk to him, person-to-person?

Reginald will be busy with his family. I’m not sure he’d even give me a moment of his time. Not to mention, he probably wouldn’t even recognize me.

“I don’t know,” I say as I try to hand her back the invitation.

But she doesn’t take it.

Jaleesa places her arm on mine. “Brody, if this is what you want, if you truly believe in your proposal, then it’s gut-check time. You need to do everything possible to gain the upper hand over Deanna. Right now, she has the level up on you. So, you either take this opportunity and make the most of it, or you sit back and hope that when Reginald gets back from Bora-Bora, he’s willing to listen to you despite having wedding heart eyes.”

God. Wedding heart eyes.

She’s right. The old man is going to come back from celebrating his daughter’s love, probably full of critiques or praises and will want to apply it to a new venture. And Deanna’s proposal will be there, begging to be that venture.

“When you put it like that…” I grumble, making her laugh.

“Looks like you’re going to Bora-Bora.”

I drag my hand over my face. “How the hell am I supposed to afford that?”

“Cheap flight and renting a room from a local. Spend your money on clothes and drinks. Fake it until you make it.”

I blow out a heavy breath. “Jesus…I’d better win this proposal.”