Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Security would be one issue to focus on. Nate didn’t mind people hacking in to gain access to the wedding, because that was what they were giving away anyway, but he needed to be sure it wouldn’t spill over into accessing Married in Malibu’s computers. And, given some of the people who were likely to be fans of Zach Jarrs, that wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
“Nate, there you are,” Liz said. She was carrying a clipboard, which probably meant she was handling far too many things at once. That one meeting Nate had taken with Zach Jarrs had given him new insight into just how many things Liz had to manage to make sure every wedding went smoothly. “Can I ask a favor?” she asked.
“Sure,” Nate said.
Liz looked around as though checking for eavesdroppers, which didn’t seem very likely, given how tight a ship Travis ran when it came to security.
“It’s about Kate.”
“Kate? Is something wrong?” Nate asked, though he couldn’t imagine what that could be. As far as Nate knew, Kate’s life mostly revolved around her flowers. How much could go wrong there?
“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Liz said, keeping her voice low. “Did you know that it’s her birthday tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “No, she managed to keep that pretty quiet.”
“She manages to keep everything quiet,” Liz said with a frown that indicated she wasn’t entirely happy about that. “But I thought it might be nice to throw her a surprise birthday party, just to show her that we appreciate her here.”
That sounded like a great idea. Kate worked as hard as anyone, but she was so often in the background, it was easy to miss her. She worked away quietly, and even when she did her job brilliantly, other elements always seemed to take center stage.
“What do you need from me?” Nate asked.
“We talked about holding it in Tamara’s café after work,” Liz said. “It’s the best way to get Kate over there without her realizing what’s happening. Jenn was going to work out the details with Tamara this evening, but she remembered Kayla has a spelling bee at school, so you know she and Daniel aren’t going to miss that.”
“Of course not,” Nate said. When it came to the kids, Jenn and Daniel were there for every sporting practice and school event. As far as he could tell, they were awesome parents.
“And I can’t make it either,” Liz said. “Would you have time to figure it out with Tamara this evening? She was going to come over here when she closes the café, and I figured you’d probably still be here working.”
Nate could have come up with lots of excuses; there were plenty of them to be found. He could have cited his workload or said that he had plans that evening. But he didn’t, for a couple of reasons. One was that Kate was his friend, and Nate wanted to ensure she had a great birthday. The other was that it was the excuse he’d been looking for all day. He’d loved having dinner with Tamara yesterday, and spending time with her, and he wanted to do it again, even if it was for “party planning” and even if he knew they were both trying to stay in the friend zone.
“Sure,” Nate said, and just like that, he was committed. “Let me know what you have in mind and when she’s coming over.”
Liz thanked him, and Nate went back to his office. He tried to throw himself into coding, which would ensure compatibility between the stream they would produce and the program that would get it out into the world. But his thoughts kept returning to Tamara and the excitement he was feeling knowing he’d get to see her again that evening…
The sound of the door buzzer made Nate jump, and he checked the time. Was Tamara early? No, the time had just slipped away. He looked at the door camera feed and saw Tamara waiting outside. He rushed down to let her in.
“Nate?” Tamara said, clearly surprised as the door opened. “I thought I was meeting with Jenn.”
“Jenn had to duck out early with Daniel,” Nate explained, “and Liz asked me to stand in for her because she had to leave.” Actually, it looked as though everyone had left, because the parking lot was empty. Had he really been that swept up in his work? “I hope that’s okay. We all want to throw this party for Kate.”
“Sure, no problem,” Tamara said, looking a little bashful. “Sorry, I was just a little surprised for a moment there.”
Nate smiled and ushered her in. “I get it. I was thinking maybe we could order pizza. I’m starving, and I’m guessing you are too. It would give us a chance to eat while we talk over plans for the party.”