“I’m so glad! I knew you would just love this place.” I can’t hide my excitement. “If you want to wait here, I’ll go confirm the date with Elizabeth and get her settled with the nondisclosure and then I’ll meet you back in the dining room to tell you my vision.”

“Perfect. We’ll see you in a moment, dear.” He turns to walk away but I’m so excited that he gave me the go-ahead to book the Fitz that I don’t even care about him calling me “dear.”

After I settle everything with Elizabeth, I take a little detour as I make my way back to Mr. Mahler. I walk down the empty hallways, listening as my stilettos echo against the mosaic marble floors. In school, history was always my favorite subject. There’s just something about hearing stories about the way people used to live and how every decision had such massive repercussions on the world around them. Now, walking down this hallway, I can’t help but imagine the world as it was when the Fitz family moved into this house and walked down this very hall every day.

I push open the heavy wooden door to the dining room, ready to get down to business. Like the ghosts of the Fitz women are helping me be the boss they weren’t allowed to be, my spine straightens as I approach Mr. Mahler.

“So?” I gesture to the room around us. “What do you think of this being the location for the dinner?”

“Dining room” doesn’t seem to really describe the room we’re standing in. If we use long tables, we can easily fit forty people in here. The massive crystal chandelier falling from the center of the room catches the sun’s rays from the window and covers the room in tiny rainbows.

“I think it’s perfect. Just the kind of high-class event I knew we could pull together.”

Just like at Quinton’s event, his inclusion of himself where he did nothing irritates the shit out of me. Also like at Quinton’s event, I bite my tongue and smile.

“I agree.” It’s so hard to say and I can feel my eye starting to twitch as the words leave my mouth. “Now, you still haven’t given me many details, but from what I do know, I was thinking we could have the plated dinner in here and then move to the parlor after for entertainment and we can pass out different desserts. How does that sound?”

“That sounds marvelous.” A phone ringing stops him from saying more. He looks at his phone and whatever he sees causes him to smile in a way that makes the sick feeling I had before the tour return with a vengeance. “One moment, I need to take this.”

He puts the phone to his ear and walks out of the room with Mr. Carlin on his heels.