Managing Macie *ON HOLD*

Chapter 5

Macie

My phone ringing woke me up at the crack of dawn. With a groan, I reached over to silence it, but I accidentally hit the answer button instead of the decline one. Shit.

"What?" I groaned into the phone. I didn't know who was calling and I probably should've looked before starting a conversation, but I was tired so I didn't particularly care.

"Macie?" It was fucking Ethan. Of course.

"What do you want from me so early in the day Ethan?"

"It's almost one," Ethan told me, confused.

"Yes. Early."

Ethan chuckled and I hissed as the sound sent a jolt of pain straight to my head.

"Shut up," I groaned, holding my throbbing head with my free hand. I really needed some aspirin.

"Hungover much?"

"How did you know?"

"Jake told me."

"He saw me at the club and didn't come say hi?" I asked, hurt. What a brat!

"You didn't say hi to him either," Ethan pointed out.

"Oh, shut up," I told him. Ethan chuckled again. "What did you want?"

"I was wondering when you can meet up to discuss catering for my event."

Oh right. That. The reason I got drunk and the reason I have a killer headache right now. Why is everything always Ethan's fault?

"Like today?" I asked.

"I'm available at four, otherwise we can do next week," he told me.

I thought about it. That would give me three hours to recover from my hangover, get ready, and be at Ethan's office. It was cutting it close, but I wanted to get it done sooner rather than later.

"Four's fine," I told him and hung up before he could say anything else. Then, with a groan, I rolled out of bed and went to my bathroom to grab some medicine.

***

This time, the secretary didn't stop me when I strolled past her into Ethan's office. As per usual, I didn't bother to knock, instead just going right in.

"Ah, Macie, right on time," Ethan said with a shit eating grin on his face.

I sneered at him. "I was only five minutes late."

Ethan shrugged. "Still late."

"Look. You gave me three hours notice, so either shut the fuck up or find a different caterer."

"You're not exactly in the place to be making demands, now are you? I still haven't sent the money through yet."

I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut, trying desperately not to explode on him. I need his money so I have to play by his stupid rules. Prick.

"Fine."

Ethan motioned for me to take a seat, so I stomped over to his desk and plopped down.

"So, the charity event," Ethan started.

I sighed and pulled out the notebook I brought with me to take notes.

"What's the theme?" I asked.

"It's black tie."

"Color scheme?"

"Black and white," he stated simply.

"There's no color?" I asked. Ethan shook his head. "You know black tie doesn't mean it has to be black and white, right?"

"I know. It's easier."

"How? It's just boring."

Ethan sighed. "The color scheme is black and white."

"Fine."

We spent the rest of the time discussing what he wanted to serve. I was going to make macarons, chocolate covered strawberries, mini cheesecakes, truffles, and my famous cupcakes. Apparently my mom offered to make some hors d'oeuvres too so that there wouldn't just be baked goods, so we were going to tag team it. I was glad that I would get to spend some extra time with her.

"How big is this event going to be? Will people be expecting a sit down dinner?"

"It will be fancy, and there will be around three hundred people, but I never do sit down dinners at my events. I find them boring."

I nodded. I hated to admit it, but I agreed with him.

"Well, I guess that's all," I told Ethan. "I'll bring some samples by next week for you to try."

"Ok, sounds good."

I gathered my things and left Ethan's office, feeling exhausted. I'd only been awake for four and a half hours, but they were a long four and a half hours.

I stopped at a pizza place down the street that I liked and picked up a pizza for me and Trisha. Then, I finally went home. When I got there, Trisha was sitting on the couch engrossed in our favorite reality tv show.

"You're watching without me?" I gasped.

Trisha turned to look at me, her eyes widening as she realized she was caught red handed.

"It's not what it looks like Macie."

"Save it."

With that, I stormed past her into my room, taking the pizza with me.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Trisha poked her head in.

"I'm sorry Macie," she said. "Forgivesees?"

I sighed. "Of course."

"Now get in here before I finish this pizza by myself and feel obligated to work out."

Trisha giggled and ran in, jumping on the bed. She grabbed a piece of pizza and took a big bite.

"Thanks for the food," she said with a mouthful.

"Anytime."

We went on to talk about my meeting and how annoying Ethan was. I was glad Trisha and I were on the same page regarding him. It would be horrible if she liked him. Even thinking about it made me shiver in disgust.

Who could possibly like Ethan Miller?