“Ah.” She stood there like an idiot as Augusta went back to work, her gaze returning to her computer. “And . . . is Mr. Sutton going to be there?” Please say no. Please say no.
The look on Augusta’s face was something between Really? and I don’t have time for this shit. “Of course.”
“Of course,” Greer echoed, and turned and marched out of the room. Well, nuts. A daily meeting was a good idea, because herding Bunni, Tiffi, and Kiki was a lot like herding cats. But seeing Asher daily? That she could do without. It still hurt her down to her soul to see his handsome face. This was not going to help her heart heal any faster.
But she was low on choices, wasn’t she? Her father had been scarce ever since announcing the wedding. He was in California meeting with a stockholder today and would return in a few days for the engagement party that had been hastily thrown together. Just two hundred of his closest friends . . . and representatives from every media outlet available.
Greer’s stomach was in knots just thinking about it. Today, though, she remembered to eat. She munched on a protein bar as she went over her notes from the endless calls she’d made yesterday. She’d found a wedding baker willing to take on the task of the ornate cakes for the upcoming wedding for a hefty rush fee, but caterers were still iffy. Even though it would be a massive media event, most places were already booked. It was too much for Marta and her assistants to handle on their own—the poor cook was already baking up a storm in preparation for the engagement party and had enlisted three of her grown children to help her. Greer had promised them all bonuses. But a wedding with an ever-changing guest-list of hundreds? She wouldn’t inflict that on Marta. She’d just have to call further out. Check a few outlying cities. Maybe they could even fly in a caterer if they could get him/her experienced temp staff. She nibbled on the protein bar as she considered options and wrote notes to herself. She could make this happen. It would just require thinking a little more outside the box.
“There you are,” Kiki said, interrupting Greer’s train of thought. The “blue” triplet was wearing a baby blue string bikini with a scarf tied at her hips. She was stunningly gorgeous, and her smile was friendly. She was also standing in front of Asher. “Look who I found!”
“Lucky you.” Greer sat up straight in her chair and adjusted her glasses on her face as Kiki and Asher entered the dining hall. She hated to think it, but they would have made a really magnificent couple. They were of a similar height, given that Kiki was in stiletto heels, and her big blonde hair was artfully tousled, held off her face with a pair of designer sunglasses.
And of course, Asher looked like the type of billionaire playboy that would be with a high-maintenance blonde like Kiki. He wore faded jeans with a navy blazer and a pale blue shirt, the sleeves of both rolled up at his forearms. It was paired with a navy skinny tie and sunglasses, and Asher’s hair was swept back off his face in his usual casual style. On a lesser man, it would have looked like he was trying too hard. But on Asher? He just looked . . . perfect. Breezy, cool, and too chic for someone like Greer to have ever slept with.
Why did that make her stomach sour? Why did she care if he looked like the perfect match for someone like Kiki and not someone like her? Greer smoothed the front of her yellow summer sweater that she had over subdued gray slacks. Both were tight in all the wrong places . . . and she’d just brushed a boatload of crumbs off her boobs. Ugh. “Are you both here for the meeting?” She hid her wrapper and pulled her paperwork closer to her spot at the table. “We’re missing two triplets.”
“Bunni and Tiffi were getting manicures. They should be here soon.” Kiki sat down in a chair directly across from Greer, and Asher sat next to her.
Greer had to work hard to keep the frown off her face. There were only twenty empty chairs, after all. Why not pick the one right next to the hot blonde? “Did you make your guest list?” Her voice came out with more of a snap than she’d anticipated, and she mentally cringed.
“I emailed it to you,” Kiki said.
Oh. “Wonderful.” She tried to sound enthusiastic, but all she could notice was how like a matched pair Asher and Kiki were sitting across from her. Like Malibu Barbie and Billionaire Ken. Of course Billionaire Ken would nail Barbie’s dark, half-Indian little friend in private. In public? He would totally end up with Malibu Barbie. Teeth gritted, she opened her mail app on her phone and flipped through emails until she found Kiki’s guest list. Her irritation vanished at the thought and detail Kiki had given her in her list. “You numbered them?”
“Numbers were important, right? So I tried to keep things small and crucial.”
She had. Eighty guests was extremely reasonable given her siblings. “And the others?”
“I’m making them do spreadsheets, too, though Tiffi’s not very good with hers. Once we get them finalized, I’ll have them email them to you.”
“Can we have them by this Friday? I need to make reservations for outdoor furniture rentals and then there’s the question of how much food we need to cater, and how big the cake will be, and we’re already on a tight schedule.”
Kiki nodded. “Friday works.”
Asher drummed his fingers on the table. “I’ll work with Stijn’s secretary to make sure his list is to you by Friday, too.”
“What happens on Friday?” Bunni trotted into the room, followed by Tiffi, who was slurping on an iced latte. She blew on her hot pink fingernails and sat down right next to Asher. “Hey, you.” Her smile grew catlike.