The Wedding Planner

The alarm buzzed as her white, small hand emerged out of the duvet to snooze. Her hand tapped the bedside table but the phone was out of reach. Rosie sighed and got out of bed, a bit of makeup running right under her eyes.

She shuddered. Her bare feet had reached the cold marble floor and she cursed herself for forgetting where she had left her slippers - again. Finally, with one last stretch of her arm, she managed to reach her phone and turn the alarm off.

She was 24 years old and had a plump figure, of which she wasn’t exactly proud. Her ash blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulders - at least it did most days. Right now, it was dirty and messy and bangs were hovering above her glasses; looking at her own stare reflected in her bedroom’s mirror, she felt a thousand years old. A shower would make her feel better, she thought.

While the hot water was running on her pale, delicate skin, her mind wandered back to her ex-boyfriend, Mark. Her mixed feeling were resurfacing every now and then, but the fear - the dread - would never, ever go away.

***

The top floor of Lawrence Tower I could feel like heaven or hell, according to the circumstances. This particular day fell definitely in the second category. Josh felt the muscles of his broad shoulders tense as he remembered the words his stepfather had spoken to him not even a month before:

“A marriage establishes credibility in business. It will make you look stable and no one will be afraid to introduce you to their wives and daughters... it’ll take that bachelor’s aura off you and redeem you in the eyes of people that matters. If you don’t marry, forget about your position in Lawrence Enterprises... I might as well make your younger brother Jeremy the next CEO”.

Yes, he was definitely a bachelor and that wouldn’t change because of marriage, but, at 32, he knew better than yelling at his stepfather for that.

Still, it didn’t make him feel any better. Jeremy, his younger brother, seemed to have already met the love of his life - Lorna. He was only 27, but his calm demeanor made him look like he was the elder brother - and that was something Josh didn’t like one bit. He was jealous.

Jealous, because he had Lorna. Because he was happy. Because he wasn’t interested in women like Lorna - she had too much of a holier-than-thou attitude towards Josh that made him feel like a cookie-stealing kid around her.

Yet women like Lorna were the ones who could pur some order into a man’s life, he knew it. He even tried dating a few of her friends - but it felt like going on dates with younger and not even so much sexier versions of his grandma. He needed excitement and stability at the same time, but those never came together in a single girl, so choosing excitement was still the best option - in that way, he might have felt alive again at some point. At least, that’s what he hoped for.

***

---

Ivy

The hangover from last night wasn’t over yet, but she had to wake up sooner or later. She had a shooting at 2 o’clock somewhere in the suburbs - and she hoped they had some damn coffee.

Ivy got up on her long, skinny legs, and lit up a cigarette. Josh was nowhere to be seen and it made her nervous.

The relationship between her and Josh - if one could call it relationship at all, she thought to herself - drove her crazier as time passed by. Last night he had been flirting and bantering with almost every one of her female friends - and he deinitely brought one or two in the club’s fancy restroom to do God knew what.

He always came back to her, though, as if he never found what he was looking for in the other girls.

Ivy poured herself a shot of tequila as her skinny hands started shaking. All she could hope for - even after he had proposed to her - was that he never found it.

***

“Rosie! You’ve really outdone yourself this time”

“Thank you, Aimee”

She looked at Rosie and thought of when she had first hired her for an internship. Her pin-up looks and her degree in Marketing weren’t that convincing - but she had a sparkle in her eyes that really meant something.

In a few years, Rosie had become a real pillar for the company, to the point that Aimee’s previous assistant, Jolie, was relegated into a more modest role to make room for Rosie.

Jolie wasn’t half bad - Aimee’s eyes wandered out of the window, taking in the beautiful view of the city from that height - but her demeanor worsened when she realized how good was Rosie. The way Aimee and Rosie worked together was so smooth and synced you would have believed they had grown up together.

The hall in which she and Rosie were - the main hall of the Crystal Palace - was a place they had tried to book for years, with no success. The event planning company of which Aimee was General Manager - Blossom Events - had recently taken up the wedding planning market, which really set the spirits of both Aimee and Rosie on fire.

Aimee spun the Prosecco flute in her left hand as she thought of it. Thinking of past memories, she served herself some more sparkling ng wine.

***

Despite of the fact that they were in the suburbs, there were lots of people over there, Josh thought. His assistant, Michael, yet had to find the best angle from which the proposal would be filmed. Ivy didn’t have a clue about what was about to happen - or, at least, she didn’t seem to. With what his uncle had said to him in mind, Josh had decided to propose to Ivy on a live streaming on social networks - all business partners would hear of that, no doubt, and he would regain his uncle’s trust. He gave the ring a look once again - the big diamond on it shone like the sun. Ivy would have adored it, of course, and not just the big shiny diamond, but the live streaming proposal as well; her career would definitely get a boost. That’s how it should be, Josh thought to himself while sipping the coffee the assistant had just brought him; a win-win situation in which both of them would get something out of it. He barely noticed he didn’t feel any excitement as he crumpled up the paper mug and stomped on it with his leather shoes.

***

“Hey girl! We’re here!”

Hannah, Rosie’s best friend, was waving at her from a table at Roxy’s, their favorite spot in the whole city. That pub had seen them at their best and at their worst; it felt like home. Hannah, Sophie and Fiona were waiting for her at “their” table, but Sophie and Fiona were looking at Sophie’s phone screen.

“Long day?” Hannah asked Rosie when she sat on the comfy chair and tossed her bag behind her back.

“Tiring but satisfying” she replied. “Hey, are the two of you with us?” she said to Sophie and Fiona.

“Ssst!” Fiona whispered “Josh is about to propose to Ivy!”.

“Josh who?” Rosie didn’t understand.

“Josh Lawrence!” Sophie and Fiona yelled simultaneously.

Rosie looked at the screen and saw a handsome guy kneeling before a thin, tall and gorgeous woman - a supermodel, of course. The big, shiny ring in the box let out luxurious blings.

“Whoa” Rosie told Hannah “well, hey, if I shed a few pounds to look like her I’d wanna win a diamond too”.

All the girls chuckled while Ivy, on the screen, burst into tears and hugged Josh. Rosie couldn’t help but notice how he seemed unmoved by his partner saying yes. She exchanged looks with Hannah and suddenly knew she had had the same thought.

That night, the dream of a man proposing to her had another occurrence, but this time the man was Josh Lawrence. When she awakened, she laughed at herself for having such a silly dream. In that moment, Mark was a million years away from her thoughts. She felt bubbly and energetic while she made herself a coffee. The phone rang, and her smile faded as soon as she heard what was on the other side.