Pink Lemonade Flavor Binge + malt + gummy bunnies + fresh peaches
Story: Blaze Mafia Family
Title: The Wedding Planner
Prompts: Pink Lemonade Flavor Binge + malt (Nath's stocking stuffer: "I bet daily friendship with that bottle attracts more people to this job than any salary you could dream of." - Roger Sterlin, Mad Men) + gummy bunnies (500themes #4: dancing with the devil) + fresh peaches (There's nothing to fear on a day like today.)
Rating: PG13
Words: 4197
Characters: Merit Shelton, Blaze family and a couple Kodama-kai
Summary: Ha! Take that LJ! I've defeated your posting gauntlet! Merit becomes the Blaze Family's go-to event planner. Here's how.
3. Fooling around
"Good morning, Grace," Merit called to her personal assistant as she walked through the doors of Merit Event Planning. She slowed her usual power walk when she saw Grace staring blankly at the open appointment book on her desk. Dread filled her. "What's happened?"
"Firebird Blaze just called." Grace managed to get out. "She wants to meet you this afternoon."
Merit now understood why Grace looked so dazed. She was feeling a little off-balance herself. "Why?"
"She said 'to talk'."
"Talk?"
Grace nodded. "I think she's going to kill you."
That shook Merit out of her shock. She rolled her eyes and went into her office. "For goodness' sake."
"You mean 'damn', don't you? You're about to die! The least you could do is curse!" Grace said.
"I'm not about to die and I have yet to find a good reason to curse," Merit called back. "I have work to do, and so do you, I imagine."
"Yeah I do," Grace picked up a phone. "I have to call Delaney to arrange for your funeral flowers."
5. Taking it slow
"Ms. Blaze," Merit shook New Palermo's mafia queen-pin's hand with all the gumption her finishing school teachers had drilled into her. "I'm Merit Shelton. I believe we were introduced before at Maria Piazzi's wedding."
Firebird nodded and took a seat. "We did. I had to meet the person that could transform Maria's notoriously tacky tastes into a semi-decent event."
"Maria was a woman with unique vision," Merit said noncommittally.
That amused Firebird for some reason. Her smirk became a bit more like a smile and she said, "I'm interested in enlisting your services for my own wedding."
Merit covered her surprise with well wishes. "Congratulations. I hadn't heard you'd gotten engaged."
"I'm not yet," Firebird said. "I'll be picking my groom during my business trip this week."
Now that was one Merit hadn't heard before. Firebird saved her the agony of trying to figure out how to respond to that bombshell.
"You could say I'm a woman of unique vision as well, though my tastes are more refined than Maria Piazzi's." Firebird leaned forward. "My wedding is going to be the most important event of the year, but I have neither the time nor the will to deal with the work required to make it happen. I need a wedding planner that can handle me and my demands without cracking under what I assure you will be a phenomenal amount of pressure. Should you decide to plan this event, I promise you will have to earn every cent of the excessive paycheck I will give you."
Apparently that was all that Firebird had wished to talk to her about because she stood up then. Merit did too, still not sure what to say.
Firebird shook her hand again, "As I said, I'll soon be away on business. I'll call you this time next week to see if you're interested in the job. Good day, Ms. Shelton."
10. Tangled up in you
"I'm going to be marrying Aaron Matsuda," Firebird said as soon as Merit had seated herself on the couch in Firebird's office. "He has some business to wrap up in the Metroplex but I'll introduce you when he comes to visit next week."
Merit nodded and smiled, "I'm sure you'll be very happy together."
"Hmm," Firebird looked at Merit for a short moment. "I'm going to be frank with you because I need you to give me what I want. Aaron and I are not in love, and I have no intention of pretending we are for the wedding. That being said, I don't want my wedding to be without...heart."
"I understand," Merit said. No lovey-dovey gimmicks, but Firebird still wanted warmth. Class.
"Good." Firebird opened the folder on the coffee table and pulled out a small bank book. "I've opened an account specifically for the wedding. Aaron and I have already put in some money but I'm sure you'll run through that quickly enough. I'll supplement the account as needed."
Merit made a sincere effort to not let her eyes bug out when she saw the amount. She'd never run through that much money in any event she'd planned her entire career. How to ask this delicately? "Ms. Blaze...exactly how big do you expect your wedding to be?"
"Call me Firebird, Merit. And I expect it to be enormous. My wedding is going to be attended by at least 400 people that are used to the best. It is my job, and now yours, to give them something even better that that. There is no limit to the amount I'm willing to pay in order to make my wedding the world-class affair it needs to be."
Firebird held out a checkbook to the account, but when Merit made to reach for it, Firebird pulled it back and leaned forward. "I am giving you full access to a great deal of my Family's money. Do not steal from me, Merit."
Merit blinked. She'd heard enough whispered rumors to know exactly what happened to the unlucky schmuck that tried to steal from the Blaze Mafia. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Firebird handed over the checkbook. "I don't care what you dream about, just don't do it."
13. Sleeping beside you
"...remember the last time the Crossinis and the Veronas got together they got pissing drunk and forced the waiter to offer his hand up so they could play Five Finger Fillet," Nicky Nails shook his head with a laugh.
Firebird wasn't nearly so amused. "No one will be gouging my tablecloths. Put the Crossinis at table seven. We'll split the Verona couples up. Just don't put them anywhere near the Watogas."
Aaron winced. "We actually invited them to be in the same space together? We're going to have another Brussels mishap."
"We are not," Firebird said resolutely as she placed adhesive name cards in the appropriate spots on the map of her reception. "I have made it very clear that anyone that causes trouble at our wedding will soon become very friendly with the sharp end of my..."
Paul nudged Firebird and motioned to the doorway where Merit was standing frozen on the threshold. Firebird raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Merit?"
Merit cleared her throat and made the decision to just ignore everything she just heard. "Are you finished with the seating arrangements yet?"
"We're getting close," Aaron assured her.
"Good," she said then cleared her throat again. "I'll just bring you some more coffee and refreshments, yes?"
"That would be lovely," Firebird said. "Thank you."
"I like her," Merit heard Nicky Nails say as she scurried back to safety. "She's a smart one."
12. Between the sheets
"Merit!"
Merit hurried back to her office to where she'd left Firebird and Aaron for only a minute. Apparently something had happened though because she walked back in to mulish looks and stubborn stances. "Is something the matter?"
"We need your expert opinion," Firebird said. "Aaron wishes to go to some backwoods town in Japan for our honeymoon but I was under the impression that we would be touring romantic Italy. Which do you think would be better?"
"Kyoto is not a backwoods town, woman," Aaron grumbled.
Merit looked into the faces of two suspected murders and wondered not for the first time why she'd gotten into this mess. The money of course, and there was the inevitable skyrocket into fame she would enjoy if she pulled this wedding off. She reminded herself of these incentives and did what her mother always told her to do when faced with a stressful situation: act with poise and tell the truth.
"Perhaps," Merit said softly. "It would be more interesting for both of you if you spent the honeymoon in a place neither of you have visited before. After all, you can always visit your respective homelands after you're married."
Firebird and Aaron looked at each other thoughtfully. "What place would you suggest?" Firebird finally asked.
"I've heard wonderful things about the Turks and Caicos islands," Merit suggested, just because one of her other couples had sent her a postcard while they'd been honeymooning there.
They looked at each other again. "I'm game," Aaron said with a shrug. "Now what's it going to take to leave Paul in New Palermo?"
4. On the cheek
"Now about the rehearsal dinner," Merit said. "You're going to have a large number of out of town guests and it's not out of the ordinary to invite them to the dinner-"
"No. The rehearsal dinner will be Family only."
Merit could practically here the capitol 'F' on Family. "Will you need me there?" Merit asked hesitantly. Under normal circumstances there would be no question of her presence at the rehearsal dinner, but, as she was sometimes reminded, this wedding wasn't her normal gig.
Firebird shook her head. "Just organize everything and take the night off. And, Merit, no surprises. This will be the first time that many of my Family are meeting Aaron's Family. I don't want anything that would...interfere."
"Of course," Merit said. "Just give me a headcount and I'll handle it."
For some reason that made Firebird look at her oddly. She smiled a moment later. "Thank you, Merit."
6. Come a little bit closer
"Good, Merit's back," Nicky motioned to the chair next to his. "What in God's name is that in the bruschetta?"
Merit smiled. "Did you like it?"
"He loved it," Firebird said with a smirk into her wineglass. "Then someone told him it wasn't Italian bruschetta and now he's having an identity crisis."
"It's bruschetta," he complained. "How can you call it bruschetta if it's not Italian?"
"It still is a little bit Italian," Merit assured him.
"Told you," Paul said.
"What would you know about Italian food, Robinson?" Nicky groused back.
Merit jumped in before it had a chance to turn ugly. "The whole theme of the wedding is a union of Japanese and Italian culture. The menu you're tasting now is Japanese-Italian fusion."
"Well, I like what we've eaten so far," Aaron said.
Firebird made a noise of agreement then motioned to an empty seat around the table with a smile. "Sit with us, Merit. Eat. We'll keep the cursing to a minimum."
She hesitated a moment but the atmosphere was so comfortable and they were all looking at her so expectantly that she did as she was told. Aaron's older brother, Kai, passed her a glass of wine right away. "You don't curse?"
Merit shrugged. "My mother firmly believed that there was no reason to use strong language, and so far I haven't found one either."
"You're one of the Orchard Street Sheltons, right?" Nicky Nails asked around another bite of the dreaded bruschetta. "Who's your mama?"
"Genevieve Shelton, formerly Ellis."
Nicky laughed. "Your mama's Evie Ellis? Oh, that brings back memories."
"You know my mother?" Merit asked, surprised and a little pleased to know her mother had a bit of a sordid past.
"Knew. I haven't seen her since before we were both married. She was one of the sorority girls that would sneak out after curfew and dance the night away at our jazz clubs. Healthy-lookin' woman, your mother. And don't let her tell you differently; she could curse a blue streak back in those days," Nicky waggled his eyebrows at Firebird. "Your father had a bit of a thing for Ms. Evie for awhile, though she wouldn't give him the time of day."
"Daddy's favorite kind of woman," Firebird deadpanned. She passed a tray of food to Merit and explained sotto voce, "My mother wrapped my daddy tighter around her finger with every 'no' she uttered."
Merit laughed and popped an hors d'oeuvre in her mouth. She listened and occasionally joined in on the comfortable flow of conversation, food, and wine. Merit wouldn't go so far as to say the Blazes and Matsudas were good people, but they certainly did know how to have a fun dinner.
15. kiss & make up
"Tomorrow, if you'll meet me at the reception site, we'll finalize the order of the ceremony and reception. I've also arranged for three local jewelers to bring a selection of wedding bands for you to consider. Then after that both of you have your first fitting for your wedding clothes."
"Sounds good," Aaron said. "But cancel the ring show. I already picked them out."
That caught Firebird's attention. "What?"
Merit went very still as she heard bite in that one word. It was the tone she'd learned to stay far away from in her dealings with Firebird. Aaron didn't seem nearly as frightened as her though. He kept flipping through the florist's sample book. "I already picked out our wedding rings."
"Take them back."
"You don't trust me?" Aaron asked with a smile because he already knew the answer.
"Not an inch," Firebird snapped back. "If I'm really going to be wearing the same ring for the rest of my life then I want a say in what it looks like."
"But you like your engagement ring, don't you?"
Merit hid her smile behind her planner. Yes, Firebird liked her engagement ring a lot. The three and half karat cushion-cut diamond sitting on top a diamond encrusted platinum band was beautiful, expensive, and just this side of outrageous bragging. It fit Firebird to a T. Merit had assumed she'd picked it out herself since she had obviously planned every other aspect of her engagement, but it seemed that wasn't so.
Aaron took Firebird's silence as the answer it was. "You'll like this one just as much, promise."
"Let me see it and I'll decide for myself how much I like it," Firebird said.
"Not just yet," Aaron said happily. "Cancel the jeweler's, Merit."
11. Slip into something more comfortable
The key to working with Firebird Blaze was to always remain professional. Personal anecdotes or friendly advice were met with mildly impatient looks and a swift change of topic. Firebird didn't care about Merit Shelton as anything other than the wedding planner.
It sounded harsh, but Merit was coming to realize that having a clearly defined role in her employer's life made her job much easier. Firebird neither expected nor wanted Merit to entertain her or hold her hand through the planning process. She was demanding, yes, but she didn't spend forever make a choice and she didn't go back on a decision once made. Having dealt with flaky or insecure brides in the past, Merit had a special appreciation for Firebird's confidence.
And the best part of it all: Firebird didn't micromanage. Merit had been sure that the head of a mafia family had to be a Bridezilla but Firebird just didn't have the time for it. She gave Merit a list of tasks she expected done and any details that she expected included then set Merit loose. So long as Merit fulfilled Firebird's demands and kept her informed so she could use her veto power when needed, Firebird was happy letting Merit take care of everything without interference.
This wasn't an easy wedding to plan, the sheer size of the event ensured an almost circus-like quality to it, but Merit was surprised to find she was actually enjoying this.
Who would have thought?
2. hard to get
"I'm so so so sorry but it's my sister-in-law's niece's wedding! Of course I have to make her cake! She's, like, family!"
Merit rubbed that spot between her eyes that was tight with pain. This would be the last time that Merit used Gina as her go-to cake maker. They'd both started their businesses at the same time so it'd made sense for them to boost each other up, but in the past couple years they'd gone in very separate directions. Gina's bakery still catered to the friends of friends crowd while Merit was trying to make a real go at being a recognized professional. Pulling the Matsuda-Blaze wedding off would go a long way towards accomplishing that, if only her cake maker wasn't a total flake.
"That's fine, Gina, but you have to make my cakes first. You signed a contract. It's all been finalized."
"I would if I could but she's family, Merit! You know how it goes."
The stubborn finality in Gina's voice spoke doom for Merit. There was no way she could get a new cake maker this late in the game. It was Gina or nothing, and she knew exactly how pleased Firebird would be with a cake-less wedding. That was the line of reasoning that led Merit to her next words.
"You remember who you're making these wedding cakes for, right? They're a family too. The Blaze Mafia Family. It's Firebird Blaze's signature on that wedding contract you agreed to."
Gina made a desperate little noise over the phone line. "Well, I thought that if you explained..."
"Think about what you're saying. Do you really want me to explain to Firebird Blaze that there will be no cake at her wedding because Gina Moreau went back on her word? Everyone will know it was your fault that her wedding was a disaster. The whole mafia will know."
There was another whimper. "Oh god."
"I don't think even God could save you after I told her that," Merit said then winced. Her mother would be having a fit right now if she heard this. Of course, her mother also said 'needs must'. This was definitely a need that must be met.
"Okay! Don't tell her, Merit. Please!"
"You'll make the cakes?" Merit asked.
"Yes!"
"With your handmade sugar flowers? Don't skimp."
"No, I won't. I swear."
"Alright," Merit said, just as relieved as Gina to stop twisting the thumbscrews. It took another five minutes to reassure Gina that she was safe to sleep tonight before Merit could hang up the phone. She patted herself on the back for another crisis averted, and promised God she would go to confession as soon as she finished this job.
14. Notch on the bedpost
"The Langston Bed and Breakfast has the entire Sorgoni party, Senator Grey and his wife, Mr and Mrs. Miamoto, and the Thorogood brothers." Grace clutched the clipboard to her chest and gasped, "Ohmigod, Merit! The Thorogood brothers are hired killers."
Merit sorted the appropriate welcome bags into the box to be sent to the B&B. The guests would start arriving tomorrow for the wedding in two days which meant she needed to have everything place today. She gave Grace a distracted look. "What are you talking about?"
"I've been doing research," Grace said like that was a good thing. "George and Wade Thorogood have an Interpol file. They're believed to have killed at least three heads of state in South America!"
"Grace," Merit wrapped her hands around her assistant's shoulders. "I don't care if hired killers were invited to this wedding so long as they don't shoot anyone and stain the tablecloths. And that's all you're going to be concerned about too. Right?"
"That probably is the best way to stay under their radar," Grace admitted.
"Exactly. We're the wedding planners. 'Under the radar' is our middle name." She tapped the clipboard. "Now let's get to organizing."
7. in your arms
Merit knocked once before entering the bride's dressing room. Firebird had shooed out her bridesmaids a few minutes before and was the only one in the back room. She was fully dressed and looked ready to get married as she stood in front of the mirror with a blank face.
"The ceremony is ready to start when you are. Everything is on schedule and the church looks beautiful," Merit said. "Do you need anything?"
Firebird shook her head slowly, still without expression. Merit looked at her there, standing so still and calm by herself. She reached into her emergency bag and pulled out a small airline-sized bottle of wine. "Here."
Firebird gave her a real smile, not the knowing smirk that so often graced her lips. "Do I look like I need it?"
"No," Merit lied. "I just thought that considering the amount of alcohol that's going to be served today, no one would notice if you started early."
"True," Firebird said with a laugh. She knocked back the little bottle in a couple gulps. "I'm ready."
Merit led the way to the back of the church. She signaled Grace, who signaled the string quartet in the corner, and the event was finally ready to start. She made sure the wedding party was sent down the aisle at the right time, then finally the wedding march started and she sent Firebird with her grandfather down. Merit noted with satisfaction the happy murmur that went through the enormous crowd when they saw Firebird. She looked beautiful today in a dress made for a princess and the confidence of a queen.
When she'd made it down the aisle and the priest started talking, Merit slid into a seat at the back of the church. This was her secret pleasure: watching the culmination of all the sleepless nights and hectic planning. There were times when she was sure she had to be insane to willfully work in a field where neurotic, anal-retentive women were celebrated, but watching a wedding always restored her joy in her occupation.
This wedding was no exception. Merit watched happily as the couple said their vows and exchanged the rings Aaron had picked out. It was the first time Firebird was seeing them and, while Merit couldn't catch the finer details of her expression, she looked pleased.
The shocker came after the priest pronounced them man and wife and invited Aaron to kiss his new bride. Aaron wrapped his arms around Firebird then all of a sudden dipped her backwards and kissed her lavishly. A rumble of laughter and a few masculine hoots filled the church. He pulled back a moment later with a satisfied grin but didn't let her out of the dip until Firebird rolled her eyes and smiled back.
Merit was grinning as she slipped out of her seat and went back to work.
9. double entandre
"What are you doing?"
Merit flinched with pain as the guest in the seat nearest her suddenly reached out and wrapped his beefy hand around her wrist. She dropped her pen with a gasp. "Sir! Please!"
The middle-aged Italian, Alberto Crossini, glared at her planning book and squeezed her wrist tighter. "What were you just writing?"
Merit was desperately trying to find something to say to get out of this crisis when she found her wrist covered by another male hand. She looked up and found Firebird's cousin, Soul Wade, at her side.
"Merit is the wedding planner," he said calmly as he pried Crossini's fingers off her wrist. There was something frightening about Soul, though Merit couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly. She just knew she was very glad to see him now.
Crossini snatched his hand back and transferred his glare to the Blaze. "I don't like this fool woman nosing around my table with her notebook."
Soul drove the proverbial nail in Crossini's coffin with three simple words. "Firebird likes her."
Crossini made a few grumbling sounds but he glanced over to the head table and quieted down. Merit took over. "I'm so sorry for upsetting you. Here, your wine is running low. Let me bring you another bottle of champagne."
Merit grabbed the nearest waiter to pass on the order then turned to Soul. "Thank you."
Soul nodded. "You should stop writing things down in front of these people. They don't like evidence."
Merit blinked. "Uh...right. I'll remember that."
1. naughty but nice
It was closing in on one a.m. when Merit saw Aaron signaling her over. "Firebird's never going to leave this party if we don't make her," he grumbled.
They both looked over at the bride, who was busy chatting with a group of old important looking men. Merit could guess what was going on: Firebird had made it clear her wedding was as much about cementing business deals as it was getting married.
"Would you like me to start winding things down for the send off?" Merit asked.
"God yes," Aaron said. "She's not going to renege on her part of the deal."
"What deal is that?"
His grin was slow and just a little bit sadistic. "Firebird ran point on the wedding day. The wedding night is my turn."
8. tender loving care
Merit hadn't gone home until nearly dawn and she'd fallen into bed still in her party dress. In other words, the Matsuda-Blaze wedding had been an unqualified success.
It wasn't until she happened to go to her purse for her planner that she saw the nondescript envelope tucked into a side pocket. She opened it and pulled out an expensive but simple thank you note.
Merit was smiling as she opened the check tucked into the card.
"Holy shit!"