houseofcards_rp | [OTA] Parties are a Diamond's Best Friend

Without a doubt, late autumn and winter are prime season for Diamond events. Getting married? You're both Diamonds? It's entirely likely that about five minutes after the proposal, the bride decided a winter wedding would be just fantastic - with all the blue and the white and the crystal. Which, of course, leads to the anniversary parties being the same time of year. The Diamonds also have their fair share of autumn and winter babies, which means that whenever someone turns fifteen and formally enters the Suit - and happens to be from one of those families - a debut simply must be thrown, with all the decorations, guest lists, catering, floral arrangements and et cetera to arrange and coordinate. There's also the holidays. There may not be that many extremely religious Deckbabies, but no one doesn't like holiday parties, whether it's for Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Diwali, or just the Winter Solstice: this is the time of year when everyone comes to the event planning department at Diamond Castle and tells Katriane Berthier and her boss, Valentina Frost, that they have this fabulous idea for just a tiny little soiree, and have they got just a little bit of time?

All that aside, winter is also the time when the Suit invites all of the Deck to Diamond Castle to ~~show off~~ celebrate the season with them, and for some utterly inexplicable reason, Valentina's washed her hands of the whole thing this time around and Silas has decided that organizing it by herself would be good for Kat.

And now it's October. In the past, it's been one of Kat's favorite months - when she goes outside to appreciate the changing leaves, come up with ideas for little (unimportant) parties, organizes them all and still has time for things like dating. But this year? Oh no. This year, Kat is closed up in her office. There's a pile of catalogs on her desk, and she's replying to a nervous Diamond bride who decided to get married Christmas Eve and now is thinking that with everything else, no one will come to her elegant red-and-crystal wedding.

Someone should definitely interrupt the therapy/event planning and make Kat eat a sandwich before the catalogs start looking like a pillow.

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"Of course, Your Majesty." The desk is a mess - after Sasha's little email panic attack, there was a last minute autumnal dinner party that cropped up for one of the old Town families - but Kat slips the guest list a menu wish list into a drawer and looks at the King expectantly.

On a less harried day she'd recognize the tulip as a bad sign, but right now she just opens a drawer to pull out the Feast plans. "Did you want to discuss the winter event, my lord?" They aren't very far along yet - the department's already overloaded - but at least she managed a skeleton while she was up at night worrying about one sister or another.

He shakes his head, waving off the plans. "That can be discussed...later. I actually have another request for you, and I apologize sincerely for delaying as long as I have, but we...need another event. This Saturday." He pauses to wince a little. "For approximately five hundred people, possibly more. It's a memorial service for Isaac."

Five hundred...no. He's misspoken, surely. Except from that sheepish look on his face, he hasn't, and Kat swallows.

And begins counting in her head. When she gets to thirty, she manages to draw a calming breath. "Where do you want to hold it, Your Majesty? There are limited venues within the Castle that will hold that many people, and outdoor events are chancey in autumn."

Later, she thinks. Later there will be darts. And a photograph. So many darts and one photograph.

After a moment's pause, Silas looks away. Yes, he regrets dumping this on her at the last minute, but surely she understands. Surely she can, in time, forgive him for this, as she'll forgive him for putting the Diamond Winter Event in her hands when it goes as well as he knows it will.

"Our largest ballroom should be sufficient, don't you think?"

It doesn't really matter if he regrets it; she's still not going to be sleeping much - if at all - between now and then. But snapping at him will do nothing, neither will ranting, though it's likely that she'll be doing some of that with her friends tonight when they finally manage to drag her away from her desk later today.

She does, however, heave a sigh and shoot off an email to reserve the ballroom. "If you have any preferences regarding decor or menu, my lord, you should let us know now. I can't guarantee that they'll be fulfilled with only three and a half days to accomplish this, but we'll certainly do our best."

He shakes his head, offering the tiniest of smiles, both hopeful and apologetic still. "Neither bear any specifications. I trust you, and I trust the staff to do the best that can be done with what is available." He hesitates, just a moment, before looking at her again. "Thank you for accepting this, Katriane. I know this is a busy season for you, and I would understand if you had refused."

But he's grateful that she didn't. That she's shouldering this for him, for the family, for the Suit. Isaac touched so many lives, and it's only fitting that his memorial service be open to all of those lives.

That, at least, was a relief. Kat merely gave Silas a brief smile. He hadn't been King long, she thought; he didn't understand, she didn't think, that she can't say no to him. He's King. She's a Six. This is work-related.

She has to make it happen. There's no saying no. "I'm sure I'll fit it in." Somehow. "Do you want to have your office issue the announcement, or should I notify the PR department?"

He tipped his head in consideration before shrugging. "May as well send it out both ways. PR for the other Suits, HR for ours." That sounded feasible, right? Less than ridiculous?

Actually no, this whole thing was ridiculous.

She'd meant the Office of the King of Diamonds, not human resources, but Kat just nods calmly. Any growing panic is carefully hidden under a Diamond mask. "I'll see it done, Your Majesty."

The last thing Silas wants is for attendance to seem mandatory, and that's exactly how it would seem coming from the Office of the King of Diamonds. Coming from human resources, it's a matter of information and invitation; coming from Silas Taccetta, it's a personal request. "Thank you, Katriane. I apologize for the short notice, again, but I'm sure you can manage."

Coming from human resources, it's impersonal. And a memorial is a very personal thing. But she's tired, she's swamped, she will be short on sleep until January with the workload that's been piled on her desk for the next three months. So she doesn't bother wasting her time arguing with him, just flicks him a sharp look.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence," she says sweetly. "Yes, we will manage. I'll let you know if there are any difficulties, my lord."

He gives her a Look for the tone, but hardly more than that; it's justified, after all, so he won't pay it too much mind. Instead, he tucks his hands into his pockets and makes his way back to the door. "I'll wait anxiously by the phone, should any such difficulty arise. Take your lunch break, Miss Berthier. You're late and haven't taken it yet." That last bit isn't a request. "Good afternoon." And then he's gone.

[OTA] Parties are a Diamond's Best Friend

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