The Caterer

Chapter 13

A LICE LATCHED HER BIKE to the food truck the next morning, almost half an hour late. Valencia said good morning, washing what she’d used to slice and shred the meats.

“Do I want to ask what you did last night?” Val leaned against the back of the driver’s seat and crossed her arms. Was Alice that transparent? Slowly, she reached for the envelope out of her backpack. Seeing Val wouldn’t take it, Alice set it on the edge of the cutting area of the prep table.

“What if he’s right, Val?”

Valencia waited while she rambled on about all the questions and fears the article unearthed, before asking if Alice was done and reaching for the article, tearing it in half, and dumping the scraps into the trash. “They only have power over you if you let them.”

“It’s easy for you to say…”

“Easy? I work in the same industry you do. I left before Jonas came, but that man is a complete hack. Why do you care what he thinks? ”

“Because he’s the reason I can’t get things going.”

“Is he?” Valencia crossed her arms. “Or is he an excuse?” She talked over Alice’s objection. “Just like your ex. You let him define you, so you don’t have to try again. I was there this weekend, mi querida, that man is attracted to you.”

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t you agree he’s the one man I can’t date now?”

Valencia looked at her and put her hand on her hip. “So if it wasn’t for what happened with Tabby, you’d be interested?”

“Yes. Very. But it doesn’t matter, because what happened with Tabby happened.”

“I see how that man looks at you, Alice. Are you going to hide behind your sister like you hide behind Jonas?” Valencia smiled wide and leaned on the counter toward the open window and batted her eyes. “We really must stop meeting this way.”

Delany’s laugh filled the space, Alice content to hide out beside the grill.

“Lil.” Valencia tilted her head toward the window.

“You go,” Alice whispered. She mocked undoing the top buttons of her blouse and pushed her chest up. “When’s the last time you went on a date? One hot night before you go to Spain.”

“Mi querida, that tall drink is attractive, but does nothing for me.” She smiled at Delany and told him Alice was coming. “Do you know how far this is from his office?”

“Why is he here?”

Val scowled. “I’m not even going to answer that.”

“His best friend is Bobbie Dunn. Don’t forget what kind of man he is, Val.”

“Even you don’t believe that.” She shooed Alice out with her hands. Alice sighed and slipped out the back door. Delany waited in the shade of a nearby tree. Against widespread belief, she was not oblivious when it came to men. Delany had to be at least curious about her, but there was no way Alice could let something happen since he screwed her sister out of her dream.

“Who’s getting married now?” She slid her hands into her back pockets. Delany laughed.

“I was hoping maybe we could get drinks, talk about your catering company.”

“What about it?”

“I’d like to finance it, open my Rolodex and take Hasty Pudding from your food truck to the top catering company in D.C. We can build you a premiere kitchen…”

“I don’t need a premiere kitchen. I don’t need your dirty money either. I’m fine.” She turned to leave, Delany grabbing her arm.

“What happened with your sister was a misunderstanding. I never wanted it to go down like that. I was told she knew.” He waited. Alice looked at Valencia, who told her to let it go. “I just want to help.” His grip softened.

Alice sighed. In two weeks, the food truck would be gone. Then she had less than a month before Tabby got home, and in that time, she had seven gigs. If things went on at this rate, her catering company was over before it began. This was the opportunity she’d been praying for, but she could not take his money. After everything Tabby had done for her, this was not how Alice was going to repay her sister. She would find some other way to get her company off the ground.

“I can’t, Mr. Clare.” She walked past the food truck and toward the rows of shops across the way to buy herself a water, when she came back that man would be gone. Maybe now he’d get the hint and stop thinking his charity toward her made up for stealing her sister’s business.

#

BOBBIE LEANED INTO THE SHORT WALL of Katy’s cubicle outside of Delany’s office. Bulldog’s calendar was empty, so he should be there. If Bobbie’s office was closer, he could keep an eye on things, but he’d been relegated down the hall with the other executives. He wasn’t another exec. He was Delany’s best friend and right hand. Since he cleared out the previous COO two years before, he’d run Macon with an iron fist. No one bothered Delany without his okay. The plan was for Delany to retire and go to work with his ridiculous charity while Bobbie ran Macon. Only something changed and Delany announced he would be in the office full-time. Katy started working there, people coming to her instead of him, and he became just another exec, getting left out of meetings, not being asked about decisions.

“Can I help you, Mr. Dunn?” Katy didn’t look up from her computer.

“Do you know where Bulldog is?”

“Mr. Clare had some errands to run. I didn’t ask for details.”

“Isn’t it your job to know where he is?” Bobbie eyed her and snorted.

Katy sighed and glanced at him, her green eyes impatient. But they usually were when she looked at him. “He told me he would be back by two. I don’t have to keep tabs on Mr. Clare anymore.” She went back to work, brushing him off.

“You realize you work for me, right?”

Katy caught the laugh a bit too late, trying to play it off by clearing her throat. “I work for Mr. Clare.”

“As CIO, you work for me. I’m the silent leadership of this organization. Delany hired me to oversee things.”

She stood and reached for one of her business cards on the front of her cubicle and read it before turning it to him.

“Until this says Executive Assistant to the CIO, I answer to Delany, not you.” She sat again and went back to work. “I can tell him you stopped by.”

He’d hate her if he could muster the energy. Why Bulldog kept this pipsqueak he’d never know. She had been a mild nuisance as his personal assistant, now she was a pain in the ass. If she just got how things worked, they could both spare the other a lot of frustration. Nothing he tried worked on her—flattery, intimidation. It often felt like she looked through him, Bobbie unsure what her issue was.

“The chick you got to cook for the company event…”

“You mean the woman whose company catered our event.”

“Whatever. Do you know how she ended up at Olive’s wedding?” He put one hand on his hip. Katy stopped working and looked up at him.

“Delany told Olive he thought the other caterer they hired was boring compared to what Alice could do. Did you like the food?”

Bobbie flexed his jaw. Yeah, he did. The dirty rice rivaled his mother’s, and no one made dirty rice as good as his mother. The fact they added in shrimp and pulled pork made his mouth water just thinking about it.

“She’s Tabby Black’s sister, right?”

Katy drew in a deep breath. Bobbie was bothering her—good. She thought could blow him off; he might just stay there until Delany got back.

“Your new girlfriend would be the better person to ask. Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

Bobbie thought about staying, but instead, stepped back and bowed. Katy rolled her eyes and reached for her earphones. Bobbie walked back toward his office. He knew the caterer was related to Tabby. Carrie found him the night of the office party all upset because Tabby’s sister was there and had been rude to her. He offered to take care of it, but Carrie told him not to. Then they were at Olive’s wedding and Carrie gasped out of nowhere.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, not caring.

“Alice is here.” She pointed at the woman refilling the buffet bar. She was younger with a fuller form, shorter hair. That was the dowdy fraud’s sister? Carrie told him Alice used to work at Marigolds before some hack took it over. Bobbie didn’t bother telling her he loved Jonas’ food and would have recommended him for the wedding if Bulldog told him something went awry with the original caterer. He watched her and her coworker refill the buffet line. Anytime he glanced at Delany, his gaze was on the caterer.

Something about the way Delany looked at her told Bobbie he was interested. Bobbie could list all the women Delany had dated, starting with that ungrateful gold digger Nadia. Outside of her, Delany tended to go for plain women, looking through the supermodels and drop-dead gorgeous women who flirted with him. Bobbie had no idea why Bulldog would be attracted to someone who had no idea how to make herself attractive. If Tabby was dowdy, her sister was boring. They were six years apart, if he heard Carrie right. He asked Jonas about her, who laughed and said he fired her because she had no talent and could not take basic feedback. Just like the dowdy mess.

Delany had offhandedly mentioned the caterer in a half a dozen meetings for people to use for their events. If he got close to Alice and figured out that Bobbie lied and intimated his way into the deal, he might be toast. Best to find a way to nip Delany’s crush in the bud.

#

ALICE WENT TO SEE CARVER after work. With a line almost to the door, she found a table and sat with her back to the front windows. The front door opened to a series of café tables, faux hardwood floors leading to a big island in the center of the space with two larger, oval pendant lights above it. A pastry case on either side displayed the day’s offerings. Behind the island was a full coffee bar, mugs and plates resting on open shelving to the right. The other side held the double doors to the kitchen and office. With white shiplap walls and lots of natural light, the entire thing felt like an open concept kitchen.

Carver walked by and left the paper on her table, along with an iced coffee. On the page was a photo of the wedding from the weekend. The article talked about Hasty Pudding and how Delany Clare called it the best food he’d ever eaten. She looked up, Carver sitting there.

“Nice press. How was it?”

She set the paper down. Before Jonas’ appearance, she would have gushed about the event. Now she didn’t know how to feel. “Lovely house on the Bay. A hundred people. Nothing too exciting.” She sat back. “Delany Clare offered to finance the company.”

“How much did you ask for?” His black eyes went wide.

“Nothing. I am not taking Delany Clare’s money. I won’t be his absolution.”

Carver’s breath came out in a short huff.

“Did you snort some of Val’s hot peppers? Our little venture is in the red. We need the money—not to mention Clare’s connections. I get family loyalty, but this could be our chance!”

“You don’t need the chance, Carver. You’re already a baker to watch. Your waiting list for cakes is a yearlong. What do you get…”

“I love my wedding gigs. They made my name and sustain this place. But I want to have fun, Alice. I want to be creative and do more.” He leaned into the table. “Do you remember what you told me when we talked about this? Do you remember how you set this up?”

“Let’s have fun with food.”

“Fun with food—get away from the cliche and overdone. The Macon event, what we did, that’s what I want more of. You’re the chef, I’m the baker. We are in this together.” He drew in a deliberate breath, fisting and unfisting his hands. Alice never remembered seeing him so riled up. “You’re not some lost puppy to me, Lil. I’m not here out of pity. What happened to that woman they wrote about in The Washingtonian ? Where is the culinary genius who is going to revamp the food industry in this town? That chef—oooh, I miss that chef. She wouldn’t be hiding out, feeling sorry for herself, waiting for an opportunity, while not realizing they are all around her! I am sorry your sister got her company taken away. It is unfortunate. But stop wallowing on her behalf. Get beyond who this is and see what he’s offering you.” He walked into the kitchen. Alice closed her eyes, wishing Carver would try to see things from her point of view.