Ashley Crane Cozy Mystery Collection

by Laurie Anne Marie

“Laughlin, don’t bug me anymore. You’ve been acting like a nervous Nellie for months now. Just keep your eye on the ball and do your job,” Hartman shot back.

  “I am doing my job!” Mark Laughlin retorted. “I’ve been doing a great job for twenty years here, and it’s time you gave me credit for it.”

  “The fact you’re still here should be credit enough for you. I don’t like crybabies, and that’s what you’re acting like. Stop it now or you can walk out the door.”

  “What, and you’ll make Holly the general manager in those high heels?” Laughlin sneered.

  “I’ll make somebody general manager if you’re not up to it,” Hartman threatened.

  There was an awkward silence.

  Just then, Holly cleared her throat.

  Ashley turned around as Holly glared at her.

  “Are you ready to see the party area or are you just going to stare at and listen to things that aren’t your business?”

  Ashley gave Holly a surprised look.

  “You’d have to be deaf not to hear that. I’m ready to see everything.”

  Holly showed her the large room. It was full of couches and end tables on one side, and the other side was bare where the food tables would be set up. The windows in the room were floor to ceiling so it had plenty of light and there were two doors on the other end that opened and emptied out into a patio. The patio area had large planters on the side and a curtain of trees around it that were very pretty.

  “Great, this space is very nice. I’m just going to take some measurements for the tables and equipment, and I’ll get out of your hair,” Ashley said.

  “You’re not in my hair,” Holly glared. “No one gets in my hair.”

  “Just an expression,” Ashley said.

  What a piece of work Holly was.

  ***

  Ashley finished taking the measurements and followed Holly back down the long hallway. As she passed Mark Laughlin’s office, she could see him looking flustered and heard him barking orders to a “Noel” into the phone. Nothing like passing down your frustrations to other employees.

  “Listen, Noel, don’t quote me last month’s numbers. Get this month’s numbers even higher. No excuses!” Mark yelled.

  As she rounded the corner into the auto dealership lobby, Ashley saw a skinny, pale-faced man with glasses hurrying across the floor looking very sweaty and agitated. He mumbled a “hello” to Holly as he dashed by.

  “Who’s that?” Ashley asked.

  “That’s Noel White, our top salesperson,” Holly answered.

  “He sure looks like he’s having a bad day,” Ashley commented. And she knew why after hearing the call from Laughlin yelling at him.

  “He’s always having a bad day, even though he sells the most cars. He’s all a big show upfront to the customers but has no real confidence inside,” Holly said, disdainfully.

  “He’s obviously doing a good job if he’s the top salesman,” Ashley said. “Maybe he’s just sensitive.”

  “Gutless is more like it,” Holly smirked.

  Ashley gave her a quick look. Holly’s attitude up to this point had been getting more unpleasant each moment, but that remark really pointed to her character. Holly seemed to be cold and calculating, and Ashley wanted as little to do with her as possible. She was grateful for the catering job, but the hairs on the back of her neck had risen, and she had a pit in her stomach. The people working here were something else. She felt there was even more than meets the eye with what was going on.

  “Will that be all then?” Ashley asked when they got back to Holly’s office.

  Holly barely glanced up from her desk.

  “Yes, that’s all. Call me if you have any questions. See you Friday.”

  “Thank you,” Ashley said, as she waved and walked out. Holly was busy texting.

  Ashley sighed as she walked to her car. Time to head for Sean’s bakery, Babycakes, and have some coffee and a pastry. And a welcoming chat with someone who cared about her.

  “Wow, would I hate to work here,” she thought to herself.

  ***

  Just then, she heard a full blown argument going on in the parking lot off to the side of the dealership. It was Bob Hartman again, this time berating a woman who stood near the back, crying. Ashley crouched down and quietly opened up the door to her car and slid in. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

  As she backed her car out and started to drive to the exit, she heard Hartman yell at the woman.

  “I want a divorce. I’m sick and tired of this marriage. Whiners and crybabies at work and you coming around here nearly every day whining and crying too. What do you want from me? Everyone wants a piece of me!” Bob yelled.

  He then stormed back into the dealership.

  As Ashley got on the road, she took a last look at Hartman’s wife in her rearview mirror. She was still standing there wiping her eyes. She couldn’t see much of her as she had a hat pulled down over her head and was hunched over. Poor woman. They had probably been in love once, and now here they were, full of bitterness.

  Ashley immediately thought of her parents. They argued of course and had their ups and down’s, but there was never that level of disdain and disgust.

  Then, she thought of Sean. She could never imagine him talking to her like that.

  Ashley couldn’t wait to see him and sit for a while. She decided then and there to ask him to help her at this job. Another friendly face and helping hand would definitely calm her.

  She drove straight to Babycakes and hurried in. The bakery smelled wonderful.

  ***

  “Ashley!” Sean said.

  “Oh wow. I need coffee, food, and you,” she blurted out.

  He smiled shyly. “You need me?”

  She saw his sweet face light up as he looked at her.

  “Yes sir, I certainly do.”

  “But just for my baking skills right?”

  She laughed. “That doesn’t hurt.”

  “Here’s your coffee. Italian roast today. And, ta da, a fresh cannoli.”

  Sean stepped back and grinned.

  Ashley bit into the cannoli. It was perfect. A crackly shell and sweet fresh cream center. There were a few pistachios on one end, and chocolate and fine orange peel dusted on the other. With the sips of strong coffee, it was heaven.

  “Well?” Sean asked.

  “I’m too stunned to speak. This is the best cannoli I’ve ever had.”

  “You say that to all the bakers who give you free desserts,” he replied.

  “The free part is a bonus, but there are no other bakers like you. Tasting this, I could swear that you’re Italian, and I’m in a little plaza in Italy right now.”

  “That’s what I’m going for. Happy to please.”

  Ashley smiled back at him. “I’ve decided to accept your offer to help with my catering job.”

  “Oh yeah? What made you change your mind?” Sean wondered.

  “I think your desserts would be better than mine,” she said.

  “Now you’re getting into deep territory,” Sean smiled.

  “I had my meeting there this morning to go over everything for the party. The people that work there are really aggressive. Mean even. The nicer people I surround myself with while I’m working, the smoother it will go.”

  “You mean you need a firewall?” Sean said.

  “Yeah, I guess that’s the way to put it,” Ashley said. “So is that a yes?”

  “Yep, provided you cook me dinner. And I get to pick what I want,” Sean teased.

  “Uh, ok. A six-course meal or something?”

  “Nope, your cassoulet. With a great baguette. And a nice bottle of red.”

  “That’s too simple,” she smiled.

  “Hey, I’m a simple guy. I love stews.”

  “Deal.”

  He smiled. “Ok, we’re on.”

  “Great. I feel relieved. Thanks for the treats. See you,” she said.

  ***

&
nbsp; Ashley left with a jumble of feelings. First, the awkward catering meeting at the dealership with everyone obviously out to get everyone else, then her relief and happiness at seeing Sean. She couldn’t wait to get home to Charlie and Chloe.

  “Instead of talking to Lara about the meeting, I’ll invite her to dinner. I need company,” she mused.

  That thought made her feel better instantly. And when she walked through her apartment door, there were two very happy cats meowing, ‘where have you been?” and ‘we’re hungry” as loud as they could.

  She hugged them both. Charlie gave her a look as if to say, ‘don’t forget my walk after dinner,’ and then gobbled up his food.

  ***

  Ashley called Lara. Her good friend agreed to come over and bring dinner. That meant she didn’t have to prepare anything for a change. As much she loved to cook, it was lovely to be fed by someone else. When Lara walked in with a delicious lasagna and salad and garlic bread, all Ashley had to do was pop the cork on a good bottle of red wine.

  They ate a few moments in silence, and then Ashley spoke up.

  “Wow, this is great. I had no idea you could make a lasagna like this, “Ashley said, admiringly.

  Lara laughed. “I didn’t make a thing. I picked it all up hot and ready at the market and came here. Although I did toss the salad.”

  “This is seriously fantastic takeout.”

  They both laughed and talked for a while about the catering job. Ashley let her friend know that they were being thrown into a fiery pit of strong personalities at the dealership, but her friend didn’t seem worried.

  Lara smiled. “Hey, we’ll just feed them well, then leave. Everything else isn’t our problem. See you tomorrow.”

  By the time Lara left, Ashley was back in good spirits and slept like a rock that night, two purring cats by her side.

  Chapter Five

  ***

  When Lara and Will arrived the next afternoon, they loaded up Lara’s van and headed out to Hartman’s. It was quite a drive to get there. Plus there was so much set up to do. Will had worked hard to pack everything and chatted away in excitement.

  Will was tall like Lara but gangly around the edges. He had long thick brown hair that he had tied back into a neat ponytail for tonight. He was essentially a sweetheart of a guy, but he had a few rough teenage years where he had gotten into trouble from time to time. He was back on track and in community college, but every now and then he seemed a little immature. Ashley was still a little nervous about how he would perform tonight. She hoped that he wouldn’t veer off course in any way.

  “This is going to be so cool, Ash. I wonder if old man Hartman will give me a discount on a car after I make him a few killer cocktails tonight,” Will gushed.

  Lara nudged Ashley in silent understanding. All would be fine. At least that’s what Ashley kept trying to tell herself.

  ***

  The minute they arrived, they pulled the van up to the back and starting unloading. Ashley set the prepped boxes of food in the company frig and fired up the oven.

  Will unloaded the van super-fast as he wanted to head to the showroom and check out the cars for a bit.

  “Ok, you’ve got fifteen minutes, and then I want to see you back here,” Lara told him.

  “Fifteen min…?” he started to say.

  “Fifteen minutes,” Lara repeated, firmly.

  Will took off to the showroom. The girls both laughed.

  “Ok, you start with the crab stuffed endive and salmon toasts. I’ll get the cheese and onion phyllo tarts and beef roulades in the oven,” Ashley said.

  They worked in sync and just around the fifteen-minute mark, Will came back with a big grin on his face.

  “I just met the hottest woman!” he blurted out. “I think she likes me too.”

  Ashley groaned. Oh no. Trouble already.

  Just then, Holly came around the corner. She looked flustered and angry.

  “Excuse me, can you please tell me why one of your workers is flirting with me? I didn’t ask you to come here and bring sexual harassment with you! You’re supposed to cater this event, nothing else!” Holly said. She glared at Ashley.

  “Excuse me, but I don’t know what just went on,” Ashley replied, in the calmest voice ever.

  “Him! He just went on! Tell him to turn it off!” Holly fumed.

  Lara quickly stepped in to do damage control.

  “I’m sorry, he’s my enthusiastic little brother. I’ll talk to him; I’m sure he was just taken with how pretty you are.”

  The minute Lara said the word ‘pretty’ in a soothing voice, Holly calmed down. She actually started to preen and gave them a sly smile.

  “Ok then, thanks for taking care of it.” Holly pirouetted on her stilettos and gave Will a flirtatious smile. “I’m a little out of your league, don’t you think?” Holly then gave Will a long, slow wink.

  After that, Holly left the room with her heels click-clicking down the slick hallway.

  Ashley let out a sigh of relief.

  “See that? See how she was looking at me and flirting with me? What am I supposed to do?” Will sputtered.

  “Just stay away from her Will,” Lara said. “She looks like trouble.”

  “You got that right,” Ashley said.

  “She’s so mean,” Will said. He looked crestfallen.

  Lara looked sympathetically at her brother. “Hey, it’s okay. Just forget it.”

  “I’m going to set up the bar,” Will muttered, and got to work.

  Ashley and Lara rolled their eyeballs at one another. As soon as the cocktail party got going, Will would be too busy to get into trouble. At least Ashley hoped so.

  ***

  Sean arrived just before three and unloaded his desserts from his car. They were the cannolis Ashley loved, only in small party size. He’d also brought small butter cookies with raspberry jam imprints that were half-dipped in smooth, dark chocolate.

  “Ooooo Sean, these are going to blow them away,” Ashley said.

  “Just a few things to hopefully make everyone happy,” he replied.

  Ashley grabbed a cookie and savored the buttery taste.

  “Are you kidding, they’ll come storming into your bakery after tasting these tonight!”

  Sean looked around. “Hey, nice set up for a party. Put me to work.”

  They all moved quickly and efficiently getting the room ready for the cocktail party. The food looked glorious on silver platters, and Will had the glasses gleaming as he set up the bar. Lara went around the room and put fresh sprigs of flowers in small bud vases on all the cocktail tables, then set up a few flower designs on the side tables and at different spots in the patio. She finished by putting lanterns outside and little candles everywhere.

  “That’s enough candles to burn down the place,” Will commented.

  “Can’t burn anything,” Lara said. “They run on batteries. Look, you flip a switch, and it glows like a candle.”

  “Cool,” Will said. “I’ll get those for my next party before one of my pyromaniac friend’s sets fire to our place.”

  “I think you need to get new friends,” Sean teased.

  “Dude, it's community college. The pickings are slim,” Will said.

  ***

  Just then, Holly burst into the room again. She wobbled a bit on her stilettos, then adjusted her cleavage on her too short, too tight dress. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the room.

  “Wow, this place looks great. Who would’ve thought?” Holly said.

  Ashley ignored the left-handed compliment.

  “Thanks,” she smiled brightly and extended her arms to include everyone. “It’s great teamwork.”

  “Well then, will you be ready to go at five?” Holly asked.

  “We sure will be,” Ashley said.

  Sean gave Holly a bemused look.

  “Hi, I’m Sean. Nice to meet you--”

  “Holly,” she said. “Are you a cook too?”

  “I’m a
baker,” he said. “I made the sweets for tonight.”

  “They look fabulous,” Holly replied, glancing at a silver tray with cannoli’s on them.

  Sean offered her the tray. “Would you like to try one, before the crowd comes in?”

  “Oh pooh, I shouldn’t have sugar,” she pouted.

  “Not even just one? It’s not going to kill you,” Sean said.

  Holly tentatively reached for one cannoli. She put it in her mouth, and her eyes closed as she slowly chewed.

  “Oh wow, that’s so delicious. Oh wow,” she moaned.

  Sean’s eyes lit up. He baked to make people happy.

  Holly quickly stopped. “I can’t eat anymore. I don’t want to wind up with extra pounds on me like bakers have.”

  Sean’s eyes immediately went dark. Her remarks took him back to high school when they used to make fun of his round build.

  Holly went into damage control mode. “Oh, I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I mean, you bake, you have to taste everything, so it’s only normal you’d be a little pudgy. I mean it’s cute though, you know?”

  Sean was still visibly hurt.

  Holly was completely flustered. “I have to get back to the lobby. The guests will be coming in any minute. See you soon. “

  Holly would’ve run out the door if she could, but that wasn’t possible in those heels. She staggered off instead.

  “Hey Sean, don’t worry about it. She’s not very nice,” Will said.

  Sean flashed Will a smile. “Hey, thanks man. It’s okay. Nervous and high-strung types don’t bother me.”

  Sean gave Ashley a wide grin. Ashley smiled back tenderly. What would “hopped up Holly” know anyway?

  ***

  Just then, a couple came around the corner. They smiled at everyone, then immediately went to the bar. Will asked them what they would like to drink.