“I’ll get right to the point, Alec, I want you to hire my catering business for the Krewe’s party. You owe it to me.”
Alec sat stunned for a minute as he looked at the blonde haired viper before him. Was she kidding? He didn’t owe her anything. In fact, if anything, she owed him after ruining several friendships and spending his money without a second thought.
“You’ll get your chance to net the contract just like everyone else.”
Lila smiled. “Oh, I don’t think so, Alec.”
He wasn’t in the mood for a temper tantrum he knew would be coming once she realized he wasn’t going to budge. At this rate, he was tempted to deny her the contract outright without giving her a chance at all. But he was going to take the high road and give her a chance. Just like everyone else.
He checked the wall clock behind Lila and noted one of his tasting appointments would be arriving.
“You’ll have to excuse me. I have a meeting I need to get to.”
Alec’s business partner and best friend, Seth Harrison, walked in just then. He took one look and offered a smile. “Well, well, well. Hello, Lila.” He walked over and kissed her check. “And how many small children or old people have you rundown today?”
“Funny as always, Seth.”
Seth turned to Alec, “I’ve been told our potential client is here for the meeting.”
“That’s fine. Lila was just leaving. Weren’t you?”
“No. No, I wasn’t.”
“Yes, Lila, you were. We can talk later when I’m not busy.”
Fatigue pulled on Alec. He wasn’t interested in getting into it with Lila now, especially with Seth as a witness, or ever. His friend knew better than anyone how much hurt and embarrassment Lila had caused with her perpetual, not to mention childish, temper tantrums.
“I’ll see you to the elevator, Lila.” Alec pushed away from the desk and moved toward Lila who backed toward the double office doors.
“I’m not leaving until I have your word you’re going to hire my services for the Krewe party. It was promised to me and I mean to make sure I have that commission.”
“I never promised you anything and you know that. I said you could participate in submitting a sample for us to taste, just like all the other bakeries are. If you’re not interested in that then I’m sorry.”
Alec gently grasped Lila’s arm to escort her to the door, wanting to end this interaction before she was able to let loose with her famous temper.
Just as Alec reached for the door handle, Lila in tow, the door flew open. A petite rain-soaked dark-haired beauty fell into his arms. She tried regaining her balance, but her brown bakery box flew into the air. He watched, as if in slow motion, as the box flew up, opened mid-air and cupcakes went flying.
CHAPTER 3
“Ohmigod!” Heather ran over to the stunning woman who was now covered in bits of cupcake and icing.
“You idiot!”
“I’m so sorry. Here, let me help.” Heather looked around for a towel, a rag, a spare anything to help mop the sugary mess off what she knew was a cream-colored Chanel blouse.
“Did you just learn to walk and carry things?” The icy blonde beauty snapped as she flung purple, green and gold buttercream icing onto the carpet.
“Come on, Lila, it was an accident.”
Heather stopped in her tracks at the deep masculine voice coming from beside her. She’d been too stunned at seeing Alec’s gorgeous self she was momentarily speechless. The years had been kind to him and she was shocked by the zing of attraction that coursed through her which resulted in her current predicament.
“No, this is my fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” she finally said.
“Damn straight it’s your fault, and be prepared to receive a dry cleaning bill.”
“Yes, of course.” Humiliation burn Heather’s face and she knew her bid for the cupcake contract was officially over. Who would award such a lucrative and high profile contract to a klutz? The Krewe of Bacchus was the most important Mardi Gras Krewe and the one most sought out by those who wanted to join. They had a reputation to protect and right now, without a doubt, she would not be a positive addition to their party.
“Come on, Lila, you can use my private bathroom to clean up,” said Seth.
Surprised by the other voice, Heather spun around, slipped, and would have landed unceremoniously on her backside had strong arms not wrapped around her middle and pulled her up against a very warm, very hard, very masculine chest.
“Take it easy. Seth has everything under control,” Alec whispered in a teasing tone against her ear. “I promise Lila’s bark is worse than her bite.”
The rough southern accent sent chills up Heather’s spine. Great, just great. She’d come to impress but made a huge mess instead. On top of that, her heart raced and her knees wobbled. She prided herself on being professional at all times, but so far she was zero for three.
“I’m not going anywhere until I get this,” Lila waved her manicured hand up and down, indicating Heather, “fool’s name and address.”
“Lila, it was an accident. Go with Seth,” Alec said as he helped steady Heather on her feet.
Heather wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. When she finally got her balance she glanced up at Seth. He was muscular, and when he smiled, he had dimples in his left cheek. He was incredibly good looking, in a golden California boy kinda way, and yet, she wasn’t attracted to him at all.
Then she finally looked up at Alec, and into the same eyes she remembered from so long ago. He was still as good-looking as she remembered. If anything, he was more so now in his maturity.
This was a meeting of the beautiful people and she had clearly crashed the party. She didn’t need to look in the mirror to know she was way out of her league here . . . looks wise, Armani wise, or Chanel wise either. Even with icing marring Lila’s outfit, she still looked more put together than Heather ever felt on her best day.
“Don’t you dare talk to me in that tone, Alec.”
“Clench it, Lila. I’m not going to put up with this. Now, go with Seth.”
Heather held her breath as she looked between Alec and the ice princess. Seth seemed totally amused by the situation, if his grin was any indication. Really, did he not sense how dangerous the situation had become? Heather didn’t know the woman but was savvy enough to know she was on the razor edge of crazy, if bulging eyes, unflattering shade of red on her cheeks, and rapid breathing was any indication. Heather really wanted to extricate herself from Alec’s hold and find cover. Things were going from bad to worse and she really just wanted to leave.
“Come on,” Seth said as he guided Lila over to the office doors. “I’ll make sure you get the number.” He offered Heather a wink and gave a slight shake of his head indicating he wouldn’t give the crazy-mad lady any numbers.
Somehow, Seth managed to get Lila out of the office and for the first time since stepping over the threshold, Heather let herself take a deep breath. She really hated confrontation and was glad she no longer had to face Lila.
“I’m so sorry.” Heather pulled herself out of Alec’s arms “I’ll just clean up this mess and get out of your way.”
The floor was littered with cake and icing, as was her future, and she found herself wanting to scream with frustration. Really? Was it so much to ask to net a profitable contract, one that would give her the street cred needed, something to help keep her in the black? Well, obviously it was and she needed to get back to her bakery to regroup and figure out what she was going to do from here. She could always contact hotel restaurants to see if she could include her cupcakes on their menus. There were plenty of things she could do. She wasn’t out of the game . . . yet. But if she didn’t get her act together soon…
“No, let the janitor clean this up.” Alec placed a gentle hand on her upper arm. “I’m interested in talking about your cupcakes.”
Heather stepped over a Pecan Praline cupcake and allowed hers
elf to be led over to a comfortable burgundy leather chair in front of his desk.
“Can I get you anything?”
Heather looked down at her sticky hands. “I’d love to wash my hands.”
Alec pointed behind her. “The bathroom is through that door.”
Once inside, she leaned against the door, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. That proved to be a huge mistake. Alec’s spicy cologne lingered in the air—masculine yet subtle. She was surprised to realize his scent alone made her legs shake.
“You’re not here to develop a relationship beyond getting him to say yes to the cupcake. This isn’t high school. That dream ended a long time ago. Get it together,” she muttered to herself as she pushed away from the door and went to the sink. She glanced up and caught a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped what she was doing. “Oh. My. God,” she groaned. She looked like a drowned raccoon complete with dark rings around her eyes. If tossing cupcakes all over his corporate office wasn’t enough, showing up looking less than a professional baker was the final nail in her professional coffin.
With quick, efficient movements, she washed her hands and did the best she could to clean the make-up stains from under her eyes. Then she swept her dark hair up into a high ponytail using a hair band she found in her pocket, something she probably should have done before heading out earlier, and studied the results in the mirror. Well, now that she had cleaned herself up, all she needed to do was get out of the office before she didn’t something more embarrassing, which, if she were honest, would be difficult to do. Oh, not that she wanted to tempt fate but really, at this point what more could go wrong?
Heather turned and opened the bathroom door and walked out into the office once again. Seth had returned and she was faced with two handsome men.
“I’m so sorry for ruining your carpet.” She nodded toward the stain on the carpet and noticed someone had already cleaned up the mess. That was fast. Just as fast, she started toward the door. “Okay, well, I’ve taken up enough of your time.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Alec moved quickly across the room and stilled her action. “You’re not leaving yet.”
“I’m not?” Heather looked at the strong fingered hand on her upper arm.
“No, not yet.” Alec led her back over to the chair he’d indicated earlier. “Have a seat and talk to us about your business and what you’d planned for our Krewe party.”
Heather looked between the two men as she sat and wondered why they weren’t just saying goodbye after her less then professional behavior.
“Umm, okay. Well, I had brought Pecan Praline and King Cake cupcakes for you to sample. I had also planned to do lemon, peach Bellini, and raspberry sorbet fairy cakes.”
Alec and Seth looked at each other and nodded. Heather wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or bad.
“What exactly is a fairy cake?” Seth asked as he took a seat beside her. “So far, no one has pitched that as an idea for our party.”
Heather relaxed a little bit, seeing this as a sure sign that she was possibly still in the running for the commission. Time to sell herself and her product.
“A fairy cake is a traditional English cupcake, smaller in size and rarely topped with any elaborate icing . Although in this case, I planned on doing a light glaze for the Peach Bellini fairy cakes, using Champagne and peach Schnapps, so it will be an alcoholic cake.”
“I actually like this idea. When you say they’re smaller, what size are we talking about?” Alec asked.
“Normally they are about bite size, at least my fairy cakes are bite size. Although, I can make them a little larger, but they will not be the same size as an American cupcake.”
“This is new. No one else has even suggested bite-size and regular size cupcakes.” Seth rubbed his jaw.
“Do you have a write-up on costs?”
Heather dug through her purse and produced the file that contained all of her records for costs for the party. “Here you go.” She handed the manila folder to Seth and then stood. “Thank you very much for talking to me and taking time to consider my cupcakery. All of my contact information is also included in the bid.”
She didn’t know if this was a courtesy pitch or if they really were considering her cupcakery still for the party. Either way, she was thankful for the chance to be considered.
“I’d still very much like to taste samples of what you’ve suggested.” Alec slipped his hands into his slacks pocket. “Perhaps we can schedule a time where I can come to your shop and sample your cupcakes?”
Heather was stunned to realize she was still in the running and promised herself that when Alec came over for the tasting, she’d have her act together and make a very good impression.
“Is tonight acceptable with you . . . around eight o’clock?” Alec asked.
“Eight would be fine.” Heather mentally started making a list of what she needed to get done before he arrived.
“Okay, I’ll see you later this evening.”
Heather stood and shook hands with Seth. “It was nice to meet you. Sorry about earlier.”
“No problem. I assure you, there was no harm done.”
Heather wasn’t so sure about that but wasn’t going to argue. She turned to Alec. “Thank you for giving me this second chance.”
“Everyone deserves a second chance. And it was an accident, so no worries.”
“Okay, well, thank you again.”
Heather left the office and took a deep breath. She had a lot to get done before Alec arrived later. Time was not on her side and she all but ran from the building in her haste to get back to her cupcakery.
The rain had abated and the sun began poking out from the gunmetal gray clouds. Already the humidity was rising and the air was thick and heavy to breath. Stepping out on to the sidewalk, Heather contemplated catching a taxi back to the cupcakery but decided she’d walk, needing work off some of her anxiety. She was lost in thought and didn’t see the angry woman until they were face to face.
“I seriously hope you don’t think you’re still in the running for the contract. Alec is a nice guy but he’s just tossing you a bone. One I highly suggest you miss catching, if you understand me.”
Heather looked into Lila’s face and resisted the urge to take a step back. “I’m sorry about your blouse.”
“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll get the bill for the dry cleaning. And I’m not stupid. I saw the way Alec looked at you. We’re taking a break but we’ll get back together again like we always do.”
“Excuse me?” Heather was thoroughly confused. “I’m not after your boyfriend, Lila.”
“Yes, well.” Lila looked her up and down. “Just remember my family is powerful and it would be real easy to squash you’re little business.”
“Are you threatening me?” Now, Heather was getting good and mad. She was slow to blow her temper but when she did, watch out.
“Not threatening anything, sugar, just stating a fact.”
“So, if I land the contract you’re going to ruin me?” Heather just wanted her facts straight before she reacted.
“No. If you think you’re going to sleep with Alec, or take him from me, I’ll see you finished.”
Lila spun on her Manolo Blahnik’s and slipped into the driver’s side of a sporty Mercedes and sped away.
Heather narrowed her eyes at the retreating car and shook her head. She needed a boyfriend like she needed…well, she wasn’t sure what she didn’t need except a boyfriend. She just didn’t have time for one, and to begin with, there really wasn’t anyone she was interested in.
Wait, that wasn’t right. She did think Alec was still handsome, but she also knew when she was out of her league. Alec was in a whole new stratosphere.
Shaking her head at crazy society chicks, Heather raced back to her cupcakery. She had a contract to land. Anything else was a non-issue for her at this point.
♥ ♥ ♥
Alec sat back and steepled his finger under his chin.
He listened to Seth do a rundown on the cases their law practice was handling. He knew he needed to focus on the meeting but he found his attention wandering back to Heather Ryan. He couldn’t believe how pretty she was in a girl-next door kind of way. She hadn’t changed since high school, except she’d filled out a little more. Otherwise, she was just as he remembered. She’d handled herself remarkably well under Lila’s onslaught.
Lila was a loose cannon and he never could figure out what she would do next. The catering business was something new, something he knew her father was hoping would keep her busy enough to stay out of trouble and hopefully slow down her outrageous spending. Alec had a feeling the man was simply wasting his time and money-backing a business that would never make it. Lila was too self-involved to focus on anything but herself. She was beautiful and spoiled and rich—the trifecta of bad juju.
“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying.” Seth laughed as he crossed his arms behind his head and stretched.
“Sorry.” Alec didn’t even try to pretend he was. There was no point. Seth was his best friend and no one knew him better.
“She’s pretty and sweet.”
“Yeah, she is.” And Alec couldn’t believe how his body responded to simply hearing her voice. He’d never been so turned on so fast with anyone ever before and this intrigued him.
“She’s not your normal fare.” Seth leaned forward. “Don’t toy with her if you’re not serious about her.”
“I know. I think that’s why I’m so drawn to her.” Alec was tired of his normal choice of women. He wanted a deep connection, someone to share his life with. But because of his position as a prominent city lawyer, he always found himself with women like Lila on his arm.
“Okay, but a word of advice. Take care of Lila. She’ll chew up Heather and spit her out if she gets wind that you’re interested in her.”
The Trouble with Cupcakes Page 2
