A Man to Waste Time On

by Nina Barrett

  “You know, Cinna. I think we’re out of the white sage I used in the celestial harmony blend. Maybe when David gets here, he can speed up a re-order for us. Did a David Witheroe call? Killer New Zealand accent? He’s our tea scout, due to hit Vegas any time.”

  “No, but there were a couple others.” Barbara picked up some slips of paper from beside the phone.

  “This one was for you, Cinna, from your sister. She’s down at the Cote d’Azur. She asked about getting together there for lunch tomorrow.” She held out a slip of paper.

  “Thanks.” She reached over to take it, thinking tomorrow might be all right. Meet somewhere on the Strip, safely away from downtown.

  “The other was from Tom Marco. I think he said he was calling from the Imperial. It was a little confusing.”

  She raised her head to look at Barbara, wrinkling her forehead as she studied the paper in her hand.

  “He asked for you, Cinna, and then to speak to Magdalena. I’m not sure what he wanted. He sounded tongue-tied when I said you’d both be out for the day. I got the feeling it was something important. Anyway, he said he’d call back tomorrow.”

  “Damn.” Magdalena froze in the act of running the cash register tape and looked over at her, grimacing. “Geez, I hope he isn’t going to cancel after we did all that shopping. Well, don’t look like that, girlfriend. At least if he does, it isn’t like we broke the bank.”

  That wasn’t exactly what she was feeling.

  Chapter Five

  “Another guy.” Magdalena hung up the phone and looked down at the pad she’d been writing on. “He was calling from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.”

  “Let me guess. He wants to order the celestial harmony tea,” Cinna said.

  “ASAP. He said someone he knew, who’d been here a couple days ago, had told him about it. He’s even willing to pay for expedited shipping.” She stopped and pursed her lips. “I’ll tell you, Cinna. It was a more than a little odd. He was talking under his breath the whole time like he didn’t want anyone to hear him.”

  “Odd doesn’t even begin to describe this whole thing. When was the last time we had a run on tea like this?”

  “Like nev—” The phone interrupted her.

  “Good morning, SpecialTeas, the great way to begin your day. How may I help you? Oh, yes.” Magdalena arched her eyebrows and widened her eyes at Cinna as she reached for her scratchpad.

  Well, maybe this was another step on their climb toward profitability. She glanced at the clock again. She’d gotten hold of Rose last night and they agreed to meet in the lobby of Rose’s hotel at one. She’d managed to deflect her sister’s interest in coming downtown to see the shop by telling her they were up to their neck in remodeling.

  With a little luck, Rosemary’s convention would be over in a few days and she’d be back on her way to the windy city to improve the smiles of Chicago-land citizens while avoiding crossing paths with trouble in Las Vegas.

  Speaking of which, she handed back a customer’s change and looked up as the temple chimes tinkled. It was just another one of their morning regulars though. Usually Tom was here by this time, typically swinging by on his way into work. She drummed her fingers on the counter.

  “Problem?” Magdalena asked as she steered a cart through the connecting door from the back.

  “Just wondering where he is and what’s going on?”

  “Probably on the road. The last I heard he was planning on being here sometime Saturday.”

  Cinna stared at her friend. “I thought I’d see him before then.”

  “Him who? Girl, who are we talking about?”

  “Tom. Barbara Anthony said he called about something yesterday.”

  “Oh, right. I was thinking of David Witheroe, my fantasy, not yours.”

  “Tom is not my fantasy. I just want to know what it was he—”

  “Whatever. Look alive, girlfriend. Twelve o’clock.”

  There was a line between Tom’s brows as he made his way to where they were, his suit jacket hanging open.

  Magdalena raised a hand in greeting.

  “I’m sorry we were out. Barbara said you called yesterday.” Cinna steadied herself on the counter. She suddenly felt as chilled as the marble surface. Tom looked serious.

  “Cinna, I’m going to clean the tea press.”

  “Actually…” Tom swiveled around surveying the tearoom. A punk couple with pink and purple spiked hair was finishing a pot of tea and Dundee cake at one table. “I’d like to talk to the both of you if you have the time.”

  “Okay.” She looked over at Magdalena. “We’re free right now.”

  “Sure. Why don’t we sit down?” Magdalena led the way to a table in the corner and waited as Tom pulled out chairs for them. Usually, he sat at the counter when he came in. Balanced now on one of their ornate wrought-iron chairs, he seemed out-of-place. He hesitated a minute before clasping his hands loosely on the table and drawing a breath.

  “It’s a…I wanted to talk to you about the samples of tea you brought over to the hotel the other day.”

  “So did you like them?” Cinna asked slowly. Something didn’t feel right. Her sense of unease was growing. Magdalena was chewing her lip as she looked at Tom.

  “Barbara said we had a number of guests from the Imperial coming in yesterday, redeeming the coupons we included in the gift bags and asking about one of our teas.”

  “I bet I can guess which one. We had some comments on it.”

  “The Celestial Harmony blend. So did people like it?” Magdalena asked.

  “Well, probably. Or appreciated it. We did have one guest who seemed to have a problem.”

  “What?” She looked over Magdalena who was staring at Tom, looking as puzzled as she felt.

  “It was a lady, one of the contestants in the darts tournament we’ve been running as a special promotion this week. She and her husband traveled here from the U.K. where she’s a nationally ranked player. It seems she missed her starting time for the finals and she was, ah…pretty much out of sorts about it.”

  “I don’t… What does that have to do with us?” Cinna asked.

  “She and her husband had been drinking the harmony blend and, well, they never made it out of their room and down to Draughts where we were holding the tournament.”

  “What? They slept through it?”

  “Oh, my God!” Magdalena gasped. “Food poisoning. Oh, my Lord. Is that what you think?”

  “No, not that. Well, not exactly.” Tom raised his eyebrows and grimaced. “They were in bed, but not sick. I don’t think. At least not in the usual sense.”

  They stared at him blankly.

  “What are you talking about?” Cinna wished he would get to the point.

  “I guess I’m asking if there is any way the harmony tea could be considered an aphrodisiac? If it has any other properties than the usual tea.”

  “An, an aphrodisiac? Are you nuts!” She turned to glare at Magdalena who was bent over, shrieking in laughter, covering her face with both hands.

  “I’m only asking. It’s just that the Wightmans had such a strong reaction. Not that he was complaining really, but Mrs. Wightman was. And some of the other guests.” Tom shook his head slowly. “Delores said they were calling the desk with all kinds of questions. Then Brielle said the tea caddy on the breakfast buffet was almost cleaned out when I sent her to check.”

  “Well, it wasn’t due to our tea,” Cinna said hotly.

  “It really wasn’t.” Magdalena straightened up wiping a finger under her eyes. “I wish we could claim credit. Romance in a teabag! Another way to get into hot water. Think of the advertising campaign we could have here in Vegas! Wow. But really Tom, Cinna and I worked on that blend ourselves for weeks.”

  “Weeks and weeks.”

  “It’s a combination of a white tea, lychee blossoms, white sage for balancing, and a top note of rose petals. We’ve drunk it ourselves. Potfulls of it, adjusting the blend and never, never noticed the slightest
, ah, oh my. Excuse me.” Her partner reached for a napkin and blew her nose as she hiccupped.

  At least someone thought it was funny. Suppose Mrs. What’s-her-name decided to sue since she missed her tournament time because of their tea?

  “We wouldn’t be serving something to the public we didn’t think was safe.” Cinna knew her cheeks were flushed. “We drank the Celestial Harmony blend every day, didn’t we, Mags?”

  Magdalena nodded. “Maybe it’s just being in Vegas. The power of suggestion along with relaxing, being away from home, enjoying a luxury suite, you know.” She waved a hand. “Honestly, Tom, we probably tried it on you when we were working on it.”

  “Wow. Okay.” He ducked his head, half hiding a grin. “Well, I thought it was pretty far out, but they aren’t first-time visitors here and I guess the effect was, well, noticeable. I comped their stay and offered to pay the entry fees for next year’s tournament for Celia so I think they’re mollified.”

  “I’ll get that.” Magdalena got up to answer the phone. She watched as her friend shook her head and reached for her pen and pad.

  “I’m sorry if we caused any trouble.” She held herself up stiffly.

  “I wouldn’t say that, Cinna. I just wanted to give you a heads-up about some possible side effects.” He moved his hand toward hers, stopping when she raised her head to glare at him.

  “I know it sounds weird and even if it is true to some extent—”

  “Which it isn’t!”

  “That some people were affected by it.”

  “Unfortunately, we’re sold out of it, or I’d give you some to have analyzed.”

  “I think we may have some teabags back at the hotel. I had Brielle pull it off the buffet. Well, I need to get back to work.” He pushed himself back from the table and stood slowly, looking down to where her hands were knotted on the table.

  The door chimes sounded as a group of ladies entered.

  “I won’t take up any more of your time. Looks like you’re getting busy. Hope the rest of your day goes better.”

  She straightened her fingers, working the kinks out as she watched him leave. It had to, didn’t it?

  ****

  The sliding glass doors parted soundlessly. She shoved the hair back out of her eyes as she marched across the blue and gold carpeted atrium toward the concierge desk. She could feel her lips still moving. She hadn’t been able to stop off at the apartment to change before heading to the Strip. She’d wasted too much time arguing with Magdalena that there was no way the chemical combination of teas they’d used could produce any side effects like Tom had described. To say she was feeling grubby was putting it mildly. Something else that was Tom’s fault. At the desk, a uniformed young woman looked up to smile and greet her.

  “Hey, hold up a minute, stranger.” A hand on her shoulder spun her around.

  Tall, blonde, every cell devoted to producing the optimum in skin, hair, eyes, and figure, Rosemary Smith could stop people in their tracks. What else was new?

  She stifled a sigh and managed a smile.

  A group of boys pulling their suitcases toward the door stopped to stare. They weren’t looking at her.

  “Oh, hi, Rosemary.”

  “Oh, hi? Is that the best you can manage for your big sister? Sounds like you really missed me.”

  She was swept into a warm embrace tinged ever so slightly with expensive perfume.

  “After almost a year. I can’t believe the luck that this conference was scheduled out here in Las Vegas.”

  “Yeah, what are the chances?” That it would be held in the convention capital of the U.S.? “You look good.”

  “Thanks. I bought the greatest combination sunscreen and moisturizer the other day. I’ll write the name down for you. The gal that owns the tanning booth in our building put me onto it.”

  “So how is Masterpiece Manor doing?” Dr. Rosemary Smith, D.D.S.’s practice was devoted to the best in dental enhancements—whitening, crowns, caps.

  “Fabulous. Really taking off. I thought we could eat here in the Marseillaise Room. We had dinner there last night and it was wonderful.”

  With an arm around her shoulders, Rosemary guided her over to the restaurant entrance, her heels clicking on the marble floor. People made way for them, Rosemary gifting them with a smile. If the men had been wearing hats, they would have raised them.

  “The practice is going great guns. I think we’ve found a niche that needed filling.”

  Was that dental humor?

  Rose paused outside the restaurant entrance to read a menu posted on a stand beside a huge clay urn spilling orange and fuchsia blossoms.

  “They have a great selection of seafood.” Her sister ran a manicured finger down the page.

  “It looks fine.” As long as she skipped the shellfish which made her break out.

  “This conference has been tremendous, Cinna. I’ve picked up tons of ideas on marketing and promotion as well as keeping a website fresh. The Internet is something you might think of using for your shop. You can ask a designer to come up with a website.”

  “It’s something we’ve discussed. It’s on our to-do list actually, but we’ve already so much going on now.”

  “Oh, yes, you’ll have to tell me about the remodeling you’re doing.”

  Remodeling. She winced.

  Rosemary favored the hovering maître d’ with a dazzling smile and waved across the room. “Thank you. I have someone saving a table for us.”

  “So what did you think of the dental whitener I sent you for your birthday? Have you been using it regularly?”

  “Oh, sure. I try to.” She followed her sister, trim in knit, striped shirt and white tennis shorts. Well, she tried when she thought of it, in between running out the door to get SpecialTeas open on time, or collapsing in bed after twelve hours on her feet.

  “Twice a day, Cinna, religiously. It’s fabulous. One of my assistants tried it when she was over in Switzerland and noticed the improvement right away. It’s completely natural. Even the bottle is biodegradable. Here we are.”

  At the table, a man was getting up from his seat. Probably on the other side of forty, he was slightly built with receding hair and glasses. Beside her sister no one would have noticed him. Rosemary gave him a mega-watt smile and held out a hand. He curled her fingers in his own.

  “Cinna, I’d like you to meet Ed Dwyer. Ed, this is my sister, Cinnamon.”

  “One of the spice girls.” He extended his hand for a firm handshake. “I’m so glad to meet you.” He came around to hold her chair for her. “Rosie has told me so much about you.”

  Rosie?

  “I admire your entrepreneurship in starting a new business venture out here.” He moved over to help Rosemary with her chair.

  “Ed’s an OB/GYN from Lincoln Park.”

  She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think how they had met.

  A waiter came over to fill their water goblets with his pitcher.

  “Let me tell you about our specials today. Our feature today is a blackened…”

  She sighed and listened politely as their waiter completed his recitation and left them.

  “Ed’s originally from Duluth, but he got his degree from the University of Chicago. His daughter has been granted early admission there.” Rosemary flashed him the kind of smile featured in ads for her dental practice.

  Well, no ring on his finger, or sign one had been recently removed.

  “I understand your degree is in chemistry. So how did that lead to opening a tea emporium?” Rose’s friend asked.

  The brown eyes behind his glasses were warm. While he wasn’t handsome, probably nearer her height than her sister’s, he looked kind.

  She drew a breath and began the saga of how a downturn in research grants lead to the loss of her job.

  “And then my college friend Magdalena Kasas called with the idea of opening a tea bar here. She thought since I knew something about chemical processes and reactions, I might be
able to help. It’s Magdalena, though, who has the real know-how about tea, the educated palate and all. Anyway, I withdrew my 401K money and headed west.”

  Their waiter was back to take their orders. She chose a broiled sole while Rosemary selected a seafood salad and her companion got paella. After the morning they’d had, she didn’t need to challenge her stomach with anything exotic.

  “I know what you’re saying about research money. With the economic downturn, it’s tightening up across the board.”

  “Last month, Ed and I ran a half-marathon to raise money for inner-city free clinics in Chicago.”

  Half-marathon? Rosemary? She wouldn’t have put the two things together unless it involved raising money for poor children’s dental work. Was this what love did to someone?

  “So how are things going out here? Are you building a customer base?” Ed leaned forward, clasping his hands on the table. Rosemary looked interested.

  “I don’t know. I thought we were. At least…” She traced a design in the moisture beading on her glass.

  “What? What is it, sis?”

  “Oh, nothing. Just something came up today that might turn out to be a problem.” She stared at the tablecloth.

  “What? Tell me, Cinna.”

  “I don’t want to bother you two…” She stopped to blink her eyes. Drat. It was all catching up to her. She balled up her fists, the nails cutting into her palms. Was she about to start crying?

  “What’s going on?” Rosemary exchanged concerned glances with Ed.

  “It’s just… It’s so stupid. We had a complaint, or well, I don’t know. Maybe a concern. About one of our products.”

  “What happened?”

  “Oh.” She tilted her head back and took a breath. How to explain it without mentioning someone’s name? “A hotel near us asked us to bring them some special sample gift sets of our teas. We were hoping if they liked our products, they’d give us a standing order. So Magdalena and I made up these fancy little bundles with a variety of our teas and a coupon good at the shop. We included two of the new Celestial Harmony teabags we had recently developed.”