Chapter One
“Consider this our final meeting. I’m done.”
It was a statement not a threat but as the words hung in the air, Cassie Jacobs watched Adam Lawrence’s face turn to stone. She was used to his demands, his tirades, his cold and brutal treatment of people around him, but today she’d had enough.
Adam stood and walked around the antique mahogany desk that overpowered his dark and masculine office. “We will be done, when I say we are done, Cassandra. Not the other way around.” It irritated him to no end that she kept her back to him as she packed her briefcase.
He watched as Cassie’s trim figure bent slightly over the leather chair she had recently vacated. Adam knew her to be organized and so it was no surprise that she was being painstakingly slow in putting all of her paperwork away.
With her heart racing and hands that were shaking, Cassie was determined to compose herself before turning around. Luckily she had plenty of paperwork to put back together to keep her busy but she could feel Adam’s presence behind her, his tension rolling off of his Armani clad body and on to hers.
It wasn’t as if today’s meeting was any different from the dozen or so before; as L.S.S. International’s caterer and event planner, Cassie had dealt with Adam, and his attitude, on multiple occasions. After all, this was his company. But as she sat opposite him today, listening to his condescending tone as he changed the menu for the eighth time – and after she had already began placing orders with her distributors – she had snapped. If Adam wanted to fire her, he was welcomed to. Sure, she needed this account but not at the expense of her sanity.
Slowly, Cassie collected her briefcase and turned to face Adam; she smoothed her long chestnut hair and kept her expression cool. “I’d say we are more than done, Mr. Lawrence.” She was proud of the fact that her voice sounded steady and that she had her temper under control. “CJ’s has enjoyed providing our service for all of your events for the last two years but this is one time that I simply cannot meet your request. It’s unreasonable of you to ask that we change the entire menu on such short notice. If you’d like to find another event planner and caterer that is your prerogative.”
Adam stared down into Cassie’s face. It wasn’t hard to do; he towered over most people. But looking into her midnight blue eyes he saw determination when he should have seen fear or at least apology. That look earned Cassie some of his respect, and he didn’t give that often.
“I don’t want another event planner, Cassandra. We have a contract; one that states that changes can be made…”
“Up to two weeks before,” she cut in with frustration.
“The L.S.S. Fall Retreat is two weeks away,” he replied mildly, clearly believing to have the upper hand. His confidence tipped a bit when he noticed Cassie had her own triumphant smile as she reached into her leather brief case again.
Pulling out her day planner, Cassie opened to September’s calendar and turned it to face Adam. “Today is the twelfth; your retreat is on the twenty-third. That is eleven days, not two weeks. For emphasis, she snapped the day planner closed and placed it back in her case before turning and facing Adam with her shoulders squared, ready for the consequences of going up against him.
If he was going to fire her, she could only hope that he’d do it quickly and let her leave with some dignity. Truth be known, Cassie needed Adam’s account to keep her catering business going and growing. Losing this would put a big dent in her five-year plan of paying off the loans she took to start the business. If Adam Lawrence wanted to toss her out on the street, Cassie would have no choice but to start cold calling on other companies in the area for business; something that she hadn’t had to do up until now. She could only hope that the man wasn’t going to be spiteful and try to ruin her reputation and kill her business.
One eyebrow arched as Adam continued to stare at her as if he could clearly read her mind. That thought unsettled her for a bit. She needed to be confident. She needed to not appear needy or desperate. She needed him to say something!
With more bravado than she actually felt, Cassie stepped around Adam. “I believe that settles it then. If you have any other questions or concerns, your assistant can call me at my office, otherwise, I will see you on the twenty-third.”
She almost made it to the door.
“If you leave this office, Cassandra, consider your contract with L.S.S. terminated.” Adam let his words hang there for a moment and felt confident that she would fall in line and do what he wanted. To his surprise, however, Cassie didn’t turn, she simply stopped. For the merest of seconds he was sure that she would turn around, smile her lovely, serene smile that she always gave to him and apologize for making things difficult. But she didn’t. Before Adam knew it, Cassie walked out the door and closed it quietly behind her.
Cassie had to stop herself from looking over her shoulder as she walked away from his office to make sure that Adam hadn’t called security to chase after her like an angry mob, banishing her for all eternity. The thought made her chuckle but did nothing to put her mind at ease. What had she done? She could not afford to throw away her biggest client! Maybe a couple of years down the road she could have that privilege but not right now!
Riding down in the elevator Cassie had to talk herself out of a panic attack; all was not lost yet. Maybe Adam would calm down. Maybe he would have his assistant call and they would pretend as if the whole nasty encounter had never happened.
Maybe she would sprout wings and fly home.
Not knowing what else to do, she pulled her Blackberry from her case and dialed her office. “Hey, Kate’s, it’s me,” she said when her sister answered.
“How’s it going, boss? Are all the plans finalized for Satan’s retreat?”
Her first instinct was to laugh at her sister’s nickname for Adam, but Cassie just couldn’t sum up the energy to do so. With a sigh of regret, she related the details of her meeting. The good thing about having your younger sister as an assistant was that they were overly sensitive and in-tune to your needs, Cassie thought.
“Just come back to the office, Cass. It’ll be okay. We’ll work it all out, okay?”
Hanging up the phone, she wished she had even the first clue as to how to turn this mess around. Sure, she could cave in and give into Adam’s unreasonable demands and eat the profits on this job to make him happy, but she couldn’t seem to do it. It wasn’t right; it was high time that somebody stood up to the mighty Adam Lawrence. Not that he’d care; he probably had another caterer on the phone right now drooling over the opportunity to do this job for him on such short notice and swoop in to save the day. Dammit.
Climbing into her sporty Honda Accord, she tried her best to wipe all ugly thoughts of replacement caterers aside and focus on getting back to her office and finding something to eat. She had been so nervous this morning before meeting with Adam that she’d skipped breakfast; now all she wanted to do was draw the shades and curl up on her sofa with a large pizza and some ice cream and forget the rest of the world for a while.
The music chiming in from her cell phone broke into her pizza-pity-party fantasy. “Hello?”
“Hey, pumpkin! How’s my favorite chef today?”
“Hey, dad,” she said, feeling a sense of comfort just from hearing Stephen Jacobs’ voice.
Knowing his daughter well, he asked “What’s wrong?”
“I just came from the worst meeting with my biggest client and I think, I think, I might have quit.” She waited for the reprimand or the unwanted parental advice but instead got an invitation to dinner. “Tonight? What’s the occasion?”
“Does a dad need an occasion to see his daughter?”
“No,” she said, feeling lighter than she had in the las
t several hours. “What time and what am I making?” She knew her dad well and knew that as much as he was inviting her to his house, the man couldn’t cook to save his life.
“You know I’m not partial to any one thing, sweetheart. You decide but…make enough for, say…seven people.”
“Seven people? Who’s coming?”
“Well, your sisters will be there and your brother, of course. Oh, and I’ve invited some friends that I’d like you to meet. Will six o’clock work for you, Cass?”
Honestly, she hated to say no to her dad for anything. The man had been a rock for his family after Cassie’s mom had died of ovarian cancer ten years before and there wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t do for his kids. Unfortunately, after the morning she’d had, the last thing she felt like was a family dinner with the added perk of entertaining strangers.
“Sure,” she lied. “Six will work. Maybe I’ll do some of that Greek chicken that you like so much. How does that sound?”
“Like a treat,” he said. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” And then he was gone and Cassie was alone to agonize over something other than Adam and her soon-to-be-doomed business.
Within minutes, she pulled up in front of the building that housed CJ’s Delights office, kitchen and showroom. She gave herself a glance in the vanity mirror to make sure that she didn’t look like a fright after her hellish morning. Luckily, her hair was still in place and being that she refused to give in to tears, she did not have raccoon eyes. Locking the car with the remote, she walked in through the front door and smiled at what her sister had done.
Dressed in her best server’s attire, Katie stood next to one of their mock-up tables that was set with some of their best china and crystal. Candles were lit and there was a beautiful bouquet of silk wild flowers in the middle in various shades of pinks and purples. Somewhere in the background came the strains of classical music. Cassie took her seat where her sister instructed and in front of her was a large silver covered plate. With great fanfare, Katie placed a cloth napkin in Cassie’s lap and reached for the lid.
And revealed a tuna sandwich.
“It’s all in the presentation,” Katie deadpanned and then pulled up a chair for herself after grabbing her own sandwich from a nearby table. “So,” she began, “family dinner tonight. Won’t that be fun?”
Cassie finished chewing and nodded. “Oh, sure. Nothing says relaxing after a really bad day than cooking for seven people and getting grilled on why I did what I did and how am I going to fix it. And who are these friends that Dad invited?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dad said that we were going to be seven for dinner; all of us and two friends.”
“I have no idea. He hasn’t mentioned anyone to me.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Cassie sighed. “I told him we’d do Greek tonight. Do we have everything here or do I need to take a trip to the supermarket?” Once dinner plans were discussed and lists were made, Katie ran to the store while Cassie sat in her office to try and figure out how she was going to make her world right again.
The phone ringing was a wonderful distraction some minutes later. “CJ’s Delights, this is Cassie, how can I help you?”
“Cassie? It’s Grace Clark, Adam’s assistant. How are you?”
She actually cringed. There were so many different ways this whole situation could play out that Cassie was afraid to get too far ahead of herself and dare to hope that Grace was calling with good news. Sitting up straight in her chair, she finally found her voice to answer.
“I’m fine, Grace. Thanks. How are you?”
“Oh, Cassie, please!” Grace began, her Southern drawl becoming more pronounced. “You walked out of here as if the hammers of hell were after you and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to stop you and talk to you but then Adam barked for me to come in to his office.”
“Barked?” Cassie laughed. The image of Adam as an Ogre came to mind and had her sympathizing with his assistant.
“You know what I mean.” She lowered her voice, as if afraid for anyone to overhear her. “Are you really okay, Cass? I’m so sorry that it all worked out this way. I have loved working with you and I really consider you a friend. Is there any way that we can make this right?”
While Cassie appreciated the offer, deep down she knew that she had to stick to her guns; otherwise her word would be useless. “Honestly, Grace, maybe it’s all for the better. Adam was being unreasonable. The contract clearly states…”
“I know, I know,” she interrupted. “Believe me, I deal with him every day and I know how unreasonable he can be on just about everything. He’s had me calling caterers ever since you left and no one is willing to take on an event of this magnitude on such short notice. He is having a fit!”
“Enough of a fit that he’d apologize?” Cassie asked hopefully. That would solve all of her problems. If Adam were the one to call her and put the event back on with CJ’s, then Cassie would have her dignity. She most certainly did not want to go crawling back and have to jeopardize her ethics for that man.
“Please, the great Adam Lawrence does not apologize to anyone. You’d have better luck parting the Red Sea using your lipstick. It’s never going to happen.”
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Cassie murmured. Kicking off her shoes under her desk, she slouched down in a near pout.
“But seriously, are you going to be okay? I don’t mean to pry but it’s just that…well, I know that you’re still building up your business and that L.S.S. was a big account for you.”
“It sure was. ‘Was’ being the operative word.”
“Oh, Cass…”
“It’ll be okay, Grace, really. I’ve always had a hard time working with Adam, having to sit back and listen to him yell and talk down to everyone. You deserve a medal for putting up with him every day. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She just wished that she believed it herself.
“Well, I’ve got your business cards and you can be sure that I will pass them along.”
“I appreciate that, Grace. Really.” With not much left to say, they made promises to get together for lunch and to keep in touch before hanging up. Cassie was really going to miss working with Grace. What had started as a work relationship had grown into a friendship and Cassie had come to look forward to her events with L.S.S. for no other reason than to have the opportunity to work with Grace. She’d often teased that if Adam ever fired her, that she’d give Grace a position with CJ’s.
Unfortunately, it was she who was fired and there was no one offering her a replacement job. She heard Katie back in the kitchen and pulled herself up, put her shoes back on and went out to help with the groceries and prep work for their dinner.
By five o’clock, Katie was packing up. “I’ve gotta run, Cass. I have to pick up Ella from the sitter’s.” Ella was Katie’s three-month old daughter; a baby that had drawn the Jacobs family closer together after Katie’s boyfriend had taken off, never to be heard from again.
“I’ll see you at the house in a little while,” Cassie called after her as she packed up all of the supplies that she would need to cook at her father’s house. Stephen Jacobs still lived in the house that his children had grown up in. Though it had a fully stocked kitchen, Cassie had a couple of favorite pots and pans that she preferred to cook in. By five-thirty she had changed into more casual clothes, was packed up and back in the car, heading to her childhood home.
Her brother Matt was the first one out of the house to help her. He met her at the trunk of her car and picked her up in a bear hug as if she weighed nothing. “Hey! There’s my cooking angel of mercy!” He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek before putting her down. Of course it helped that he was well over six feet tall and built like a linebacker! Reaching into the trunk, he took most of what Cassie had brought with her and headed towards the two-story Colonial.
Cassie stood in the driveway for a moment and took in the grand house and realized that
it still looked the same. Her dad kept it clean and well manicured and it just always said ‘home’ to her. It was a nice feeling to know that some things never changed; some things were sacred and stable. This home was one of them. Grabbing the last of the grocery bags, she closed the trunk just as a car pulled in behind her.
Waving to her middle sister, Lauren, she stopped and waited for her to get out of the car. “How goes law school? Ready to sue anyone yet?” she teased.
Making a face at the lame joke, Lauren grabbed her satchel from the back seat and walked with Cassie to the door. “Very funny. Unfortunately, they don’t let you sue anyone until after graduation. It’s just wrong.” They laughed and made their way directly to the kitchen. Matt was already setting up his sister’s supplies as he knew she liked them and Katie was getting Ella settled into her baby swing.
Stephen Jacobs smiled as his family came in to view. His kids. They were his whole life and seeing them all in his kitchen, grown up and happy made him beam with pride. They were a close knit group and he always thought that it would be that way forever. With a quick prayer, he hoped that by the end of the night it would still be that way.
Life had not changed much in the last ten years after losing his wife. Stephen had tried to keep things as normal as possible for the sake of the kids. Cassie and Matt had had to take on a bit more responsibility to help out with Katie and Lauren; but, if anything, it seemed to make them all closer. They were a pretty unshakable bunch, he thought to himself. Heck, even Katie’s unplanned pregnancy hadn’t been able to shake their bond. Somehow, he feared, tonight’s dinner might just be big enough to cause a tremor or two.
Walking in to the kitchen, he heard Cassie telling the story of her difficult client who’d fired her today. Bastard. As a father, he hated to think of anyone hurting or upsetting any of his children and although Cassie was a grown woman of 26, he still wanted to fight her battles for her.
“Basically it’s a breach of contract on his part,” Lauren was saying, anxious to use her legal knowledge around the house to prove that she was taking law school seriously. “What he was asking was for you to break your contract but in the end, he did. You could probably sue him for the total amount of the contract. It might not get you any future work with his company, but it would cover your butt until you can get another client or two to replace him.”
Catering to the CEO Page 1
