Marcus was actually one of the first people after Johnny to show up at the scene, although Diana had been hoping to see Beth most of all. She wondered to herself what Marcus was actually doing here but with the storm approaching she imagined it was the same reason her and Beth were meeting there for. Rockaway Beach was prone to severe nor'easters and even sometimes small hurricanes. The town was more than used to and prepared for the storms, but as a precaution the girls and many other business owners had come into town early to batten down the hatches. Marcus’ catering business was only a few blocks away from the bakery and he was probably driving passed when he saw the ambulance and stopped to investigate. Beth was even more puzzled by Marcus’ presence when she arrived moments later but was too concerned for her friend to pay him any mind. Diana told them all of the events that had transpired that morning.
She had started working in the basement, not bothering to turn all the lights on in the bakery as she came in because they would not be open to the general public for the rest of the weekend and until the storm had passed. The girls planned to be at the bakery for as long as the weather allowed and the power held out making preparations for a wedding that upcoming weekend. The bride that had hired them was still planning on going forward with the ceremony in spite of the storm. Jessica had been a high school classmate and friend of the girls, so while planning her wedding it was only natural of her to select one of Diana and Beth’s famously delicious and beautiful wedding cakes as well as several other desserts and treats they prepared. Being a local, Jessica would not allow the storm to defer her special day, instead insisting that it would only make it all the more memorable. The ceremony and reception would all be taking place at the Castle Havier which was probably the soundest building in all of Rockaway Beach to ride out the storm, resting on a small hill and complete with thick stone architecture and backup generators. Buon Appetito would be providing the dinner services for the event and The Gingerbread House the desserts.
Castle Havier also hosted a massive kitchen in which both companies would share while servicing the wedding. Marcus, Beth and Diana would be spending the weekend at the castle as the bride had rented it out for a total of three days. The bridal party and family would be residing there for Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the girls and Marcus providing and preparing the meals. There was a lot to get ready and Diana had woken up at five that morning to head to the bakery.
Diana recounted her tale as Johnny, Beth and Marcus listened intently. She had been in the basement laying out sandbags and covering the windows with plywood, when she had heard heavy footsteps coming from upstairs. Diana had just gotten off the phone with Beth and wasn't expecting her to be at the bakery for at least another hour, so she cautiously went to investigate the noises. The upstairs was still pitch black but Diana left the lights off in hopes of surprising who or what was lurking in the shadows. Hearing a rustling noise near the refrigerator Diana, now armed with a spatula crept towards the noises but found nothing amiss. She opened the freezer door, having the forethought to prop the door open with a box as she inched inside. Still not able to see anything, Diana begun to presume that it had only been a mouse or some other critter moving boxes about and causing the commotion. Just then, a large shadow rushed passed her and the next thing she knew she was waking up on the ground of the freezer. As Diana told the story she remembered not feeling frightened and fainting but of having been pushed and hitting her head. Last time she checked there was no rodent or critter that large or capable of pushing a person with such force. Whoever it had been must have heard her coming and remained hidden in the shadows until the opportune moment; leaping from their hiding place and giving Diana a hard shove as they ran passed her and made their getaway. She had fallen, hitting her head on as shelf on the way down and had been knocked out for what she guessed was at least a half hour before calling for Johnny who had arrived right away. There was no police department on the island or any other emergency services to call, nor was there a need for one as there were no crimes ever really committed in Rockaway Beach. In fact the last known and recorded crime had been at least sixty years prior. A man had accused his neighbor of stealing his hat which turned out wasn't even stolen in the first place, but rather had been misplaced. Rockaway Beach was and always had been a peaceful place. The volunteer fire department and Johnny were basically all that there was to call in case of an emergency, not that there were very many. In case of a serious crime, the police department had a fleet of boats in New York City that would send officers to come and investigate but with weather conditions worsening by the minute, it would prove to be a difficult and potentially fatal decision to send officers either by boat or by chopper. When Johnny had first arrived at the Gingerbread House he had searched the vicinity high and low finding no signs of Diana or anyone else for that matter. Lucky for her, she still had her cell phone and reception in the freezer so that she was able to call Johnny again when she overheard him traipsing through out the bakery. The intruder had removed the box holding the freezer door open and locked an unconscious Diana inside. This act would have been slightly less peculiar and it could have been assumed that whoever had broken in had locked Diana in the freezer so that they could ransack the register or rob other valuables around, if it weren't for the fact that not a single item was missing. Diana’s purse was even still on the front counter where she had left it when she first arrived. None of them could figure out the intruder’s intentions as nothing was stolen or damaged and there were no known vagrants or homeless people in the town that could have broken in just to seek shelter.
Johnny speculated that while the incident had been both alarming to Diana and unfortunate, it was possible that the noises she had heard were from the storm and the larger than rodent shadow could have simply been a play of the early morning light. Dianna argued with him that she was sure she had felt a person push her. “If weren't a person than who had removed the box from the door and locked her inside the refrigerator?” she argued. Johnny had an answer for that as well, stating that Diana had taken quite a nasty blow to the head and could have easily been mistaken or mixed up in what she remembered and that she could have shifted the box when she had fallen. Diana knew this wasn’t the case and that know it all Johnny would be of no help, so rather than continue to argue she just agreed that maybe that was what happened after all. Besides, no harm had come of the intrusion besides a broken back window, a bump on the head and severely shaken nerves. Diana and Beth had too much work ahead of them and very little time to get it done to waste arguing. She thanked Johnny and let him get on his way, which he seemed more than eager to do himself. Johnny was a groomsman at the upcoming nuptials and had to storm proof the firehouse as well as see to anyone else that needed help doing so to their homes or business in town before he could head off to the castle for the festivities. Much to Beth’s dismay, Marcus offered to stay behind to help put the girl’s minds at ease but she graciously reminded him of all the work he must have ahead of him at the catering hall and upon agreeing that she was right, they all respectively went their separate ways.
Although Diana was slightly jumpier than usual, they went about their work as they normally would. The girls remained busy well into the evening when the storm's winds begun to shake the bakery windows so much that they feared that they may break. Having both already packed their weekend bags, Diana and Beth loaded their van full of all that they may need and began the long drive across the island to Castle Havier. Despite the cloudy skies the girls were in great spirits. Not only did the wedding and events of the weekend promise a huge payout, Castle Havier was a wonder in itself. The castle dated back some forty years and had been built by a well to do couple that had once resided on the island but had long since passed. The couple had been history buffs with no children of their own and plenty of time on their hands after their retirement. They built the castle to resemble the likeness of those found in medieval times but with all of the modern amenities, pouring much of their t
ime and dedication into its construction. The structure was massive in size and ornately decorated, complete with sprawling gardens and rumored secret passageways and rooms. Since the passing of its original owners, the estate had been sold and utilized as an event venue/ hotel and tourist destination. The girls had done events there before but never spent the night and found themselves excited to be staying at the luxurious destination, even if they would be lodged in what would have served as the servant’s quarters. Most of all, Beth and Diana were stoked to get into Castle Havier massive kitchen. Marcus had given them intel that it had been recently remodelled and equipped with the latest appliances and state of the art ovens. Although the girls would be sharing the facilities with Marcus, the kitchen was so large that they would rarely cross paths while there. Or so Beth sincerely hoped.
When the ladies arrived at the castle, Beth and Diana were surprised to see that Marcus’ van was already parked out back. Given the mornings events, the girls themselves were barely on time that day and marvelled how it was possible that Marcus had both been at the bakery this morning and been able to arrive early to the castle as he surely had even more prep work to do then the girls. Ever since Marcus’ and Beth’s split the trio had remained friendly but not friends. There was an unspoken competition between the two companies, each one always trying to one up the other at events they did together or had heard of the other doing. Marcus must have done his prep work farther in advance and arrived at the castle early to claim first dibs on the kitchen and appliances. “That sneaky bastard” Beth muttered under her breath as the girls parked and begun to unload the van. Just as they suspected, Marcus was already in the kitchen and hard at work.
The guests were expected to arrive later that night and the bride requested that they be greeted by light refreshments and sweets. The ladies had spent their day at the bakery preparing cream puffs, chocolates and cupcakes where it seemed as if Marcus was preparing a full five course meal by the amount of food he had set out and space he was taking up. Even in the more than large kitchen he was sure that his presence was both known and felt by Beth and Diana, although the girls knew it was only a ploy meant to intimidate them and throw them off course. They refused to be swayed but it may as well have worked with as uncomfortable as it was making Beth to work in such close proximity to her ex.
Marcus cheerfully greeted the girls and they in turn barely muttered out their pleasantries as they set out to work. While they had been able to accomplish a lot of the baking earlier in the day, they still had much to do. The refrigeration system back at the bakery could have gone out at any moment with the storm so they figured their best bet would be to wait until they were at the castle and complete their icing, chocolates and cream for the puffs on site, no easy task to do last minute seeing as how they made everything fresh from scratch at The Gingerbread House. By the time the guests arrived they were barely able to wipe the flour and sweat from their brows but still managed to execute an excellent service. The bakery had no staff to speak of and they would be serving their treats themselves, both doubling as the chefs and caterers. Lucky Marcus would be able to utilize the hotel staff as his servers leaving the girls feeling a little bitter as he gloated in the fact. Diana and Beth were both beyond relieved when the hour drew later and the guests retired to their rooms. The girls returned to their own quarters near ready to fall right to sleep. While their treats had been well received and complimented, Beth could not help but feel resentment towards Marcus and as if he had bested them by getting a head start that evening, so she devised a plan to get even. They would need to rise extremely early the following morning to serve breakfast and keep up with the day’s festivities and meals so the girls each took turns showering, Diana taking the first turn and giving Beth time to herself to plot. When Beth had gotten out of the shower, she found her partner to already be fast asleep which was no surprise to Beth as they had a gruelingly long day, especially Diana. Beth fished out a box of caffeine pills from her purse, a secret weapon she had packed in case of emergency or pure exhaustion and swallowed two of the tablets. Her plan was to sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night and do all or most of the work needed for the following day, giving the girl’s hours on end to work on their presentation and service.
It was the morning of the big day and in the wee hours of the morning a groggy Marcus and Diana arose from their respective beds and readied for the day. They both paused a moment in the threshold of the kitchen, surprised to see Beth hard at work and with platter upon platter of prepared foods. Diana smiling, walked over to Beth and whispered “you sly fox”, while Marcus remained slack jawed in the doorway a moment longer. Beth chuckled and cleared her throat, snapping him out of his daze. Marcus tried his best to engage the girl’s attentions and spy on their cuisine but as the day progressed neither party had much time for conversing or for competition, only ensuring that the reception went off without a hitch. Marcus went up to bat first, serving an Italian style four course feast of appetizers, soups and salads, pastas and meats which was followed by Beth and Diana's desserts. Beth had spent the extra time allotted to them by her all nighter to perfect their display. The girls had designed and created their most decadent wedding cake to date. Jessica had given them free range of the design of the cake as long as they stuck to the color schemes of purples, blues and pinks. The girls produced a three tier metallic light blue cake with flowers cascading down the sides and pooling at the bottom. It matched the bridal bouquet and all of the flowers were made of sugar and hand painted. Beth had added edible pearls and gold dust to the cake that night and the results were absolutely breath taking and unique. Even Marcus applauded Beth and Diana for their creation. The girls were given three tables to display their deserts. Placing the cake at the center table, the first table was a candy bar consisting of homemade lollipops, gourmet chocolates, taffy and other sweets. The third table consisted of petit fours, cannolis and cookies of all sorts. There was nary a crumb left on a plate between both dinner and dessert services, all of the guests giving their compliments to the chefs.
The trio cleaned the kitchen in preparation for the following morning. The big festivities were over but the bridal party and guests had rented the castle for the following day as well, expecting to be served a Sunday brunch. On their way out of the kitchen and to their rooms, Marcus paused a moment blocking the girls passage down the hallway. Just as Beth was starting to get annoyed, Marcus smiled shyly and congratulated the girls on a job well done before turning and continuing the way to his room. The girls thanked him and returned the sentiment but had been thrown for a loop by his sudden change in attitude from smug to humble. At this point Beth felt like a zombie and her only concern was finding her bed, never mind whatever Marcus had to say or if he had suddenly grown a heart.
Beth didn't remember falling asleep that night but she abruptly woken up at three in the morning by a frantic Diana. Diana in turn had been woken up by a big commotion in the halls outside their room. As Beth rubbed the sleep from her eyes they both heard a piercing scream in the not too far distance. Pulling on robes and slippers the girls went out to investigate. They were greeted outside their door by a shirtless and breathless Marcus. “Are you ok?” he asked the girls, panting and wearing only a pair of flannel pajama bottoms with no shirt or slippers. Beth’s eyes traced over his chiseled and muscled torso for a moment before she felt Diana gently elbowing her and queuing Beth to say yes. The three followed the voices they heard through the hallway and into the grand ballroom where the reception had taken place. As they walked toward the small crowd of people gathered around, Marcus, Beth and Diana speculated that there must have been an accident or that someone had gotten hurt but nothing could prepare them for what they were about to see.
The bride had been the first on the scene followed by her father and Johnny, the men having heard the screams had run to Jessica’s aide. By the time the girls and Marcus got there, Johnny had covered the body with a clean white table cloth and was pr
onouncing an estimated time of death. Jessica and her newlywed husband Ryan had been the last ones to leave both the party and the ballroom, heading hand in hand to their honeymoon suite, both notably buzzed from cocktails served at the wedding and ready to start their honeymoon. Their suite, like all the other rooms had been equipped with key cards when the castle had originally been converted into a hotel. Ryan realized he had mistakenly left his suit jacket containing the room’s keycard in the ballroom. Telling Jessica to wait just a moment, he backtracked to retrieve his jacket and the key. After several minutes, Jessica began to wonder what was taking Ryan so long and went to go fetch him. It was then that she had found her husband laying on the floor of the ballroom, jacket in hand, Ryan had collapsed in the center of the dance floor. Johnny tried his best to resuscitate Ryan to no success and emergency services from the city had been called. The storm still raged outside and was nearing its height, the emergency operator informed them that it would probably be at least another day before the island would be accessible and help could be sent.
Once she had been consoled and was calm, Johnny began to ask Jessica a barrage of questions. The girls couldn't help but note this seemed especially cruel given the circumstances, as did Jessica’s father but Johnny insisted that they were necessary. The line of questioning seemed innocent enough and typical of an EMT that had arrived at the scene of an incident. Johnny asked if Ryan had any known allergies, health conditions and other questions of the sort. Once he had all the information he needed, a grieving Jessica was escorted back to her room to rest and also to prevent any further hysterics or disturbances at the scene.
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 54
