"Large cola for me, please," Wes requested.
The waitress left to get their drinks.
"Are you really thinking about canceling your New Year's Eve party?
"Yes, I am. It would be disaster. Jenny would be preparing the food in the kitchen and I'd be out there entertaining my guests, which would include Colleen. So, yes, I'm canceling it. You know what I'd really like to do is get out of town for a while."
"Here you go, gentlemen." The waitress placed their drinks in front of them. "Are you ready to order?"
"I'd like to have a barbecue pulled pork sandwich with a baked sweet potato," Wes said.
"I'll take a bowl of potato soup and the half turkey club," Derek answered.
The waitress took their menus and left.
"Soup? You must be hung over."
Derek nodded and took a drink of his coffee.
"Why do you want to go away?"
"Can you imagine what Christmas would be like for me this year? Dinner with Ellen, John and their little rug rats, not to mention she'd invite Colleen, whether I'd want her to, or not. She refuses to stop her matchmaking."
"Hey, I have an idea. How about you and me fly out to Aspen for the holidays?" Wes suggested.
"That sounds great, but at this late date, I doubt we could get a room."
"We don't need a room. I have a client in Cincinnati who has a chalet out there. He said whenever I want to use it to call him. A little skiing, some snow bunnies, how about it?"
"Getting away would be ideal," Derek said.
"Great. I'll call him tonight to make sure it's available. We could probably leave Sunday and come back in two weeks."
"The more I think about it, the more I like it. It's been a couple years since I took an actual vacation."
The waitress had brought their food. "Here you go. Can I get you anything else?"
Both men said no and the waitress left and they started eating. A few minutes later, Derek's phone rang. He checked the caller ID and let it go to voicemail.
"Colleen?" Wes asked.
"No, Jenny."
"What are you going to do about those ladies?"
"I wish I knew. I didn't think I was ready for a long-term commitment, but when I saw Jenny with that other guy, I felt anger. On the other hand, we aren't in an exclusive relationship and I had no right to be jealous."
"What about Colleen?"
"I've enjoyed her company, but never meant it to go as far as it did last night. I more or less went out with her to keep Ellen off my back."
"Yeah, well that didn't work out very well, did it?" Wes took a bite of his sandwich.
"I've got to break it off with her. I'll tell her that last night was a drunken mistake and we should stop seeing each other."
"Whoa, as your friend and especially as your attorney, I have to advise you not to do that. Not yet anyway."
"Why?"
"Three words. Sexual. Harassment. Lawsuit. You're her boss and you slept with her. Now, you want to dump her. She'll have you in court so fast you won't know what hit you. She could take you for a lot of money."
"But, what about mutual consent?"
Wes shook his head. "She'll claim she was afraid of losing her job, if she didn't sleep with you."
"What do I do then?"
"For one thing, don't sleep with her again."
"That, I guarantee, will not happen again."
"Other than that, you'll have to slowly back off from her. If you go out with her, keep it at public place and don't accept any dinners at her home or yours."
Derek's phone rang. "It's Jenny again."
Are you going to answer it?"
"No." He hit the reject button. "I'll call her back tonight when I get home."
After Derek and Wes finished their meal, they paid the bill and walked outside. Snowflakes were starting to fall.
"I think we're supposed to get a couple inches tonight," Wes said looking at the sky.
"Looks like River Bluff will be in for a white Christmas too."
"I'll call you as soon as I know whether the chalet is available."
"Good. I can't wait to get away for a while."
They each got into their own cars and left.
Later that evening, Derek sat in the living room staring at the fire burning in the fireplace. He let out a deep breath, picked up the phone, and dialed Jenny's number.
"Hello."
"Hi, it’s Derek."
"I've been trying to get in touch with you all day."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been really busy. What did you need?"
"I wanted to finalize the menu for your New Year's Eve party. I thought about driving over to see you, but with the snow, I don't think my car would make it up your hill."
"Right, the party. I'm afraid I have some bad news. I've decided to cancel the party."
"Cancel! Why?"
He couldn't tell her that he had to get away because she had dated another man, which in turn caused him to sleep with Colleen. "Wes asked me to go to Aspen with him for a couple weeks. You know, do a little skiing, take a break from work."
"No, I don't know. I've never been skiing and I've never been able to afford to take time off from work for a vacation."
He felt like a heel now. He forgot she hadn't had the luxuries he had. "I thought I would have a dinner party on the weekend before Valentine's Day instead. Could you come up with something for that?"
"Valentine's Day?" She paused. "Ah, sure, I suppose I could do that."
"Great. I'll contact you after I get home from my trip and we can finalize the details. Thanks."
"Will there be the same number of guests as the New Year's Eve party?"
"No, I don't think so. This will likely be a smaller intimate dinner party somewhere around the same number as the Thanksgiving party was."
"I'll get working on the menu and have something to show you when you return then."
"Jenny, canceling this party isn't going to put you in a bind for money, is it?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how stupid it sounded.
"No, you don't have to worry about me being dependent on your party to pay my bills. Have a nice trip."
"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." Too late, she had already hung up. He considered calling her back, but didn't think she would answer.
He got up and looked out the window. With the snow still falling, it looked like about two inches on the ground already. The phone rang and he quickly picked it up thinking Jenny was calling again. "Hello."
"Derek, why haven't you called me?"
"Hello, Colleen." He sat back down on the couch.
"I wanted to make sure you got those contracts signed and in the mail today."
"I did and you could have called Ellen to find that out."
"If I had called her, I wouldn't have been able to talk to you, now would I? I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner on Saturday and maybe even spend the weekend in Cincy. What do you think?"
"I'm afraid I'm going to be busy. Wes and I are going to Aspen for an extended holiday trip and I need to get the house ready to be closed for a couple weeks."
"But, what about Christmas and your New Year's Eve party?" she gasped.
"I'm canceling the party."
"Wait, I have an idea. How about Cynthia and I fly out and spend the weekend with you boys? We could go skiing and shopping. It would be great."
"I don't think so."
"Christmas in Colorado. I can't wait to call Cynthia."
"Colleen."
"I'll need to buy a few things and luggage. Oh my gosh, I need a new suitcase so bad."
"Colleen!"
"Yes."
"You and Cynthia are not invited."
"Not even for a weekend?" she murmured.
"Not even for a weekend. Wes and I want to get away for a while."
"I see," she said after a moment of silence on the line.
"I'm sorry. I'll call you when I return," he said, rememberi
ng Wes' warning about a sexual harassment lawsuit.
"Of course. We'll get together once you return."
"I'll be at the office tomorrow, if you need my signature on anything before I leave. I'll designate Tom Erickson to sign things while I'm gone."
"I understand and will see you tomorrow, Derek." Colleen hung up.
Derek knew her next call would be to Cynthia, so he dialed Wes.
"Hello."
"It's Derek. Have you told Cynthia about our trip yet?"
"No, she was on the news when I got home. Why?"
"I just got off the phone with Colleen and when I told her you and I were going to Aspen, she immediately suggested she and Cynthia fly out for the weekend."
"I hope you told her no. This is a stag trip."
"I did, but wanted to give you a head's up. My guess is that she's on the phone with Cynthia right now."
"You're probably right. Thanks for the warning. Did you get our transportation lined up?"
"I did. The James Corporation jet will be waiting for us on Saturday and I reserved a Cadillac Escalade for us to drive while we're out there."
"Outstanding. You know, Christmas may not be so bad this year after all." Wes almost sounded giddy.
"I'll pick you up around ten Saturday morning."
"See you then."
* * * *
The next day at work, Derek had a lot of loose ends to tie up before leaving on his trip. Ellen sat in front of his desk taking notes as he dictated his instructions to her.
"Make sure you get in touch with all of the guests and to tell them I've cancelled the party."
"I will."
"Here's a new guest list for my Valentine's dinner party." Ellen took the list and looked it over.
"You're not asking Colleen?"
"I haven't decided who my date for the evening will be yet. Please extend invitations with rsvp requests included."
"She'll be heartbroken if you don't ask her, Derek."
"I don't want to discuss it," he said, not looking up from the paper he held in his hands. "If you haven't heard from those bids that we filed by the end of the week, start calling them. If anything else comes up, take it to Tom Erickson. I've already spoke with him about what might come up."
"Okay." She finished her notes. "Where are you staying in case I need to reach you?"
"Just call my cell phone and leave a voice mail. I'll call back when I have time."
"Seriously, Derek. You're not going to tell me where you're staying and you aren't going to answer your phone?"
"I," he smiled, "will be on vacation."
Ellen couldn't help but laugh. "Well, we'll miss you at Christmas dinner. Make sure you pick up your gift in my office before you leave today."
"My gifts to you, John, and the kids should be delivered tomorrow."
A knock at the door interrupted them. Ellen got up to answer it.
"Is Derek here?"
"Jenny?" Recognizing her voice, he jumped out of his chair and rushed to the door. "Please come in. Thank you, Ellen." Derek closed the door after Ellen left. "It's nice to see you. Please sit down." He led her to the couch at the side of his office. "Before you say anything, I need to apologize for what I said last night about your bills. It was out of line and I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded."
"I knew you didn't mean it that way. You're not like that. I wanted to stop by and give this to you before you left on your trip." Out of the tote bag she carried, she handed Derek a wrapped Christmas gift.
As he took the box, he felt his heart grow warmer. "Thank you. You didn't have to get me anything."
"I really wanted to."
"I have something for you too." He walked over to his desk and got a small box out of his briefcase. "I was going to have this delivered to you on Christmas Eve, but since you're here." He handed her the box.
"Thank you, but you've done so much for me already. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be cooking at the parties that's paying my tuition right now."
"Open your gift," he prodded.
"You first."
"Together."
"Okay."
They both started tearing the wrapping paper off of their gifts.
Jenny got her gift opened first. "Oh, Derek. I don't know what to say." She pulled a necklace out of the box and on it was a pendant that was a gold chef's hat.
He could see the tears swelling in her eyes. "Your cooking is what brought us together."
"Technically, it was your cook abandoning you, but thank you." They laughed. "I love it." She got a tissue out of her purse to dab her eyes. "This really makes your gift look bad now."
Derek removed the lid from the large box and lifted out a blue ski sweater with a red and white design. "This is nice and I will definitely need it on my trip. Thank you. It's perfect."
"That's why I got it for you. I thought you could wear it while skiing and I didn't want you to forget me while you're gone."
"I could never forget you." He started to lean over to kiss her when someone opened the door and walked in.
"Derek. Oh, I didn't know you were with someone."
"Good morning, Colleen," he said.
Colleen looked at Jenny. "Hello, Miss Marshall."
"It's nice to see you, Colleen."
"Did you need something?" Derek asked.
"I wanted to catch you before you left and thank you for the lovely tennis bracelet." She held her arm out in front of Jenny. The diamonds sparked in the light from the window.
"I should get back to the bakery." Jenny put the necklace and its box in her bag and stood to leave.
"You don't have to go," he said, also standing.
"Yes, Derek, I do. I hope you enjoy your vacation." She turned and left the office.
"I'm glad she left. Now, I can thank you properly." Colleen started to put her arms around him, but he took a step back.
"Where did you get that gift?"
"Ellen dropped it by my office this morning. She said you were so busy that she volunteered to deliver it."
"I have a lot of work to do. I'm glad you like the bracelet." He sat down behind his desk and started reading a file.
"It's almost lunchtime, Derek. Let's go out for lunch."
"I just said I'm busy. I'm sorry, but I don't have time for lunch." He tried not to show his anger.
"Okay. If I don't see you before you leave, have a great trip." She winked at him.
"Thank you."
Colleen left the office, but he heard her and Ellen making lunch plans.
Later, when Derek heard Ellen come back from lunch, he called her in.
"Yes, Derek."
"Would you close the door and sit down?" She did as instructed. "Did you give Colleen a tennis bracelet and tell her if was from me?"
"Technically, I didn't lie when I said that to her. I used your credit card that I still had from picking up your dry cleaning and used it."
"Why in the world would you do that?"
"Well, I knew you'd forget. You always forget things like that."
"Damn it, Ellen!" He stood up. "I swear if you weren't my sister, I'd fire you right now." He walked over and got a bottle of water out of his mini-frig.
"I don't understand. Did you already buy her something?"
"You really don't get it." He sat back down. "I wasn't going to give her anything for Christmas, other than the usual gift that the department heads receive here at work. You're constant meddling has cost me a relationship with Jenny, five-hundred dollars for that bracelet, and possibly a lawsuit when Colleen realizes that I don't want a relationship with her."
* * * *
Jenny walked into the bakery to start her late morning shift. The first rush of customers had already ended, but a few still waited. She grabbed her apron, washed her hands, and helped Becky until all of them had left.
"Christmas is good for business, but I can't wait for it to be over," Becky said.
"I sure agree with that. In fact, I'm sick of
all the holidays," Jenny replied.
Becky poured two cups of coffee. "Let's take a break." Jenny followed Becky to one of the small tables by the front window. "What's wrong? You usually love the holidays, especially the winter ones."
Jenny took a sip of her coffee. "Not this year. Derek cancelled his New Year's Eve Party and he's leaving tomorrow to go skiing in Aspen for two weeks."
"Don't tell me he's taking that woman from his office with him."
"No, I don't think so, but he might as well." She looked out the window.
"Why would you say that?"
She turned back toward Becky. "I stopped by his office this morning to give him a sweater for Christmas. Just as he was about to kiss me, Colleen walked in to thank him for the tennis bracelet he gave her. You should have seen her flaunt it under my nose. I wanted to smack her."
"He gave her a gift, but not you?"
"No, he gave me this." She held up the necklace she wore around her neck.
Becky adjusted her glasses to get a better look. "Jenny, this is gorgeous. Anyone can pick out a bracelet, but he took some thought in getting this for you."
"You really think so?"
"I really do."
"Well, I'm still mad at him."
"What else did he do?"
"I told you he cancelled his New Year's Eve party. In its place, he’s having a Valentine's dinner party and instead of asking me to be his date for that evening, he asked me to cook for it!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Men can be so stupid sometimes."
"Yes, they can." She had to laugh at Becky's comment.
"Okay kiddo, break time's over. We have about fifteen pecan pies we need to bake for orders tomorrow and, if we have time, we need to start on the pumpkin pies too. We better get at it."
By five o'clock, all of the pecan pies were finished and they had a number of the pumpkin pies done. Jenny locked the front door and went to the kitchen where Becky waited by the back door for her. She turned off the lights and they stepped outside into a mist of flurries floating down from the sky.
"Do you have plans tonight?" Becky asked.
"A friend from school is coming over."
"I don't know how I'm going to get along here once you graduate in a few months," Becky said.
"Don't count me out yet. If I don't get a job cooking somewhere, I'll be counting on this job to help pay my bills."
A Kitchen Affair Page 11
