Dish Best Served Cold (Corporate Chaos Series Book 5)

by Leighann Dobbs

  Brenda paced around the tiny apartment as she talked on the phone to Dick. She hated living there, but it was all that she could afford for rent right now, especially since she wasn’t working. Her full-time job was planning the demise of everyone who had gotten her kicked off of that Chef Masters cooking show. And it really was a full-time job, between following people around so she could learn their schedules and reading every social media site that talked about local events. She had learned a lot and was seriously considering becoming a private investigator when this was over. Maybe she would start her own company!

  “Brenda, you can’t live like this forever! Let it go! That chefs’ contest was just a small blip of your life. Of our life. But it’s all that you’ve focused on since it happened. You’ve let it take over your entire life. It’s just not healthy.”

  “But don’t you see that we should have won?” she asked Dick incredulously. How could he just be content with what had happened?

  “Brenda! It doesn’t matter! It was almost two years ago, and look what your obsession with it has done. We lost the restaurant, and we almost lost our house. Our marriage has suffered tremendously. This is insane.”

  She sat down on the old couch that she had bought on Craigslist for fifty dollars, the rickety springs sticking into her back through the flimsy brown fabric. They had lost the restaurant because instead of doing the marketing and managing the employees, she had focused on other things. Dick was right about that, and she felt bad. But she couldn’t just let them get away with it! She was doing this as much for him as she was for herself. He just didn’t realize that yet.

  “I know you don’t agree with me, but I’m doing it for both of us. You just don’t see it. But you will.”

  “When? When will I see it? We are separated, Brenda. I’m asking you to please, for the last time, stop this obsession. It’s unhealthy. We can get you some therapy, and then maybe we can work on getting our marriage back together. Please?”

  Brenda sat in silence. She knew that no matter what she said, he wouldn’t understand.

  “I only need a few more days, and then we can talk about therapy. Okay?”

  She didn’t hear his answer, whatever it was. She was too busy thinking about what time she needed to get to O’Rourke’s the next day.

  6

  The clock on the wall across from Sarah’s desk ticked loudly, reminding her every second that she was supposed to be in the kitchen and not sitting at her desk.

  She looked down at her phone and deleted the text she had written for the third time. Or was it the fourth? Whatever she wrote sounded so stupid!

  She hadn’t slept well at all. She had been too worried about her reaction to Marly telling her that she was pregnant. Or more like her lack of reaction. She knew that Marly had struggled for a year to get pregnant and that her doctor had told her that because of her endometriosis, she had a very slim chance of being able to conceive. The fact that she was pregnant was amazing, and Sarah should have jumped up and down and shouted from the rooftops in glee for her friend.

  Instead she had choked on her drink and asked, “What?”

  With the VIP tasting happening tonight, she didn’t have time to go see Marly, and she knew that Marly was probably in business meetings all day anyway. She wanted to send a quick text to reassure her that she really was happy for her. Marly had confided that she hadn’t told anyone else yet, including Jasper. This made Sarah feel even worse.

  I’m so happy for you. You’re going to make the best mom ever! I’m excited to be an aunt!

  She hit Send and walked down to the lobby. It was time to focus on work. She had spent over an hour on that text!

  “I’ve never seen you pace around like this. Is everything okay?”

  Sarah nodded yes to Myrtle as she looked out the lobby doors for the third time.

  “I’m just waiting for the final food for tonight to be dropped off, and I’m a little antsy over it.”

  Antsy was putting it mildly. She had called her supplier first thing that morning when she woke up at seven to ensure they would be dropping the beef off, but it was almost noon, and it wasn’t there yet. They started their deliveries at five, and she had assumed that they would have been at O’Rourke’s around nine. Technically she didn’t need it for a few more hours, but that would really be pushing it close to serving time, and she couldn’t have that. Her anxiety was kicking into high gear.

  “If they come in here for some strange reason—instead of the kitchen, I mean—can you let me know?”

  “Of course, honey. If you need me to help with anything, let me know.”

  “Thanks, Myrtle.”

  Sarah headed back to the kitchen, hoping that the beef would arrive any minute so she could set her anxiety aside. She decided that she would have her usual pre-event meeting with the staff now, since things would be too busy later.

  “Meeting!” she yelled as she entered the busy kitchen.

  She had a group of a dozen or so employees that worked for her. Even though there weren’t events every day, she always had the same kitchen staff. Gertie had agreed to it. They were paid as if they were full-time employees to ensure that they were always available. Every month the calendar filled up with more and more events, so most of them would be working a full forty or more hours anyway. Consistency was important in a kitchen.

  “Okay, so I just want to go over things for tonight as well as emphasize again how important these next two events, the VIP tasting and the charity ball, are. Tonight’s event is just a tasting. So, we have a lot of main dishes that are in appetizer portions. The menus and recipes that you need are right here. Please remember that this event is strictly for people who have either donated a kidney or received a kidney transplant, so there are special menus available for people with food restrictions. All the food will be labeled, along with the ingredients, so the guests can see them. The servers will be running the food upstairs, and I want to use the warming racks as much as possible so that the food is out of the kitchen and upstairs. We will also use chaffing dishes. Any questions on this?”

  She looked around at the group, who all were listening intently.

  “Okay, good. For the charity ball, we will have full courses. You’ve already been given the menu and recipes for this as well, but as always, I will probably have a few last-minute changes.” The group laughed. They were accustomed to Sarah making last-minute changes and were able to handle them without skipping a beat.

  “There will be light hors d’oeuvres passed around, with the main meal being seven courses. It will start with this soup, and since I don’t want any catastrophes with serving soup, I’m using two giant pots to hold the soup in the rear of the ballroom, and it will be ladled individually up there.”

  “Will one of us be ladling it, or are you having the waitstaff do that?”

  “I’m leaning toward waitstaff. I feel like I need all of you here, in the kitchen. How hard can ladling soup be?” Sarah asked, making them all laugh.

  “Lastly, have any of you been dumping grease outside the back door here?”

  They all shook their heads, looking at her in surprise.

  “Why would we do that? We all know not to. Besides, a lot of us use that door to go in and out for a quick breath of fresh air. Slipping and falling on some grease and breaking an arm would suck,” Jennifer replied as the other sous-chefs nodded their heads in agreement.

  “Okay, I just wanted to check. Thanks, everyone.” Sarah watched as the half dozen of them started to make their way to the appropriate section of the kitchen to start working on the food prep.

  She walked to the door and stepped back outside, looking around and then down at the spot where the grease had been. She knew someone had to have put it there on purpose. Kidney whisked between her legs, running out toward the dumpster. She started to call his name and then stopped. They tried to keep Kidney inside ever since Gertie had adopted him, but it wasn’t uncommon for him to bolt outside when he saw a chance
. He always came back and usually sat outside the glass front doors, waiting for Myrtle to let him in.

  She glanced down at her watch and looked around one last time. Still no delivery of the Kobe beef. It was one of the most important dishes that she had planned, and of course, today would be the one day that the delivery would be delayed for some—or no—reason.

  “Busy, busy.”

  Sarah turned to see Gertie.

  “Is everything going okay? The food is all set? All of your staff is here?” Gertie asked.

  “Uh, yes, fine. It’s all under control,” Sarah said. She couldn’t tell Gertie that the Kobe beef hadn’t shown up yet. Gertie would flip a lid, and there was nothing worse than Gertie flipping a lid.

  “Okay, good. Let me know if you need anything, dear.”

  Sarah watched Gertie roll away. Where was the damn beef?

  Brenda let her breath out and stood up. Phew—that was a close one! When the cat had run over to where she was hiding behind the dumpster, she thought for sure that Sarah would have come chasing after it.

  Meow!

  Kidney rubbed against her ankle and started to purr, looking up at her with his emerald-green eyes.

  “Go away, you pest!” she said, making a pssst noise at him to try to scare him away. Instead he sat down and hit her leg with his paw, looking up at her with his trusting eyes and meowing loudly, as if he were asking for her to pick him up.

  She leaned over, lifted him up, and rubbed the soft fur behind his ears. The stupid cat sure was cuddly. Her heart softened as she held him.

  Maybe she should get a cat. After all, she was pretty lonely, and having a cat around would be one way to make herself feel better when she was just sitting alone inside her cramped apartment. She got so bored sometimes. She couldn’t afford cable TV, and watching the same few channels was so tedious. In fact, maybe she should just take this cat. He really seemed to like her. Plus, Gertie and all the others were extremely fond of him, so it would ruin their day if they thought he was lost. She had seen the cat riding on Gertie’s lap in her wheelchair before when she was leaving at the end of the day. She bet Gertie would be devastated if she couldn’t bring Kidney home anymore.

  What was involved in taking care of a cat? “It can’t be that hard to take care of you, right?” she whispered to Kidney, who purred in response. “A litter box, some catnip, maybe.”

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a truck approaching, the loud engine echoing throughout the otherwise silent area. She dropped Kidney, who let out an angry meow before skittering away into the nearby bushes.

  She pulled the collar of her black chef’s jacket up and adjusted the white chef’s beret down low, so that it was almost below her eyebrows. She made sure that all of her hair was tucked up underneath it, and her giant sunglasses concealed most of her face. Not bad for a five-dollar purchase at the toy store. They were giant mirrored glasses that belonged to a police costume. They were perfect.

  She reached down for the tote bag that she had with her, hesitating for a moment. Should she leave it here, behind the dumpster? She decided not to, as she didn’t want anyone to steal it, and hitched it up onto her shoulder, trying to hide the bulk of it behind her back.

  Just as the truck finished backing up to the loading dock, she darted out from behind the dumpster and marched over to the driver’s side door. She knocked on it, looking up as she did so. The driver looked at her and rolled the window down.

  “This needs to be dropped off on the other side, at the other loading dock,” she said to the driver, pointing toward the other side of the building. She glanced at the kitchen door, hoping that no one would open it up. She had watched them receive deliveries before and knew that typically the driver got out of the truck and rang the bell.

  “What? We always drop the food off here. It’s the kitchen.”

  “Well, there’s been a change. Unless you want us to use someone else who can follow directions, then I suggest you just do what you’re told. So drop it off on the other side, at the other dock. It’s narrow, so you’ll have to back it in. Just leave it outside the door. I have to go get a dolly to bring it in.” She spoke gruffly, trying to sound like a man, which was probably why the driver was looking at her so strangely. Between her voice and the giant sunglasses, he was probably trying to figure out who the heck she was, but she didn’t care. As long as that food didn’t get delivered to the kitchen, she would be happy. No food, no party. Boo-hoo!

  The driver rolled his window back up, shaking his head, and then proceeded to drive away.

  She darted to the side of the building and skulked along the alleyway that led to the loading dock on the other side of the old mill, where the delivery would now be made. No one ever went over there, but just in case Sarah figured out that the food was there, Brenda wanted to see the look on her face.

  She took off her sunglasses and chef’s beret and settled down on top of a tree stump, reaching into her tote bag for the sandwich and water that she had packed. She thought she might be here for a while, so she may as well eat. It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to be!

  7

  “It’s a drizzle, from left to right. So, it’s across the mozzarella slice diagonally. Watch, like this. Do it lightly, though, so not too much comes out. If you do it too heavy, it turns the whole mozzarella slice brown, and I don’t want that. I like the dark line against the white of the cheese.”

  Sarah showed one of the sous-chefs what she meant, drizzling the balsamic glaze so that it made a deep-brown diagonal line across the slice of white mozzarella cheese. While she fully trusted the sous-chefs that worked under her, she was still a bit of a control freak when it came to presentation. Even though she had the same group of people work for her in the kitchen, most of the other staff also worked at another facility when there weren’t functions at O’Rourke’s. Sometimes she felt that they needed to remember that O’Rourke’s was a five-star venue instead of just an average banquet hall.

  When she was certain that he understood how to plate the mozzarella, she wiped her hands on her apron, looking around the kitchen and then at her watch. Still no food delivery, and the VIP tasting was only a few hours away. Her heart started to race a bit, and she ran through the food she had available to whip up another dish in case the beef didn’t show up.

  She walked over to the rear door and opened it up, hoping to see the delivery truck backing up to unload the food onto the dock. She jumped back a bit, startled, as Raffe was standing there instead of the truck. His arms were behind his back, as if he was holding something that he didn’t want her to see.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked him, annoyed and slightly suspicious. Why did he always seem to be lurking around, and why did he always show up when she was busy? It was like he had the worst timing ever.

  “Uh, well, I’m being spontaneous. Surprise! And I came to give you this.”

  He brought his hands out from behind his back to reveal a pink purse. A horrible, gaudy, very large pink purse with a gold chain strap. It had logos all over it, and Sarah knew it was a very expensive designer bag, but that didn’t make it look any better to her. Everything was wrong about it. The color, the size, the style.

  Sarah looked at it like it was a bug. A big, disgusting, pink bug.

  “What is this? Why?” she asked him, not sure if she had heard him right. Why on earth would he be giving her a purse? Had she somehow mentioned to him that she needed one?

  “It’s for you.” He held the purse out toward her enthusiastically, a smile on his face.

  Sarah reached out for the purse, forcing a smile on her face and holding it out away from her body, like the purse was diseased. An ugly, diseased, bright-pink purse. What on earth was he thinking?

  Raffe was starting to get a headache. Why was Sarah looking at him like she was annoyed that he had showed up? Wasn’t that being spontaneous, which was what she had said she wanted more of? And she hadn’t liked the purse. She hadn’t even
faked liking it. He could tell that she had forced that smile and was holding the purse like it was contaminated with nuclear waste. He wished that he hadn’t come at all. This was going horribly wrong.

  “Raffe, when have you ever seen me carry a purse?”

  Raffe thought for a few minutes while Sarah looked around outside impatiently, holding the purse by the strap with one finger. Come to think of it, he didn’t remember her ever having a purse. She usually just had one of those small things that had a strap for the wrist. Her phone had a case that held credit cards and money. Was that all she carried with her most of the time? Ugh. He needed to remember to tell Edward this, that not all women loved purses. This was another screwup. An expensive one at that.

  “Uh, I haven’t, so… I… that’s why I bought you this one. Because I thought maybe you needed a purse. To carry your stuff in.” Raffe was lying, but she wouldn’t know. He had to answer her somehow, and this was a pretty good one. She didn’t have a purse, so he bought her one. That was thoughtful, wasn’t it?

  “Well, thanks. It’s… this was… uh… thoughtful of you. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m running behind right now. I need to get all the food prepped for the VIP tasting. By any chance, did you happen to see a delivery truck when you came down here, or maybe parked out front?”

  Raffe could tell by her tone that she didn’t want to talk to him anymore. So much for spontaneity. It was time for him to leave before this got any worse.

  “No, I didn’t see a truck. Or anyone else. Uh, I’ll let you get back to work.”

  He turned around and started to walk slowly back to his car. So much for his big plan to wow her. The purse would probably end up with the flowers. Or maybe the flowers would be shoved into the purse and the whole thing thrown away.

  “Are the clothes for the events at O’Rourke’s all set?”

  Marly took a deep breath, hoping it would help get rid of the nausea that was starting to bubble up from her belly.