Dish Best Served Cold (Corporate Chaos Series Book 5)

by Leighann Dobbs

  “Frustrated,” Raffe replied.

  11

  Marly greeted the guests at the VIP tasting, stepping as far away from the food as she could. The smell turned her stomach, despite everyone around her praising how amazing it was.

  “Thank you so much for the gown! I’ve never owned anything as nice as this before.”

  Marly smiled and made small talk with the guest, one of dozens that Draconia had designed an outfit for. She had agreed to come to the first hour of the tasting just to ensure that everyone’s outfit was okay, as they had all been delivered only days prior to the event. Now she wished that she had sent someone else. Her stomach was churning nonstop, and the smell of the food made it worse.

  “Do you feel okay?”

  Marly turned to see Veronica standing there.

  “Yes, why do you ask that?”

  “Well, you’re bone white, for starters,” Veronica said. “Why don’t you head out? I can handle things. Everyone that received clothes is here now anyway, so they should be fine. By the way, great job on the gowns and tuxedos. They all look beautiful. Including Kidney’s!”

  “Thanks. Yours came out amazing, if I do say so myself.”

  Marly had designed Veronica’s gown herself, something that she never would have done willingly a few years ago. But Veronica was okay in her eyes. She had gone from being a trouble-making witch to a supportive friend.

  Her gown was a beautiful plum color, lighter at the top and then darker toward the bottom. It was a one-shouldered style and fit Veronica’s hourglass shape well. The once stick-thin woman had been self-conscious about her figure, and Marly had been happy that when Veronica had tried the gown on, it was extremely flattering.

  “Thanks to you, it did,” Veronica said.

  “How’s everyone? Did they all get their outfits?” Gertie asked anxiously as she wheeled up. Kidney was in her lap, looking like a tiny prince in his black-and-orange tuxedo.

  “Yes, everyone got them. They all were very thankful. I’m glad we could do this for everyone,” Marly said, wishing her stomach would stop flip-flopping.

  “Everyone is having an amazing time, Gertie. I was just telling Marly that she should go home. We’ve got things covered from here.”

  “Yes, Marly dear, go home to Jasper. I am sure he would be happy to see you home so soon for once.”

  Marly forced a smile. Yes, Jasper would be thrilled to see her home so soon. Until she had to disappear into the bathroom.

  Sarah looked around the ballroom, impressed with the setup. Veronica and Harper really did know how to throw an event. The room had large round tables of ten for all of the guests, with a dance floor at the far end that was against a wall of windows that overlooked the water. Gertie had been given approval by the city to have giant spotlights shine on the water on the nights that there were events, and a gentle breeze rippled the water’s surface. The large wall sconces had both white and pale-orange bulbs, casting a pretty glow up against the walls. The lights were typically a pale lavender but must have been changed to orange for these events.

  There was a professional photographer taking photos throughout the event, and everyone was dressed in formal wear. The servers, who all wore white gloves, were passing around hors d’oeuvres and offering champagne and non-alcoholic mocktinis. There was a row of chaffing dishes that ran along the back of the room, and Sarah walked toward it, nodding hello to people as she walked by.

  She checked each of the chaffing dishes, making sure that they were all full and that the food was warm. For the tasting there were several different dishes available, all of which were placed on each table. If people liked a dish and wanted more of it, they could find it in the chaffing dishes.

  “It’s all delicious,” Harper said to her, accepting a bacon-wrapped scallop from a server.

  “I just want to make sure it’s perfect. They all seem to be having fun. Including Gertie,” Sarah said, nodding her head to where Gertie was. Several people were standing around her, and all of them were laughing.

  “It’s a great group of people. There’s some pretty incredible stories too. Like, that guy over there? The super-tall one? He almost died, and then this guy over there, the one with the mustache, he donated a kidney to him. And guess what? It turns out they had gone to high school together and had absolutely hated each other. Mustache Guy had bullied Tall Guy. Now they’re best friends.”

  “Wow,” Sarah said. Harper always became a part of the event. She didn’t just plan it, but she got to know the guests as well. She was a people person, and her name was always mentioned in the reviews that would come flooding in on social media after an event.

  “So, the servers will start the main course soon. Followed by desserts. The food is all warm and ready to go, so you might want to get everyone seated shortly.”

  “Okay, thanks. Are you sticking around? You don’t need to. The food is all set, and I know you’ve had a long day. I can call you if something urgent comes up.”

  “I’ll be here. I just want to make sure the kitchen’s cleaned and ready for tomorrow.”

  “I knew you would say that,” Harper joked. “Try not to stay too late.”

  Once she was in the hallway, Sarah texted Raffe and asked him if he could possibly stop by for a quick chat. Her earlier text had asked him to come by the next day, but he was usually working late at the restaurant. She had time now, and besides, she really wanted to know what the heck was going on. The whole delivery mix-up had really been bugging her—specifically what they had told her, that a man with a purse had told the driver to drop the food off at the wrong loading dock. She just needed to clean up the kitchen now, and cleaning was always how she fought through being upset. So at least if the talk didn’t go well when Raffe showed up, she would already be cleaning!

  “Desserts are in the refrigerated roll cases. Should we have them upstairs on standby and roll them in when food is done shortly?”

  “Yes, please. Thanks,” Sarah said to the servers. She took a deep breath. For the most part, everything was done for the event at this point. Everything needed from the kitchen, anyway.

  “Everything’s great. Gertie wanted me to tell you two thumbs up,” Veronica told Sarah as she entered the kitchen. “And nothing seems to be off, you know, like anyone trying to screw things up. So, it looks like we were just being paranoid.”

  Sarah chuckled, smiling, thinking how there was once a time she wouldn’t have believed anything that came out of Veronica’s mouth. Now the two were on good terms and worked well together to pull off the best events possible.

  “I guess it’s better to be paranoid than oblivious? And it’s good to hear things are going well. That’s great to hear. As long as everyone loves the food, I’m happy!”

  “They are all raving about it. Especially how you have food for all the people on restricted diets because of their medical issues. Personally, I loved the scallops with spicy honey. Remind me to ask you for the recipe later.”

  “Scallops with spicy honey? That sounds good.”

  Sarah and Veronica turned to see Raffe standing there with a grin on his face.

  “Well, I’m sure you can talk the chef into making you some,” Veronica said coyly, winking at Sarah before she excused herself to go back to the event.

  “Is now a good time? I was actually out eating dinner with Edward at Flanders when you texted, so it was easier for me to just swing by after we were done. I can come back later if that works better for you.”

  “No, now is perfect actually. Everything’s pretty much all set upstairs for food, so I’m just finishing things up here.”

  She walked over to the refrigerator, where she always had extra food, pulled out a small tray of the scallops, and placed them under the broiler.

  “So, what’s up? What did you want to talk about?” Raffe asked her, shifting nervously. “Is it about the surprise? If so…”

  “Surprise? What surprise?” she asked, hoping that he hadn’t left her another u
nwanted gift somewhere. She couldn’t take it if he had. Her head would pop off from frustration.

  “The purse.”

  “Oh, no. No, it isn’t about the purse. It’s about the food delivery. Did you tell the driver to drop the food off at the other loading dock?”

  “What? What food delivery?”

  “The Kobe beef for the party tonight was late. And it was because it was delivered to the wrong loading dock. They delivered it to the one over on the small alley.”

  “The one that you guys don’t even use? And you think I told them to do that? Why would I even be giving directions to any of your vendors? I know I’ve been around here a lot lately, but I’m not an employee. I wouldn’t do that unless you or Gertie asked me to.”

  Sarah stopped wiping down the stovetop and turned to look at him.

  “Well, I called the vendor, and they said that a man with a purse redirected the driver to the side loading dock. And you’re the only man around here that had a purse today. That I know of, anyway.”

  “Sarah, I didn’t even see the truck. And they described a man carrying a pink purse? I mean, it wasn’t like I was carrying it around like I had… uh… an actual purse. Okay, I guess when I walked from the parking lot to the outside rear door I was. But still, I don’t have any idea why they would say that. I never saw any truck or even talked to anyone.”

  She turned back to the oven and pulled out the scallops, the tops crispy from the broiler. She reached for the bottle of spicy sauce, drizzled it on top of them, and then plated a few for Raffe. She pushed the plate toward him.

  “They said it was a man that was a bit feminine carrying a large purse, or something like that. I mean, honestly, Raffe, I don’t know why you would have told them to change the delivery location, either, but with the weird things going on around here, I…”

  “Feminine? You think I’m feminine?” Raffe asked, seeming offended. “Me? How am I even remotely feminine? I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with a guy being feminine. But me?”

  Just then a loud noise came from behind the refrigerator, interrupting Sarah’s train of thought. She walked over to the side of the fridge, and Kidney came strutting out from behind it with a mouse in his mouth, its long tail moving frantically back and forth out of the corner of Kidney’s mouth.

  “Oh my God! A mouse!” Raffe screeched and scrambled to hop up onto the counter while raising his legs up in the air.

  “What the...” Sarah said, in shock at not just the sight of Kidney with the mouse but of Raffe jumping onto the counter and screaming like a teenage girl.

  Suddenly dozens of white mice started to pour out from behind the refrigerator, scattering all over the kitchen floor like a white blanket.

  “NO!” Raffe screeched.

  Sarah shot him a look. This behavior was kind of feminine!

  She grabbed the closest broom and swatted at the mice as Kidney scrambled all over the place, trying to grab a few more, his paws batting at them. Within a few minutes, they were gone, and Kidney disappeared behind the refrigerator. The kitchen was completely silent, the only noise being the distant beat of the band from the event upstairs.

  “What the hell just happened? I don’t believe this. This is nuts!” Sarah said, going to look behind the fridge.

  “Help me move this out.” She motioned with her arm to Raffe, who was still up on the counter.

  “No way! Did you see how many mice there were? It was like a swarm!”

  “Raffe! Get over here and help me! The mice are gone.”

  Raffe reluctantly hopped down and slowly walked over to Sarah, helping her push the large refrigerator away from the wall, exposing the wall behind it.

  “What the heck? The vent cover is pushed so far out it’s warped, so there’s a big gap between the wall and the cover,” Sarah said, getting down on her knees. She pushed with both hands against the cover, forcing it to bend back into place.

  “That must be where Kidney went. It leads to outside, right?” Raffe asked, looking around behind him to make sure no mice crept up on him.

  “Yup. Can you do me a favor and go outside and see what’s going on? My guess is that the vent cover will be off the wall. If so, then the mice could just run right in.”

  Raffe’s eyes darted around the room.

  “Raffe! The mice are gone. You’re fine. Check outside, please. Now!”

  Raffe left, and Sarah looked around the kitchen. The mice couldn’t have run off to the ballroom, which was where the event was. It was up several flights of stairs, and the hallways were brightly lit. Besides, the kitchen didn’t have any open doors. There was just the rear door to the loading dock and the set of swinging doors to enter or leave the kitchen within the building. Most of the mice had seemed to run back under the fridge, so hopefully they were back outside. But she wasn’t positive, and she couldn’t risk any mice being inside the building. Gertie would flip out, and it wouldn’t be good for business if customers started seeing mice!

  “What the heck is going on in here? Did I hear a little girl scream? And why is the fridge pulled out, and why are you holding that broom like it’s a weapon?”

  Sarah cringed. The kitchen had been empty, and now Veronica was here because she had heard Raffe screaming. What if others had heard?

  “We just had a mouse invasion. Please do not tell Gertie! Or anyone else for that matter! Did they hear him scream?”

  “Mice? What? Him—who? Wait—was that Raffe who screamed? Jeez, not very manly, huh?” Veronica started to laugh, and so did Sarah.

  “Okay, but this is serious. I know it’s an old mill, and I’m sure it was once full of mice, but we can’t have this. I mean, I’ve never seen any up until now, no mice and no droppings. We keep this place spotless and have an A rating with the city inspections. I’ll call an exterminator to be on the safe side, but we need to make sure Gertie doesn’t find out about this.”

  “Agreed. The last thing that needs to be in the local news is that we are infested with mice! No one would want to have their event here, and we would all be out of a job,” Veronica said.

  Raffe appeared in the doorway.

  “You were right. The vent outside was off of the wall, so there was a big hole. And it leads to behind the fridge. It’s the exhaust duct. So that’s how Kidney got in here as well as all of the mice. It’s chilly at night, so they probably felt the warmth of the exhaust and ran right in. I screwed it back in, so we are all set for now.”

  “Well, there’s one strange thing,” Sarah said. “I guess, in theory, that the vents could have just been damaged from usual wear and tear. And if so, I could see a few mice finding their way inside. But this was way more than a few. I mean, I’m not an expert, but I don’t think mice run around in gangs.”

  “So, what are you saying?” Veronica asked.

  The three of them all looked at each other.

  “I’m saying that I think that this was done on purpose.”

  “What’s going on?” Harper asked the trio as she entered the kitchen. “Raffe, was that you walking around in the alley?”

  “Yes,” Raffe said, looking at Sarah.

  “We just had a bunch of mice running around in here,” Sarah said.

  “What? Mice?” Harper asked, looking around on the floor.

  “Yes, I think they’re all gone now. Kidney came out from behind the fridge with one in his mouth, and then all of a sudden, a ton of them started running out. The vent was bent open, and when Raffe checked the vent outside, it was open as well.”

  “There was a mice nest in the basement when I started here, and we had a really hard time getting rid of them. They had been here for a long time, it being an old mill. It was the perfect place because of the water nearby and the scraps of wood and stuff for them to make homes in. It sounds like maybe there’s some living out in the alley area? I mean, there’s the tall brush and the dumpster for food,” Harper explained.

  “That makes sense, then,” Veronica said. “I’m going
back upstairs before Gertie comes looking for us.”

  “You really think it’s possible there’re nests outside?” Sarah asked Harper, still doubtful.

  “Absolutely. Trust me, there were a lot of them in the basement before. I’m going to go back upstairs as well.”

  Harper left, and Sarah looked over at Raffe, who was still looking around the kitchen floor as if he expected a mouse to zoom out at him any minute.

  “Uh, do you want a scallop, or are you too afraid to eat now?” she asked, laughing.

  He looked at her and laughed.

  “Sorry. Yes, a scallop would be great. What a crazy thing to have happen.”

  “I agree,” Sarah said as she plated some scallops for him. “I just hope that Harper was right.”

  12

  Sarah grabbed the local copy of the weekly newspaper and hurried down the sidewalk on her way to work. She flipped open the paper and thumbed through, her pace slowing as she did so. She wanted to make sure that nothing about the mice had made it into the local gossip sites. She'd already checked social media, and so far, so good. Now, she just had to make sure it stayed that way.

  She said a quick hello to Myrtle, who was busy writing some signage for the ball. Myrtle knew calligraphy and did most of the fancy writing that was needed at O’Rourke’s. Once in the kitchen, she scooped some ice up and dumped it into her jumbo-sized coffee tumbler then slowly poured the extra-strong coffee into it. Adding what most people considered to be way too much sugar and a tiny amount of cream, she shook it up and then took a long drink from it as she leaned up against the counter in the kitchen.

  She walked to the back door, looking at her watch. The exterminator was due any minute. She had asked him to park out back, next to the dumpster so that Gertie wouldn’t see him if she were to show up early. She stood outside for a few minutes and then heard a car approaching. She turned to see the white van that belonged to the exterminator. He parked the van next to the dumpster and approached her.