“What?! What type?” Veronica asked, having no idea what he meant.
“I mean, I assumed you came from a wealthy family. That’s all. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I think it’s awesome that you came to the city with nothing. That takes some guts.”
Veronica’s cheeks burned. Was TJ flirting with her?
“What about you? Did you grow up in the city?” She felt like an idiot echoing his question. Why didn’t she ask him something more interesting? She sounded like a parrot, for crying out loud. She grabbed her trusty lip balm and slicked it across her lips as he answered her question.
“I grew up in the Burroughs but interned in the city and moved here in college.” TJ took another potato skin and then pushed the plate to her. “Have some more.”
Veronica cut off another small piece. The conversation flowed, and Veronica found herself having a great time, relaxing and laughing at the stories TJ told. She opened up to him a bit about the issues she’d faced when growing up, something she usually didn’t tell anyone. Soon the lights came on, and the bartender yelled, “Last call.”
TJ grabbed the check and laid money down to pay the bill before Veronica could even object. She started to reach for her wallet, insisting that she would at least leave the tip.
“Absolutely not. You can pay next time,” TJ said casually as he started to get up.
She slid out of the booth, and they walked outside. The air was cool, and the sky was clear, with the moon shining above the city. The sidewalk was busy with people, the street packed with a mixture of cars and cabs, the usual for New York City.
“Do you live far from here?” TJ asked.
“I live a few blocks that way,” Veronica said, pointing to the right. “How about you?”
“I live down there,” TJ said, pointing in the opposite direction. “Let me grab a cab for you.”
He stepped off the sidewalk and held his arm up to signal for a cab. One pulled up almost immediately, and he opened the door for her, then stood sort of leaning on the cab. She’d have to brush very close to get in.
Veronica froze. This felt awkward. What should she say? Just a goodbye? Thank you for the dinner? It wasn’t really dinner, though. It was appetizers. What if he tried to kiss her? She realized she was standing there like a dolt while TJ was holding the door open, so without even thinking she scooted past him into the back of the cab, mumbling “See you tomorrow” as she did so.
The cab door shut, and the driver accelerated, leaving Veronica shaking her head. Real nice. “See you tomorrow.” Pull yourself together, Veronica!
TJ watched the cab slowly move through the thick traffic. Veronica had surprised him. She’d changed a lot since their time on the cooking show. She was less bossy. And she looked more put-together. She was smart too. He hadn’t picked up on that on the island. Tonight he’d had a glimpse of what went on behind her snarky facade. She wasn’t self-centered as he’d thought. She actually cared about Gertie.
He had to admit that with everything going on with the wedding he felt a bond with Veronica. It was up to the two of them to make sure this wedding was successful so that Gertie’s business would thrive. And, even though he’d made light of her fears that someone was trying to sabotage the wedding, he had to admit that he had his suspicions about that as well.
Funny, though, that she’d skirted any questions that had to do with her past. Did she have something to hide? Then again, TJ had done the same. He hadn’t wanted her to know that he’d been a drug addict. He’d gotten clean and was working his way back, but he still was ashamed of what he had been, and somehow it mattered to him what Veronica might think of him.
TJ turned away and started walking back to his small apartment. No sense in thinking along those lines. Veronica could never be anything but a co-worker. She’d sent that signal loud and clear when she’d shied away from him and hopped into the cab as if fleeing a serial killer.
And who could blame her? Veronica was competent and capable and attractive. What would she want with someone like him? He was damaged goods. Heck, he couldn’t even have a conversation about tents without freaking out. Even though his drug days were well behind him, that was still a part of his past he could never escape.
TJ liked his job, and he wanted, more than anything, for O’Rourke Signature Events to succeed. For that, he’d have to keep on good terms with Veronica. It was better for everyone if he kept it all business between him and Miss St. John.
12
Veronica ran the hair straightener through her thick hair one last time, humming as she did so. She wasn’t exactly a morning person, but she had slept deeply and awakened extremely calm and refreshed. TJ had put her mind at ease the night before, and now she was more determined than ever to make this wedding a success. Nothing else would go wrong, and Gertie would see that she hadn’t made a mistake by placing her in charge of Marly’s wedding.
She dressed, checking her reflection in the mirror. She caught herself wondering if TJ would like the outfit, then pushed that thought from her mind. TJ was smart and cute, and even though he hadn’t elaborated on his past, she got the feeling that he’d overcome something. Something more than just a crappy childhood, as she had.
Whatever it was, he’d had to turn things around just as she was doing. She admired that, but she also knew there was no way someone like TJ would be interested in her. Though it made her laugh, the old Veronica wouldn’t have lowered herself to romantic thoughts about a former dishwasher. She really was changing.
She turned from the mirror and grabbed her purse, reminding herself that she wasn’t some silly schoolgirl with a crush. She had a job to do.
Just as she grabbed her phone from the charger, it rang, an incoming text from Gertie.
Bridezilla Alert, get to the office pronto!
Dammit! She grabbed her purse in a rush and hurried out the door, not looking forward to whatever fiasco awaited her at the office. She didn’t bother to stop at her office. She headed straight to Gertie’s instead.
Marly and Sarah sat at the round meeting table, across from Gertie. In the middle of the table sat an oddly shaped piece of plastic. As Veronica got closer, she saw that it looked as if something had melted at the top of it.
“Hi… er, what’s going on?” she asked.
Marly stood and gestured toward the plastic thing. “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice rising. “Oh, the usual. My custom-made cake topper’s been ruined. It somehow melted. It was dropped off here yesterday afternoon for the cake. But let me guess. You don’t know anything about it, right?”
Veronica’s mouth opened and closed as she fumbled for words.
“The topper had a curvy, realistic-sized bride. It was custom made, and it was special because Marly was instrumental in the success of the plus-size line at Draconia. You know, the line that you could wear these days?” Sarah eyed Veronica up and down as she sneered.
Veronica could hardly blame Sarah for being suspicious. Before she’d changed, she’d tried to ruin things for Sarah on the cooking-contest show. Even though Veronica had changed, no one could tell just from looking at her. She would have to prove to people that she was no longer the mean person she used to be.
Glancing back at the cake topper, she had a sinking feeling. She’d been ready to believe TJ’s optimistic assessment that all the things going wrong were coincidence, but this was one thing too many. Someone was out to ruin the wedding, and she needed to stop that person. But first, she needed to smooth things over and fix this latest problem.
Veronica took a deep breath and focused on speaking in a calm, even tone. “I’m so sorry. I have no idea how this happened. I didn’t even know about the cake topper being here. And as far as the other issues go, the wedding dress is all set. The linens and centerpieces that you were shown weren’t the right ones. I apologize for the poor communication.”
“Bullshit! I called this from day one. I knew you’d try to mess with my wedding!” Marly yelled as Sa
rah nodded in agreement next to her.
Veronica struggled to maintain her composure. The older Veronica wanted to bubble to the surface and tell Marly off, but she couldn’t do that. One glance at Gertie sent the old Veronica back deep inside. She couldn’t ruin things for the old woman.
“Marly, I haven’t screwed with anything, I swear! I wouldn’t jeopardize O’Rourke Signature Events or my position here.”
“Oh shut up, Veronica!” Sarah chimed in, rolling her eyes.
Marly stomped over to Veronica, getting in her face. “Yeah, shut it! I’m sick of you and this wedding! I’m going to—”
“That’s IT!” Gertie interrupted, smacking a long stick down on the table, making everyone jump. She typically used the stick to help her grab things from shelves, but she employed it now to stop their argument. “You are all acting like children, and I won’t have it!”
“Gertie, I don’t care what she says, this was no accident,” Marly said quietly as she stared at Veronica. “If it wasn’t so close to the wedding date, I would not have my wedding here!”
“Dear, calm down. If you think I won’t get to the bottom of this, you are wrong. The topper was delivered last night after Veronica left for the day. I hadn’t even told her about it yet. For all we know, someone left the topper too close to the stove in the kitchen by mistake.” Gertie pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. “Let me remember… I left it in the kitchen. Someone might have moved it. I know it was near six o’clock because I was on my way out for my volunteer work at the hospital. When I came in this morning, I saw it and called you right away. Veronica wasn’t even in yet.”
Marly looked skeptical. She glanced at Veronica and then Gertie. “Well, who did know about it then?” Marly demanded.
“Well dear, I didn’t announce that it was here. And what happened would have had to happen between six and seven last night. I locked the doors on my way out, and most of the crew was with me. Security cameras kick on at seven inside the kitchen area, and I already had Logan review them. No one was in the kitchen. The only way in after-hours is a key card or using the emergency code. No one used their key card.”
“Did anyone use the code? How many people know it?” Sarah asked, looking directly at Veronica.
Gertie cast a quick glance at Veronica.
“Well, the head chef has one, and finance, and the event manager…”
Marly planted her fists on her hips and jerked her head toward Veronica. “So she has one?”
“Yes,” Gertie replied, shifting in her seat.
“Well, this isn’t exactly a surprise now, is it? How hard would it be for her to double back, sneak in and—”
Marly’s tirade was interrupted by TJ, who had apparently been listening to them from the doorway.
“Veronica couldn’t have done it. She was with me last night between six and seven,” TJ said, nonchalantly taking a sip of his coffee.
Veronica’s heart soared. No one had ever stuck up for her before. But the look of shock on Marly and Sarah’s faces threw her. Why would they look so shocked at the fact that she and TJ had gone out together after work? Did they think she was that repulsive that no one would hang out with her?
Gertie smiled, approval in her eyes as they moved from TJ to Veronica. “Well, that settles that. But I don’t like this. Who the hell would do such a thing? All these things? I don’t like this crap affecting my business.”
They all sat silently for a moment before Veronica spoke up.
“Well, I know someone who would like to see us fail. Marly and me, I mean. He’s pretty ruthless and will stop at nothing for revenge.” Veronica glanced out of the corner of her eye at Marly. “Tanner Durcotte.”
Marly’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, right. Last time I looked, you were in cahoots with him.”
Veronica shuffled her feet. “I was. I admit that. But I’m not like that anymore.” She glanced at Sarah. “I’m on his bad side now because I balked at ruining the chef contest for you.”
Sarah’s mouth tightened. “Really? I just figured you messed up and things didn’t work out the way you planned.”
“Enough with the bickering,” Gertie cut in impatiently. “Who the hell is Tanner Durcotte?”
Marly sighed. “He was a friend of my mother, and when she got sick… well… he made me an offer and then screwed me over.”
“He used to own a fashion design company,” Veronica said. “He was in competition with Draconia, and he’s ruthless.”
“Except now his company is out of business, thanks to Marly, and he owns a bunch of restaurants,” Sarah said. “That’s why he wanted to ruin the cooking contest for me. My partner is his biggest competitor.”
Gertie nodded. “I see. I know the type. Give me everything you have on this Tanner Durcotte, Veronica. I might need to pay him a visit. I will not have him, or anyone, destroying my new gig or Marly’s wedding. And now I need to get to a meeting. You people carry on and figure out what to do to keep things running smoothly with this wedding.” Gertie wheeled herself out of the room, TJ practically jumping out of her way she moved so fast.
TJ came into the room, and they all sat at the table, Marly and Sarah casting uneasy glances at Veronica. Clearly they still didn’t trust her. Fine. She’d earn their trust one way or the other.
“What’s up with this Tanner guy? Why would he want to ruin the wedding? And how would he get access to ruin the cake topper.” TJ pointed to the melted thing in the middle of the table.
“It’s kind of a long story.” Veronica did not want to explain all the details about Tanner. “Tanner wouldn’t do this himself. He’d have somebody doing it for him. An accomplice.” Guilt pinched her gut.
“Yeah, usually you’re the accomplice,” Sarah said as she rolled her eyes.
“Really, Sarah? I thought it was Marly that was the accomplice. Didn’t she team up with him at Draconia?” Veronica couldn’t stop herself. The truth was that Marly was just as guilty as she was when it came to working with Tanner, so who were they to judge her?
“I had no choice! I did it to save my mother’s life!” Marly cried out.
“What’s your excuse?” Sarah asked Veronica. “You tried to discredit Marly and ruin the chef contest out of spite!”
“No. Marly was acting against Draconia, and I simply exposed that. I admit I made some bad choices, but I didn’t actually end up ruining the contest. Tanner told me to, but I didn’t end up doing it! That’s probably why he’s after me too.” Veronica looked down at the table, embarrassed and certain that TJ wouldn’t want anything to do with her after this. Oh well, it had felt good to have him stick up for her this one time.
“Okay, I’ve heard enough,” TJ said, rising. “I don’t know what’s going on between the three of you, but I do know a few things. One is that Veronica wouldn’t have done any of the things you think she did to ruin the wedding. She loves this job. She’s proud of it and wouldn’t risk ruining an event and potentially ruining Gertie’s new business.”
Veronica squirmed in her chair. “Thank you.”
“And I also know that Marly wouldn’t want her wedding messed up. So it must be someone else. So, instead of arguing, how about everyone focuses on the wedding and who might actually be trying to ruin it?”
The three women silently stared down at the table. Veronica thought about all the mean things she’d done to Marly, from name-calling to weight-shaming to trying to get her fired. She regretted it all. But Marly wasn’t completely blameless. She had done some bad things, even if for a good reason. Did Marly have regrets too? She hoped so. It was time to move on, as TJ had said.
“Okay, but who else would have access to the building after-hours? And who would call in the dress size change?” Marly asked.
“I don’t know, but considering how Veronica fought to have your dress remade instead of just having you get one off the rack, I can tell you she didn’t do it,” TJ replied, looking at Veronica. “I have an idea how we can find out who it is.
But it means you all have to work together. Can you do that?”
Marly and Sarah exchanged glances while Veronica looked at TJ, trying to figure out his plan.
“I don’t know. I mean…” Marly started.
“Veronica, I know you have a ton left to do for the wedding. Why don’t you go ahead and get to work,” TJ said, motioning to the door.
Veronica stood up and left the room in silence. She was unsure what exactly TJ had in mind, but she was thankful to be out of the room. She had much left to do to pull off the wedding and needed to start her day as soon as possible. As she walked toward her office, the uneasy feeling in her gut tightened. Weird that TJ had asked her to leave the room. He didn’t even know Marly and Sarah. What did he plan to tell them that he didn’t want her to hear?
13
TJ knew he’d be able to accomplish more if he could persuade Marly and Sarah to trust Veronica, but that wasn’t going to happen with Veronica in the room.
He knew Sarah pretty well. She was his sister after all, and even though she was still a little steamed at him for changing his last name and breaking contact when he was in trouble, he knew he could reason with her. He’d had good practice since they’d reconnected, especially when they’d discovered they’d both been associated with the cooking show, even though neither of them had known the other was there.
Sarah had been too busy competing on the show to pay any attention to the kitchen staff, and TJ had focused on not being noticed in the back. He hadn’t even paid attention to the chefs in the front kitchen. They had no reason to cross paths. It had taken quite a bit of persuasion to get her to believe he’d had no idea she was there.
“Okay, I have no idea what the drama is between you guys and Veronica, but hear me out. I’m confident that she isn’t trying to sabotage the wedding.” TJ glanced from Sarah to Marly.
“You don’t know how devious she can be,” Marly said. “Do you think it’s a coincidence she shows up here working with you?”
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