Behind the Scenes

by Elisa Preston

  “But…”

  Virginia eyed Sophie before continuing. Her nose and forehead crinkled slightly as she spoke. “These aren’t the foods I imagined serving at the Jackson Christmas Gala.”

  “Okay,” Levi said. He held his right index finger over his mouth, like he was holding something in before speaking. He removed it to say, “Okay, why might that be?”

  Virginia looked to Sophie for support. “They don’t seem to fit the theme.”

  She saw Levi’s eyes shift to Kelsey then Seth then back to the photos. “Each appetizer is inspired by a popular dish from the 1930s. We just happened to have made them before because they are common ingredients,” Seth said. “When you start talking about such a large guest list, and wanting the same high quality across the board, you want something that can be made in high quantity and not take an inordinate amount of time.” He moved his hands in sweeping motions that matched his words.

  Levi again removed his finger from his mouth. “What about this idea don’t you like?” he asked, ever the thoughtful one Virginia was learning him to be. His finger returned to its position.

  “It’s not that we don’t like it,” Virginia was quick to say. “It’s that appetizers is not what we imagined for a fancy gala—”

  “Shindig,” Sophie broke in.

  Virginia half-way smirked. “Right. Shindig.”

  “That’s fine if it’s not what you imagined,” Levi said, removing his finger again. Minor irritation was beginning to seep through. “However, we are the culinary lead.”

  “Yes,” Virginia said, drawing out the word. “You are the culinary lead. But we are the event planner. You heard Ms. Rhodes. Everything goes through us. We have planned similar events, we have run the gamut of party menus—especially Christmas party menus—and appetizers do not fit here.” Her head shook lightly as she spoke.

  Levi’s hands moved to his hips. Not defensive, but not happy. He looked at Kelsey for a long moment. Virginia watched out of the corner of her eye as his chest heaved up and down in two heavy movements.

  “So, are you asking us to go back to the drawing board?”

  “Or cutting board,” Sophie said, looking around for a chuckle. When she was met with additional awkward silence, she pursed her lips closed and tucked her hands behind her back.

  “I hate to say that right out of the gate, but I can say as a seasoned event planner, there is no argument that will move me to believe that appetizers as the main food experience for the Jackson Christmas Gala is a good idea.”

  “Even though I am as much of a seasoned chef as you are an event planner and we may differ on what is considered a ‘good idea’?”

  Virginia flinched at his taut expression and his clipped words. She did not mean to hurt him. She did not mean to flaunt her position. She meant to take her job as seriously as one could take such an opportunity, and knock it out of the park. To do that, she could not serve appetizers at the Jackson Christmas Gala.

  “I’m sorry, Levi. Seth and Kelsey, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to come off as anything but having a different idea. Unfortunately, this is not a topic where we can agree to disagree. We have to be of one accord.”

  “Right. As long as it’s your accord?” Seth asked.

  “Seth,” Levi admonished lightly.

  “That’s what it feels like.” Seth’s irritation became clearer than Levi’s at a much quicker rate.

  “It’s certainly not that,” Levi said. “Is it?”

  Virginia’s head cocked to the right and she let out a loud breath. “Of course not. It’s that I don’t see Marie Rhodes’ face pinching less if I went to her with appetizers, I see it pinching more.”

  Levi’s thin smile burst from him unexpectedly, and Virginia had never been so happy to break the tension.

  A defeated breath escaped Levi’s entire body. “Okay. Back to the cutting board.”

  “Thank you,” Virginia offered, unsure of how her gratitude would land.

  “I didn’t say I was happy about it,” he said, looking at his photos with his hands on his hips. “We’ll see what we can come up with. When do you want our next draft?” His light smile had returned.

  “Two weeks?”

  “Okay,” he said. In a swift motion, Levi scooped up his photos and sent one long, full glance to Virginia. “See you then,” he said, nodding in Virginia and Sophie’s direction. He motioned with his head toward the door and in a matter of moments the three of them were out the door and out of sight.

   Chapter 10

  Levi had remained quiet as he, Seth, and Kelsey walked back to his office after the meeting with Virginia and Sophie. His food photos lay in a messy heap on his desk. Leaning against his desk, Levi watched the traffic far below his twentieth-story window.

  Rejection was not something Levi was used to. It was not something he really ever had to process. He had worked hard to get where he was, and certainly there had been roadblocks.

  Still, the network’s suggestions for his show weren’t rejection; they were a power play. The professor in college who had insisted on giving him a B no matter how strong he thought his papers were wasn’t rejection; it was bias against anyone not pursuing an English degree. The woman he dated in college who had chosen her international career instead of a relationship with him wasn’t rejection; that was an active choice to progress her life and had nothing to do with how she felt about Levi.

  Levi’s pursuit of a date with Virginia that was met with a no, thank you—that was rejection.

  Levi’s menu for the Jackson Christmas Gala that was met with a try again—that was rejection.

  And it wasn’t sitting well. His arms and legs burned with restless energy. His head spun with what he could have done differently, both on the airplane and in his presentation, to make Virginia say yes to at least one of those things: him or his food, which might as well be him for how much of himself he puts into his creations.

  “Levi?” Kelsey broke into his thoughts. “Ready to brainstorm?”

  He saw two choices. Stand his ground on the second round of meeting with Virginia and Sophie. He’d have to make his case for keeping the appetizers, which he genuinely believed to be the best choice for the Gala.

  Risks for that choice included another disagreement with Virginia, appearing unprofessional in front of Virginia and Marie Rhodes, and being rejected a second time.

  On the other hand, Levi could revamp the entire menu, choosing dishes that were grand, impressive, and reasonably doable.

  Risks for choice number two included a second rejection. However, Virginia would appreciate not only his effort to meet her request, but also his professionalism.

  Ultimately, he knew professionalism and deference to the Event Planning lead would win out. Still, the adrenaline coursing through his body needed to be expended.

  “Levi?” she asked again, grounding him.

  “Sorry, Kels. I’m not ready yet,” he said, briefly looking at her. “Seth!” he yelled, now looking past Kelsey.

  “What’s up, boss?” He walked in holding a half-empty bottle of water.

  “Don’t call me that.” He grabbed his keys off of his desk. “Racquetball? A round of tennis? A run?”

  “I can be up for beating you in some racquetball,” Seth answered, running his hand through his hair.

  “Great, let’s go.” In the same hasty manner with which he left Virginia and Sophie in the meet-and-greet room, Levi walked out of his office. Seth followed quickly behind, and in twenty minutes the friends were already into their first round at the recreation facility just two blocks north.

  The small rubber ball bounced off the wall and ground with great strength. The ten lines on the gym floor and two on the wall provided guidance for what would be points for Levi and what would count for Seth. The sound reverberated throughout the small, enclosed court. Levi and Seth hit on their turns with fervor, neither showing mercy to the other, as had been agreed upon early on in their twenty-year friendship. Seth was
the regular winner, but Levi put up a fight this afternoon that had Seth running and swatting and swinging more than ever.

  After the first set, Seth took a bathroom break. When he came back, Levi was scrolling through his phone. His downturned mouth did not tell the story of a man who had won the first set, four games to one.

  “What’s up, man? You just won the first set for the first time in, like, two years. You should’ve been gloating when I walked back in here.”

  Levi looked up from his phone, still distracted. “Sorry, what?”

  “Dude. This cannot be getting to you so badly.”

  Levi looked back his phone one more time, swiped something from the bottom up, and replaced it face-down on his bag in the back of the room. “Whatever, let’s just play.” His words were focused. He walked back over to the middle of the court where play would resume.

  Seth hesitated but walked back over, winning the second set in a drawn-out, battle-of-the-ages kind of round. Levi moved the strings back into place and reset the vibration damper on the bottom of the racquet.

  “Ready for a third set?” Levi asked after a quick water-and-stretch break.

  “Levi. I know you’re letting it all out here, but we just had the longest set we’ve ever had. Can we breathe for a moment?”

  Levi bent and twisted, stretching his calves, back, and arms. Seth silently followed his lead. Both men’s hair sat flattened and sweaty against their foreheads.

  When Levi felt limber again, relaxed after tensing his muscles during play and then stretching them just now, he asked Seth again if he was ready.

  “I am ready. But after this, we are talking. You’re brooding.”

  Levi huffed, just as he had back in his office. “I am not brooding.”

  “Whatever you say, man. Let’s play. My serve.”

  Seth’s lenient serve set the tone for the third set, which was half as intense and took half the time as the previous one. Levi complained that Seth wasn’t taking the game seriously, but when Levi won the final point, ending the third set and the shortened match, he digressed.

  Showered, dressed, and refreshed a short while later, Levi and Seth walked out of the rec facility together into a light mist that must have begun while they were playing. What had started as a hopeful day, a day where the sun was shining and he might successfully ask Virginia out on a date, plan the menu for the biggest Christmas party of the year, and then win at racquetball, had turned out to be only twenty-five percent fruitful. The sun had turned to rain, a proper opportunity had not arisen to ask Virginia to the date he had envisioned for the two of them, and the menu had been rejected. At least he had his racquetball win.

  Levi and Seth waded through two crowded blocks and three fans wanting autographs to get back to Levi’s office. Once the elevator dinged on Levi’s floor, Kelsey was waiting with two bottles of water and two CLIF bars, one for each of the guys.

  “Thanks, Kels,” Levi said.

  “Yes, thank you, Kelsey,” Seth repeated.

  “Sure thing. To the office, please.” She followed behind Seth and Levi as the three friends-slash-collaborators made their way around Kelsey’s desk and into Levi’s office. The all-glass doors would give other employees full view of the three of them, but the closed doors would keep their conversation private.

  Levi threw his keys back on his desk. They landed with a clunk that startled Kelsey. He plopped down into his desk chair and took a hearty bite of his snack.

  Seth regarded Levi with concern from the couch across the room. “Dude. I know I got a little attitude back there with Virginia and Sophie, but they were professional about it. Are you really taking it this hard?”

  “He’s not used to being told no,” Kelsey commented, her arms crossed and hip pushed out.

  Levi leveled her with an exasperated look. “That’s not true. The network has been particularly demoralizing lately. I’ve had plenty of No in my life these past few months.”

  “He doesn’t like hearing no,” Kelsey said, directing her words to Seth.

  Levi huffed. “I didn’t expect such a quick rejection.”

  “By a woman to whom you are seriously attracted. Which makes for two rejections because of her business-only policy,” Seth answered. He turned to Kelsey. “Three fans asked for autographs today. They mentioned Tutto Mangiare before they mentioned his show, which, as you know, usually brightens his mood, and yet he went back to sulking once they turned away.”

  “Will you two stop talking about me like I’m not sitting right here, hearing every word you’re saying?”

  His gripe was only half-supported. If his friends didn’t know him so well, and if he hadn’t given them previous authority to speak truth into his life, Levi’s irritation would have spiked much higher. As it stood, they were right. He was taking this particular rejection harder than it warranted.

  Still, Levi knew he and his team had brought good ideas to the table for the Gala. They won the pitch to Marie Rhodes with that exact menu. So Virginia’s statement that she didn’t want Ms. Rhodes’ face to pinch anymore may have been exaggerated and untrue. He told that to his friends.

  “If you’ll remember, Marie said that we had lovely ideas, though the event planner may change it if she so wishes. Then she said, and I quote, ‘I hope that’s the case.’”

  “She did not say that,” Levi protested.

  “She did, under her breath to the guy next to her, I think it was Mr. West.”

  “I didn’t hear that,” Levi said. “It’s not like Marie ever hides her distaste for something. I wonder why she didn’t just say that out loud? Why did she even hire us?”

  “She didn’t think I heard her, either. We did have good ideas, Levi. Virginia didn’t say it wasn’t beautiful food or that they didn’t look delicious. Just that they weren’t right for the Gala. Marie probably thought the same. We were hired because we are an exceptional culinary team with an excellent reputation. Plus you’re the heartthrob of the century, so there’s that.” She winked in his direction, alluding to their common joke. Celebrity magazine had given Levi the distinguished, if mocked, honor of being Heartthrob of the Year three years in a row. Not one to garner attention on purpose, Kelsey vowed each of the three times the special Levi issue came out that she would not let Levi forget the honor bestowed upon him.

  Levi smirked before spinning his chair to look out the window. He watched the light rain fall and the umbrellas march up and down the sidewalks like multi-colored ants heading for a collision.

  “What’s really bothering you, Levi?” Kelsey asked softly from her standing position near Seth.

  She and Seth had been Levi’s strongest confidants. Though Kelsey had come on the scene just four years ago, more than fifteen years after Seth, they had become like brother-and-sister in no time. For a short time—a very short time—at the beginning of their friendship, Levi had wondered if Kelsey wanted more. Once they had gotten that conversation out of the way, they had been more like best friends and collaborators rather than boss and assistant, which is how Levi preferred it. At this moment, however, he thought it might be best to keep his thoughts to himself. He wasn’t sure if they’d sympathize with or make fun of the real reason for his crankiness.

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.” He shook his head, as if to shake off the strife he had been feeling the last few hours. “Let’s take a break from the menu for a couple days. Revisit on Friday.”

  Kelsey and Seth looked at one another, cautious. Levi saw Kelsey out of the corner of his eye as she nodded her head.

  “Okay. I’ve got things under control here. Why don’t you head home?”

  Levi nodded before grabbing his keys. “Does Tanner need a walk today?”

  “Levi, you don’t have to take my dog for a walk. I work for you.”

  “I thought I made it abundantly clear years ago that you work for me in a very technical sense, in that it is my company’s name on your paychecks. In real life, though, I am your friend. I love Tanne
r. He is my dog nephew. I live vicariously through your dog ownership since I cannot justify having one. So, please, humor me.” He smiled.

  Without further argument, Kelsey gave cursory directions for Levi to take Tanner for a good walk around the park. Kelsey’s apartment was about twelve blocks uptown from their office. Fifteen minutes by train, including walk time to and from the stations on either end, a twenty-five minute walk if he caught all the pedestrian lights, or ten minutes by way of a local ride share program. He opened the ride share app and secured his ride. Levi knew his options, but he let Kelsey go through them anyway.

  “Whatever you do, keep him away from the fountains at Central Park. There is a small break in the fence on the Fifth Avenue side, and last weekend he barreled through it. I had to bribe and then wrestle him out of that very much illegal situation.”

  Levi smiled out of the right side of his mouth, only one dimple forming.

  “See you guys tomorrow,” he said, leaving the room the same way he had left every room so far that day: hastily, and focused on the fact that Virginia May Sharpe had gotten far deeper than he had ever realized.

   Chapter 11

  In Levi’s eyes, the benefit of having friends with awesome dogs was equivalent to the benefit of having Fun Uncle privileges. He could walk Tanner anytime he wanted but was ultimately free of the-buck-stops-here responsibility. As much as he would have liked to own one, for the company at home as much as for the general life benefits, owning a dog would be almost no fun for anyone involved due to his schedule and out-of-town obligations.

  For now, Tanner the Sheepadoodle, seventy-five percent poodle and twenty-five percent sheep dog, would do just fine. Kelsey had shaved him the day before—he knew because she had texted him a photo—and so black-and-white Tanner would be donning his summer cut of a shaggy dog face and a soft, short, and curly body that stood even with Levi’s knees.

  Armed with treats and a roll of green waste bags, Levi took his favorite dog-nephew across a cut-through of Central Park to the outside of the reservoir. The sign in front of them read 1.58 MILES.