by Noelle Adams
“Like a treat,” he said. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” And then he was gone and Cassie was alone to agonize over something other than Adam and her soon-to-be-doomed business.
Within minutes, she pulled up in front of the building that housed CJ’s Delights office, kitchen and showroom. She gave herself a glance in the vanity mirror to make sure that she didn’t look like a fright after her hellish morning. Luckily, her hair was still in place and being that she refused to give in to tears, she did not have raccoon eyes. Locking the car with the remote, she walked in through the front door and smiled at what her sister had done.
Dressed in her best server’s attire, Katie stood next to one of their mock-up tables that was set with some of their best china and crystal. Candles were lit and there was a beautiful bouquet of silk wild flowers in the middle in various shades of pinks and purples. Somewhere in the background came the strains of classical music. Cassie took her seat where her sister instructed and in front of her was a large silver covered plate. With great fanfare, Katie placed a cloth napkin in Cassie’s lap, reached for the lid, and revealed a tuna sandwich.
“It’s all in the presentation,” Katie deadpanned and then pulled up a chair for herself after grabbing her own sandwich from a nearby table. “So,” she began, “family dinner tonight. Won’t that be fun?”
Cassie finished chewing and nodded. “Oh, sure, nothing says relaxing after a really bad day than cooking for seven people and getting grilled on why I did what I did and how I am going to fix it. And who are these friends that Dad invited?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dad said that we were going to be seven for dinner; all of us and two friends.”
“I have no idea. He hasn’t mentioned anyone to me.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Cassie sighed. “I told him we’d do Greek tonight. Do we have everything here or do I need to take a trip to the supermarket?” Once dinner plans were discussed and lists were made, Katie ran to the store while Cassie sat in her office to try and figure out how she was going to make her world right again.
The phone ringing was a wonderful distraction some minutes later. “CJ’s Delights, this is Cassie, how can I help you?”
“Cassie? It’s Grace Clark, Adam’s assistant. How are you?”
She actually cringed. There were so many different ways this whole situation could play out that Cassie was afraid to get too far ahead of herself and dare to hope that Grace was calling with good news. Sitting up straight in her chair, she finally found her voice to answer.
“I’m fine, Grace. Thanks. How are you?”
“Oh, Cassie, please!” Grace began, her Southern drawl becoming more pronounced. “You walked out of here as if the hammers of hell were after you and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to stop you and talk to you, but Adam barked for me to come in to his office.”
“Barked?” Cassie laughed. The image of Adam as an Ogre came to mind and had her sympathizing with his assistant.
“You know what I mean.” She lowered her voice, as if afraid for anyone to overhear her. “Are you really okay, Cass? I’m so sorry that it all worked out this way. I have loved working with you; I really consider you a friend. Is there any way that we can make this right?”
While Cassie appreciated the offer, deep down she knew that she had to stick to her guns; otherwise her word would be useless. “Honestly, Grace, maybe it’s all for the better, Adam was being unreasonable. The contract clearly states…”
“I know, I know,” she interrupted. “Believe me, I deal with him every day and I know how unreasonable he can be on just about everything. He’s had me calling caterers ever since you left and no one is willing to take on an event of this magnitude on such short notice. He is having a fit!”
“Enough of a fit that he’d apologize?” Cassie asked hopefully. That would solve all of her problems. If Adam were the one to call her and put the event back on with CJ’s, then Cassie would have her dignity. She most certainly did not want to go crawling back and have to jeopardize her ethics for that man.
“Please, the great Adam Lawrence does not apologize to anyone. You’d have better luck parting the Red Sea using your lipstick. It’s never going to happen.”
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Cassie murmured. Kicking off her shoes under her desk, she slouched down in a near pout.
“But seriously, are you going to be okay? I don’t mean to pry but it’s just that…well, I know that you’re still building up your business and that L.S.S. was a big account for you.”
“It sure was. ‘Was’ being the operative word.”
“Oh, Cass…”
“It’ll be okay, Grace, really. I’ve always had a hard time working with Adam, sitting back, listening to him yell and talk down to everyone. You deserve a medal for putting up with him every day. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She just wished that she believed it herself.
“Well, I’ve got your business cards and you can be sure that I will pass them along.”
“I appreciate that, Grace. Really.” With not much left to say, they made promises to get together for lunch and to keep in touch before hanging up. Cassie was really going to miss working with Grace. What had started as a work relationship had grown into a friendship. Cassie had come to look forward to her events with L.S.S. for no other reason than to have the opportunity to work with Grace. She’d often teased that if Adam ever fired her that she’d give Grace a position with CJ’s.
Unfortunately, it was she who was fired and there was no one offering her a replacement job. She heard Katie back in the kitchen and pulled herself up. Cassie put her shoes back on before going to help out with the groceries and prep work for their dinner.
By five o’clock, Katie was packing up. “I’ve gotta run, Cass. I have to pick up Ella from the sitter.” Ella was Katie’s three-month old daughter; a baby that had drawn the Jacobs family closer together after Katie’s boyfriend had taken off, never to be heard from again.
“I’ll see you at the house in a little while,” Cassie called after her as she packed up all of the supplies that she would need to cook at her father’s house. Stephen Jacobs still lived in the house that his children had grown up in. Though it had a fully stocked kitchen, Cassie had a couple of favorite pots and pans that she preferred to cook in. By five-thirty she had changed into more casual clothes, was packed up and back in the car, heading to her childhood home.
Her brother Matt was the first one out of the house to help her. He met her at the trunk of her car and picked her up in a bear hug as if she weighed nothing. “Hey! There’s my cooking angel of mercy!” He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek before putting her down. Of course it helped that he was well over six feet tall and built like a linebacker! Reaching into the trunk, he took most of what Cassie had brought with her and headed towards the two-story Colonial.
Cassie stood in the driveway for a moment and took in the grand house and realized that it still looked the same. Her dad kept it clean and well manicured and it just always said ‘home’ to her. It was a nice feeling to know that some things never changed; some things were sacred and stable. This home was one of them. Grabbing the last of the grocery bags, she closed the trunk just as a car pulled in behind her.
Waving to her middle sister, Lauren, she stopped and waited for her to get out of the car. “How goes law school? Ready to sue anyone yet?” she teased.
Making a face at the lame joke, Lauren grabbed her satchel from the back seat and walked with Cassie to the door. “Very funny; unfortunately, they don’t let you sue anyone until after graduation. It’s just wrong.” They laughed and made their way directly to the kitchen. Matt was already setting up his sister’s supplies as he knew she liked them and Katie was getting Ella settled into her baby swing.
Stephen Jacobs smiled as his family came in to view-his kids. They were his whole life and seeing them all in his kitchen, grown up and happy made him beam with pride. They were a close kn
it group and he always thought that it would be that way forever. With a quick prayer, he hoped that by the end of the night it would still be that way.
Life had not changed much in the last ten years after losing his wife. Stephen had tried to keep things as normal as possible for the sake of the kids. Cassie and Matt had had to take on a bit more responsibility to help out with Katie and Lauren; but, if anything, it seemed to make them all closer. They were a pretty unshakable bunch, he thought to himself. Heck, even Katie’s unplanned pregnancy hadn’t been able to shake their bond. Somehow, he feared, tonight’s dinner might just be big enough to cause a tremor or two.
Walking in to the kitchen, he heard Cassie telling the story of her difficult client who’d fired her today. Bastard. As a father, he hated to think of anyone hurting or upsetting any of his children and although Cassie was a grown woman of 26, he still wanted to fight her battles for her.
“Basically it’s a breach of contract on his part,” Lauren was saying, anxious to use her legal knowledge around the house to prove that she was taking law school seriously. “What he was asking was for you to break your contract but in the end, he did. You could probably sue him for the total amount of the contract. It might not get you any future work with his company, but it would cover your butt until you can get another client or two to replace him.”
It was funny to listen to Lauren talking so seriously when she was wearing sweats with her hair pulled up in a ponytail; she looked more high school than law school, Stephen thought. He was so damn proud of all of his kids and to listen again, as they were pulling together to help one another out, told him that he’d done a good job raising them.
“That would certainly not endear me to any future clients, I think,” Cassie said as she cleaned and chopped fresh spinach to use in her Greek chicken. Like her sister, she was dressed casually in faded blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a black apron tied around her. She moved around the kitchen multi-tasking and was definitely at home in this particular room; cooking had always been a joy for her and it was fortunate that she could turn it in to a successful career.
“Why would future clients have to know?” Katie asked, joining the conversation after getting Ella settled.
“If he decides to be spiteful, he’ll let it be known to all of the local businesses that I would not do what he asked and then sued. I’m telling you, he’s just that kind of person.” Cassie knew without a doubt that Adam Lawrence did not let anyone get the better of him and if he failed to get a new caterer, she could kiss her business reputation goodbye.
Conversation veered away from her and her miserable day and went on to make the rounds of all of the Jacobs siblings. With everyone laughing and smiling, Stephen thought now was a good time to talk about what was new in his life. “I sure am glad that y’all came over tonight. It seems we don’t get to do this often enough.” All four of his children turned to look at him and smile. “The thing is, I’ve invited someone over tonight for you to meet and I hope that you’ll like her.”
“Her?” all four voices said at once.
Stephen had to smile. Their shocked tone matched the confusion on their faces. “Yes, her. Her name is Beverly, she likes to be called Bev, and we’ve been dating for a couple of months now.”
“A couple of months?” Matt asked incredulously. “How come you never mentioned this to any of us before?”
Stephen knew there’d be questions; he was just glad they decided to ask before Bev arrived. “Well, when Bev and I first met, Katie was in her ninth month and if you remember correctly, she was having a rough time.” They all nodded. “Then Ella arrived and we were all caught up in celebrating and getting them both settled. Well, it wasn’t the time to introduce any of you to somebody new. That was Katie’s time. She deserved to be the center of attention.”
Turning to look at his youngest daughter, he noticed her blue eyes shining with unshed tears. “I didn’t want to take anything away from you, peanut. Besides that, I had no idea if this relationship with Bev was going to go anywhere. After all, I’ve been out of the dating world for quite some time.”
“I guess it’s going somewhere, then,” Lauren stated, not looking up from slicing up a cucumber lest her father see the pain in her eyes.
“It is. This whole thing took the both of us by surprise but after almost four months we figured it was time for everyone to meet. So I invited her tonight for a casual get together. She has only one son and he is coming with her and if it’s any comfort to you, he is learning about this today, as well.”
“I guess that’s something,” Lauren mumbled. Cassie elbowed her in the rib.
“Geez,” she whispered, “lighten up. This is new territory for all of us.” With that, chatter returned to the kitchen and the dinner preparations were wrapping up. Cassie was putting the spinach and feta stuffed chicken in to the oven and then pulled the Tzatziki from the refrigerator along with the fresh vegetables and hummus for the appetizer. She was placing a basket of toasted pita chips next to it when the doorbell rang.
“That must be them!” Katie said, giddy with excitement. “Can you believe it? Dad has a girlfriend!” This caused the girls to giggle a bit, even Lauren, while Matt stood back, arms crossed over his chest, ready to observe the whole scene before he made any decision on whether or not he was happy about this new development in his family.
Cringing, Cassie could only hope that her siblings lightened up quick or this night could be a disaster. Remembering the tray of olives that she had forgotten to take out of the refrigerator, her back was to the door when everyone walked in. “Everyone, this is Bev.” He gestured to the room as a whole and then added, “And this is her son Adam. He’s…”
Cassie nearly dropped the olive tray as she turned; her whole body had gone rigid. “The jackass that fired me today.”
Two
You could have heard a pin drop in the kitchen before all hell broke loose. Cassie slammed the tray of olives down on the counter and stood there; staring at Adam, shooting daggers at him before she noticed that her siblings had surrounded her and were doing the same.
Bev looked stricken and Stephen put his arm around her and silently begged his children with his eyes to knock it off. With a nervous laugh, he said “Well, small world. Um…Bev, these are my kids, Matt, Katie, Lauren and, uh, Cassie.” Remembering their manners, they each shook Bev’s hand and welcomed her but their gazes soon returned to Adam. Cassie was enjoying watching him squirm.
“Um, maybe I should leave,” he murmured, taking a step back, clearly looking for an escape.
“That won’t be necessary, Adam. Please, you are our guest and my children will please remember themselves and stop trying to intimidate you.” He shot them all a glare that was guaranteed to get them to do what he said and within seconds, they were all scurrying around the kitchen, pouring drinks, setting out plates and chatting with Bev as if she were an old friend.
Except for Adam and Cassie. Each stood where they were as if in a standoff. It took a few minutes for Stephen to notice and when he did he summoned them both to follow him into his office on the other side of the house. He was surprised when he turned and actually found them both there. “Listen, this is a big night for me and Bev and I will not have the two of you ruining it. I understand that you have a business relationship and some issues with one another right now but that is about business, and tonight is not. So, say whatever it is that you need to say and then get back into that kitchen so that we can have a nice dinner.” His tone left no room for argument and with that, he turned and shut the door and returned to the kitchen.
Arms folded, Cassie turned, leaned against her father’s desk, and stared, daring Adam to speak first.
He looked uncomfortable enough to cave. “I did not appreciate being called a ‘jackass’ in front of my mother and your family.”
“Really? I did not appreciate being fired for sticking to a legally binding contract.”
She heard the sharp intake of his breat
h and knew she hit her mark. “I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that point for right now. As it stands, I am here purely to appease my mother. I thought we were meeting with potential business clients; I had no idea that she was bringing me here to meet her boyfriend and his family. I mean, really,” he said with disgust, “a boyfriend-at her age. What the hell is she thinking?”
“Oh, maybe that she met a wonderful man?”
“Of course you’d say that, you’re his daughter. Don’t you think it’s a bit ridiculous for them to be dating at their age?”
“I think they’re in love.”
“Love? Please. I highly doubt it.” If his snort of derision didn’t get the point across that Adam did not believe in love, the look of disgust on his face certainly did.
“You are a sad, sad human being, you know that?” Pushing off from the desk, Cassie crossed to the door. “I don’t know what your problem is but I think it’s sweet and wonderful that they’ve found each other. As for tonight, we have no choice but to be civil. Just remember, you’re on my turf and right now no one here is impressed with who you are.”
It was a glorious exit; he had to give her that. Rubbing a hand across his chin, he closed his eyes and tried to think of a believable excuse to get the hell out of Dodge. Unfortunately, nothing came to him. The sound of laughter and the tempting aroma that he was sure was Cassie’s cooking wafted towards him. His stomach knew a good thing when it presented itself because it suddenly let out a very loud protest to the idea of not staying. With a growl of frustration Adam left the safety of Stephen’s office and went back to the kitchen.
Conversation stopped briefly but Stephen pulled out the chair that was beside him and offered it to Adam. Grateful to not have to speak, he sat quietly and soon the conversation was lively again.
“Cassie, this dip is fabulous!” Bev gushed. “Adam sent me on a vacation to Greece a couple of years ago and I have to tell you, this is as good as anything I ate while I was there! You’re a genius!”
Seeing his daughter blush at the praise, Stephen went on to talk about all of the ways that Cassie had come to start her own business; from cooking with her mother and grandmother when she was a little girl, to having to host a business dinner or two for him when she was in her teens. “She just has a knack for it,” he said. “She doesn’t need any recipes, you just tell her what you want and she can create it!”