Dish Best Served Cold (Corporate Chaos Series Book 5)

by Leighann Dobbs

  “Yes. They were all delivered yesterday to whomever was on the list that Gertie had sent us.”

  Any other time, Marly would have explained that the custom-made gowns or tuxedos that Draconia had supplied to people for the VIP tasting were not on loan, that even though they were extremely expensive, the recipients were going to be given them. These people were donor recipients or the donors themselves, and many did not have the money to buy a fancy gown or tux just for one night. Gertie had insisted that she would pay, but Marly had insisted that she would not and that they would be gifts from Draconia.

  “I’m hand delivering the ones for Gertie right after this meeting. They came out wonderful,” Edward said, standing up and reaching for the two gowns that were hung on the mobile rack in the conference room.

  Even though he was just a board member now at Draconia, Edward had insisted on designing the gowns for Gertie.

  Marly’s ears rang as the room full of people complimented Edward on the gowns. She started to feel woozy and grabbed the glass of water that was in front of her, hoping the cool drink would stop her nausea. Instead, she knocked the glass over, water spilling onto the top of the conference table as the people seated next to her grabbed their papers before they got soaked.

  She pushed her chair away from the table and excused herself, jogging out of the room while she covered her mouth. As she ran past the employees on the way out, she caught Jasper’s eye, his mouth wide open and a look of horror on his face.

  Marly grabbed the paper towels, ran them under the cold water, then pressed them onto her face and neck. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help but laugh at herself. Her mascara had smudged all over her eyes, and she looked like a racoon. She took a few deep breaths and stood up straight. She reached for the mouthwash and took a swig then swished it around in her mouth and spit it out. Thank God she had her own private bathroom in her office.

  “Hon, are you okay?”

  Marly’s eyes opened wide. Jasper! Checking her reflection in the mirror, she wiped under her eyes and fluffed her hair a bit before opening the door.

  “Yes, it must be something I ate last night. I’m fine, though, really. I already feel better.”

  “Are you sure?” Jasper asked, taking a step back from her. “What if it’s contagious?”

  Marly laughed. Jasper was a bit of a germaphobe and always ran in the opposite direction when anyone at work even sneezed.

  “I’m fine. It isn’t contagious. Don’t be paranoid. Let’s get back to the meeting. We’re already behind.”

  She walked over to her desk and grabbed her notebook, avoiding making eye contact with Jasper. Keeping her pregnancy from him was getting harder and harder. She knew she had to tell him that she was pregnant, but there never seemed to be a good time. Pretty soon she would start showing, and she would have no choice. What if he wasn’t happy about it?

  8

  As she rummaged through her desk drawer, Sarah grew more irritated. Where was the sheet that had the contact information for the delivery company? The food needed to be here. Now. She needed to have it seasoned ahead of time and let it sit to absorb the flavors for at least an hour or else it wouldn’t taste the same. Of all days for them to be late, why did it have to be today? She cursed herself for not having the contact info in her cell phone as she continued to look through her drawers.

  “Hiya. I brought you some Dunks.”

  Harper stepped inside Sarah’s office and placed the extra-large cup of iced coffee down on the desk and settled into one of the chairs across from Sarah.

  “Thank you, I really need this!” Sarah exclaimed, happily taking the cup and a big sip of the ice-cold brew.

  “I ran out for lunch and grabbed some coffees. If it’s a bad time, I can leave. I’m sure you’re swamped.”

  “No! It’s a perfect time. I haven’t taken a break all day, and I could use the caffeine. To be honest, I’m starting to freak out about the food delivery being late, and I need this distraction. So, what’s new?”

  “Eh, not much. Veronica and I have everything pretty much done for the events, so the time in between now and when they start is like the calm before the storm for us.”

  “How’s Logan?” Sarah asked.

  After solving the case at O’Rourke’s last year, in which he discovered that Gertie’s nephew had been trying to sabotage things, Logan had moved on to another case in his PI firm. Business was good for him. He had a few people working under him now and had established himself as the owner of one of the best private investigation firms in New York. Harper and Logan had been dating ever since meeting at O’Rourke’s, and as far as Sarah knew, their relationship was still going pretty strong. Harper never talked about any drama or problems with him.

  “He’s good. Always working, you know how that goes. We fit in time to see each other between his stake-outs, which I guess is good because it’s always quality time and we don’t really argue. Last night I sat with him in his car for a few hours while he watched some warehouse. We had a little picnic in the car. It was kind of fun. He had this picnic basket and had gone to the deli and had it filled with sandwiches and some awesome pastries. How’re things with Raffe? He just passed me outside. Are you guys still… err… on a break?”

  Sarah stirred the coffee with her straw and then took another large gulp of the heavily caffeinated beverage. Harper got a car picnic, and she got a gross pink purse. Maybe she should tell Raffe to get some dating tips from Logan!

  “Yes, we are still on a break. Or whatever it’s called. But he did stop by earlier to give me this sweet gift.”

  She reached under her desk and slowly pulled out the purse, which she plopped dramatically on her desk in front of Harper.

  “Ta-da!” she exclaimed, gesturing with her hands as if to show it off.

  “Oh. Wow. That’s... uhh… very… pink. And big,” Harper stammered.

  Sarah laughed.

  “It sure is. And when have you ever seen me carry a purse? Or say that I like the color pink? It’s so random and annoying. He stops by, interrupting me, to give me this hideous thing. Yesterday he brought me flowers but not in a vase. Just a big bouquet. It’s almost like he wants to annoy me as much as possible, like he’s trying to test my patience.”

  “At least he thought of you enough to go buy the purse and to try to surprise you with it. I mean, I know it’s totally not your style, but it’s the thought that counts. And let’s face it, men can be kind of clueless when it comes to these things. For example, Logan got me a mop for my birthday. Besides, that’s a Gucci, so even though he might be clueless on what to get you, at least he got you one of the best brands, instead of just grabbing anything.”

  Sarah felt bad. Maybe she was being too hard on Raffe. It was nice to know that he was trying to get her back, instead of just not hearing from him at all, or getting a late-night text every now and then like some of her friends did from their exes. She should probably be a little nicer to him, but this was happening at the worst time for her. Her attention needed to be on the charity events, not crappy gifts!

  “Why was the food delivered to the loading dock on the opposite side of the building?”

  Sarah and Harper turned to look at Veronica, who was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.

  “Huh?” Sarah asked, a pit in her stomach.

  “The food delivery was placed on the wrong loading dock, the one way over on the side of the building that we don’t use. Why did they leave it there? How long has it been there? What if it’s rotted?”

  Sarah jumped up from her seat, her heart racing.

  “They know to go to the loading dock at the kitchen. Aside from being common sense, that’s where they have delivered the food since day one.”

  “Well, not today,” Veronica said curtly, turning on her heel.

  Sarah exchanged worried glances with Harper, and the two of them followed Veronica to the other side of the building. She
lifted up the large metal door, and sitting there was the food that she had been waiting for. She walked out onto the loading dock and looked around, knowing that she wasn’t going to see anything. It was just an empty dark alleyway, the building on one side and a fence on the other. It was so narrow that she was surprised the truck had even been able to fit down it.

  “Well, it’s unfortunate that they dumped it off here, but at least it won’t cause any major issues for the ball, right?” Harper asked, looking at the packaged meats.

  Sarah opened up the box that was at the top of the stack and felt inside. Luckily the boxes were insulated, and since they hadn’t been in the sun at all, the meat would be fine. It was still cool to the touch, and if anything, this may have helped bring it closer to room temperature, which was how she needed it to be prior to cooking it.

  “It’s fine, no risk at all. Thank God. I’ll go grab a dolly to move these.”

  She went inside and grabbed a dolly, and the three of them started to load the boxes onto it.

  “This is just really odd,” Veronica said, placing a box on the dolly. “We get dozens of deliveries a week from Snyders, and this has never happened. Not even when we first opened up.”

  “I agree. I know it sounds weird, but I’m starting to think that someone is trying to screw things up,” Sarah said. “What were you doing way over here anyway?” she asked Veronica. Why would Veronica need to be on the other side of the building? How would she know to open the door and see that the food was even out there? Like she had said, no one ever went to that dock.

  “Why are you so snippy? Do you think I had something to do with this? I’ve been in meetings all day. Then as usual, Kidney was missing, so I went looking for him before Gertie freaked out. He likes to stalk mice in this alleyway, so that’s why I was over here. Besides, if the food was so late, then why didn’t you call the delivery people and ask them where the heck it was? It isn’t like you to just sit around and wait patiently when it comes to getting the food ready for an event,” Veronica demanded.

  “Guys, calm down. I know everyone is under a lot of pressure for the charity events, but don’t freak out. It isn’t like someone did this on purpose. It was just a random mishap,” Harper said.

  “Yeah, I’m not so sure about that,” Sarah blurted out. She wasn’t sure that she should have said anything, but the tasting was only hours away, and she really had begun to wonder if someone was trying to screw things up for them. There were just too many strange things happening to be a coincidence.”

  “What do you mean?” Veronica and Harper asked in unison.

  “Well, I don’t know exactly. I mean, I don’t have any actual proof. Some strange things have happened over the last few weeks, and I get this weird feeling at times, like someone’s watching me. It hasn’t been anything major, but they seem too odd to just be random.”

  “Strange things? Like what?” Harper asked.

  “Well, like grease thrown all over the walkway that leads to the dumpster. I almost fell, and if I had, I could have easily broken an arm or a leg. It wasn’t something that would have leaked from a trash bag being dragged out there either. There was a lot of it. And now this with the food. If Veronica hadn’t found it, then odds are we wouldn’t have had it at all for the event, and then what? It just seems like someone wants to ruin things.”

  “I don’t know. Both of these things could be totally random,” Veronica said. “Then again, who knows. It is a pretty high-profile event. Maybe it’s someone with a grudge or something. But what kind of person would want to ruin a charity event?”

  “That’s a great question, but we better keep our eyes peeled. Just in case,” Harper said.

  Brenda peeked out from behind the fence that ran alongside the alley by O’Rourke’s. She rubbed Kidney between his ears as she craned her neck and tried to hear what the three women were saying as they looked at the boxes of beef sitting on the dock.

  The look on Sarah’s face had been pretty funny when she had first come outside and seen all of the food sitting on the dock. She had looked like she might cry. But if what Brenda was hearing was right, the meat wasn’t spoiled, and it could still be used for the VIP tasting in a few hours. Brenda frowned and stopped rubbing Kidney, who let out a loud meow, leapt from her arms, and ran toward the women. She quickly stepped back behind the fence, mad at herself for yet another plan to ruin things that had gone wrong. She should have told the driver to deliver it somewhere else that wasn’t even at the property, another venue. Time was running out, and so were her ideas. She needed to do something that would really mess with the event. Something that would bring it to a standstill and ruin the reputations of everyone who was a part of it.

  Something big. But what?

  Gertie looked out of her office window at the deep blue water. Kidney jumped onto her lap, and she started to pet him, a move that was automatic for her at this point.

  “The water looks extra blue today, doesn’t it?” she asked the cat, who purred in reply.

  Something caught her eye, and she wheeled herself closer to the corner window, squinting as she tried to see more clearly. It was Veronica, Sarah, and Harper, all standing around something out on the loading dock that they never used. Gertie craned her neck, and as the women moved, she saw what looked like a food delivery being loaded onto a dolly.

  What the heck was going on? Why would there be a delivery all the way over there? It wasn’t even close to the kitchen. She watched as Sarah and Veronica lifted one of the heavy tubs together. At least they were getting along. She knew that Harper had most likely played referee more than once between them, and that was okay by her. They needed to let bygones be bygones. They’d be sisters-in-law someday if TJ ever got off his butt and proposed to Veronica.

  Meow!

  “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that these events are a huge success, Kidney,” she said to the cat, who jumped off of her lap, stretched out, and then trotted out the door.

  Gertie sighed.

  She really wanted to get as much as she could from the donors at the ball. The Kidney Foundation was so close to her heart ever since her daughter Lily had received a transplant, but also this ball could really put O’Rourke’s on the map for hosting charity balls.

  She looked over at a picture she had on her credenza and smiled faintly. It had been taken shortly after Lily got out of the hospital and was of Gertie, Lily, and Noah, right before Noah went into the facility to help his mental health. Gertie frowned. After Lily’s operation, she had envisioned the three of them becoming a close-knit family, and that certainly hadn’t happened.

  Snap out of it, she told herself. This wasn’t the time to start getting down about the past. She had more important things to do than feel sorry for herself. The VIP tasting was tonight, and she needed to check on the dishes that Sarah was working on.

  She wheeled out of her office and down the hallway toward the lobby, where Myrtle was working on her usual crossword puzzle. There were hardly any visitors at O’Rourke’s, so Myrtle really only helped answer the phones as well as with marketing and administration. She was extremely good at both and always had her projects done on time, if not early. Gertie didn’t mind Myrtle working on crosswords at the office at all.

  “What’s a five-letter word for ‘strips in a club’ that begins with a B?” Myrtle asked.

  “What? How would I know? You’re the one that’s the crossword expert around here. What kind of hint is that, anyway? Are those crosswords rated X?”

  Myrtle tapped her pencil on the desk as she closed her eyes.

  “Ha! I’ve got it. Bacon.”

  “Bacon?” Gertie asked. “In a club?”

  “Yes. The club reference is to a club sandwich! You thought it meant a stripper pole, didn’t you?” Myrtle asked Gertie, grinning.

  “Guess I’m the one with the X-rated mind!” Gertie said.

  They laughed as Gertie wheeled herself toward the elevator.

  “I’ll be in the kitchen
if anyone’s looking for me,” she hollered over her shoulder. As she wheeled down the hallway, she decided to go the long way to the kitchen so she could check out the side loading dock where she had seen the women loading food onto a dolly from her window. She hit the button for the loading dock door, and as it slowly rolled up, she wheeled herself out onto the dock, looking around.

  Meow.

  Kidney bolted past her, jumping off the cement dock and darting into the bushes across the way.

  “Kidney! Be careful!” she shouted after the cat, as if he could understand her.

  Squinting her eyes, she rolled her wheelchair down to the end of the dock. Odd. There were clog prints in the dirt by the fence, small ones. Maybe a size six. Why would one of her chefs be messing around out here in the dirt?

  9

  “Myrtle, don’t you dare shush me. These gowns are for Gertie, and I most certainly will not just leave them with you. They must be hand delivered!”

  Raffe overheard Edward arguing with Myrtle as he entered the lobby.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, already guessing what the answer was. Edward had made two gowns for Gertie for the charity events. Not that Gertie had asked him to—he had taken it upon himself when she asked Jasper and Marly to make some for the event. Jasper had told Raffe all about it the other night.

  “What’s going on is that I need to get these gowns up to Gertie, and the gatekeeper here won’t let me.”

  “Edward, I’ve told you ten times that Gertie left instructions for me to bring them up to her. Me. Not you,” Myrtle said loudly, tapping a pen on her desk.

  “Oh, can I see the gowns?” Raffe interjected, trying to lessen the thick tension.

  Edward walked over to the rolling rack and lifted one of the gowns off of it, holding it up and cradling the lower part with his right arm so it wouldn’t hit the floor.