Beauty and the Feast (25 page)
Gabe paused for a moment. Stephanie was the last person he expected to hear from. Why was she calling him? Before he could ask, she spoke up.
“Gabriel, I’m calling to apologize for my behavior on Friday night.”
“I don’t think I’m the person you should be apologizing to,” he replied.
“Yes, I know, but I feel like I owe you an apology as well. It’s none of my business whom you date. We hadn’t made any commitment to each other.”
She sounded very contrite. Gabe decided to be conciliatory. “No, we had no commitment, but perhaps an apology on my part is in order as well. I didn’t mean to lead you on and I’m sorry if I did. However, if you’re angry, be angry with me, not Eva. She didn’t know about you.”
“Yes,” Stephanie replied, “I believe that. I just wanted to tell you that I intend to put everything that’s happened behind us. I imagine we’ll be seeing each other from time to time and I’d like our relationship to remain cordial.”
“I’d like that too, Stephanie.”
“No hard feelings?”
“No hard feelings, Steph.”
“So how about I take you to coffee sometime this week, just friends. To make it up to you.”
“Not necessary,” said Gabe. “You don’t have to worry, I’m not one to hold grudges against friends and business associates.”
“No, really, Gabriel, it would make me feel better.”
“Sorry, Steph, but I’ll be leaving town later this week and I have a lot to do.”
“Maybe I can have a rain check?” she asked. “When do you get back?”
“Not for three or four weeks. I’m not quite sure. Frankly, Steph, it might be awkward. I don’t want to give you the wrong impression and I’m with Eva now.”
“Yes, of course,” Stephanie replied. “I didn’t mean to pressure you.”
“No pressure, just the facts. Sorry. It’s never been my intent to hurt your feelings,” added Gabe.
“You haven’t,” claimed Stephanie. “Don’t worry about it. Have a nice trip.” Her voice sounded a bit clipped.
“Thanks. Goodbye Stephanie.” Gabe clicked off.
Well
, he thought,
that’s
one way to get rid of an inconvenient hard on
.
Marsha entered his office. “I’m holding plane reservations for this Friday and I’ve arranged for six interviews on Monday and Tuesday. Over the next few days, I can try reach the rest of the students and their families. Between the schools in Chicago, those in
Minneapolis
,
Milwaukee
, and in
Omaha
, we should be busy for several weeks.”
“That’s about what I figured,” replied Gabe. “Sounds good. Go ahead and purchase the tickets.”
“Will do. Why was Stephanie Lindstrom calling?”
Gabe rolled his eyes. “Do you hear everything that goes on in my office? I’ll have to remember to close my door.”
“It’s my job. Why was she calling?”
“To apologize.” Gabe explained to Marsha what had happened between Stephanie and Eva on Friday night.
“Good for Eva,” she replied. She said, “Don’t trust the apology. She’s working some angle.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Gabe. “Seems pretty straight forward to me.”
“That’s because you’re a man,” Marsha replied. “An apology from a man is likely to be exactly that, an apology, because men aren’t big on apologies, so if a man says he’s sorry, then he’s sorry. An apology from Stephanie Lindstrom? That’s another animal altogether. I don’t trust her,” she repeated. “She’s up to something.”
“Marsha, I think the cake has gone to your head. She’s all talk. A woman like Stephanie isn’t going to go after someone who doesn’t want her. I made that clear.”
“Well,” said Marsha, “She may not go after you directly. She may try a sideways approach.”
Gabe laughed. “I think you’re reading too much into this, Marsha. She’s not going to waste her time. Besides, I have nothing to hide.”
“No,” agreed Marsha, “But you do have someone to protect. Eva.”
Gabe stared at his assistant for a moment. “You’re letting your imagination run away with you. Even if Stephanie was vindictive, what do you expect her to do? Hire a hit man?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“Marsha, you don’t think much of members of your own sex, do you?”
“Oh,” said Marsha, “On the contrary, I think very highly of members of my own sex. I just know the difference between a pit viper and a harmless garter snake.”
“You have nothing to be worried about. Eva will be fine. Stephanie’s a lawyer, for God’s sake. She knows where to draw the line. She wouldn’t risk her sterling reputation over something so petty.”
“Depends upon her definition of petty.”
“Marsha, you overestimate my charms. I doubt I’ll hear much of anything from Stephanie unless it’s about business. Which you and I need to get back to if I’m going to spend time with Eva before we leave.”
“You’re the boss,” said Marsha, as she strolled to her desk. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Hey, Marcus,” Eva called as she walked into the office, “When are you guys leaving?”
“Shortly,” Marcus replied as he struggled to unplug his laptop. “Tom’s packing the car now and I need to get out of here. Will you be okay?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine. It’s slow. The Whites are gone for another week. The Reardons have taken off for a month so I just have Sam and Mrs. Elkins, and I’ll manage the office. Ruth and I can handle the wedding this weekend. There are only thirty guests. We might have to decline any major last minute catering jobs, unless you want me to call you two to come back.”
“No cell phone service up there,” said Marcus. “We’ll be camping on the river. I’ll try to get into Guerneville a couple times to check in with you. Is lover-boy still out of town?” came Marcus’ voice from beneath his desk.
“Yes… yes he is,” said Eva, her cheeks turning pink. “You just asked me that this morning. Here, let me get that for you.” Eva crawled under the desk and untangled the cord. She handed it to Marcus.
“You miss him?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’ve got it bad, Miss Eva. Very bad.”
“Yeah, well, it’s only been a week and I’ll see him when I go back to
“Oh, so your family can put him to the test?”
Eva laughed. “Something like that. They’ll probably make him run the gauntlet. I’m hoping they don’t beat him with farm implements.”
Marcus stuffed his laptop into its carrying case. He rose from the desk and slung it over his shoulder. “I doubt they’ll be that hard on him,” he said. “Besides, Gabriel Abbott strikes me as the type of man who might enjoy running the gauntlet. Perhaps even naked.”
“Marcus!” Eva shrieked.
“Hey, I may have my favorite cake, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy looking at the different flavors of ice cream.” Marcus grabbed his car keys and tossed the office cell phone in Eva’s direction. “Be good.” He headed for the door. “Oh, here’s the portable credit card unit, but Tom locked the business check book in the safe and he has the key, so do you think you can you cover if anything comes up? We’ll reimburse your expenses of course.
“No problem,” Eva called after him. “Have fun.”
* * * *
Friday afternoon, as Eva put the finishing touches on the two-tier wedding cake, her cell phone rang. She glanced at the number, wondering if it was either Tom or Marcus. Neither. The area code was 415.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice asked, “Is this All Things to All People?”
“No, this is a personal cell phone number, but I work for All Things to All People.”
“Is this Miss Eva Raines?”
“This is Eva.”
“Just the person I wanted to speak with. I hear you’re a fabulous caterer.”
“Oh,” said Eva, “that’s very nice of you. But if I may ask, how did you get this number?
“A friend of mine, Gabriel Abbott. Listen, I’m having a little get-together at my home in Yountville on Sunday night. I know it’s last minute, but I hear you’re a genius when it comes to putting something on at the last minute.”
“Thank you again for the compliment,” said Eva. “May I ask with whom I’m speaking?”
“This is Jerry Harding. I’m with the firm of Harding and Harding in
San Francisco
. I have some out of town guests and I’d like to bring them up to the
Something about the man’s enthusiasm seemed a little off. Eva couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she didn’t want to turn down a job if it could mean more exposure for ATAP.
“I don’t usually take work related calls on my personal cell,” Eva stated. “How did Mr. Abbott happen to give you this number?” She asked, keeping her tone matter of fact.
“Oh, Gabe and I go way back. We’ve worked on projects together for years. He’s spoken so highly of you. He said you’re always up for a last minute event, especially if the money’s good.”
That didn’t sound like Gabe at all
.
“Mr. Harding…”
“Oh, please call me Jerry.”
“Jerry, I’m acting manager until next Wednesday. I’ll be happy to take some information from you and see what we can do, but I will need you to use our office number from now on.”
“No problem, Miss Raines. May I call you Eva?”
“Sure,” she replied, trying to keep the uncertainty out of her voice.
Why would Gabe give my personal cell phone number to anyone?
“I’ll need a few more details from you before I can decide whether or not to accept this job.”
Eva reached across the counter and grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper. The man, Jerry, answered all her questions without hesitation. Within five minutes, Eva knew the date, time, place, number of guests and the amount of money the man was willing to spend. It was an exorbitant amount for eight people. But then, he did insist upon one very specific caviar to go with a very specific wine. Eva would have to interrupt her prep for the wedding in order to make a trip into the city on Saturday morning to purchase the caviar and she’d personally have to contact the small, boutique winery to get the wine. They didn’t sell to retailers.
The man apologetically offered her double their usual fees and he made a deposit of half the amount via his wife’s credit card. His wife spoke with Eva directly and gave her the okay. The deposit would more than cover her costs. Eva ran the number through Tom’s portable credit card unit and the amount cleared. She informed Jerry that she would charge the remainder to the card after she’d set up his buffet. She also requested a fax number so she could fax him the ATAP contract to sign. He said he didn’t know the fax number by heart so he’d have to call her back as soon as he got it.
“Oh,” the man added before he hung up, “I won’t be there until around six-thirty, so I’ll arrange to have the housekeeper let you in. She’s there twenty-four-seven. Her name is Louise. She’ll clean up. That way, you won’t have to make another trip, so feel free to buy any serving items you might need and just leave them.”
“Would it be possible for me to drop by tomorrow? It’s better for me to get a look at the dining room and the kitchen, just to get an idea of what you have on hand, to see how I’d like to arrange the space, that kind of thing.”
“Oh…sorry, no, that won’t be possible. Some of my guests will be staying at the house and I’ve promised them complete privacy. I’d prefer that they not be disturbed. I’m sure you understand. But you don’t have to be concerned. My kitchen is fully stocked and as I said, if there’s anything out of the ordinary you need, buy it. Add it to the final bill.”
“I’m not entirely comfortable with that, Mr. Harding. I’d really like to get a look at the space.”
“Eva, please call me Jerry. You know, Eva, I have a lot of confidence in you. If you can satisfy a man like Gabriel Abbott, I’m sure you won’t have any problem satisfying me.”
Eva bristled at the implication. She told herself to calm down.
Don’t read too much into what he says. He obviously has a flair for the dramatic and he’s a bit socially inept
.
Chill, Eva
.
But he doesn’t seem like the type of person Gabe would speak to about me
…
ATAP, maybe, but not about me
.
I just can’t see him giving a man I’ve never met my number
.
“All right,” Eva agreed. “Please call me back with the fax number.”
She’d have to drive over to the office to use the fax machine. At least she wouldn’t have to meet the guy. She’d be long gone before he and his guests appeared. Eva clicked on her lap top computer while she waited for his call. She googled Harding and Harding. Sure enough, they had a law office off