Catering to the CEO (2 page)

“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, having to sit back and listen 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 and 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, put her shoes back on and went out to help 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’s.”  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 knit 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 and 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 good-bye.

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.”