Just a Taste (Private Relations 1)

By shortly after noon the next day, Deacon had decided to give the whole thing with Sara last night a wide pass. She was completely right. It was inappropriate and they needed to be able to have a working relationship.

Walking into the kitchen area to confirm when she would be ready to set up, he was surprised to find the food being loaded onto carts by her and another person.

Seeing him walk in she smiled and said, “Hey. Just about to get everything set up. We’ll be ready with plenty of time. What’s up?”

Feeling things were back on a more even keel, he replied, “Just making sure everything is under control. People will start to filter down around 12:45 p.m. Need anything?”

“Nope. We’re cool. Having the extra help this morning made the process much less painful.” Lowering her voice slightly, she added, “The new guy seems to be working out well. Thank god.”

Smiling, Deacon said, “Great. I’ll let you get back to it.”

By the tim

e 1:00 p.m. had rolled around, the ballroom was packed with JDC employees. After taking a quick turn at the microphone, Jim directed everyone to dig into the buffet.

After everyone loaded their plates and got seated, Deacon finally took a moment to dig into the food. It was really, really good. If the silence as everyone plowed into their meals was any indication, Sara had really come through. Looking to Jim and Chris, he gestured to the food. They nodded. The search for a caterer was over, assuming that no one got food poisoning.

Giving the crowd a few minutes to eat, Jim approached the microphone again. He outlined the deal that had been struck with the New Orleans Jazz, what they had in store during the fourth quarter, and areas of opportunity.

Deacon took his turn at the microphone next, going over the changes they could expect in the accounting department and discussing the company profits. Chris wrapped the meeting up, going over some of the challenges that each department within the company had taken on and overcome.

As the employees were filtering out, Sara came in with the cart to move the remnants of lunch back into the kitchen. Deacon noticed several people stopped by to tell her how amazing the food was. Heading back upstairs, he made a mental note to swing by the kitchen in a bit and tell Sara what an amazing job she had done.

By the time he surfaced from his last meeting, it was 3:45 p.m. Heading downstairs, he made a beeline for the kitchen. Seeing the kitchen mostly back in order, Sara and her employee were completing the last of the cleanup.

“Sara. That lunch was pretty epic. Whatever you did to the cornbread…it was amazing.”

“Thanks! However, that was Bret. Oh. And, Bret Walker, Deacon James.” Looking at Bret, gesturing toward Deacon, she said, “He’s our contact here at JDC.”

Bret stepped forward to shake his hand, then looked at his hand, currently covered in soapy water and food bits. Grimacing apologetically, he nodded and said, “Nice to meet you. Glad you liked the cornbread.”

“Probably the best I’ve ever had. Did you do the donut things too?” Deacon asked, curiously.

“Nope. Those were all Ms. Westing,” he responded, smiling as he moved back toward the sink.

“For the love of God, Bret. Call me Sara.”

Laughing, Deacon said, “Assuming no one gets food poisoning, we’ve all kind of agreed that we’d like you to continue on as our caterer. You guys knocked it out of the park. When you get a minute, c’mon up to my office and we’ll talk about the event schedule for the next couple months.”

With a look of relief on her face, she agreed, “Yeah. Absolutely. I’ve got another forty-five minutes or so here but I’ll stop by if you’re still going to be in the office.”

With a frown he said, “Yep. Another late night on the agenda. Just come on up. Heather will most likely be gone for the day so just head on back to my office.”

Seeing her blank stare, he elaborated. “The receptionist.”

Nodding, she said, “Oh, okay. See you in a bit, then.”

“Bret, nice to meet you,” he said, as he walked out of the kitchen.

Heading back upstairs, he dove into his work until he heard a knock on his door.

“Come on in,” he said, elevating his voice.

Looking up at the door, he was somewhat surprised to see Chloe walk through the door.

“Hey, Chlo, you’re here early,” he said.

Looking at her watch, she said, “Uh…it’s like ten minutes to five. I was coming in to go over the financials with you. Remember?”