CHAPTER 5

C HAPTER 5

W ork went better on Wednesday, mostly because that was Frank's day off. Mia sat in her car for a few minutes girding herself against his torment until she realized Frank was heading to Bozeman for the corporate retreat that weekend. The last hotel manager had taken all the department heads to this retreat, but no, not Frank. He wanted all the praise for their increased sold nights and catering jobs to go to him. They were supposed to funnel down to the actual departments, but Frank didn't like to share.

Mia grinned as she got out of the car and headed to the front door. She waved at the valets, calling out personal greetings as she went. Then she did the same to the front desk. As she made her way through the huge lobby, she was next to the floor-to-ceiling fireplace when she heard her name being called.

By Frank.

She turned around, the smile dropping from her lips as she saw him powering down on her. "Frank, I thought you were on your way to Montana?"

"My plane leaves this afternoon. I got a call from the Davis family last night. They have a daughter-in-law who is expecting, and they want to throw a surprise baby shower for her this weekend. That won't be a problem, right? You can pull something of that scale off in less than three days, correct?"

Mia must have nodded because he grinned. "Perfect. I told Mrs. Davis you'd be here at nine. She's waiting in your office. Bad day to be four minutes late."

Mia spun around and hurried to her office. If she knew Frank, he'd had this party confirmation in his pocket for days now. Maybe weeks. But he'd held it back to make it difficult for Mia to give the Davis family the event they wanted. He wasn't just messing with her. He was messing with their customers. If there was a way to prove it, she'd send the information up the line and see if good ol' Frank didn't get his butt fired. She tried to slow her breathing down as she opened the door to her office. Not only was Mrs. Davis there, but four other women crowded the room. Mia had hit one of them with the door when she'd opened it.

"Oh, my, this won't do at all. Please come with me, and we'll set up in the conference room. That way you can get a feel for the room we'll be using for your party." Mia held open the door and shooed them all to the closest conference room. She and James had set it up yesterday as they were planning on getting the new servers together later that day for a training session.

She opened the door and then used the intercom phone on the wall to call James while the family came into the larger room. They looked like they could breathe again. Her office could get stuffy with just herself inside. Mia didn't want to think about how hot it had been with all four women. "James, would you be a dear and bring a tray of treats along with some coffee, iced tea, and a large pitcher of mimosas?" Mia saw the older Mrs. Davis smile at the mention of drinks. "We're in the conference room. You may want to bring a notebook and chat about your thoughts on what to serve at a baby shower too."

She closed the door and sat down at the table. She pulled her planner and a notebook out of her tote, which she hadn't left in her office. Digging for a pen, she asked, "So, tell me what your vision for the party will be? I'd like to give you exactly what you want."

Mrs. Davis nodded and opened her own planner.

A girl after my own heart. But she didn't say anything. She wanted Mrs. Davis to make the first move.

"We'd like to have the event on Friday. My son and his new wife are flying in on that day and I'm sure that no one in our family will be able to keep this a secret, so it's time to get this party going." Mrs. Davis put her hand on the table. "Your boss didn't want to schedule this meeting even though we've been talking for a couple of weeks. He said you worked better under pressure. I hope that's true."

Mia wanted to say so many things. She rubbed at her forehead, hoping she wasn't frowning. "That's water under the bridge now. Let's just focus on what you want for the party so I can go browbeat my suppliers to get the materials and ingredients here by Friday."

"I thought he was messing with us. From now on, when we have an event, I'm going directly through you. Or maybe your new catering business. Have you remodeled the old school yet? I used to love going there. Everyone knew everything. And the library, well, it was divine."

Mia stuttered, "I didn't say . . ."

"Don't worry about it. I have friends in the corporation that owns this hotel. One of the reasons I agreed to have the party here and not at my house. Well, that and the cleanup afterward. I really don't like a lot of people in my house." Mrs. Davis shrugged. "What can I say? I'm picky."

James came in with the trays, and everyone grabbed a drink and a sweet treat. Mia asked James to sit after she introduced them and then focused on Mrs. Davis. "Tell us what you need to make this shower special. Do you know the gender of the child yet?"

Mia listened as Mrs. Davis described the party she envisioned. "We'll just be family, but that's enough. There are thirty-four of us now. When the new baby comes, we'll be thirty-five. My parents and my husband's parents are still alive and will be attending, so the smaller ballroom will work perfectly. They need something close to the bathrooms and near the elevator to their rooms. You can expect family to start checking in later today."

"That's wonderful," Mia tapped her pad. "How many rooms do you think you'll be using? If it's more than ten, we can give you a reduced rate on the ballroom rental."

"Lucky thirteen, from my count. Several of us live in the area. We may need more depending on my daughter-in-law's family." Mrs. Davis glanced over to a young woman who appeared to be her daughter.

"We haven't received any RSVPs from them." The other woman shrugged.

"Well, I'll alert the front desk to keep a running tally." Mia glanced at James. "So, what do you want for food?"

The meeting lasted over an hour, and by the time the Davises had left, Mia had a basic outline of what she needed to get done on what days. James walked with her to escort the family out and then waited while Mia talked to the front desk, alerting them to the upcoming guests. She met him, and they started to walk back to her office.

He didn't look at her when he asked, "Frank?"

"Frank. Mrs. Davis even knew she was being delayed just to mess with my schedule. He makes it impossible for me to like him. At all." Mia wanted to scream, but she held it in.

James laughed, and a housekeeper walking by jerked her cart away from him.

"It's not funny. Anyway, I bet he didn't know the Davises knew people on the board of the corporation. I bet they're going to get a call about his customer service. And if we do a great job, praises about ours." Mia paused at her office door. "Karma gets everyone in the end."

"Yeah, but sometimes you get to watch it do the smackdown." James held up his notebook. "I'll have a menu and a budget for you this afternoon with some alternatives, both up and down in price."

"Perfect. I'll get the rest of the proposal done, and we can send it to Mrs. Davis before I leave for the day. I'd like her to have an idea of what this is going to cost sooner than the day before the event."

James smiled. "I'm not sure it matters. And it's only one additional day. I bet Frank told them some crazy high number, anyway. So we should be able to look like stars when we give them the final accounting."

"Maybe. Or he might have lowballed us so we would look bad when we gave her the actual cost. You never know with our devoted leader." Mia stepped into her office. "I've got to work."

Mia texted Trent to let him know that she was working on Friday night and asked if they could change their date night to Saturday. By six, she had a plan and a contract sent to Mrs. Davis. Somehow she and James had pulled it off. At least the planning of the event. Tomorrow she'd make sure that she had enough staff for the event scheduled, and James could deal with the food. The baby shower would be a hit, and Frank would have another satisfied customer to report to his boss.

Even though he'd almost blown the entire thing by not telling Mia about the event until the last minute. Sometimes life wasn't fair.

As she got in her car, she heard Gloria's giggle from the apartment. "Not funny, missy."

But as usual, Gloria's interventions lightened the mood around her. Mia found herself smiling and singing along with the radio as she drove home. Tomorrow she'd have Mrs. Davis's signed contract in her email, and she'd deliver an upscale event.

Trent called just as she was getting out of the car at the school. "Hey there, did you see my text?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm calling. Sorry, I'm not going to be able to get away Saturday during the day at the store, so Levi and I are working on the runway Saturday night. I'll be around the house if you want to order something. Maybe we can sneak away to the library or somewhere and eat for an hour or so."

Mia tried not to sigh. "That's fine. I know the runway has to be done."

He chuckled. "Mom about had a hissy fit when I asked if I could postpone the work. I think she and Dad are fighting about this judge thing. I wasn't going to tell her. I'm not sure you should have either."

"If it affects my business, of course I'm going to tell her." Mia unlocked the door and paused, seeing Abigail's SUV pulling into the driveway. "Hey, your mom's here. She must have forgotten something. I thought the class was this afternoon."

"That's not good," Trent said as Mia watched Abigail park her car and then open the back hatch door. She pulled out a suitcase.

"No, it's not good at all. Trent, I think she's moving in," Mia whispered into the phone as Abigail stormed toward her. "I'll call you later."

"Mia, I need a favor. Can I use your spare room for a few nights?" Abigail looked like she'd been crying as her makeup was smudged, but her face was stone if you ignored the raccoon eyes.

Mia held the door open. "Of course. Is something wrong?"

Abigail shook her head. "No, I just need some space. I'll put these in my room, then I'll make us some dinner. Do you have anything set out?"

Mia laughed. "I just got here. Frank blindsided me with a baby shower on Friday. I don't even know if Christina is here."

"She said she was staying in tonight when we talked after the class." Abigail nodded to the elevator. "I'll meet you upstairs. I don't know if I can carry this monster up three flights of stairs today. I'm beat."

Mia locked the door and then headed up the stairs. The next few weeks were going to be crazy. Especially if Abigail and Thomas were fighting. Christina was still mad at Levi's little prank. Thank the Goddess that she and Trent were solid. At least one couple in the family wasn't arguing.

A knock sounded at the door. Abigail was still waiting on the elevator. "If that's Thomas, I'm not here."

"Okay, I'll see who it is." Mia walked back to the door. She didn't want to lie to Trent's dad, but on the other hand, Abigail was her friend and ran her business for her. Maybe she could just say that she didn't want to see him. He could tell she was there since her car was in the driveway. Mia swung open the door. "Oh, it's you."

Brad Heinrichs stood there with a bouquet of flowers. He handed them to Mia. "That's a warm-ish welcome. It is I, Brad, your friend from high school who followed you and Laurie around like a puppy dog while we avoided the mean kids."

Mia leaned into the flowers, enjoying their scent. "Everyone liked you, Brad. It was me that they were on the hunt for. Laurie was amazing at shooing them away. Are these for me?"

"Yes, if your boyfriend isn't going to hit me for bringing them. If so, you just found them on the doorstep." He glanced around the outside of the building. "It's Wednesday. I did mention that I was coming by, right?"

"Yes, you did." She took the flowers and opened the door wider. "Sorry, work was crazy."

"Well, let me take you to the Lodge for dinner. We can catch up, and you don't have to do anything but tell me what you're doing with this amazing building. I can't believe you own this."

Mia hesitated, then nodded. It would be nice to catch up. "Let me run upstairs and put these in water. I've got some company that I need to let know where I'm going, then I'll be down."

"Okay if I wait down here and check my email? Work has been blowing me up today due to shipment problems. I think I'm going to need to change tomorrow's specials on the fly." He held up his phone and grinned.

"I got a new event for Friday night this morning, so I feel your pain." Mia hurried up the stairs, not looking at the second-floor landing. If Carla's spirit was hanging around her death site, she'd just have to wait. Mia needed to chat with Abigail and try to explain why she was going out to dinner with a guy who wasn't her son. Even though it was just dinner, Abigail might see it differently.

Mia didn't have to explain anything. Abigail was still in her room. Christina sat in the living room, reading. "Hey, I'm going out tonight."

She looked up from her book. "Oh? Abigail was going to make us finger steaks."

"Sounds great, but a guy I went to high school with just stopped by, and he's taking me to the Lodge." Mia went to the kitchen and put the flowers in a vase. Christina followed her.

"Nice flowers."

Mia smiled at the unasked question. "It was a nice gesture. Anyway, I should be home no later than nine, and apparently, we have a new roommate for a bit."

"My dream has always been to live in an apartment with both my bosses." Christina glanced up at the security monitor. "Do I need to write down the plate for that BMW before you leave?"

"I don't think a Twin Falls chef is going to kidnap me. Unless he's working for Frank. And if he wants my job at the Lodge that bad, I'll give it to him." Mia glanced at her suit and took off the blazer. "I'm grabbing a sweater, then I'll be leaving."

Christina followed her into her bedroom. "Wear the blue one. It's warm enough, but it's dressy too. Was Frank horrible today?"

"I'll tell you about it later, but yes." Mia exchanged the blazer for a sweater. "He's trying to force me to quit."

"Probably. Look, I don't have to take a salary if that would help." Christina put a set of silver chains around Mia's neck. "That looks better."

"It's not a date. And no, you're not going without a paycheck. How will you pay the rent I charge you for this mansion?" Mia squeezed Christina's arm. "It will all work out."

"I got some money for graduation presents. I put it away for a house fund once we decide where we're moving. Although Levi's not being serious about helping me to pick a place." Christina leaned on the doorway. "You and Trent okay?"

"We're fine. It's just dinner with an old friend." Mia glanced at the guest bedroom. "I'm heading out. Let Abigail know not to make me dinner, okay?"

"You could knock on her door and tell her yourself." Christina followed Mia out to the apartment's front door.

"I could, but I'm not going to." Mia waved her fingers. "Bye."

When she got back downstairs, Brad was wandering through the lobby area, looking at different pictures on the wall. "Did you get everything settled for your menu?"

He grinned and shrugged. "Kind of. I turned my phone off. I'll deal with whatever they bring me tomorrow. My sous chef just gets all worked up if things aren't exactly as we planned. I like having a bit of a curveball to up the creativity at times. You look amazing. Let's go."

Mia opened the front door and set the lock behind her. Tonight she wasn't going to think about the death or the queen contest or her job or Abigail's relationship. Tonight was just about remembering old times and more than likely, talking food.

It was one of her favorite subjects.