Chapter Eighteen

It took a minute for her to open the envelope. Lila sat at the kitchen table, eyes closed, breathing deeply, trying to find the courage. Her hands shook lightly, and she clenched them together. She hadn't been expecting this overwhelming nervousness after last night's decision to continue pursuing her dream. But this morning, faced with the reminder of her own failure and the proposition she'd turned down, things didn't seem so clear.

Maybe Dave was right. Maybe she didn't have a chance in hell of recovering from her mistake. She certainly didn't have the money to try again. There was about ten grand left of the money Drake had had deposited in her bank account. She'd already spent half on deposits to other vendors. And she didn't feel right using the other half, since the job was incomplete.

Must remember to send a check to Alex. She shook her head. Just the thought of writing his name made her shaky.

If she intended to try again, she would have to change addresses, pay for movers, change her licensing, rebrand and re-promote. In the harsh light of day, it all seemed less and less likely. She could mortgage her mother's house, but the risk of losing it if she failed was too great. Lila sighed.

As for Dave Cooper's offer, she knew she'd made the right decision about starting a relationship with him, either business or personal. Lila was in no shape to start dating another man, not so soon after Drake had thrown her life into chaos. The memory of his lips, of his body pressed against her, still sent shivers down her spine.

Besides her lingering heartache over Tall, Dark, and Dangerous, she'd known very quickly that Dave Cooper wasn't right for her. He'd seemed to have a nice sense of humor and a friendly demeanor, until she'd refused him. Then he'd become like a spoiled child. Lila idly wondered if he'd gone home and cried to his mommy after their date. She almost laughed at the image, until she realized she was sitting here alone, too afraid to open a stupid envelope. Who was she to judge?

Comparing herself to Cooper galvanized her to action, and she ripped open the envelope and almost shredded the documents inside it. Lila carefully pulled them out of their manila sheath and looked them over.

Dear Ms. Johnstone,

We've heard exceptional things about your talent with and passion for food. That is why we'd like to engage your services in catering a large event. Our annual "Small Town Celebration" will be taking place soon, an event that honors the spirit of small-town America. We'd like you to cater the awards dinner.

Although the town is small, we expect nearly every resident to turn out for the dinner, and therefore the event itself could draw a couple hundred people. As we're aware of your expertise at handling large events, we believe you to be the perfect person to cater our dinner.

The ceremony will be taking place on December 21st, so you can understand our urgency in the matter. To ensure our good faith, we have included a check as a deposit for your services. Please inform us of your decision by no later than December 14th to make certain there is enough time to confirm the travel arrangements and for your own preparations.

We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Tony Beckham

Project Manager

Mountain Home Foundation

The letterhead was emblazed with the Mountain Home Foundation moniker and a logo that resembled smoke or clouds swirling around a mountain peak. The letter was accompanied by a suggested travel itinerary, and a check made out for $2500.

Lila sat back, stunned. They'd heard exceptional things about her? From whom? The thought that Alex might have given them her name made her blush. Hell, 'talented' and 'passionate' would definitely describe him.

Then again, maybe not. The foundation appeared to be some kind of non-profit. Lila wasn't sure if not making a profit held any interest for Alex. It seemed like something more up philanthropist Brice Masterson's alley.

This is crazy.

It was already December 10th. That left very little time for menu planning and research. And what kind of foundation waits until the last minute to confirm the caterer? If she refused, she didn't know how they'd get another one in time.

No, this stank to high heaven. Something was up.

She leaned her head back, resting it on the top of the chair back and staring at the ceiling. Something might be up, but at least it was something. What other opportunities did she have on the horizon?

There hadn't been a peep from Drake. He'd fooled her once before. Could this be another attempt to score casual caterer sex? She shook her head. It seemed like too much effort. And the date. It was the same date as his wedding.

Lila had purposefully avoided gossip sites. In the grocery store checkout lane, she kept her eyes firmly on the conveyer belt and ignored the glossy rags. Maybe the scandal had split Alana and Alex apart. But then again, Alana had known Alex was cheating when she'd come to Lila's house and warned her off. She didn't seem like a woman who wanted to give up her man.

Maybe it really was Brice. She could call his office and ask. But...she didn't want to. If it was Brice, she didn't want it confirmed, not really. He'd already helped launch her career by hiring and overpaying her to cater the wedding. If he'd passed her name on to this foundation, his actions were probably motivated by pity.

Pity and her friend's attempts to help. If she called, she'd have to talk to Janna about what had happened. She had let every call from her friend go to voicemail, had returned every text with an "I'm doing okay. Not ready to talk about it yet." That response would only work for so long, but she wanted to string the silence out for as long as she could. Talking about it would make it more real, and right now she preferred to think of her relationship with Alex Drake as a beautiful dream that never was. At least she wanted to think of it that way.

Lila had never had a girlfriend to talk to about her relationships to before. Probably because she'd never had any boyfriends in school. Besides Damien, and she was too frightened to talk to any of her classmates about that one.

And while she'd had friends at school, she hadn't gotten close to many. Several had jumped ship after middle school when they realized that being associated with the fat chick wasn't cool. So Lila had contented herself with a genuine friendship with her mother. And with keeping quiet about her interactions with Damien George.

She lifted her head, closing her eyes and opening them, trying to blink away her doubts.

It seemed Lila was seriously considering the offer. It would give her something to do other than dwell, and if Brice and Janna were behind the invite, then it would make them feel good to help as well.

The check was also not to be ignored. Her savings were almost depleted and she was still paying rent on the lease in Portland, even though she wasn't staying there. Doing this job would help give her some breathing room. She could figure out her next step, decide whether to rebrand or attempt to carry on.

Everyone had said that Gourmet on the Go was gone, but was it really? Lila considered all the sex scandals she'd heard about in the past and realized that opinion about them was changing. Having a sex tape no longer meant public denigration. Shit, some celebrities had practically built or revived their careers on them. Maybe having the tarnish of notoriety could actually help her business.

Lila couldn't believe her own thoughts. She certainly wasn't the type to seek out that kind of infamy, but now that she had it, why not make lemonade out of her lemons? Or better yet, wine out of her sour grapes. If she wanted her business back, bigger and better than ever, then she would have to take some risks.

Picking up the phone, she dialed the number.

"Tony Beckham."

His voice was pleasant, and it gave Lila an unexpected good feeling to hear it. "Hello. This is Lila Johnstone, the caterer. I'd like to accept your offer."

"Fantastic!" As Mr. Beckham rattled off a few details that Lila jotted down, a smile crossed her face for the first time in a week. She was taking the initiative to get back what she wanted.