Harper fidgeted in her chair as Veronica went over the to-do list with her in her office. It was a long list, and a few times Veronica had already taken back a task she’d originally assigned to Harper, and it was making Harper very uneasy. She really liked Veronica and had been thrilled when Gertie had promoted her to Veronica’s assistant. She’d been working hard, but no matter how well she did, she felt Veronica didn’t fully trust her.

Befriending Veronica when they’d first met to get information out of her for Uncle Tanner had made Harper feel guilty. She hoped the more they worked together the closer they would get, and Veronica would fully trust her, otherwise this was really going to be a difficult working relationship.

“Let’s see, what else is there …” Veronica’s voice trailed off as she scanned down the checklist she had in front of her. “The desserts. Did you make sure there is a selection of bite-sized pastries? Mini cheesecake, éclair, carrot cake, and whatever else the chef comes up with?”

“Yes, I spoke to the chef and—”

“You know what? Never mind, I can check on this one instead. I have to speak to him anyway.” Veronica cut Harper off, taking back another task to do on her own.

“I did speak to the chef about it and explained bite-sized desserts were what was needed versus the normal size pieces of cake or pies. He said it wasn’t a problem and he would make them small to be passed around by the wait staff,” Harper said eagerly, hoping Veronica would trust her with this minor detail.

“Mm … hmm, I’ll just double check anyway. Thanks,” Veronica replied dryly as she made a note on the paper.

Harper wondered if the note said, “Get rid of Harper, she’s an idiot who can’t even pick the right desserts out.”

“Hello, ladies,” a familiar voice said from behind, and Harper turned to see TJ Flannery entering the office.

She looked back over at Veronica. Her demeanor had totally transformed, and she had a lovey-dovey look on her face. It took all Harper’s will not to roll her eyes. It was so obvious these two were in love. They made a cute couple and Harper was happy for them but the sappiness they exuded when they were together was a little annoying. Seeing them this way reminded her how alone she was, and she had the urge to leave the room. Especially if they were going to make goo-goo eyes at each other. Two’s company, three’s a crowd!

“Hi, TJ. Here, take my seat, I was just leaving. Veronica, I’ll catch up with you later to update you on the list.” She made a beeline for the door before anyone objected. Not that they would, they were too busy staring at each other.

“Whoa!” A hand shot out to keep Harper from running into its owner. She’d rushed out of Veronica’s office so fast she hadn’t bothered to look to see if anyone was in the hallway outside of the door.

“Sarah! Sorry. I was in a rush and wasn’t paying attention.” Harper apologized as she stepped to the side.

“No problem, I would be in a rush to get away from her too.” Sarah tossed a narrow-eyed look at Veronica’s closed office door as they walked past it.

Sarah’s comment caught her off guard. Harper wasn’t sure what to say. Sarah was TJ’s sister, and while Harper had only dealt with her a few times, she seemed okay. They’d had a few run-ins at the last event, which had been a wedding reception for Edward Kenney’s son and Sarah’s best friend, Marly West, who also worked at Draconia. Sarah had been the bridesmaid in the wedding. There had been animosity between Sarah and Veronica then, but Harper thought it was all cleared up now. At least she hoped so for TJ’s sake.

“Well, she and TJ sure seem to be in love, I think they are good together. You know, I mean good for each other,” Harper said, stumbling a bit through her words.

Sarah remained silent and continued to walk down the hallway in the same direction as her.

“By the way, if you’re looking for TJ he’s with her in her office,” Harper said.

“Thanks, but I’m not here to see TJ. I’m here to apply for a chef’s job. It turns out working with your boyfriend isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Harper knew Sarah was referring to her boyfriend Raffe, who had a well-known restaurant in the city. The last she’d heard, Sarah and Raffe were doing well, and she had the impression they might end up getting married soon. At the wedding reception they’d seemed friendly. Then again, she knew from personal experience how fast that could change.

Something told her Sarah needed to talk. Even though they were only acquaintances Harper knew breakups sucked, she’d been there herself once upon a time and having a shoulder to lean on was always welcome. “Hey, do you feel like some coffee or something? I was going to make an iced coffee in the break room.”

They both entered the break room, and Harper walked over to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of iced coffee while Sarah took a seat at one of the café-style tables. The large break room was as immaculate as always, the stainless steel refrigerator gleaming, and the granite counter tops shining. Harper was grateful it was always stocked with coffee and treats, many times this was where she ate her main meals of the day.

She grabbed two tall glasses out of the cherry wood cabinet along with some sugar packets off the countertop and walked over to the table Sarah had sat at.

“So, how long have you worked with Raffe?” Harper asked her as she filled both of their glasses.

“Long enough to know it was a really stupid idea.” Sarah took two of the sugar packets and poured them into her coffee. She grabbed a straw from the holder in the middle of the table and stirred her drink, then took a long sip.

“Raffe is a good guy. It’s just … I guess … I don’t know. It’s hard taking orders from someone who is your boyfriend, you know? And it’s impossible to leave work at work. Going out on date night, we talk about work. At work, we talk about work. Work, work, work. I feel like our relationship is just dying a slow death.”

Harper nodded slowly as she listened to Sarah, her mind wandering back to her last relationship. It had blown up badly and so fast that, at the time, she remembered wishing she could fast forward her life to avoid going over all the drama in the weeks following a breakup. She couldn’t imagine being in Sarah’s position and having to work with the person you were having relationship issues with, that would be torture. No wonder she wanted to find a new job!

“I’m sure Gertie will hire you. I know we need another chef, and it probably doesn’t hurt that TJ works here as well. Maybe working here will help your relationship, you know, because you won’t be around each other so much?” Harper was trying to put a positive spin on the crappy situation.

“Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. It’s all confusing at the moment. But I guess it will work itself out.” Sarah stood and put her empty glass in the sink. “Thanks for the chat, I appreciate it. I should be getting down to the kitchen. Wish me luck!”

Harper wished her luck and watched her leave, stirring the rest of her iced coffee with the straw. She was confident Gertie would hire Sarah, not because she was related to TJ, but because Gertie had a huge heart and would basically hire anyone who seemed like they needed a job if they were capable and hard workers. It was a bonus if they were in an emotional turmoil Gertie could help soothe. Gertie was a people-fixer and Sarah fit that bill perfectly.

“Oops! Sorry!”

Big T turned and watched the blonde chef lady he’d bumped into hurry away down the hallway towards the elevator. He knew she was applying for the open chef position but hadn’t known she knew Harper. How did she know her and what were the two of them yapping about together in the break room? Eh, it was probably just girl crap, talking about how stupid men are and purses.

He reminded himself not everyone was up to no good, and besides, he had no issues with that lady. Harper was the problem one and the one who was up to no good. Big T had seen her snooping around in the basement and sneaking into the room with the lighting for the show. There was no reason for her to be in there, aside from being a snoop. He would have to be extra careful around her to make sure he didn’t blow his cover.

He’d done well so far acting like a regular worker, not to mention making the occasional casual comment to place suspicion on someone else if anyone ever started to question certain things. No one would ever know he was the one causing the problems for Gertie, and it would stay that way.

He opened the door to the stairway and headed downstairs to the basement, his heavy work boots making a thud with each step he took on the cement stairs. He kept his head down as he passed a few employees in the hallway outside the stairwell. He wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Opening the doorway that led to the loading dock he squinted, the afternoon sun beaming directly into his eyes. He reached into his pocket for the can of tuna he’d brought with him for the tabby cat that had been hanging around and peeled the metal lid off it slowly, as if the cat would hear the noise and come running.

Placing it on the ground he called out to the tabby, as he walked around the loading dock area. No one else was outside, which put him at ease. He didn’t need anyone seeing him feed the cat.

Meow!

The cat ran out from the thick weeds, purring as it twined itself between his ankles briefly before running over to the can of tuna and eagerly chowing down. It devoured the food within a few minutes then sat, licking its paws.

Big T scooped up the empty tuna can and patted his feline friend goodbye, then walked back into the building. Tossing the empty can away in a nearby trash barrel he casually looked around to make sure no one was watching him, then he inconspicuously darted into one of the small cubicles that were located down there for the employees to share.

Each cubicle had a computer so that those who didn’t have an office could use them to check email or do whatever they might need to online. He’d acted like he was computer illiterate around everyone at work but that was far from being true. He’d spent hours teaching himself about computers on all those nights his mom had had to work extra shifts and he’d been left home alone. He knew the knowledge would come in handy someday.

He clicked on a few buttons and the computer whirred to life. Instead of entering the ID he’d been given when he started working at O’Rourke’s, he used an alternate one, changing the system user, then laughed softly as he messed around with the database.

Let’s see how successful the fashion show is when all the bigwigs’ invitations are sent to the wrong addresses!