Chapter 11 Liza #2
As I drove to Cecily’s, I pondered the questions milling around in my head. I wanted to know who that Stone guy was and why he was in Presley Acres, but there were no answers. Brushing the questions aside, I dug into the bag of cookies Susan had given me.
There was nothing like a little sugar rush to calm my nerves after an odd and random encounter.
When I arrived at the address she’d put into her intake form, Cecily stood on the porch along with her entourage of assistants. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for me.
“Oh good,” she said, and there was no missing the sarcasm when I stepped out of my car. “You made it.”
Was I allowed to slap my clients? Probably not.
“It’s great to see you, as well, Cecily.
” Her assistants met me at my car and helped carry in my supplies.
“Care to show me to your kitchen?” It wasn’t often that I cooked in a client’s home, but sometimes, for the higher-dollar customers, I made adjustments as they wished. And this, apparently, was her wish.
I followed her through the enormous house, which was far too large for just one woman and looked more like a museum than a home. She had a Monet, the honest to goodness real deal and not a litho. I stared at it as I walked past.
Each room I passed was more luxurious and opulent than the last. Once I got past the thousand-dollar rugs and the priceless artwork and furnishings, I could see how she’d put it all together to create an elegant yet comfortable atmosphere.
It was a shame that Cecily lived there. All the beauty was wasted on her, although it spoke to the professionalism and lack of prejudices against bitches her designer had.
The kitchen had smooth, cool marble countertops, and stainless-steel appliances, though I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
As I unloaded the groceries, Cecily hovered over me, practically breathing down my neck. “Are you sure you picked up everything on my list?”
“Of course.” I forced a smile. “Everything is from local vendors; nothing but the best quality.”
I set the tomatoes on the counter and turned to grab the cucumbers, but Cecily had moved right behind me, which resulted in me slamming right into her shoulder when I turned.
“Watch it!” She huffed in irritation. “You’d think the help would have a better sense of direction in the kitchen.”
Oh, so that was her plan. She’d brought me here to humiliate me.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. People seldom acted differently than I expected.
Should’ve known she intended to treat me as the help.
Some things would never change. I just kept reminding myself of what she’d paid.
That money would cover a couple car payments.
I could take her comments. After all, I knew plenty of rich, entitled women like Cecily who had no regard for others unless they could help them climb the proverbial social ladder. This wasn’t my first rodeo.
Not letting her get under my skin was the best recourse for such bad behavior, so I chose not to respond.
Instead, I ignored her snide remark. Cecily leaned against the kitchen counter and watched as I assembled her food per her dietary instructions.
Apparently, though, she didn’t like being ignored.
She amped up and doubled down on her insults.
“You know, you’re the wrong kind of woman to be with the alpha.
If you end up being his mate”—which I would—“you’ll make the pack look weak.
The entire pack. You don’t have status or upbringing.
You’ll disgrace the pack. Aren’t you concerned about that? ”
Yeah. I’d known this was about Ty. Again, not surprising. There was a saying about leopards and spots that seemed apt.
I glanced in Cecily’s direction. “No, I don’t think that will be an issue.”
Cecily threw her head back and cackled like an evil witch. “Oh? From where I’m standing, Ty couldn’t have picked a weaker, more pathetic mate if he’d tried. It’s sad, really. You’re wearing polyester, for God’s sake.”
Okay. I’d had enough. I turned and placed all of the remaining food into the fridge, then grabbed my empty canvas bag and slung it over my shoulder. “May I have a piece of paper and a pen?”
Cecily looked at me with an odd expression, finally snapping for one of her assistants. “Get her a pad of paper and something to write with.”
The young assistant jumped at Cecily’s order, and I wrote down the heating instructions for the steaks, bread, and a detailed explanation of making a salad.
“What are you doing?” Cecily stared over my shoulder at the instructions.
“This will be our only business transaction. I’m dropping you as a client.
” I capped the pen and tossed it on the counter as Cecily’s jaw dropped.
“You’re rude and entitled, and you make my working environment extremely uncomfortable.
I have plenty of clients, and I don’t have to work in those types of conditions. ”
Cecily took a step back, obviously stunned. “I’ll make sure you never work in this town again, mark my words.”
I shot Cecily a pointed look before responding.
“I have a long-standing client list and they are extremely loyal to me and my business. They know me, the quality of my work, and the way I conduct business. So, if any of them want to drop me due to some baseless comments from a snobby little rich girl who didn’t get the man she wanted, then I don’t want to work for them, anyway. ”
It was rare for me to let my feisty side loose, but I wouldn’t stand by and be treated like garbage.
I snatched up my purse and keys. “You should see a return in your account for the money left from the estimated budget by tomorrow.”
Without giving her a chance to respond, I turned and walked out of her fucking nightmare of a house, and left Cecily fuming in the middle of the kitchen.
Just as I closed the car door, my phone rang. It was Ty.
“Hello?” I pushed the call to my car’s Bluetooth, then pulled out of Cecily’s long ass driveway.
“Hey, Liza. It’s Ty.” The sound of his voice provided a bit of comfort, and I breathed a quick little sigh. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Since leaving Cecily’s, my time had gotten so much better. “Nope, I just finished up at a client’s house.” I shook my head. “Well, ex-client.”
“Oh.” Ty laughed. “That sounds interesting. Care to share?”
“Umm, no. I’d rather not give that person another second of my brain power today.” I didn’t want to talk about Cecily, and I preferred to not badmouth my clients, even if they were evil little shits.
“Gotcha. Well, I just wanted to tell you that you’ve been on my mind all day, so I thought I’d call and see how your day was going.”
It was very sweet. My heart tingled. “Except for dropping a client, it’s been fairly uneventful. I have a lot of other clients to visit, though. It’s a full day. How about you?”
“I’m pretty busy myself. I plan on visiting most of our businesses to make sure everything’s running smoothly.”
“Sounds exciting.” It absolutely did not.
Ty laughed. “No, not in the slightest. Let’s not talk about work, though. Maybe we should talk about more important things.”
Oh, crap. What was he referring to? “Like what?”
“How about you tell me your favorite sport?” I could tell in his voice that he was smiling. He thought he’d found a stumper of a question.
“My favorite sport?” I giggled. “I was expecting something much deeper.”
“I’d really like to get to know you, and that means everything.
Favorite color, favorite band, favorite everything.
But if you’d prefer a deeper, more philosophical question, I can do that, too.
” He chuckled, and every cell in my body flared to life.
That was a sound I wanted to hear again… And again. And again.
He was flirting, and I wasn’t mad about it. On the contrary, I wanted the questions and the laughs to keep coming.
“No, that won’t be necessary. We can do this.
My favorite sport is baseball. Well, softball, really.
” Once upon a time, I was one of the great ones and could’ve had a future in the sport.
I paused to check my blind spot before merging onto the highway.
“My parents started me with tee-ball when I was four, then I graduated to coach pitch softball, then kid pitch, and I continued to play throughout high school.”
“Really? I would’ve never imagined you playing softball.” For a second, I wondered what he could imagine me doing, but I was too shy to ask.
I stayed on topic instead. “Why is that?”
“Well, you just seem like more of an indoor kind of person. You know, like cooking or baking. Maybe reading.” His laugh sent flames of heat to my cheeks.
Why did the sound of his voice almost send me into convulsions?
“Maybe so,” I admitted, my own smile sliding across my mouth, making my voice thinner and lighter. “I do love to cook, though that’s not my only hobby.”
“What else do you like to do?”
I thought for a moment. I didn’t have a lot of time for other things since I started the catering business, but I had fond memories of hobbies I’d once enjoyed. “Well, I like hiking and camping, and I’m an avid reader. Oh, and I love to travel.”
“Ah, that’s all right up my alley. What kind of books do you read?” he asked, and I could have fallen right then for the amount of enthusiasm in his tone.
“Just about anything, but mostly non-fiction. I like reading about different cultures and exploring new places through books.” I’d read about every continent and had a list of places I wanted to see, things I wanted to do. “Although, I do love a good edge-of-my-seat thriller.”
“That’s cool. I’m a fan of the classics myself, so you’ll have to share some of your favorite reads with me sometime.” As fated mates, I should’ve expected that we would talk about the future, but it still made my pulse quicken when he did, and right now, it was off to the races.