A Tablespoon of Temptation (A Recipe for Love Novel Book 1) Read online

  Julian pulled a few packets out of his pocket and set them down.

  She stared at them for several seconds before taking one. Somehow, she managed to keep the folder in place while she emptied the sugar into her cup. Her whole body shuddered at the first sip.

  Danielle was fascinating to watch. He chuckled but covered his mouth. He’d seen her put sugar into her cup, and she was more of an I’ll have some coffee with my sugar type of woman.

  “Let’s get started,” Allie said.

  Julian took a seat to Allie’s right and waited.

  “First, I’d like to announce that Avis is no longer with the company.”

  A collective gasp filled the air, and heads turned from side to side as if the answer for her absence was written on a nearby face. Danielle sat up straight and nursed her coffee. A twitch of her lip followed each drink.

  Willetta piped in, “Did you can her lazy ass?”

  James crossed out her name as a candidate for promotion. Avis might have been lazy, but there was no reason for Willetta’s disparaging remarks. An excellent general manager needed to filter their words. She didn’t appear to have one.

  Julian sat tall. “We won’t be discussing other’s employment records, but we will talk about the financial health of your departments.”

  There wasn’t a sound. Not a breath in or an exhale out.

  “We brought you here so we can answer your questions and tell you about the future of The Pines, now Luxe Resort at Timberline.”

  Flynn raised his hand, which was polite, but it reminded James of his days in elementary school. “How long will we be here?”

  Chris piped in. “Yes, how long?”

  Allie’s brows lifted. “You two have a date? Maybe together?”

  Chris smiled warmly. “I’ve got inventory to do. It’s important to keep things organized.”

  James didn’t miss the look of disbelief he saw on several faces.

  Danielle tightened her grip on the folder. “Maybe if we stopped interrupting Allie, everything would move more quickly. I, for one, would love to know the company’s plans for the resort and for us.”

  Allie walked over to an easel and presented the concept. She flipped page after page to show the vision for the all-inclusive property. They would vacate the building by floors and wings for remodeling. The cabins by the lake would get renovated last since they were booked solid through the summer.

  When she finished, she opened the floor for questions.

  Danielle looked down at her folder several times.

  Curious about its contents, James texted his sister.

  Her phone lit up, and she quickly read the message.

  What’s Danielle got in front of her?

  Paul from security sat as far forward as his stomach allowed. The man was like the tower in Pisa, Italy, cocked to the side.

  “Aren’t there three of you?” Paul asked.

  Allie looked toward the mirror James sat behind. “Yes, my brother Alistair is the Chief Executive Officer.”

  “Will we meet him?” Danielle asked.

  “He’s overseeing a project. He likes to remain in the background, but he’ll be around.” Allie looked down at the folder. “Did you have something you wanted to share, Danielle?”

  Danielle took in a big breath and closed her eyes before she lowered the folder to the table. In the process, she exposed a white blouse covered with coffee.

  James laughed out loud, though no one could hear him. “That looks familiar.” He had a flashback to the wet T-shirt he’d encountered in the lounge two days before.

  She pushed her coffee to the side and opened her folder. “I wasn’t sure what type of meeting this would be, so I put together some profit-and-loss reports for my department. I also jotted down ideas for improving the customer experience.”

  Chris coughed, and James thought he heard him say, “suck up”, but couldn’t be certain.

  Allie reached out to take the reports. “Thank you, Danielle. That shows initiative.” She eyed her soiled blouse and in turn, Danielle turned crimson.

  “I don’t normally … never mind. This is unacceptable, and it won’t happen again.”

  Allie nodded and scanned the top page. “You dislike the fake flowers in the lobby too?”

  James fist bumped the air and put a star on her folder for having taste.

  “I’m not a fan of fake.” She looked around the table and stopped at Chris. “Our guests deserve better.”

  “I agree.” Allie tucked the pages into her briefcase and closed it. “One more thing. With Avis gone, we’ll be looking to fill her position. As department heads, we hope to advance one of your careers.”

  Julian stood up. “I’ll need reports from all of you by the end of next week outlining your successes and ideas for improvements.” He walked to the door and stopped. “I’ll also need your quarterly expense reports.” He exited, followed by Allie. The click-clack of her heels fading with each step.

  James waited in the room to see what would happen next.

  Willetta laughed and said she’d be happy to get a raise.

  Chris opened the box and took out another pastry. “I’ll fight you for it.”

  Paul struggled to stand. When he gained his balance, he shuffled out of the room, grumbling about the homework.

  Flynn waved to everyone and left.

  Only Danielle remained. She looked at the mess and cleaned up the table. She set the coffee neatly in the center and covered the leftover pastries. On her way out, she walked to the mirror and looked at her refection. She rubbed under her eyes as if she could erase the dark circles.

  He wondered what had caused them.

  They were so close James could almost smell her perfume; almost feel her breath against his cheek.

  “What are you thinking, Danielle?”

  She tugged at her soiled shirt and answered the question she couldn’t have heard.

  “It’s too early to drink and too late to run.”

  Chapter 5

  Danielle

  “Danielle.” Liz, from the front desk, waved her over. She was glad she took the time to stop at home to change her shirt because she set the example for her staff.

  She had hoped to skate through the lobby and make her way to the thirteenth floor where the executive offices were. She wasn’t superstitious, but now the thirteenth floor seemed foreboding. They were under new ownership, and that would change things. She feared it would change everything. If their first impressions of her were what she thought they’d been, she’d be lucky if her final check wasn’t already waiting for her on her desk.

  She put on her weekday smile. “Hey Liz, what can I do for you?”

  “Is it true that Avis is no longer with us?”

  Danielle laughed. “You make it sound like she died. As far as I know, she’s still around, but she won’t be working for Luxe.”

  “Wow, they fired her?”

  “I don’t know the details.” She considered Julian’s statement about not discussing employment records. “All I know is we will need to adjust and adapt to the new management.”

  Liz slapped the granite counter. It was the only nice thing about the lobby. “I hate change.”

  Danielle had experienced a lot of change lately. There was a marriage and a divorce. She went from being debt-free to owing places she’d never stepped into. Change seemed to be her middle name these days.

  “Change is inevitable.” She turned to look at the plastic floral monstrosity that took up the entire six-foot-wide table in the entry. “I think we’ll get rid of that.”

  Liz hopped up and down. “Oh good. I saw a mouse crawl out of it the other day.”

  A shiver ran down Danielle’s spine. Rodents weren’t her thing. “Did you call Todd?”

  She blushed, “Yes, and he told me to stop pretending there were mice, and to ask him out if that’s what I wanted.”

  “Oh. Wow.” She mindlessly straightened the brochures on the counter. “Is that wh
at you want?”

  Her expression turned soft. “He is dreamy.”

  She couldn’t argue. Todd was a handsome man. He did a good job with the resources he had and was a magician with a toolbox and duct tape.

  “Then you should ask him out.”

  “I already did. We’re having a drink after work. I’m taking him to Powders.”

  “Have fun, and don’t worry. Everything here will get better.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I have a feeling.” What she felt resembled acid reflux, but employee morale was important.

  She rushed to the elevator. Answering her usual daily mountain of emails made the top of her to-do list, right after hitting the lounge for a cup of dark roast happiness. Her morning cup had never hit her lips, and the coffee at the meeting was barely drinkable. It needed at least six tablespoons of sugar to cut the bitterness. When Julian laid only a handful of packets on the table, she knew she’d have to suffer through it. Pouring it and not drinking it would have been rude.

  The elevator lurched to her floor. A cloud of dust floated around her as she exited and walked toward her desk.

  Email first, and then coffee.

  Ding, ding, ding, ding rang out as she powered up her computer. Her inbox lit up with messages. Several were from other department heads.

  It wasn’t a surprise. Somehow, she was the go-to for all concerns and complaints. Avis made herself unavailable, and somehow Danielle had ended up her surrogate. She ran the reports, attended the meetings, and took care of employee complaints.

  “No wonder she left. If asked to bring a list of accomplishments, Avis would have one entry. She hired me. I did her damn job.”

  The first email was from Willetta, who asked how she could improve her chances of keeping her job.

  Everyone loves you. You’ll be fine.

  Danielle

  The next email came from Paul, in Security, asking for suggestions to impress the new owners.

  She had a lot of suggestions that started with washing his uniform. Since housekeeping was in charge of employee uniforms, he had no excuse for looking slovenly. Hiding somewhere during the day was a problem too. He was never in his cubicle or the surveillance room. She had a feeling he hung out where they kept the overstock and slept on the new mattresses.

  Get a fresh uniform and make yourself seen.

  Danielle

  She saw a message from Chris but ignored it. She moved through her emails.

  A cloud of dust whooshed through her space, and the thunder of hammers and the squeal of saws was all she heard.

  “Holy hell. What is going on here?”

  She’d cleared her emails but one, and reluctantly opened the message from her ex. All it said was, You’ll be working for me soon.

  “Not likely.” She saw the way they watched everyone in the room. While Chris was a chameleon, she had to hope Allie and Julian saw past his façade. Honestly, if they looked past his movie-star smile, he’d be lucky to keep his job.

  She prayed that he wouldn’t lose it. His car was the only thing he paid for from their marital debt, and that was because she told him if she made the payment the car was hers. But if he was out of a job, he couldn’t pay for it, and as his co-signer, she’d be stuck with the bill.

  She lowered her head into her hands. She was thirty-five and in debt up to her ears because she believed in love. When she said I do, it meant forever. When Chris said those words, it meant until he found something shinier.

  A big boom shook the walls of the offices. She pushed back and rose from her chair. No way would she get the orders put in if she couldn’t think. She marched down the hall toward the commotion. There was no longer a door to Avis’s office but a large gaping hole in the wall.

  A man stood with his back to her, a yellow hard hat on. He directed the workers like a drill sergeant. She recognized the voice.

  A single tap on his shoulder had him spinning around to face her. “This is a construction zone; you’ll need a hat to be in here.” He took the one from his head and placed it on hers.

  She stepped back. “This is a work zone.” She waved her hands around. “Why couldn’t this have happened earlier?”

  “Scheduling conflict.” He shrugged as if her complaint had no merit. “Why couldn’t you do your office work earlier?”

  She handed the safety hat back to him. “Scheduling conflict.” She said and pivoted on her heels to trudge toward the employee lounge. When she got there, nothing remained but wires and pipes.

  “Where is the coffee?!” she screamed, if only to hear herself over the noise. Her day teetered on the edge of bad, ready to plummet toward worse.

  James walked up beside her. “I hear the restaurant downstairs serves a decent cup.” He picked up a roll of plastic sheeting and walked toward the area where her cubicle stood.

  Furious, she stomped past him to her desk. “I don’t have time for field trips. I’ve got reports to run, orders to place, and a nervous breakdown to fit in between customer complaints and employee reviews.”

  She pulled out her chair and flopped onto the tattered cushion. The old springs creaked as she rocked back and forth. It was a subtle way to release pent up frustration. The movement was soothing despite the sound, which she hardly heard over the construction and stapling of plastic sheeting behind her.

  She twisted to watch him staple her inside. “That’s not helping,” she called out.

  He peeked around the edge. “You’ll love me later when there’s minimal dust in your workspace.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up. I’m a hard sell on love.” All at once, the room went silent. She was certain the only thing she heard was the dust settling and the rustling of her plastic prison walls. “Thank God.” She returned to her computer. When she moved her mouse, there was nothing. Not a flicker of light. Not a word. Not a sound. It was heaven and hell combined.

  “Tripped a breaker,” someone yelled from down the hallway.

  She threw up her hands. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jumping from her seat, she went to see what could be done to get the power turned back on, but she hit a wall of plastic. James had stapled her inside.

  “Hello,” she called out. No one answered. She considered taking scissors and cutting her way free, but was it wise to piss off the guy in charge of building her office?

  No coffee and no escape. The only thing left was to review the printed profit-and-loss statements from the various departments that Avis had her analyzing before she left.

  No one stood out as a thief. Much of what she saw were simple oversights. Ordering based on last year’s numbers when this year’s occupancy rate was down by twenty-five percent. Given that Luxe closed off the tower for the summer to remodel, it only reduced their income potential further. She understood the need to have the building vacant, especially now that she’d heard the noise and was living without electricity.

  Back at her desk, she moved her pen down the reports. Reports she had no business seeing since they belonged to other departments.

  Maybe it was good that Avis left because Danielle could get back to doing her job and only her job. For months she’d been taking on more while Avis did less. That made her an easy choice for general manager because she already did the work. But her late arrival and her appearance erased any grand illusion of a promotion. Besides, she didn’t want a job that would put her in a no-win situation with her ex-husband. She could see it now; Chris would question every decision she made then complain to the higher-ups. If she gave him a poor rating, he’d say it was her bitterness, not his performance.

  She pulled out his half-finished quarterly report. Outdoor recreation was the most expensive department in the resort, which never made sense. How many fishing rods, flies, snowshoes, and paddle boards did he need? Maybe she was too hard on him. Guests were tough on everything from bedding to baths. No one treated a hotel like their home. The average person wouldn’t drink wine in bed or drag their bag across the carpet, p
ulling at the fibers.

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. When this became all-inclusive, it would be worse. For many, all-inclusive meant anything goes.

  The lights above her flickered, and the hum of the central air conditioning filled the air. This was perfect if everything else remained silent. She pulled up the reports on her computer and scanned the entries. It wasn’t her job to analyze, just get the numbers, and they were dismal.

  Out of habit, she reached for her cup, which wasn’t there.

  “I’d kill for a cup of coffee.”

  “You don’t have to,” James said from behind the plastic.

  She turned to face his shadowy figure and watched him cut a slice in the sheet from ceiling to floor. “Sorry I locked you in. The guys tripped the breaker, and I had to see Todd in Engineering.” He pushed through and walked forward, carrying two cups of steaming coffee. “While I was there, I got this.” He passed her the mug.

  She didn’t know if she was grateful or annoyed. He was the reason she didn’t have coffee in the first place.

  “Thanks.” She said, resigned to be appreciative.

  “You’re welcome.” He looked over her shoulder. “What are you doing now?”

  “Pulling together the profit-and-loss reports.”

  He lifted his brows and leaned in so close she could smell the fabric softener in his shirt.

  “Is that your job? I thought you’d only be responsible for your department.” He stared at her glowing computer monitor. “By the looks of it, you’re doing everyone’s reports.”

  She turned around and flicked off the power to her screen. “This isn’t your job either. Shouldn’t you be giving me permanent hearing loss from your nonstop drilling and hammering? I’m assuming the breaker’s fixed since my equipment is working.”

  He straightened and leaned against the partition dividing her cubicle from Paul’s. “Everyone is taking a coffee break. Why are you doing all the reports?”

  A heavy sigh emptied her. “Avis was a delegator.”