Page 4
“That would be perfect, Ronald. Thank you.”
“Of course, Miss Dawson,” he answers, stopping in front of two gorgeous cherry doors and pulling a set of keys out of his pocket. As he unlocks the door, I suck in a breath and take in the ornate beauty of the building. When I first started planning this charity gala a few months ago, I wasn’t sure how well it was all going to come together since time was so short but we lucked out in a lot of ways and people have been eager to help the kids at the children’s hospital.
“Here we are,” Ronald says as the double doors swing open and the ballroom comes into view. It never fails to take my breath away. The room is extravagant without being gaudy and you can just feel the history of the hotel when you step into the room. It’s one of the reasons I worked so hard to secure this venue.
My phone buzzes with a text and I unlock the screen.
Jenna Bueachamp:
Running ten minutes late.
“My client is running a little late so I’d love to check in on the kitchen with you if you don’t mind, Ronald,” I say as I look up at him and he nods.
“Of course, Miss Dawson. Follow me. I’ll send my assistant to the front desk to wait for Miss Bueachamp.”
I nod, setting my binder down on one of the tables filling the space. “Perfect. Let’s go, then.”
Ronald leads me back to the kitchen. There’s a flurry of activity surrounding us as we make our way through the employees all rushing around to prepare the tasting menu for Jenna and I. When we reach the back office, Ronald knocks on the doorjamb.
“Chef, I have Miss Dawson for you.”
Chef Thomas’s head jerks up and he stands, rushing over to us with an outstretched hand. “Miss Dawson, lovely to see you again. Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. I was just hoping to go over a few things with you.”
He nods, motioning to the chair positioned in front of his desk. “Of course.”
I sit down and pull up the notes app on my phone before asking him about his plan for the day of the event.
“I’m not sure I know what you mean, Miss Dawson.”
“Are you planning on pre-cooking anything or will everything be cooked the day of? Do you have a plan to accommodate the thousand guests who have already RSVP’d yes?”
He nods and launches into his plan for the day of the event, explaining what things can be made early to save the kitchen some time and when he’s finished, I stand and hold my hand out to him.
“That sounds good, Chef. I look forward to tasting the dishes you’ve come up with.”
He shakes my hand and I check the time on my phone before turning back to Ronald.
“We should probably get back to the ballroom.”
He nods. “Of course, Miss Dawson.”
Ronald leads me back through the kitchen as my phone buzzes with another text from Jenna, letting me know that she just arrived at the hotel and I text her back to tell her that I’ll meet her in the ballroom. As Ronald and I turn down the hallway to the room, Jenna emerges on the other side, being led by a young man who must be Ronald’s assistant.
“Miss Bueachamp, how lovely to see you again,” Ronald says as we all stop at the entrance to the ballroom and she smiles.
“Hello, Ronald.” She turns to me. “Quinn.”
“Hi, Jenna. Shall we get started?”
Her eyes light up and she turns to the ballroom. “Yes, please. I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up.”
Ronald leads the three of us into the ballroom and over to the table I left my binder on earlier. As Jenna and I sit down, Ronald and his assistant step back to let us talk in private and I grab the binder, flipping it open to the first page so she can see the two themes I’ve come up with for the event.
“Now, I know you said you wanted something different from the usual “stuffy” charity events you see so I’ve come up with two different ideas for you but I will need your choice today so I can get everything prepped in time.”
She nods. “That won’t be a problem. Let’s see them.”
