Tall, Dark & Hungry(55)

Bastien glanced at Terri. She was looking to him in question, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. But he had been at the apartment. From what he had seen, the chance that Kate's flowers were still okay wasn't good. He didn't want to upset Terri until he knew for sure, though. "I'll have to go check on them."

"Do you want me to come?" Terri asked.

Bastien hesitated. He really would like her to go with him. He enjoyed her company. But the landlady had given him a hard time when last he'd gone to the editor's apartment; and if he ran into her again and she caused difficulties, Bastien might have to take control of her mind again. It would be easier if Terri weren't there for that.

"No," he said at last. "Perhaps you could wait here for Meredith's call? I'll be as quick as I can."

"Okay," she agreed promptly.

"Thanks." He stood and started out of the room.

"Bastien?" Chris called after him, bringing him to a halt in the entry. "You need the keys," the editor said, and grabbed them off the coffee table where they had sat for the past few days. He tossed them over, then added, "Would you mind picking up some more clothes for me while you're there?"

Bastien grunted and turned to leave. Whether he would or not depended on his mood. And that would depend on the state the flowers were in.



"I tried to get a hold of Kate's catering company this morning, hoping that someone would at least be there to take calls and answer questions, but of course they aren't answering the phones. If there's even anyone there to answer the phones anymore."

"Hmm," Terri murmured into the receiver. She wasn't terribly surprised at the news. Neither was she surprised that Meredith had checked it out. The woman seemed superefficient.

"But I was able to get some information from other sources, and it would appear that any deposit Kate might have given the caterer is as good as gone. She isn't likely to see it back. Nor can she expect any service. The company is completely defunct."

"I was afraid of that."

"Yes," Bastien's secretary agreed. "So I called around to all the best caterers in town. They're all booked up, of course."

"Of course," Terri said wearily.

"However, Argeneau Enterprises does a lot of business each year in catering, and our contracts are coveted and everyone is eager to impress us, so almost all of the caterers are willing to hire extra staff and do whatever is necessary. They're no doubt hoping to make enough of an impression to get future contracts."

"Really?" Terri perked up. Perhaps all was not lost.

"They're all vying for the job. I've sent out copies of the desired menu, and each of them is working up competitive prices and arranging to send sample meals over to be tried. Bastien or you, or both of you, can decide who to go with. That probably won't be until later tomorrow, though." There was a pause, then Meredith added, "I know Kate should probably make the choice, but as she's in California, and this has to be arranged and decided at once so that the provisions can be ordered, it—"

"It will have to be us," Terri finished. She paused, biting her lip. "Meredith, I'm thinking that, since she can't make the choice, and since this news would just stress her out—"

"And at a time when she's already under a great deal of pressure," Meredith put in.

Terri felt herself relax. It sounded like the secretary had the same idea, but she said it just the same: "Do you think we should just keep this to ourselves? Bastien and I can choose the best price and meal, and Kate doesn't really even have to know about it if all goes well."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Whether it was because Meredith was considering the question, or because she was surprised that Terri would even ask her opinion on a family matter, Terri didn't know.

"I think that—judging by how upset she was over the floral incident—keeping this from her might be the best decision," Meredith announced at last.

"Yes, I think it's best," Terri said, then hesitated before saying, "Since you're now a co-conspirator, would you care to be in on the taste testing when the sample meals show up?"

"Oh. Oh, that's so nice, but… no, I couldn't." The woman was obviously flustered. "But thank you."

"Are you sure?" Terri asked.

"Yes. Thank you," Meredith repeated, a hint of warmth creeping into her previously cool and efficient tone. "I'll leave that up to yourself and Mr. Argeneau."

"Well, if you change your mind, let me know," Terri said. "And thank you, Meredith. I fully expected to spend the day calling caterer after caterer to deal with this, but you've handled it all and left nothing but the eating, which is the fun part. Bastien's very lucky to have you working for him."