"Well, I was trying to do you a favor,"Vincent retorted. "I was afraid Terri would think you were trying to get her to cook for you. No woman wants to be a replacement housekeeper. Speaking of which, how's the hunt for a new housekeeper going, anyway? And have you found Mrs. Houlihan yet?»
"I haven't any idea,"Bastien admitted. He'd given both problems to Meredith, and he hadn't been keeping up with much lately. It seemed there had been one crisis after another keeping him busy and distracted. He supposed he should check in with the office. "What time is it?»
"Almost five.»
Bastien nodded as he shucked the oven mitts he'd donned to rescue the burning meal from the oven. Not that he'd managed to save it. He grimaced to himself as he recalled leafing quickly through a cookbook and choosing what had seemed simplest: Roast. Throw it in a pan and throw it in the oven. What could be easier? And Bastien had done so-but as the recipe had called for a thawed roast of beef, and he'd only had frozen, he'd upped the temperature a bit. All the way, actually. Then he'd gone back to work on the tissue paper flowers. By the time he'd remembered he was cooking something, the meat was done. Past done. Black on the outside and red on the inside. Disgusting. Bastien saw there was more to cooking than he'd realized.
"How's it going?»
Both he and Vincent glanced toward the door, where Terri stood. She was glancing around curiously. "Is that dinner I smell?»
"We're having takeout,"Bastien answered, walking past her to stride up the hall. "Order whatever you want. I have to check in at the office. I'll be back directly to pay.»
As Bastien left, Terri raised her eyebrows and turned back to Vincent. "A problem?»
"Bastien found cooking more of a challenge than he expected,"Vincent explained and gestured to the sink.
Terri crossed the room and whistled as she peered down at the mess there. A large black chunk, with several smaller black chunks, lay discarded in a pan.
"So, what are you going to order? Chinese? Or pizza?"the actor asked.
Terri shook her head and grinned. "With all the food in this place? I'll whip up something myself and have it done by the time Bastien gets back.»
"That a girl! Make him feel inferior,"Vincent said lightly. They both laughed, only to pause and glance around in surprise as the elevator buzzer sounded.
Terri followed Bastien's cousin curiously to a kitchen wall panel that was an exact replica of the one in the living room.
"Hmm. Do you know who that is?"he asked, pushing the button to bring up an image of the interior of the elevator.
Terri leaned closer for a better look at the man standing by a covered trolley. She started to shake her head, then paused. "Oh, wait! It's probably one of the caterers. I'd forgotten Meredith had arranged for them to bring samples of the wedding menu for us to try.»
Vincent nodded and pushed a button. "Yes?"he asked.
"Katelyn's Catering. I have a delivery.»
"This is your lucky day, Terri."Vincent pushed the button to release the elevator, then flipped off the monitor. "You don't have to cook after all. It's being delivered.»
Terri chuckled, but said, "I hardly think they'll be bringing anything that in any way resembles a meal. They'll just be samples-hors d'oeuvres, and bits off the menu. Nothing substantial.»
Despite her comment, curiosity made Terri follow him out to await the caterer. The moment the elevator doors slid open, the deliveryman smiled at them cheerfully and wheeled out his little trolley. Stopping before them, he lifted a clipboard with a work order and read: "Terri Simpson or Bastien Argeneau?»
"I'm Terri Simpson."She stepped forward and accepted the clipboard and pen.
"Just sign on the bottom, miss,"he instructed. "Where do you want this?»
"The kitchen, please."She pointed the way. "First door on the right.»
Terri did a quick read-through of the paper he wanted her to sign as the men moved away up the hall, Vincent accompanying the deliveryman. Assured that it merely stated she had accepted the delivery, she signed and dated it, finishing as the men came back up the hall.
"Thanks,"the delivery man said as he took his pen and clipboard back. Then he ripped off a pink copy, handed it to her, and moved back into the elevator. "Just phone the office when you've made up your mind and are ready to have the trolley taken away. Someone will come by to pick up everything.»
"All right. Thanks,"Terri called as the elevator doors closed. "Well."Glancing over the invoice copy she'd been given, she turned and headed to the kitchen. She was curious to see what had been sent. She expected a couple of sample dishes that were on the menu, but you never knew. "Did you look when he brought it in?"she asked Vincent as he followed her.
"No. I just watched him roll it in, then followed him out,"he said. They paused by the trolley that had been left next to the small dinette set.
"Hmm."Terri glanced over the trolley. It looked rather like a chrome chest on wheels, or a chrome-colored barbecue. The top was a square lid with rounded edges and a handle. Terri grasped the handle and lifted upward, inhaling the steam released into the room.
"God,"she breathed, and she gaped at half a dozen china plates of food. The caterer hadn't sent samples of different things, they'd sent two samples of everything.
"He said the desserts were in the lower drawer,"Vincent spoke up.
Terri hesitated, then stepped back, only then noticing that there was a lower drawer on the trolley. Grasping its handle, she pulled it out and sighed as several delicacies rolled into view. There were two of each of those, too.
"Well, as I said, you don't have to cook.»
Before Terri could respond, the elevator buzzer sounded again. The actor moved to the wall panel and pushed buttons, as Terri closed the drawer and then the chest top to keep everything at the correct temperature until Bastien came back.
"Another caterer,"Vincent announced. "You'll need to sign for this too, probably.»
Nodding, Terri followed him back into the entry. They arrived just before the doors opened to reveal another trolley-pushing deliveryman.
"Terri Simpson?"he asked, glancing at her.
"Yes."She held her hand out for the clipboard and pen.
"Where do you want-"
"The kitchen. Follow me."Vincent turned to lead the way as Terri signed the invoice.
CHAPTER 11
Bastien tapped his foot with irritation and pressed the elevator button again. He wasn't used to waiting so long for the contraption and was becoming a bit impatient. This elevator only serviced the penthouse. It could stop on any floor when requested, but only if you had a key. Other than that, it had to be released from the penthouse suite itself for a straight ride from the ground floor up. Bastien didn't understand the present delay.
Just when he was about to go back into his office and call upstairs to see what was going on, the elevator arrived with a ding. Releasing a sigh of relief, Bastien stepped on board, sniffing the air as he pressed the button to take him to the penthouse. There was the faintest scent of cooked food inside. The takeout must have arrived, he realized as the doors closed and the lift started upward. He hoped the delivery guy had just ridden up and was still there. He didn't want Terri paying for the meal.
The entry was empty when Bastien stepped out of the elevator. Following the sound of voices, he headed into the living room, fully expecting to find Terri and Chris indulging in pizza or Chinese food. Instead, he found all three of his guests moving about in a sea of tissue flowers and chrome trolleys.
"This one doesn't have an invoice."Vincent opened the lid of the silver chest he stood by, waited for the steam to clear, then glanced at the contents. "There's a napkin. It has S.C. on it.»
"S.C.?"Terri asked, then began to sort through a stack of papers. "S.C., S.C., S.C.,"she murmured, sounding stressed. "S-Here! Sylvia's Cuisine."She crossed the room to hand Vincent one of the sheets of paper. Bastien's cousin took the page and proceeded to extract a piece of tape from a dispenser he held, then tape the paper to the top of the chrome warmer.
"This one has B.D. on the plate covers,"Chris announced, peering into another of the trolleys.
"B.D?"Terri muttered, and began the sorting exercise again. "B.D. I saw a Bella Donna or Bella Dolci or something a minute ago. That's probably it.»
"I sincerely hope it isn't belladonna,"Bastien said with amusement, drawing their attention to his presence.
"Oh. You're back."Terri forced a smile to her mouth, but he knew it was purely for his sake. She didn't seem to be in much of a smiling mood.
"Hmmm."Bastien moved into the room, kicking flowers about with each step he took. "Either you overordered on the takeout, or the catering samples have arrived.»
"The catering samples,"she said with a sigh. Terri waved her hands at the chaos in the room and apologized, "I'm sorry about this mess. I should have been more prepared. More organized. But they came one right after the other; bang, bang, bang.»
"Bang, bang, bang,"Vincent agreed with a solemn nod.
"And it was so rushed. I'd barely sign for one when another was under my nose.»
"Right under her nose."Chris nodded. "They were just shoving them at her left, right, and center.»