Humans logo

The Secret Ingredient

A short story by the author of The Haunting of Charley Doe

By Alan ShulverPublished 3 years ago 38 min read
Like

The website ad read:

Meet Gage Hendrix

Chef Greg Hendrix is the Executive Chef and Owner of The Secret Ingredient Bistro in Charles Town and is the talented cook behind your highly nutritious and personalized meals. He believes that the secret ingredient to living a happy, healthy, balanced life starts with your heart and ends with your stomach. Greg believes that if you are not happy then you won’t enjoy your food no matter how well it is prepared.

At The Secret Ingredient Bistro Chef Greg serves up the freshest ingredients, the best atmosphere, and even has select services for those in love. If you’re looking for the right place to pop the question, let us help. We provide all the services necessary to make that special night just right. We even have direct access to the perfect diamond regardless of what your budget is. Our diamond prices are the best in town. We can also cater your anniversary dinner, office party, or whatever special occasion you might be celebrating. And don’t worry if your favorite dish isn’t on the menu Chef Gage will be happy to fix it just for you. Please give at least 24 hours for special occasions and menu requests.

Contact us for the full list of our available services to make any SPECIAL OCCASION perfect.

Chapter 1

The Office Party

F or he is a jolly good felllooowww, which nobody can deny!" The chorus of half inebriated office types finished their celebratory toast.

"To Jake Stephens, the best contract negotiator in the South." bellowed out Ryan McMahon as he sloppily waved his rocks glass of scotch and soda in the air and managed to christen anyone within 3 feet of him. "Everybody said it couldn't be done, but our man Jake "the snake" never backed down," Ryan said his voice cracking as the result of too much alcohol. He sounded like a pubescent teenager.

The small private dining room of one of Charles Town's most excellent restaurants was crowded with about 30 people all decked out in professional attire, half of the men had removed their blazers and placed them over the back of the dining chairs and had loosened their ties. The ladies were all dressed in professional office attire, a few of them not nearly as much into their dresses as they were out of them.

The guest of honor stood at the end of the long table that was covered with a white linen table cloth. Next to him sat his Administrative assistant, Colleen McBride. Colleen was an unusually attractive woman in her early thirties, with long brown hair that fell slightly below her shoulders, light brown eyes the color of melted caramel, and a shape that “never stopped” and as always, she was dressed to kill. Tonight she had wanted to look especially good for her boss on his special occasion. Colleen was decked out in a tight fitting black sequin midi dress that hugged her hips tightly and broke at the waist exposing her firm stomach, her full breasts were barely covered in a bikini like top that connected to the sequin dress in the back.

Jake was starting to feel the effects of the party. He had lost count of how many Seven and Seven's he had drank. Not that he was the type to count, but tonight he had thrown all caution to the wind and really tied on a good one. He was celebrating his success, but the reason did not matter, this group of lawyers and office executives would find any reason to get together and throw a party and so they typically did at least once a month, but this occasion was extra special. The contract that Jake had managed to get signed would mean sizeable bonuses for everyone.

The staff of McMahon and McMahon was an unusually tight group of coworkers. Most of the executives gathered for this party had worked together for years. Jake had started as an office assistant while still in college and had graduated, attended law school, passed the bar on his first attempt and then had become an attorney and eventually worked his way up to the head of the contract negotiations department. Everyone liked Jake. His dynamic personality and his sharp wit had been what had managed to make him so successful that and his ability to shovel bull shit like a manure salesman.

Jake, who was now in his mid-forties, was known as a classic work-a-holic, and it was not unusual for him to spend 80 or more hours a week at work or in work-related meetings. His wife Sharon and their two young daughters were accustomed to seeing very little of him. In fact, Sharon had chosen not to make it to this gathering to toast her successful husband. This was not unusual. Sharon was not much of the office party type, she was much more comfortable at home with her daughters and her crossword puzzles or the latest movie on Blue-ray, besides she had no tolerance for “stupid drunks” as she would refer to anyone that became inebriated and acted stupid, which in her opinion would have been just about everyone in attendance.

Jake and Sharon had been married for only 9 years. They had met on a blind date, set up by mutual friends. It always seemed ironic to Sharon that these friends were no longer friends at all and that neither, Jake, nor herself had spoken to them in years. At first, their marriage, which was Jakes's second and Sharon's first, seemed like the fairy tale marriage she had always hoped for, and although Jake was 10 years older than her, it seemed like the perfect partnership.

However, it did not take long for Sharon to realize that what they had was far from a partnership. Instead, she was to be the trophy wife and look good for the successful attorney. Unfortunately, this had never sat well with Sharon. She could not bring herself to be her husband's cute little trophy girl, and she quickly fell out of their group of friends. When Hannah, the older of the two girls, was born 8 years ago, Sharon found she had an excuse to stay at home and no longer be reduced to the little birdie that sat on Jake's shoulder and looked pretty. This had been exactly what Sharon had hoped for, she could of nothing she would rather do than be the stay at home mom for her precious daughters.

Naturally, this had not been well received by Jake, and as the years went by, their perfect little partnership became a union based strictly on convenience and for the kid's sake. Although many of the associates had brought their spouses, no one had been surprised to see that Sharon had not made this gathering. A few of the new associates at McMahon and McMahon did not even realize that Jake was married. There were no pictures of his wife or kids in his office, and he had not worn a wedding ring for years he claimed it helped him in his job to not label himself since many of Jake's clients were successful women.

Another reason that many of his coworkers forgot that he was married is he seldom spoke of his family; it was almost like they were an embarrassment to him. Not to mention the fact that Jake was a real ladies man. Also, the fact that Jake was tall, dark, and athletic with a competitive swimmer’s body did not help the matter any. It was not unusual for Jake to flirt with the ladies even at these office parties.

On this particular evening, Jake's attention had been drawn to Colleen. The dress had done the job. Jake thought she looked like a tightly wrapped piece of sushi that he was eager to stick his teeth and other body parts into. The word around the office was that Colleen did more for Jake than just type his contracts and take his phone calls. No one was courageous enough to come right out and say anything, besides this close-knit group of coworkers, had a strict policy of don't ask, don't tell. It was assumed by those that had worked with Jake for years, and even those few that knew Sharon, that Jake's flirting and extracurricular activities were somehow accepted by her as if she did not care as long as her and the girls were kept up in the way they had become accustomed to.

So when the party finally broke up, and Jake climbed into the passenger's side of Colleen's brand new Corvette (the one he had secretly bought her), no one thought much of it. As Jake was folding in half to get his tall frame into the small sports car, Ryan McMahon, the son of the firm's founder, came over and shook his hand.

"Hey man, good party tonight. You are the man. Good idea not to drive home, man. I will tell the restaurant manager that you will be leaving your Mercedes in the parking lot. Oh, by the way, man don't do nothing I wouldn't do." Ryan said as he high fived an obviously drunk Jake and patted him on the side of the head. "You da man, man!" Ryan was in no condition to be driving either, but he always joked that he drove better when he was drunk, and so no one gave it much thought, and McMahon and McMahon were such an integral part of the community that most cops looked the other way.

The parking lot of the restaurant emptied quickly as all the members of McMahon and McMahon got into their expensive automobiles and made a parade procession away from their favorite eatery. As Colleen and Jake pulled out of the parking lot, they passed the sign that read "The Secret Ingredient."

Chapter 2

The after Party

T he St Charles Hotel sits regently on the corner of Market and King Streets across the street from the St Charles Square Park. As one of Charleston's oldest hotels, it is one of the city's premier locations for the wealthy and famous to gather.

Jake did not hesitate to come to the hotel with Colleen, the service staff knew him well, and they also understood to be discreet and professional. It was not uncommon for Jake to come here with one woman or another at least 3 times a month.

They entered the hallway on the 14th floor, which was part of a recent addition to the hotel. Since there was no room to expand when the owners of St Charles wanted to increase the number of rooms, they had no choice but to go up. So what had once been a 5 story brick structure was now a 15-floor high rise. Over the years, it had gradually risen taller and taller until it now stood as one of the tallest structures in the entire city. The architect had managed to keep with the original design of the building, so the hallway on the 14th floor looked identical to the original 5 stories. It was impossible to tell that they were in a new part of the hotel and not some mid-1800 structure. The hall was decorated in the finest of fabrics on the walls and rich dark hardwood floors with elegant oriental rugs attached to the wood floor by gold rods. Once inside the rooms, the difference was obvious with huge plate glass windows that ran floor to ceiling along the entire exterior wall of both chambers. The furnishings were all king Louis XVI originals, and the rooms always had the same smell of magnolia blossoms in the spring. From the room, there was a great view of the park across King Street and beyond that laid the river, and in the far horizon was the Cooper River Bridge with its modern wire tresses illuminated against the dark night sky with the moon hanging above it. There was a full moon.

While Jake could have taken his concubines to any hotel in the city, or even to some fleabag motel on the outskirts of town, he insisted on always taking them to the 14th floor of the St Charles Hotel. Jake was a perfectionist and always insisted on the very best, even if he was just planning on a quickie with his latest acquaintance. Jake refused to reduce himself to hiring a girl off the street corner or even one from one of those fancy escort services, the only way he would sleep with a woman is if he had wooed her into thinking she was something special, for him it was all about the conquest.

Colleen knew that she was not his only fling, that quite often it was one of these rooms on the 14th floor of St Charles that had been the setting for one of his contract negotiations, and in fact, she had reserved him a room at St Charles on more than one occasion thinking that she was going to get some private time with him only to find out that he had not asked her to reserve the room for them but rather so he could entertain a client. Colleen had tolerated the charade for several years now, and while at first, she had been glad just to have him whenever she could get him, lately that had not been good enough, she had wanted him to leave his wife and kids and settle down with her, but she knew that would never happen. She told herself that if she wanted him at all, she would have to settle for the way things were. She had been trying to convince herself that the sex had been enough after all Jake was a very gifted man, and he knew what to do with it. The fact that he also spoiled her with gifts made the situation for her somewhat tolerable, but she knew that she was not going to let things remain like this forever.

They both entered the suite, Colleen headed to the suite's bathroom decorated in pink marble and gold fixtures, to change into a silk negligee, she had bought just for this occasion. Jake decided to pour them a drink.

On the wet bar by the window adjacent to the marble fireplace was a bottle of chilled Perrier–Jouet Fleur de Champagne. It was a standard practice of the hotel staff to have a bottle available for Jake any time he reserved a room. Although Jake could hardly walk straight now, he was celebrating, and he was far from done.

Jake walked over to the bar, grabbed the elegant Turkish cotton towel that lay beside the stainless steel champagne bucket, grabbed the bottle delicately, and with precision and grace, opened the $150 bottle of bubbly. As the cork popped and the elegant sparkling wine erupted over the edge of the bottle, Jake felt a sudden pain in his chest and his numbness in his arm. His breathing became erratic as if someone was choking him. He lost his footing as a combined result of the pain and the high amount of alcohol he had consumed. The bottle crashed against the marble mantle, and he fell against the plate glass window. He had tried to scream, but before the words could escape his now parched lips, he turned purple and collapsed on the antique Oriental rug. In a matter of seconds, the world he knew with all its wealth and corruption faded away, and he took his last breath as colleen stood in the doorway to the bathroom, dressed in her new negligee, and watched him die.

Chapter 3

Sharon and the girls

Sharon sat on the deck of the home Jake had custom-built for them the year they got married. The large house had a massive wrap around deck that overlooked their pool, the Sand dunes and the ocean beyond. This expansive contemporary on Seabrook Island was the crown jewel in Jake's long list of possessions. They had worked together to create every little element to their desires down to the hand-cut marble floors and the hidden office door in the foyer. At first, this home had been filled with joy and happiness and was everything Sharon had ever dreamt of, but for the last few years, it had gone from being her version of Cinderella's castle by the ocean to her 7,000square foot personal prison. The more Jake withdrew into his work, and the more he ignored her, and the girls, the more this home became Sharon's personal purgatory.

She had spent this evening as she spent so many of them with the girls until she put them to bed, and then she had sat alone on the deck watching the stars and drinking Colorado bulldogs while Jake had been at his office party to celebrate his latest victory. On the table next to her sat a manila folder with legal documents in it, the deed to the house and the cabin in the Smokies, the titles to the car, and even Jake's life insurance policy.

As she picked up the pitcher of Bulldogs and poured herself another glass, her cell phone rang, she hoped it was the call she had been waiting for. She checked the caller Id and suddenly was filled with mixed emotions, excitement, and nervousness; she had been dreaming about this moment for a long time, and now this call would tell her her dreams had come true.

She answered the call, and before she could even say hello, the female voice, on the other end, spoke the words she had been waiting to hear, "It's done! He's dead".

Chapter 4

Gage

G age had been running late, he always ran late on Thursdays. Thursdays were one of the days he was responsible for taking the kids to school. Gage Hendrix had recently divorced with his wife of 12 years, and the court had appointed him partial custody, he got them 3 days a week, and his ex-wife got them the rest. Since Gage was the general manager of The Special Ingredient Bistro, his weekends were not available. Consequently, the judge had assigned him custody and responsibility of the twins Tuesdays through Thursdays.

This morning the traffic on RT 26 had been horrendous, and that had simply compounded the matter. He was glad that at least he did not have anybody to report to. He was his own boss. As the owner/operator/Chef of one of the most popular restaurants in town, he found that his only boss was each and every customer that walked into his restaurant.

Gage was abnormally tired. While he was used to incredibly long hours, he had been burning the candle at both ends even more than he was used to. He had worked unusually late last night due to an office party that had not wanted to break-up, and now this morning, he had to get ready for an early luncheon.

Gage parked his car behind the restaurant, grabbed the daily paper and his briefcase, and locked up the car. Then he looked around the dumpster as a safety precaution, making sure there was no one hiding in the shadows waiting to break into rob him. After getting inside, Gage followed his daily routine, turning on the lights in the kitchen, then toured the dining room and the bar, and finally ended his tour by going into the office. The automatic coffee maker on top of the filing cabinet had made his coffee right on schedule. He grabbed a cup of the specialty ground Columbian blend that he had ordered from an online gourmet food vendor then sat down to read the paper when the phone rang.

"Hello, The Special Ingredient Bistro this is Chef Hendrix." He said, rather professionally.

"Hi! Gage this is Sharon Stephens" The voice commented on the other end of the line. By the tone of her voice, it was apparent Sharon was anxious to talk to him. "I just wanted to thank-you. It all worked out just the way you said it would. I will have your check to you just as soon as I get my settlement. I can't thank you enough."

"Glad to be of service. Good luck to you." He said proudly, then hung–up. He was always happy to find out about another satisfied guest.

Chapter 5

Bobby & Lisa

Bobby had been planning this for months. Lisa and Bobby were always meant for each other. He knew it since the first day all those years ago, back in kindergarten when he first laid eyes on her as she made a mud pie in the schools' playground. She had been in the first grade, and although he was only 5 years old, he knew even then that this mud pie making girl was the one for him.

It took 5 years before she would even know that he was alive, but he had always been determined to make her his, and when his parents moved to the big house on the hill when he was in the 5th grade, Lisa was suddenly his new neighbor. The day he moved in, she saw him for the first time, although she had probably looked at him or toward him a hundred times since that first time he saw her in the playground. The day his family moved into that house was the beginning of a 10-year courtship.

Both of Lisa and Bobby's moms had always said that they would end up together, that they were probably made for each other before the stars, and the sky had even been created. However, no one really believed the day would come when Bobby would finally get up the nerve to pop the question.

All of Bobby's friends had their suggestions for how he should propose. He had listened to all the unsolicited and mostly unwanted suggestions. He had heard about the skywriter idea or the airplane banner over the beach idea, the singing telegram proposal, and one friend even suggested a TV commercial. Some of the ideas had actually sounded realistic and kind of cool. His grandmother had suggested that he take her to the mall and get in one of those little photo booths and propose while the camera was taking the picture.

After filtering through all the suggestions, he finally found one that he believed would be perfect. His dad told him about a restaurant that not only would provide the ideal atmosphere and make all the arrangements; they even had a discount arrangement with one of Charles Town's best jewelers. Bobby's dad couldn't remember the name of the place at first, but after asking around, he found out that it was Gage Hendrix's Secret Ingredient Bistro.

Gage had made quite a reputation for providing the perfect engagement opportunity and atmosphere, no matter how private or public the groom-to-be wanted it. In fact, the very idea of offering something beyond the standard service and good food that every decent restaurant offered was the motivation for Gage to create The Secret Ingredient. This had been the very reason he had given the little bistro that catchy name.

Bobby had looked up the number for The Secret Ingredient and called to find out how it all worked. He had set up an appointment to meet with Gage and discuss the details.

As Bobby arrived at the fancy bistro, he was overcome with nervousness. The butterflies were fluttering, and the goosebumps were marching in procession up his arms and down his back. Gage met Bobby at the door. It was how Gage did it; he would talk with these special guests and address their special requests during the hours that the restaurant was closed. This allowed Gage to focus on the nervous groom without the constant interruptions that he would be bombarded with during regular operating hours.

Gage offered Bobby a drink to calm his nerves and then sat down at the booth in the corner away from the windows and out of sight of passers-by and the occasional nosey girlfriend. As soon as he sat down in the large booth with the brown leather bench, he felt all his nerves settle, and suddenly he knew that he was making one of the most important decisions of his life.

Gage opened the leather case with the velvet lining and showed Bobby several rings in the size and price range Bobby had mentioned when they spoke on the phone. Bobby selected several from the collection before him and, after long deliberation, decided on a little half carat princess cut solitaire in a white gold setting.

"So how do you want to do this? There are several traditional ways we can do it." Gage explained.

"Well, I am not sure, what do most folks do?" replied Bobby. He really had not thought it that far out, he had figured that Gage would know what was best.

"We usually recommend that we cater it to the lady's personality, whether she is the loud and outspoken type who likes attention or if she is more subdued and quiet." Gage continued.

Bobby paused to think about that for a minute. Lisa was undoubtedly not the quiet type, but she would probably prefer for things to be more personal. After all, that is why he had decided to not hire a skywriter or airplane banner. "Well, I would say that she would probably want this to be our private and personal little thing."

"Perhaps something noticeable but not obnoxious, I know just the thing." Gage shared his idea with Bobby, and Bobby agreed it was perfect.

Gage assured Bobby everything would be just as he wanted it, and thanked him for stopping in and for planning his special evening with The Secret Ingredient. Then they both got up from the magical booth in the corner, shook hands, and Bobby left the little bistro as Gage locked back up and headed back to the kitchen to get ready for the days business. Gage was filled with a real sense of pride, it was not even 11:00 A.M., and he had already managed to put a smile on two guests’ faces. He never saw any of his patrons as customers, in his way of thinking they were all guests in his home. Despite his late start, this day was already turning out to be a good one.

Bobby practically skipped back to his car, he knew it all would be perfect he only wished he did not have to wait 4 days till that special moment, he knew the anticipation was going to drive him half-crazy.

Chapter 6

Katie

"O h my God, I don't know what I am going to do," Katie told Colleen as they stood in the conference room of McMahon and McMahon. Katie was the new girl to the company she had started as a temp and had been hired on fulltime as a paralegal. In that little bit of time, Katie and Colleen had become somewhat close friends.

Katie was the type that lived in a bubble and figured that the entire world around her would fall apart, and she would be untouched. She naively thought that other people had problems, that she was invulnerable to circumstances, and that her perfect little world was shatter-proof.

Katie married just last summer to Mike Phillips. Mike was a big-time agent for celebrity athletes; he had represented major players in the NFL and NBA. While he lived life in the fast lane, he had always been the type of guy that everyone who knew him believed they could count on, the kind of guy that fits the term "What you see is what you get."

Katie and Mike had only dated for a year when they got married.

While Katie's family had warned her that she should take her time, she had believed in all her heart that she was doing the right thing, that her and Mike had been made for each other.

The clock on the wall said it was 8:45 A.M., which meant that the rest of the office should be getting in soon. Colleen and Katie were always the first in the office. Katie would get in early because it was her job to fetch the donuts or bagels and brew the coffee. She had stopped at the Bageltime Deli this morning and was laying out the tray of bagels, cream cheese, and lox when Colleen had walked in.

Colleen had made it a habit a long time ago to come in early so she could get a few minutes with Jake Stephens before the rest of the staff got there. His fatal heart attack had been a punch in the gut to everyone in the office; they would all miss him terribly. Colleen would probably miss him more than anyone else, but her share of the insurance policy would certainly go far to mending her broken heart.

Naturally, she had not let anyone in the office know that she was well on her way to getting over the loss. Old man, McMahon, had offered to give her some time off. He had said sympathetically that he "Knew how close they were," and she had wondered if the old man did indeed know just how very close they had been. She had turned down the offer to take time off and used the excuse that she would rather keep her mind busy and be at work where she was at least with her friends.

Colleen was helping the other girls with their workloads for now till a replacement for Jake could be found. Old man McMahon and his son were trying to decide who should be promoted into Jake's position, but for now, they were just leaving the position open. So it meant that Colleen did not really have much to do, but she came in to make an appearance and not let on to how things really were.

Colleen had been spending her evenings with Sharon. She told everyone that it was because of how close she had been to Jake and that she wanted to be there to comfort Sharon in her time of her loss, but truth be known the two girls had been waiting for the twins to fall asleep and then they had been celebrating their recent fortune with pitchers of bulldogs and Amaretto sours.

Jake had had a sizable enough insurance policy that Sharon and the twins could continue to live the way they had been accustomed to, only now Sharon would no longer be confined to her prison, her life as the wife of a control freak. There had been enough money for her to live in that big house debt-free even after Sharon had given Colleen a sizable amount.

Sharon had known about Colleen for a while, and although she lived under Jake's control, she was far from helpless. When Sharon had found out about colleen, she had confronted her. While anyone else may have left him, Sharon had known all along that leaving him would have meant giving up the world she had become accustomed to. While she could have been awarded a decent settlement in a divorce, she was smart and resourceful enough to know that if she was patient and waited for an accident that she would be much better off. If by some tragic set of circumstances she had been left a widow, then she would not have to live off a small portion of it all, instead she could have her cake and eat it too.

So when Sharon had found out Jake was cheating, she decided to get to know the competition and, in fact, had made Colleen a friend. Sharon had known that Jake would not be satisfied with just the two of them that he would play the field and that in time Colleen would grow to hate the situation just as much as she did. In time that is precisely what had happened, Colleen had become old news to Jake as well, and Colleen had eventually become just another toy for Jake. Sharon had told Colleen that she would cut her in on some of the money if Colleen would help her out, and Colleen had always had one thing in mind, and that was the prospect of getting her hands on some of the money. So when Colleen had grown tired of being Jake's toy just like Sharon had said she would, she had decided to join Sharon in her mission to eliminate the cheating heartless bastard. Eventually, both girls had agreed that "Earl had to die." They had deliberated for several months in an attempt to figure out how exactly to make it happen and make sure it looked like an accident.

They had considered cutting the brake lines of his prized Mercedes, but the girls had decided that would be a terrible waste of such a nice car, and besides Charleston was not exactly known for its hills and perilous Cliffside roads and a car accident may have meant someone else getting seriously hurt or even killed. Then the idea of poison had occurred to them, and that's when Colleen had been told about Gage and his Secret Ingredient Bistro by a girlfriend. It seemed that Gage offered something more than just good food and excellent service.

Colleen had shared the little secret about the Secret ingredient to Sharon, and now they were both celebrating their newfound wealth while making it appear to the world that they were mourning their loss.

"Colleen, did you hear what I said?" Katie asked.

"Oh I am sorry I am in my own little world, what did you say?" Colleen asked as she escaped her daydream.

"It is OK. I'm sure you must be thinking about Jake," Katie replied sympathetically. "I know it has got to be hard. You two seemed pretty close." Katie was another one of the people who had no idea just how close Colleen and Jake had been.

"I am OK, what were you telling me?"

"Mike is cheating on me," Katie said, choking up.

"Are you sure?" Colleen wanted to sound shocked, but she learned that most men will cheat and that when they did, they should be made to pay. The fact that she had been the other woman to more than one man did not change the fact that when it happened to her or a friend of hers that it could not be forgiven.

'Yeah, I am sure. It has been going on for a while, I think. Hell, he may have been cheating on me all along even when we got married." Katie said hysterically. "I was ignorant to it, but last night he admitted it to me. Said it was just once, but I don't believe him."

"God, that is terrible." Colleen really did think it was terrible. Cheating was wrong enough, but to cheat even when you are getting married was another thing entirely. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know.” She said as she tried to pull herself together. She knew other workers would be coming in any minute now, and she didn't want to let anyone else know she had been crying.

Colleen got up from her chair gave Katie a hug, considered taking Gage's business card out of her pocket, but then had seconds thoughts about it, she was not sure how much she could trust Katie and that card was not just something you casually handed to anyone.

"It's gonna be OK, Katie. I know it might seem like it right now but, it really isn't the end of the world." Colleen said, hoping to comfort her friend. "There are ways to handle these things."

Chapter 7

Friday Morning

F riday morning, Katie and Colleen met up again in the conference room of McMahon and McMahon only this time Katie didn't have bagels instead, she had coffee and Danish from Starbucks, and she was even more despondent than she had been the day before.

"Hey, girl, from the looks on your face, I can tell things are not any better," Colleen said in concern.

"No, they are worse! I swear I could kill him." Katie responded. Her self pity had been replaced with genuine hatred.

"Easy girl, those are mighty big words to be throwing around," Colleen said, wondering just how serious her friend was.

"I mean it. No more nice little Katie, I have never been so hurt and humiliated in my entire life. He has been cheating on me the entire time."

"You mean ever since you got married?"

"No! Before that. Apparently, the entire time we dated. He came clean this morning as I was leaving for work. "

"Oh girl that is terrible! Why the hell did he even bother to get married?"

"He said he thought once we got married, he could stop, and he couldn't tell me why he married me, but I know it is because of the money."

Katie had received a reasonable sized settlement from a car accident but had refused to let it change her life.

"Hey set that stuff up and let me get a hold of Ryan to tell him you and I are taking the morning off, things are gonna be slow around here anyway."

"That's OK. The more I think about it, the more I want to kill him! So I probably shouldn't have time to think about it."

"Look, you don't need to be here today. Besides, I have somewhere I want to take you."

Colleen called Ryan and got the day off for herself and Katie and then she called Gage and asked if he could meet with her and a friend, Gage had said he might be able to give them a few minutes if they could get there in the next half hour.

So Colleen and Katie left the office together and headed to see Gage. On the way, Colleen explained where they were going and that Gage would explain how it all worked.

Chapter 8

Set up

When they got there, Gage met Colleen and Katie at the door and offered both ladies a drink, and while Katie was never much of a drinker and she certainly had never had alcohol this early in the morning, she felt like she deserved and needed one. Gage got both ladies Mimosa's and led them back to the booth in the corner where Gage conducted all business.

Once they got seated and Gage could tell that Katie was as comfortable as could be expected, he started to explain things. "Katie, I imagine Colleen explained this to you? You understand the delicate nature of this business transaction and understand that if the coroner finds poison which they never have yet, I in no way take the blame for what has happened." Gage explained in a very calm but point of fact tone.

Katie shook her head, signifying that she understood.

"It will appear just like a heart attack and no one but the three of us will know what really happened. You do have a life insurance policy on him?" Gage asked. This was all part of his standard procedures.

"Yeah, he took it out on himself when we got married; I think he did it just to prove that he was not after my money."

"OK, great, you understand that I get 25% of the settlement and that it is to be in cash within one week of you receiving your check?" Gage did a set percentage regardless of the amount of the policy. This did not always seem fair to the benefactor, or rather executioner, but Gage always politely and calmly reminded them that any job worth doing was worth paying for and that if it was a large policy, he would tell them that they would be helping a future sister in distress that might not be able to afford as much.

Again Katie signified that she understood.

"OK great when do you want this to happen?"

"Is tonight too soon?"

"Tonight will be great, just fax me a copy of the insurance policy, and I will see to it that everything is taken care of. I imagine you will need a table for the two of you."

Katie explained the plan that she and Colleen had come up with on the ride over, how she would tell Mike that she wanted to go to dinner so they could talk and tell him she had reserved a table at the Secret Ingredient Bistro.

Gage assured her again that he would have everything taken care of and that he looked forward to having her and Mike for dinner that night. Gage showed both girls to the door, thanked them, and locked up. Colleen drove Katie back to the office, where she could pick up her car. Katie thought about what she had just done and had a huge smile on her face the entire way back. It was the first time she had smiled since Mike had told her he was cheating.

Chapter 9

Friday Night

Friday night was just the type of night Gage thrived on. The place was packed with hungry diners all dressed in their fancy threads and decked out to be noticed. Gage could not be happier. Everything was going great, all his staff seemed to be on their A-game. He was working the expo window while his Suisse chef was supervising the kitchen staff from the other side of the line. He had his best hostess working the door, and his wait staff all were in spotless uniforms and smiles.

As a chef-owner, it was nights like this that he lived for. Gage surveyed the dining room, and from his vantage point, he could see all the tables and the apparently satisfied guests. In one corner, he saw them sitting there, Katie and Mike. He had contacted her again right before they came to make sure she had not changed her mind, and then with her assurance, he had prepared his secret special just for Mike.

This had become his specialty rather by mistake. Some chefs are proud of their family recipe for a particular dish, or perhaps they have a meal they learned from a master chef in some exotic corner of the globe, but Gage's specialty had been born out of a hate for cheating spouses, something he had been bitten by himself, he only had wished when he came up with this particular dish that he could have somehow found the courage to serve some up to his ex, but he could not imagine how hard the twins would be hit by the loss of their mother, so instead he learned to execute this one dish flawlessly.

As Gage was surveying the full house of satisfied guests he noticed Bobby and his lovely date walk through the door, they were immediately sat at their reserved table in the corner, the booth that Gage regularly used to conduct business. As they sat down, Gage signaled to his bartender to bring over the bottle of champagne and the crystal vase with the single rose that had a diamond ring tied to the stem.

Then he noticed Sharon and Colleen in the back dining area, he could tell they were watching Katie's table, and then he saw Sharon pass colleen a check, he was sure he knew what the check was for. He then saw both ladies smile, which in turn made Gage smile, that and the fact that he had set a date with Sharon for the following Thursday.

As things slowed down in the kitchen and most of the guests had their food Gage asked an assistant manager to watch the expo window so he could mingle. He stopped at each table, welcomed them, and shook hands. When he got to Katie and Mike’s table he shook Mike’s hand and said “Welcome to the Secret Ingredient Bistro it is my pleasure to have you here with us tonight, may I recommend the schamal labushqie. Thanked them again and continued his rounds.

Gage felt great, knowing that he had managed to make all his guests happy. There was no more satisfying feeling than knowing you had created a business that went above and beyond the competition. Gage was confident that he would be making a killing for a very long time.

The End

Dear reader,

Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to read my story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The Secret Ingredients is the first of a set of short stories that will take place in and around the Queen city.

If you would like to be kept informed of future episodes of the Charles Town Knights series or my other writings please be sure to check out my blog

My Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/Ramblings-of-an-old-man-

My Goodreads page

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20858935.Al_Shulver

or email me at

[email protected]

I welcome any inquiry you might have and look forward to hearing from you.

Happy Reading!

literature
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.