A Caterer's Attraction 1.1
Here is a sneak peek of my new novel coming this Valentines Day week! Enjoy chapter 1(unedited) and if you wish to read the rest, you can find it on sale now. #comment #like #purchase&subscribe
Cara is an assistant to the CEO of a high-thriving law firm. It’s the best firm within the city of Chicago. She has been there for two years and has grown close with her boss. Maybe too close, but this line of work isn’t her dream. Before covid hit, she had plans to start her own catering line after graduating pastry school. Cara’s dreams were put on hold as the pandemic took over.
Lance Lawrence the CEO of Higher Justice Corporation. He is a successful black lawyer and father of two. Lance has built his company out of nothing and thanks to his staff it has become the best rated firm in the city. Every woman adores him, and every magazine wants him on the cover. It’s been nine years since his firm started and now, he wants to add something new for his employees.
It’s 2023 and with the pandemic at its end, he wants to build a cafe within his firm. He needs a pastry caterer to lead this project. So, what happens when one of Cara’s treats ends up on his desk? Cara’s dreams may be back on track and it’s all thanks to him. They work together to make the cafe a success, but could their hearts grow closer in the process.
Contains intense romance (sexually) and REAL RECIPIES to please the stomach.
Link to full book: A Caterer's Attraction - Kindle edition by M, Ja'Cara. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Chapter 1.1
Cara
Chicago
is the city of thriving businesses and joy! The place where all your dreams
have a chance to make it.
“Yeah
right” I thought. Once covid hit two years ago, the whole city shut down and my
dreams were gone. I was fresh out of college back then and had saved up enough
money to purchase my L.L.C. and take out a business loan. I planned on starting
my own catering service and have it progress into my own store. I was excited
and ready to take on the challenge of running a business and having something
to call my own. I could leave my job, I had to help pay for college, as an
assistant at a law firm for the CEO of Higher Justice Corporation.
Of
course, the job was amazing, and the CEO of the company was handsome and
mouth-watering. Although getting to work close to him was a bonus, this job
wasn’t my dream. My dream is do pastries and have my name plastered on every
newspaper and billboard. I was going to be the youngest person at the age of 21
to own my own business and grow to riches while still doing what I love. All
good things come to an end. After covid hit, my loan was put on hold and then
rejected along with my L.L.C. All offices were closed and those stimulus check
came first over my application to the city for an L.L.C and those riots and
lootings downtown and out south made all the loan places close for months. So,
I was stuck at my job for the time being. I worked from home for a while and
was only called in when my boss had to represent a client in court.
Two
years have passed, and the city has gotten better. The vaccines were given, and
the mask mandate was slowly beginning to lift. Welcome to the new year of 2022
where I thought my dreams were no longer on hold, but once again I was wrong.
The city was short staff, and my loan application was put on hold because the
city funds were still not in order. When the funds were in order, I was put on
a ‘get back to you’ list. The same response was said for my L.L.C. I check the
status from time to time but no luck.
It's
hard to keep hope but luckily, I have my baking to keep me happy. Plus, it
could be worse I could be living off of unemployment like most of the city or
homeless. Thanks to my boss and him giving us a raise once we came back to
work, I was able to afford this amazing two-bedroom apartment in the Hyde Park area.
It is
early September, and I am up early than usual to make some Lemon Meringue Cream
Puffs with a twist. I finish dipping them in white chocolate and let them dry.
I take a quick shower and change into a white blouse and black skinny leg pants
with black wedges. I put on some dark eye shadow and clear lip gloss. I comb my
hair to the right, thankful for a quarter of my head on the left being shaved.
I check myself out in my body mirror and sigh. I needed to make a gym
membership to help get rid of this slight chub on my stomach. I have no problem
with my butt though, I have been wanting it to be bigger for a while. Slim
thickness, yes, but could be a model, no.
I pack
my cream puffs in a box and put them in my small bag. I leave the house and catch
the bus to the law firm. The one benefit of living in Hyde Park is only having
to catch one bus to get Downtown. I enter the law firm and head to my desk. It
was a small desk right outside of my boss’s office. I place the cream puffs on
my desk and see a familiar hand reaching in the box. I smack his hand away for
fun.
“Come
on…you know I love your desserts. Please Cara.” he begs. I laugh at his begging
and nod. He takes a puff and moans with pleasure. “Thank God I still go to the
gym to stay fit.”. This comedian of a coworker is Justin Blake. My best friend
since our college days. We hit it off when we both had English 102 since then
we have been strong as glue. He recently lost his job due to covid last year
and I was able to get him a job here. After giving an amazing speech to our
boss, he nodded and he was in, and since then he has become the best Junior
Lawyer in the company. He has become our bosses right hand man.
Some
believe he has made it to the top because he is white and it would make our
bosses company look good, but they are wrong. Justin puts in the work, and he
deserves this promotion. I mean none of these workers will stay till midnight
to help solve a case like he does. Plus, the number one thriving law firm in
the city of Chicago; and it’s black owned. So, our boss does not need Justin to
make his firm look good.
“Aw,
you are so sweet. Here, have another one before I place them in the break
room.” I said. He quickly takes another as I watch several females from the
data room walk past me. Justin and I check our phones and nod. We both knew it
was about that time. When all the females come to our floor around 9, it means
our boss is about to walk in. All the females can’t get enough of his looks and
come up here every morning to see him. I mean Justin is hot too, but the ladies
prefer the chocolate.
The
elevator opens and out walks a man who stands at five feet and nine inches. He
has light brown skin with amber eyes and long dark brown dreads. The females
love him for his goatee and the fact that he looks twenty-five when he’s
actually thirty-six. This man is Lance Lawrence. The owner and CEO of Higher
Justice Corp. He walks past me in an all-black suit, and I wave. He stares at
me for quite some time. I shiver from it. He smiles at me and walks into his
office.
“The
one benefit of them lifting the mask mandate. Now all the new female employees
can’t get enough of his face.” he explains. I smirk at his comment.
“Yeah,
but some of these females actually think they have a shot with him. Like just
because we can see your face now doesn’t mean he is going to flirt with you. I
mean did you see how much makeup Jessica had on?” I said.
“Yes,
I did and now I need a natural beauty of a face to get rid of that image. That
is why I came to you. The beautiful lady serving the delicious treats.”
“Aww
and I love seeing your handsome face with those gorgeous blue eyes and flowing
black hair.” I comment. We both laugh at our flirtation. This is why are
friendship was great. We could flirt with each other and cross that line
without having to worry about catching feelings. Tap. I look at the
window behind me and Lance was motioning me to come. Justin knew what time it
was, and he walks away to his desk.
I walk
into his office. The sun shines through his bay window. I see a huge pile of
files on his desk. He leans back in his chair. I can see the exhaustion in his
eyes. “You should take a secret nap today. You look awful. What happened?” I
asked, while dimming the shades.
“The
boys are what happened. Yesterday was there last day of summer vacation, so
they wanted to have an all-night movie marathon. Luckily, they fell asleep
around ten, but I got so caught up in the movies, the next thing I knew it was
five in the morning.” He explains. Lance was the father of two ten-year-old
twin boys. When I first started working for him two years ago, his boys were a
mean mess. They thought they could keep everyone and everything away from their
father. They wanted him all to themselves especially since the divorce three
years ago.
My
first time meeting them was about a year ago, during the depths of covid. They
were being home schooled, and I was often there to go over cases with their
father. The boys tried to annoy me to death, but little did they know I had a
niece who was younger than them and way more of an annoyance. So, they failed.
I tuned them out and played a prank on them and then we both pranked their
father. After that, the boys never tried to annoy me again. Instead, we hangout
when I see them, and I get to see their true colors. They are true sweethearts
and are protective of their father.
“Wow,
I expect someone of your age to be out like a light. What movie was it?” I
said, while turning on the coffee pot. He has a personal one because he gets caught
up in his work and ends up working late like Justin.
“Funny.
I am not old yet. It was Transformers. The boys love it like I do. So, my eyes
stayed glued to the screen. Thanks.” he said, taking the coffee from me. “But
they are back at school, and I can finally get some proper sleep since they
will be in bed by eight. Now, let’s discuss this load of files on my desk.”
“Yeah,
I was looking at those. Either we are behind with cases or I’m about to hear
some good news.” I said.
“Both.
These cases are back stock from law firms who took too long to handle their
case. Some of these cases are covid related while others are company related.
We are taking them on to help them out. They are simple cases, so I trust you
to hand them out to the Junior lawyers who will win these cases.” he explains.
My eyes go wide at his command. Sure, I have been his assistant for two years,
but trusting me to pick out the best lawyers to win each case was too much.
“I can
see the horror in your face, but I know you can handle this. I mean you and me
have been handing out cases left and right when this was done from home last
year. You can do this.” he expresses. I stare into his eyes and smile. He had
so much confidence in me. How could I say no? I look through the files and then
I see a red file. I remove it from the pile and hand it to him. Usually, yellow
files were for the Junior and orange was for the Senior lawyers while red was
for him.
“So,
what is this file?” I questioned.
“This
one could win me gold and by that, I mean the chance to open up another
business on the north side of Chicago. This case is Lincoln vs. University of
Chicago. Lincoln is suing the hospital from an incident two years ago.”
“When
covid first started?”
“Yes,
but this is three months into covid. Lincoln father was emitted into the
hospital with a bad case of the flu. They kept him overnight and when Lincoln
returned to visit, they had placed him in the ICU with covid victims. They
diagnosed him with covid and then within a week he died. Here’s the twist, they
ran test on him the day he entered the hospital and they confirmed he had the
flu.” He said while sipping his coffee.
“So,
if he had only the flu, why emit him to the ICU?” I questioned.
“Turns
out he had no insurance to pay for his stay and the hospital was running out of
rooms, plus he is also an elderly man and African American. Lincoln also
provided me with details about how his room was given to someone else who only
had a broken leg, but this person had insurance and was young too.”
“Not
to play the race card, but was this person you know…”
“Yes,
they were. So, this will be a hard case and I only have three months to gather
the facts, but can you imagine winning a case this big against this shady
hospital. I mean the University of Chicago may seem like the number one
hospital with the most minority workers, but they are still playing the color
profile card. They had no right to send this man to the ICU just because he had
no insurance and was older.” He explains.
“Wow,
if you win this, it could change everything. I mean it won’t change the
hospital, but it will bring more awareness to the people. But how can you prove
they tampered with his results?” I pondered.
“On
the day Lincoln father passed away he heard yelling coming from one of the
doctors. She was quitting on the spot.”
“You
think this doctor knew what was really going on that day?” I said while
standing with the files. He shakes his head.
“Yes,
and all I have to do is find out who she is and see if she will testify against
them.” he said.
“Sounds
good, but you already know against a high hospital like that, she won’t be
enough and what is the goal if you can’t win?” I questioned.
“If I
can’t prove that the hospital moved a non-covid patient into the ICU where he
caught covid because he had no insurance to pay for his room and was an elder. Then
the least this law firm can do is try and get the hospital to pay the client ‘relief’
money because they know if this information got released…”
“Bye,
bye new minority patience’s and workers as time goes by.” I finished. He smiles
at me and for the first time, I couldn’t help but notice how his eyes
glimmered.
“Exactly
and if it isn’t bad enough, they are already short staff because most of their
workers did not want to get the vaccine including some nurses and doctors.
Plus, the client does not want the ‘relief’ money. So, after I talked to her
two days ago about my plan B with the ‘relief’ money. She agreed to do it for
the justice her father deserves.” He informs. I smile at his plan and then
remembered a call from yesterday.
“Oh,
by the way, I forgot to tell you that Randy from our construction department
said your plan to expand the first-floor breakroom was approved by the city.” I
spoke. ‘Funny how the city can approve construction but not a L.L.C. right
away’ I thought.
“Great.
I will give him a call. I plan on doing some remodeling to the breakroom on the
first floor. I want to show my appreciation to my workers and open a small
café. Now, all I need to do find is a barista for the drinks and a caterer who
can provide food and pastries every morning to afternoon.” he said. I wanted to
scream out and take the offer, but he would laugh at my suggestion because he
doesn’t know I went to culinary school because I didn’t add it to my resume
when I applied here. During that time, I was attending business school and
added it to my resume instead.
“Sounds
great, considering most of the workers are on the first floor and it will be by
the main door.” This building has three floors. When clients come to our law
firm and they see we are Downtown, some think we are in a huge, combined
building. Little do they know we are actually on the outskirt of Downtown in a three-floor
small building; and yes, he owns the whole building. Which is why he was on ‘the
man of the year’ urban magazine five years ago because he became the first
black man to own a successful law firm and building by the age of twenty-nine.
He’s a rich bastard now, but what makes him different is he has a heart. Unlike
the other high businesspeople.
“Thank
you. I mean I wouldn’t be here without you guys. So, this is my extra thanks,
plus the extra raise you all received for coming back to work during covid.” he
said. I nod and leave out the office with the strange sensation of lingering
eyes.
I go
through each of the case files and start to decide which case to give each
worker. I decided to hand the car dealership case to Randy. While Sarah can get
a simple covid case since she is still new to the firm. I see a Washington vs.
Marshal case. This case is about Washington suing Marshal over the destruction
of his store for not receiving an item he wanted. Marshal claims he is on
medication and a side effect of the drug is outburst and rage. I knew this case
had to go to Justin. He loves cases like this and would kill for it.
I was
about to get up when a familiar hand goes inside my pastry box. “Hello Carla.
How are you today?” I said with a smile. She smiles back at me, and her beauty
still blows me away. She didn’t look a day over fifty-nine. It explains why
Lance still looked so young for his age. Carla is Lances mother and often stops
by to chat with her son and bring him lunch before going to pick up her
grandchildren from school. She was wearing a slim knee length black velvet
dress with red bottom heels. Her gray hair was done into box braids. Some
people think she is mean because her face is always serious, I use to think the
same. I was wrong she is nice and heartwarming to people close to her,
including me.
“Better,
now that I have one of your delicious treats in my hand. Every time you bring
pastries, I can’t help but rush here. I love your treats, Cara. They bring a
smile to my face. Never stop baking…You know my son is expanding the breakroom
downstairs. This could be your chance, dear.” Carla said while chewing.
“Maybe,
but I still want to try and wait for my loan and L.L.C. Plus…” I look at my
watch and see I am late for a meeting with one of Lance’s international partners
and I still had to pass out the files. “…Sorry Carla, I have to run. Take as
many treats as you want. People on the third floor are busy as usual and they
end up going to waste.” I said dashing off. I caught a glimpse of her wave and
her taking the whole box while going into Lance’s office. Why was there a smirk
on her face?
Yields: 3 dozen puffs
Pate a Choux:
Butter, unsalted ½ cup
Water 1 cup
Salt ¼ tsp
Flour 1 cup
Vanilla extract ¼ tsp
4 Eggs
Filling:
2 Lemon pudding box (3.5oz)
Heavy Cream 2 cups
Milk 1 cup
Lemon extract ¼ tsp
1 pkg White Almond Bark (for dipping)
ü In a medium bowl, whisk together the puddling, milk, cream, and extract. Once thickened cover and refrigerate to set for about an hour. Preheat oven to 425. In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in the flour and cook until it turns into a golden paste ball (weird right). Using a mixer, beat the dough so it can cool down. You don't want to scramble the eggs. Then add in the eggs one at a time. The texture should be sticky like glue. Stir in the extract. Take a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon and scoop balls onto a cookie pan either greased or with parchment paper. Have them at least 2 inches apart. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins.
ü Let them cool and then take a pipping bag (or a zip-lock bag) and place your filling in there. Take a toothpick and make a tiny hole at the bottom of the puff. Fill the puff with cream. Now take a microwavable bowl and fill it with the almond bark. Place it on one minute and stir (do it again if not melted) Then use a fork and gently poke the bottom and dip into the chocolate, now let them set until hard.
Chef Note: This is the twist, the white chocolate will be the meringue on top, plus it’s yummier than any foamy-torched meringue. Enjoy!
Chapter 1.2 : https://jacaramauthor.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-caterers-attraction-12.html
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