Catering to the CEO by Samantha Chase Read Free Book Online Page B

o’clock rolled around on Friday evening, Cassie was in full-blown work mode.  The room looked stunning and guests were beginning to arrive.  She spotted Adam and Grace by the door greeting everyone as they came in. 
    Within fifteen minutes, hors d’oeuvres were being passed butler style by tuxedoed servers along with champagne.  The bar was serving mixed drinks and by five-thirty bread and field greens salad were being placed at all one hundred seats.  Cassie stood back in the kitchen and watched every tray that left for the ballroom to make sure they met her standards.  Her staff worked quietly and efficiently and by the time Adam took the stage at 7:30, tables were cleared and the kitchen was being cleaned and packed up from dessert and fresh coffee was making the rounds. 
    It was only then that Cassie allowed herself to actually sit down for five minutes to catch her own breath.  Katie put a plate of food in front of her but she merely picked at it.  She felt the twinge that she hoped wouldn’t hit tonight and quietly made her way to the storage closet where she’d placed her purse earlier.  Knowing her sister well, Katie followed.
    “Are you okay?”
    Cassie took a deep breath.  “Hopefully I will be in a few minutes.”  She swallowed the pill with some water and went back out to the kitchen to try and eat a bit more.  The pain killer seemed to work better on a full stomach. 
    “Look, we’ve got this under control.  I know the breakdown and set-up routine as well as you.  Go home and rest, please, Cass.”
    Shaking her head, she refused to leave.  This was an important event and one that she had fought with Adam over and she was determined to see it through to the end.  An hour later Cassie heard the round of applause and knew that the presentation was over and that music would resume playing and the guests would mingle and socialize for the next ninety minutes before she could begin to clear them out and start the set up for the breakfast portion of the retreat.
    There was a lot of movement and talking, the kitchen was a hot spot for activity and Cassie didn’t think that anyone would notice when she slumped against the wall and fought against the wave of pain that hit.
    Strong arms came around her before she could even comprehend that she was going down.  “Cassandra?  Are you alright?”
    “Adam? What are you doing in the kitchen?” Even in her weakened state she felt panicked at the thought that something was wrong out in the ballroom that he felt the need to come back to the kitchen.  “Is everything all right?  The food…?”
    “Don’t worry about the damn party.  What’s going on with you?”  By this point Katie had noticed what was going on and rushed over.
    “Damn it, Cass!”
    “How long has she been feeling like this?” he snapped at Katie.
    “About an hour,” Katie sighed.  “I told her to leave but she refused.”
    “Don’t talk about me as if I’m not even here,” Cassie hissed.  She looked up at Adam, her eyes ablaze.  “You hired me to do a job and I am here to make sure that it gets done to both our satisfaction.”
    “At the risk of your own health?” he snapped.  The sight of her nearly fainting had sent him racing across the room.  In all truth, he had come back to the kitchen, something he never did, to congratulate her on a job well done and to thank her for managing to add some of the requests he had asked for to the menu.  The food had been superb and the service was top notch.  Over all he was very pleased.  Now all he felt was concern for Cassie’s health and disgust for himself because he knew it was his fault that she was working herself so hard.
    “You know nothing about my health so please spare me the dramatics, Adam.”
    “Cassie, please,” Katie interrupted, “go home.  I’ve got this covered.  Take my car…I’ll pick it up when we bring the van back to the shop later.”
    “She can’t possibly drive like