Heavy steps echoed and grew louder.
“Thank God,” Millie said. “Finally, help has arrived.”
Suharto’s voice rang out. “What is going on?”
A glob of dressing flew past his ear and struck the security guard behind him. “Who is throwing food?”
Things moved fast. More security guards arrived, surrounding the contestants and corralling them off in the corner, away from what was left of the food.
Millie crawled out from under the table, joined by Felix and Barty. “Where’s Annette?”
“Over here.” Annette, draped from head to toe in a tablecloth, traipsed across the room. “I tried saving the carved ham, but they got it too.”
Sure enough, chunks of ham littered the floor. A few pieces stuck to the wall, along with what appeared to be cranberry sauce and sweet potato pie.
“What a mess.”
Astrid, with a look of apprehension on her face, tiptoed over. “I’m sorry,” she said in an apologetic voice. “I should’ve known as soon as Wendy and Dixie got into it, this would happen.”
“This isn’t the first time,” Millie guessed.
“Nope. Their weapon of choice is always food,” Astrid sighed. “My boss is going to be ticked.”
“For good reason. Grown women should not be throwing food at each other.”
“Or at us,” Felix said.
“I hope they’re all punished,” Barty chimed in.
“Nothing will happen to them.”
Millie’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. These clowns…err…contestants are treated like movie stars. They bring in big advertisers. It’s all part of the show.”
Annette sucked in a breath, and Millie could tell from the look on her face she was about to go off on Astrid. She wasn’t wrong.
“This is ridiculous. They’re acting like spoiled brats.” Annette paced, ranting and raving about the wasted food, not to mention the mess.
To Astrid’s credit, her stoic, serene demeanor remained firmly in place. “Our company will reimburse you for any damage, the cleanup, whatever it takes.”
Millie cast a side glance at Suharto, who had somehow miraculously managed to get the womenseated, all in a row, and was lecturing them about respecting other people’s property. “You seem like a very reasonable and intelligent person, possibly even smarter than the women you’re hosting, but clearly they’re railroading over the top of you.”
“I know, and to be honest, I’m fed up with it. I had hoped to be friends with these women, to become confidants and earn their trust,” Astrid said. “It appears my strategy is backfiring.”
“I’m curious, what happened when you told them the tiki excursion space was limited?” Millie asked.
“They took it better than I thought they would.”
“You’re on a roll.”
“Thanks. It feels good to take charge.”
“No, I mean literally…you’re standing on a dinner roll.”
Astrid peered down at her foot and burst out laughing. “Good one, Millie.”
“Sometimes it’s good to laugh. If not, you end up crying.” Millie patted her arm. “This is the perfect opportunity to remind them that this behavior is unacceptable and to reinforce the fact you are in charge.”