Page 61 of The Estate
“That makes sense,” Rachel said, moving into the ballroom.
Jess sipped her champagne before she added. “When I first moved back, I didn’t even apply to any event positions. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to handle that much pressure alone.”
Rachel hid her shock as guilt twisted her stomach. Her sister normally didn’t talk about her time with Chris, or the falloutfrom leaving. To avoid making an issue out of it, she just said, “Smart.”
But Jess’ words kicked off a flood of memories. Following the death of her parents, Rachel struggled, cried, and grieved alone. She was crushed by the weight of everything. The joint wake and funeral. The police and the investigation. The endless court days and meetings with lawyers. All alone.
She certainly hadn’t been in the right headspace to cope with the weight of it by herself.
Rachel gulped the last of her champagne, surveying the ballroom. “You’re lucky you had that option,” she said, her tone frosty.
She hadn’t meant to say anything, but found herself unable to stop once she started. “There’s nothing worse than facing a mountain of pressure alone.”
Jess scowled. “Rachel…”
Not letting her sister finish, Rachel turned to an approaching server. As she placed her glass on his tray, she noticed her hand trembling. Why her emotional roller coaster chose now to hit another corkscrew was beyond her. Obviously, she had some feelings to work through, but now was not the time.
Grabbing a full glass, she drew a steadying breath before turning to Jess.
“Rachel…” Jess started again.
“No,” Rachel waved her sister off. “Don’t mind me. Let’s focus on having a nice evening and checking out the rest of the venue.”
Jess appeared to be about to argue, but Rachel started moving through the crowd back toward the foyer.
Just before leaving the ballroom, they stopped to sample a passed appetizer of goat cheese stuffed dates. Rachel groaned when she bit into it, making Jess laugh.
Rachel chuckled in response. She couldn’t help herself. It was seriously good. If it was wrong for food to soothe her frazzled soul, she refused to be right. Rachel turned back to the server and grabbed two more from the tray. When she handed one to Jess, the two shared a big smile. Sometimes excellent food was the answer.
Jess said, “Yeah, that’s good. Amazing even. A little sticky, but worth it for that flavor explosion.
“If Cal wants that five-year plan he created to actually succeed, he needs to seriously look at his event planner position,” Jess continued. “The distillery is great, but in addition to distillery specific events he wants to expand the type of events held at this venue. His plan is aggressive, but doable from an event standpoint provided he has a good team.”
“What?” she asked as she examined Rachel’s face.
“What?” Rachel repeated, her voice pitched a little too high. At her sister’s continued glare, Rachel shrugged her shoulder. “It’s nothing.”
“Save us both the time and just spit it out,” Jess huffed. “What aren’t you saying?”
Sighing, she complied. “Cal still doesn’t know I took his plan.”
“What? Why not?”
“I meant to tell him right away, and had a chance last night, but then I didn’t and now… now I missed the moment.”
“Well, that’s just dumb,” Jess stated.
“Not my best work, I’ll give you that.” Rachel agreed. “I’m just so embarrassed at this point and afraid of what he’ll think.” Shaking her head, she tried to steer the conversation to other things. “I thought his proposal for the distillery was aggressive as well. Although,” she paused. “I did some research into the industry and his numbers and projections look solid.”
“That’s good. So maybe it’s the most effective way to save this place,” Jess replied as they walked out into the foyer.
Rachel frowned at Jess’ comment. A server interrupted her thoughts. “Meatball parm skewer?” Rotating his tray, he showed a row of delicate puff squares, “And these are beef wellington bites.” Rachel snagged one of each, leaning back so Jess could grab samples.
Rachel took a bite of the beef wellington, her eyes rolling back. The flavor burst in her mouth, silky smooth and deeply delicious. She would have preferred them to be a tad bit hotter, but she knew keeping the temperature on passed small bites was near impossible.
“Why is the distillery a no?” Jess asked.
No such luck distracting her sister with food. When she was curious about something, she was like a dog with a bone.
