Page 14 of The Swap After Hours

The guests were stunning with immaculate clothing and diamond encrusted jewelry. Men and women chatted in groups of two or three, thanking me as I offered a small puff pastry or refilled their glasses.

Dinner went off without a hitch, but I began to notice a few differences between this party and others I’d helped cater. They were subtle differences, so subtle I might have missed them if I hadn’t been paying such close attention to see what everyone thought of the food.

But once I noticed, they became increasingly hard to ignore. Like the woman who kept whispering to the man next to her, every so often darting the tip of her tongue inside his ear.

Or the man who was discreetly fondling another man under the table, despite the fact I’d seen him arrive with a woman. A woman who wore a wedding band that matched his own.

My eyes nervously darted over to his wife and found her watching the two men intently. To my surprise, she didn’t seem upset, but rather…turned on.

“How’s it going? Need any help with the desserts?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen area.

Doug looked up from where he was adding the finishing touches to a tray of apricot tarts with a grateful smile, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. “Thanks. Would you mind passing me those little sprigs of mint over there?”

I nodded, handing them to him. I watched as he carefully placed them on top of the tarts then sprinkled a little dusting of powdered sugar over each. The final product was both classy and elegant, perfect for this type of event.

“These look amazing. You’ve really outdone yourself.”

He beamed with pride, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he surveyed his handiwork. “It’s all about the presentation, you know? And with your help, this party is going to be a hit.”

“It already is,” I assured him. “Everyone’s been talking about the food and wondering who the genius is behind it all.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend.”

“No, it’s true. I promise.”

“He’s right, you know.” We both looked up to see Ms. Rathchild floating into the room. She wore a broad smile as she approached my friend. “No one can stop talking about how delicious the food is and I have to agree. You’ve impressed me, which if you knew me at all, you’d know is extremely difficult to do. At any rate, I’d like you to come out and introduce yourself. Let my guests see who will be catering all our future parties. That is, if you’re agreeable.”

Doug swallowed hard, his face registering both shock and elation before he covered it up with a professional smile. “It would be my pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity, Ms. Rathchild.”

He started to follow her out of the kitchen but glanced at me over his shoulder. “Holy shit!” he mouthed.

I grinned widely, giving him two thumbs up. I was so fucking proud of him. After all his hard work, people were finally starting to notice what an incredible chef he was.

I was still grinning half an hour later when I carried the last empty tray back into the kitchen. The food had been a resounding success and New York’s upper class had lavished praise on my friend. Something which was well-deserved but left Doug blushing profusely. A result which had me laughing.

We were all in high spirits as we began packing everything up and cleaning the kitchen. “I think this calls for a celebration,” Jordan said.

“I agree. Let’s take all this stuff back then go to O’Neil’s. I’ll buy the first round.” Amber’s offer was met with a unanimous cheer, and we all worked fast to finish up and load the van.

“Time to party!” Cohen yelled as we shut the doors on the van thirty minutes later.

He and the others started heading for their cars when Amber suddenly stopped, patting her pockets. “Shit! We forgot our phones!”

“Ugh! You’re right. We left them with Ms. Rathchild. I’ll go back up and get them,” Doug said.

I halted him with a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you go on with them and get everything put away. I’ll go get the phones then order an Uber and meet you all at O’Neil’s.”

“Are you sure? I can wait?—”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is a huge night for you. The sooner we all get stuff done, the sooner we can start celebrating.”

“But, I don’t want you to have to pay for a ride.”

I laughed. “Stop worrying. Between my new job and the ongoing contract, you just signed, we can afford to get a ride once in a while.”

“Wow! I guess you’re right. This is all so crazy.”

“I know. It’ll take some time to sink in, but tonight, you need to get your ass in gear. I bet there are a bunch of pretty, pretty boys just waiting for you to show up at the bar.”

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