Page 75 of The Estate
When Life Serves you Lemons
Cal’s statement lingered in the air as they all grappled to understand his words. Having seen some of Trace’s blunders, Rachel wasn’t surprised. She was just shocked by the sheer size of the holes. If Cal was right, Trace apparently dropped the ball after the initial intake meeting.
She heard Lottie ask, “You didn’t know that she’d stopped working on it?”
Cal sighed, and Rachel felt it deep in her soul.
“I’ve been occupied with some other events and also the software system conversion, so I haven’t been as involved.”
Rachel’s chest tightened. He was doing the system work because she recommended it. He was working on that because her boss went and talked the Fitzgeralds into doing it. She was the reason his workload had exploded. She wanted to apologize, but she wasn’t sure what she could have done differently.
Cal continued, unaware of Rachel’s inner turmoil. “I certainly checked in regularly with Trace about the preparations. She claimed to have everything handled, and I believed her. Her resignation letter says the job wasn’t for her. The stress of planning this event pushed her past her breaking point.”
“And she never mentioned that to you?” Lisa asked.
“No, she didn’t,” Cal replied, his voice filled with regret. “I would have understood if she had talked to me about her misgivings when we booked the gala. This is our first event that is not a wedding. I thought she understood how critical it was to get everything right, not only for the success of the White Hall Estate, but because this is a high-profile party. Trace understood that this business runs mostly by reputation.”
“Not to mention the distillery,” Rachel added quietly.
Cal looked over. “Not to mention the distillery,” he repeated. Turning back, he explained, “Opening the distillery comes with a host of licenses, zoning variances and permits. Bungling this gala will put a blight on my reputation, where I had hoped the event would generate some positive goodwill for the estate. Kind of an introduction to local policy makers and elected officials."
“And the goodwill it might have garnered you with your parents,” Rachel said, voicing what he wouldn’t. He had never said it outright, yet she understood that was another reason the gala was so important to him.
“That’s true too,” he admitted. “Once it gets out how mismanaged this was and how I dropped the ball, it dries up any leverage I might have had to save the estate.”
Jess leaned over and grabbed the folder. “How bad are we talking?” she said.
“It’s not your fault,” Rachel said while Jess flipped through the file. Cal’s expression said he clearly didn’t believe her, so she pressed on. “It isn’t. You spoke with Trace. She said she had it covered. Why wouldn’t you believe her?”
Cal heard her words but couldn’t bring himself to agree. This still felt like he’d dropped the ball.
“The woman has certainly flaked about some details,” Jess offered. “But they were all minor compared to this. No way could you have anticipated this.”
“Granted, we’ve just met,” Adam said. “But you don’t strike me as the micromanager type, so of course you trusted her when she said she had it handled.”
Hearing people who barely knew him come so quickly to his defense, lifted some of his regret. They did have a point. How could he have known Trace would have gone nuclear?
“So, she got overwhelmed with everything and rather than address it, she just avoided, like, all of it?” Lisa asked.
Cal spread his hands. “It seems that way. Although I saw no indication that she was being pushed to her limit.”
Rachel could see that weighed on Cal and couldn’t stop herself from reaching over to clasp his arm. “Cal, we both know that had Trace approached you with how she was feeling, you would have found a solution. Even if it would be easing the transition of her finding another job while not leaving you high and dry.”
Jess sighed, pulling Rachel’s attention.
“I’m not gonna lie, Cal,” Jess said, closing the file. “This looks bad. But with a few calls, you may be closer to getting everything on track than you think.”
“True,” Jake chimed in. “I’ll call Joel and have him come out ASAP to inspect the setup. If the menu needs to change, I can help him.”
“Thanks, Jake,” Cal replied, obviously touched by the offer. “That means a lot.” Looking at Jess, he asked, “You think I could still pull it off?”
Jess fidgeted with the file folder as she thought about it before saying, “I think so. You’ll need a few miracles here and there, but it could happen.”
Cal glanced down, and Rachel saw his shoulders relax slightly. If Jess said he could do it, then perhaps he had a possibility of pulling it all together. Her breath froze, though, when Cal started looking at Jess. Like really studying her, his gaze narrowing. Rachel was on the verge of saying something when he spoke.
“Please, Jess, tell me you’ll help,” he said, his tone earnest. “There’s so much riding on this. And you know this stuff. And if my vendors can’t do it, you have contacts that perhaps can, right?”
Rachel tried to interject before Cal got carried away. But he kept talking; his speech speeding up as he pushed for Jess to help make the miracles happen for this damn gala.
