Sprinkle Shock, page 12
Sprinkle Shock
Parties and Parfaits Cozy Mysteries, Book 4
Allyssa Mirry
Summer Prescott Books Publishing
Copyright 2021 Summer Prescott Books
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying, or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.
* * *
**This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Sprinkles Parfait
Also by Allyssa Mirry
Author’s Note
Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing
Chapter One
“Hard day at work?” the attractive, young bartender asked sympathetically.
Penelope Wilks nodded. “You could say that.”
Her best friend, Sam, wasn’t willing to be so cordial to the bartender. Sam was the sweetest person that Penelope knew and spent her free time volunteering to save orphaned animals. However, right now she was shooting Dean a death stare.
“There have been troubles at work for a lot of people lately,” Sam said sourly.
“That’s a shame,” he responded. “You should try and enjoy yourself at your job. Everyone spends so much time at work. It’s best if you can find a way to make it more pleasing for yourself.”
“I do love my job,” said Penelope. “It was just a strange day.”
She played with the straw in her frozen drink and expected that to be the end of the conversation. Penelope and Sam had wanted to commiserate about their afternoon at work and had chosen that bar because Sam’s boyfriend, Stuart, was also a bartender there. This fellow, Dean, had to know that.
However, he seemed so interested in why their day was weird that Penelope felt compelled to give him some more details. There was something almost hypnotic in his handsome eyes.
Penelope started explaining how she worked as an event planner at Parties on the Pier on the boardwalk and about the drama that had unfolded there that day. Penelope’s mentor had been the owner of the event hall and had passed away earlier in the year. Since that time, it seemed that both Penelope and her co-worker, Isla, were in the running to take over the business. Her mentor’s husband, Gus, had been overseeing things, but it was clear that he eventually wanted to get back to his retirement so he could spend more time doing his favorite thing in the world: fishing.
There was some tension between Penelope and Isla because they both truly wanted the position, but they had made peace with one another. They had found themselves in situations where they feared for their lives and it made them appreciate each other – even if they still both dearly wanted to win.
That afternoon, Isla had been in an awful mood. Perhaps this was because Isla was still tired and cranky after dealing with a ballroom full of toddlers at her event the day before. While Isla was perfectly capable of working with children, it wasn’t her preference. Both Isla and Penelope had been placed in charge of events that would usually go to the other planner because of their special skills. Penelope hadn’t been able to tell if this was Gus testing their abilities to see if they were capable of succession or if he simply wasn’t aware of how to best delegate at the business he was suddenly thrown into.
The bartender laughed as Penelope set up her story. He seemed so genuinely invested in her tale that she ignored how quiet Sam was being.
“We were all at the morning meeting where we recapped the upcoming times for events. It’s still the off-season, but I’m leading a birthday party this week,” Penelope explained. “We were all about to go our separate ways, but then Gus started telling us this long anecdote about a bass he once caught. About ten minutes into this fish story, Isla slams her fist on the table and cries “how long are you going to be testing us?” Gus looked completely surprised! Isla was embarrassed and ran away immediately. We stayed and learned that Gus hadn’t truly been testing us and wasn’t sure how he should select who should take over the business. So, with disappointment and fodder for gossip, we decided to come here after work. Right, Sam?” Penelope asked, realizing that she had been speaking for quite a while.
“Right,” Sam said, but she wasn’t enthusiastic.
“Well, if I were that boss of yours, I’d choose you,” the bartender said with a charming grin.
He reached over the bar and placed his hand over Penelope’s. She thought this was a little too familiar and pulled her hand back, but politely thanked him for the compliment. The man smiled again and then excused himself to deal with other customers.
“I can’t believe you,” Sam said, shaking her head.
“I probably shouldn’t have told anyone else about what Isla did,” Penelope admitted, starting to feel guilty. “She must feel bad about it and wouldn’t want others to know she reached her breaking point at work.”
“Not only that, but we came here to support Stuart because he told us that the new bartender was giving him trouble. And you’re here flirting with him!”
“I wasn’t flirting,” Penelope protested.
“It looked like you were.”
“I was being nice,” Penelope said. “You made it sound like he was evil, but he was very friendly and easy to talk to.”
“Evil might be too strong a word,” Sam said, “but things have not been easy for Stuart ever since Dean came in and was just so annoyingly charming to everyone and made flirty-face with all the ladies.”
Penelope chose to take a sip of her drink instead of comment on Sam’s word choice. A moment later, Stuart returned to the bar lugging a large box from the back room. He placed the contents into the fridge and then made his way over to his friends.
“Can I get you something else?” he asked.
“Yes, please. Another round,” said Sam. “Dean tried to refill us, but I wouldn’t let him. I don’t support what’s happening here.”
“It’s not too bad. It’s true that the boss seems to like Dean more than me and now gives him all the prime shifts. I’m losing customers and tips to him. We also used to take turns with the heavier or more unpleasant tasks and now I just have to do them all. Dean acts really nice to everyone except to me, so I sound crazy when I don’t fawn over him.” Stuart frowned. “Actually, it is pretty bad.”
“Would it help you at all if we ordered food from the menu?”
This was a generous offer for Sam to make. As a professional chef, her standards were high, and this establishment was below even substandard with its cuisine. They seemed to mess up the most basic items, such as French fries that were somehow both undercooked and burnt.
“Thank you, but I don’t think that would do any good,” Stuart said.
“I’m sorry about this,” said Penelope. “He seemed so nice.”
Stuart shrugged. “I can’t tell if it’s all just an act or if he only doesn’t like me. Maybe it’s that he wants to take my job.”
“It will be okay,” Sam assured him. “There will be plenty of business in a month or so when the summer crowds start to show. It will work out.”
Penelope nodded in agreement and then looked over to see how the bartender was dealing with his other customers. He seemed to be equally entranced with a story that a blonde woman with bangles was telling him. As she finished, he reached across the bar and touched her hand in the exact same way that he did to Penelope. Maybe there was an air of falseness to him.
This woman didn’t seem to mind the touch, though. She giggled and leaned closer but was interrupted by her buzzing cell phone. As she moved her hand to answer it, Penelope saw the sparkle from her diamond ring shine. It was clear that she was married.
She grudgingly answered it and placed money on the bar at the same time. Dean moved on to the bearded man at the end of the bar, nursing a beer.
Penelope turned back to her friends as Sam said, “Let’s talk about something more cheerful. I’ve been just bursting to tell Penelope our big news.”
Penelope looked from one to the other ready to start squealing with delight. Were they going to move in with each other? Had they finally gotten engaged? Penelope had been expecting some news of the couple moving to the next phase in their relationship, but she hadn’t expected to hear about it tonight.
“What is it?”
“Stuart got new allergy pills!” Sam said.
Penelope still smiled. This was also good news. Sam’s work at the animal shelter was a difficulty for Stuart’s fur allergy. He often had a sneezing fit when she saw him right after work. This would be a way to ensure that Sam’s passion for puppies didn’t make him sick.
Stuart took a small bottle of prescription pills out of his pocket to prove that this was true. “My doctor prescribed me extra strength.”
“That’s wonderful. I bet it will work,” Penelope said.
“I was hoping we could test it out one afternoon with your cats,” Stuart said, referring to Penelope’s three lovable fluff balls.
“Of course.”
Sam visited Penelope in her apartment with a lovely view of the beach often, but it was more difficult to have Stuart over as well. Penelope had a balcony that he could sit on to get away from her cats, but that was no fun when it was chilly outside.
“So far it seemed to be working, but we haven’t tested it out right. We thought Flounder might be the best pet to pet first,” said Sam. “I hope this works. It would open up all sorts of possibilities. We might be able to get a pet of our own someday.”
Stuart grinned and began to say, “I’d love—”
However, they didn’t get to hear what he would love because he was interrupted. His boss headed behind the bar, wearing a purple shirt and a surly expression. He glanced between the two bartenders and then selected Stuart.
“We have a bathroom situation. I’m going to need you to clean it.”
“Murray, I’ve done it the last three times,” said Stuart. “Shouldn’t Dean clean it sometimes too?”
Dean looked up from his conversation with the man with the beard. There was a momentary glare of anger, but he soon covered it up with a jovial smirk as Murray shook his head.
“I told you to do it, Stu, and I want it done.”
Murray left them to return to his office. Stuart suppressed a sigh and put his allergy pill bottle back in his pocket.
“Well, I’ve got to go. I’m not sure how long it will be. If you have to leave before I come back, I understand.”
“I don’t want to go when you’re having such a bad day,” said Sam.
“It’s fine,” Stuart assured them, trying to make the best of the situation. “Thank you for visiting me. Next time we’re together, I’m sure we’ll be able to talk more.”
Sam leaned forward and gave Stuart a small kiss. Then, he headed off to complete his task. As he walked past the end of the bar, Dean moved his foot. There was a chance that it was accidental, but Penelope didn’t think that it was. Stuart tripped over the outstretched foot and fell on his face. The bottle in his pocket must have burst because some pills fell out around him.
Penelope rose to her feet as Sam darted from her barstool to see if he was all right. Stuart took a moment to get up, but it seemed more due to shock and anger than outright pain.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked.
“No,” Stuart said as his face turned red. “I’m not because I’m working with a huge jerk!”
“What do you mean, Stuart?” Dean asked innocently.
“You did that on purpose!” Stuart cried. “What’s the matter with you?”
Murray ran back into the room from his office. He didn’t look happy as he boomed, “What’s going on? Why is there yelling?”
“Stuart’s freaking out,” Dean said. “He slipped.”
“I was tripped by Dean!” Stuart yelled. “He’s been nothing but awful to me, but this is too much! I won’t stand for it!”
“You won’t need to,” Murray said. “I can’t tolerate a scene like this in my bar.”
“You think I’m causing a scene?” Stuart demanded.
“He really was tripped. I saw it,” Penelope said as Sam worked on collecting Stuart’s pills off the floor.
“His friends are lying for him,” Dean said smoothly.
Murray nodded. “Stu, you’re fired.”
“Fired?” Stuart demanded. “This is ludicrous! Insane! You’ll be sorry about this. You will!”
“Come on,” Sam said, holding his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Fine!” Stuart cried. “They can clean their own toilets!”
Stuart and Sam hurried out of the bar. Penelope didn’t want them to be accused of stealing, so she left enough cash on the bar to cover the tab. Dean winked at her as she did so. It was clear that he was handsome on the outside, but not on the inside. She didn’t leave a tip and chased after her friends.
Chapter Two
“I feel so bad for him,” Sam said.
It was the next afternoon and even preparations for the upcoming event at Parties on the Pier couldn’t distract her from her worry about Stuart. Penelope was also upset about the situation. Stuart getting fired felt wildly unfair. She kept thinking whether there was something else she could have done to change what happened. She also hated that she had been so welcoming to Dean. He had a way of making you feel like he was a friend immediately, but it was clearly false and Dean’s actions had hurt her real friend.
“I do too,” Penelope admitted. “Have you spoken to him today?”
“Not yet. I did send texts of support, but he didn’t respond this morning. I’m guessing he didn’t sleep very well and is catching up on the rest now. That seems to happen when he’s upset. I wish there was more I could do, but he wanted to be left alone last night,” Sam said. “I can understand it, but I still wish I was there and could cheer him up.”
“Do you think there’s any chance that his boss will reconsider?” asked Penelope. “It seemed like he acted brashly, and Stuart didn’t actually do anything wrong. He might have yelled a little, but Dean physically hurt him.”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know if he’ll change his mind. I also don’t know if Stuart would want to go back there. Working with Dean is awful and now he knows that Murray doesn’t have his back.”
“Stuart is smart, hard-working, and kind. He’ll find a better opportunity soon. Maybe this will all be a blessing in disguise.”
“Oh, I hope so.” Sam sighed. “I had been feeling so optimistic. Things were bad with Dean, but I didn’t think they were this bad. I was excited about the possibility that Stuart could be around animals soon. I wanted us to spend time with your cats, and I wanted to introduce him to a senior dog at the shelter. This dog is so sweet, but he’s having trouble finding a home because of his age.”
“Maybe Stuart will be able to help you out at the shelter if he has more free time now?” Penelope suggested. “Seeing that sweet old dog might help him feel better as he searches for a new job.”
“Maybe.”
This line of thought didn’t seem to alleviate Sam’s worry, so Penelope said, “The menu is set for the party. Why don’t you show me the parfaits you’ve created and then you can go home early and keep Stuart company?”
“Really? I know this is going to be a big party.”
“But it’s this weekend. I can deal with it on my own. Stuart needs you and I want to support you both. I’ll explain to Gus where you are if he asks and it will be fine. He’ll probably be grateful that the reason we’re not in the office isn’t because we’re part of another investigation.”
Sam smiled and thanked her. Then, she led the way to the event hall's refrigerator where her newest parfait creations were sitting.
Every event at Parties on the Pier featured a themed parfait. This tradition began with the former owner, Pamela Whavers, and Penelope and Isla thought it was important to continue. Penelope wasn’t especially skilled in the kitchen, but Sam was able to take her ideas about what would be the perfect snack for a party and upgrade it into something exquisite.
The upcoming birthday was for a group of middle-school friends whose birthdays were all in the same month. Penelope had planned some games and entertainment for them and thought that the parfait should complement the giant birthday cake that would be served.
Penelope had decided to use lots of sprinkles in her example and she was excited to see how Sam would upgrade it. Sam took the tray of a half dozen parfaits out of the fridge and Penelope grinned. Sam had made the parfaits look reminiscent of confetti, which was perfect for the party.
“The kids will adore this,” Penelope told her.
Sam handed her a spoon and they both taste-tested the final product. Penelope nodded her approval, so she wouldn’t have to stop eating. It was as delicious as it was festive.
“I adore it too,” Penelope said when she had finished. “I think you should take one of these to Stuart when you see him. It might be just what he needs.”
