for being a very political animal. Yes, Clem knew he had a formidable adversary in Mr. Kurt Fitzgerald. For the past two years, they’d both jealously guarded their clients and team members. Having to accommodate Fitz under the old man’s instructions was a recipe for disaster. Fitz’s little gameplay moments earlier had got this new working relationship off to an auspicious start. After all, Fitz knew the drill. He just wanted to rattle Clem’s cage in the hope of wobbling his perch a little. If he wobbled it hard enough, Clem might just fall flat on his face.
Clem snatched up Fitz’s bullet points and ripped the document in half without giving it even a cursory glance. He ripped again. And then once again, for good measure.
Back on Dunkirk Crescent in Eden Prairie, Tara slid a tray of unbaked cookies into her piping hot oven and set the timer. She checked the dozen cakes rising in the lower oven and turned down the heat. The kitchen was filled with a deliciously sweet aroma as Tara sprinkled flour onto a second baking tray.
Ding dong!
Tara hurriedly shook off her hands and touched her hair into place, leaving a white dusting of flour on her forehead. She hurried down the hallway towards the front door, curious to know who her early morning visitor might be. Standing there on the doorstep was Lorraine Pink, one of Tara’s few friends.
“Lorraine! Great to see you!”
“Thought I’d swing by as I was in the neighbor…damn, girl.” Lorraine looked at the white powder on Tara’s forehead. “You look like you’ve been snorting coke and sneezed.”
“Huh?” Tara glanced in a mirror. “Oh, crap. I’ve been baking more stuff for the church.” Tara said, genuinely pleased to see her friend but horrified at her unkempt appearance.
“Come in for coffee and please ignore the mess.”
“Mess? Oh puhleeze! ” Lorraine joked as she followed Tara into the spotless kitchen. “Girl, you don’t know what mess is. Try having two teenage boys living with you. Then you’d know what a real mess looks like.”
Now, Lorraine had something Tara really didn’t have - attitude. It came with the territory of Lorraine just being Lorraine. You see, she was more than just a little bent out of shape when it came to the touchy subject of men . It seemed they were either always walking out on her, or cheating on her, or pissing her off in general. Not that Lorraine wanted anyone to feel sorry for her.
“Mmmmm….smells good. I need one those darn cookies.”
Lorraine was a strikingly attractive woman and if Tara felt out of place being a west coast girl, she could only imagine how Lorraine felt being a black woman in a state as white as milk toast. Lorraine sat herself down on a barstool at the island counter and looked around the expansive kitchen with its professional grade chrome appliances all looking as if they’d just been unboxed.
“How are the boys?” Tara shouted, as the noisy coffee grinder smashed up some fresh Colombian beans.
“Spending the summer with their useless piece of shit father, thank the Lord.”
Lorraine was fascinated with the immaculateness of the kitchen and Tara’s obsessive cleaning ability. She ran her finger along the shiny, smooth surface of the pristine granite countertop.
“Well, he can’t be that useless if he’s looking after them,” Tara replied in defense of a man she’d never met.
“Y’know sometimes, I think the only reason you never had kids is that you’re such a freakin’ neat-nik.”
“Double or single?” Tara asked, readying a mug under the spout of the espresso machine.
“I’m good. I don’t want you messing up the world’s most perfect kitchen.”
“It’s no trouble, Lorraine.”
Lorraine looked at a framed photo of Clem and Tara on the wall taken back when they were dating in California. They both looked so relaxed and happy. Lorraine glanced enviously back at Tara.
“So tell me, since when have you gotten religion taking food to the