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on the catering manager, saying something about this not being what she ordered for the event. He called us over and said he doesn’t get paid enough to deal with brats—his words, not mine. Anyway, he’s threatening to pull his staff if someone doesn’t get that lady away from him.”
    I’m already walking with them over to the catering manager, who is stationed in the back of the building, as she’s finishing the explanation. I swing the door open to the warehouse portion of the gallery, which is where the catering staff has all of their prep stuff set up and where they replenish hors d’oeuvre and drink trays. Joey, the catering manager, who is the nicest guy, by the way, is probably freaking out over having to deal with some random woman complaining about the order. This, for the record, is news to me. Lisette and I only deal with Alex or Sarah at the gallery, so this mystery lady is about to get a fucking earful by yours truly in about two seconds.
    The mystery woman’s back is to me as she’s going off on Joey, something about how he’s inept and clueless and that she demands to speak to whomever is in charge.
    I tap her on the shoulder and announce, “You’re looking for me?”
    The woman swings her torso around, causing her pin-straight brown hair to whip behind her and almost slap me in the face.
    You have got to be kidding me. Marisa, a.k.a. Miss Teen USA, is the bitch on wheels?
    Her face goes through a myriad of looks while scrutinizing me before settling on recognition. Took her long enough to recognize me. Call me crazy, but I love a good smackdown. And a tip for all of you playing along at home: never ever let it show that they’re getting a rise out of you. The key to a good smackdown is to kill them with kindness. Unless, of course, they cross the line, and then all bets are off.
    “Julia, right? What are you doing here?” she asks with obvious distaste in her voice.
    I smile. “I’m the person in charge. What can I do for you?”
    “You?” she says with a laugh. “Well, isn’t that just perfect.”
    “I’m not sure what you mean by that, but I can assure you that I am in charge, and I ask that you please stop harassing Joey and direct all your inquiries to me instead.”
    She looks between Joey and me as I give him the go-ahead to get back to work so I can deal with her. This is when I get a really good look at her. She’s beautiful, no doubt, with her almond-shaped brown eyes and lithe figure. Too bad for her she’s wearing a dress that was so last season and, worse, is coming across like a whiny baby in her mommy’s big-girl clothes for a night out on the town.
    “Fine, I’ll deal with you if I have to,” she says as she rolls her eyes. “This isn’t the menu I wanted at this thing.”
    “This is the menu that was provided to me and my staff,” I say, motioning behind me to Lisette and Sarah. I turn my head in their direction. “Ladies, if you don’t mind, can you please bring Alex back here to discuss this further.”
    Marisa crosses her arms and sticks her foot out while pouting as we wait on Alex. Every minute I hate this girl more and more.
    “You look different,” she says.
    “You look the same.”
    “What does that mean?”
    I shrug my shoulders. “It means whatever the hell you want it to mean.”
    The sound of the door swinging open smoothes the look of disdain off her face. Her mouth morphs into a syrupy sweet smile, letting me know that Alex has just arrived.
    “Marisa, what are you doing back here?” he asks calmly, but he looks so incredibly annoyed at the same time.
    “Alex,” she gushes as she rushes to his side. “I was just trying to explain to this person that the menu isn’t what I wanted.”
    Did she just say “this person” like I’m some piece of gum on the bottom of her Jimmy Choos? Oh hell to the no! All bets are officially off!
    I open my mouth to unleash the unholy string of curse words that are on the tip of my tongue, but I stop