Help A Bitch Out

HaBO: Server Heroine Recognized by Wealthy Hero at a Fundraiser

This HaBO request is from Marie, who is looking for this contemporary romance:

I paused reading a contemporary romance a few months ago and haven’t been able to finish it because I can’t remember what book it was! I have a bad habit of reading many books at once and somehow let this one get buried. I have tried looking at my KU and public library histories to find it. Likewise, my Kindle library. No luck.

As I recall, the heroine is struggling financially. The hero is at least comfortable money-wise but more likely is well-off. At one point, the heroine gets a spur-of-the-moment catering server position for the evening. The hero and some of his buddies or colleagues were attending a fundraiser or awards dinner. I think the hero was a speaker, host, or awardee. The heroine tries to avoid being seen by male group but one friend recognizes her and catches her eye. She might have fled the dinner or something else happened because I think she didn’t get paid for night’s work and knows she won’t get called for more work.

The male and female might have broken up before that point in the story.

Sound familiar?

Categorized:

Help a Bitch Out

Comments are Closed

  1. Lisa says:

    Niama Simone’s The Billionaire Bargain seems a possibility. Fits the premise.

  2. Glen says:

    Could it be The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score? The maid of honor heroine takes a job at a catering company to help with her MOH costs. She meets the billionaire best man hero at the engagement party, but already doesn’t like him due to the role he played in breaking up the engaged couple many years ago. There’s a scene later in the book where she’s catering a function (awards ceremony?) that he’s attending. She spends most of the book being conflicted about his money and fame. I read it as part of the Beach Book Box Set on Kindle Unlimited.

  3. Anni says:

    Is it fantasy? The Paper Magician is another one with a scene like this.

  4. Meredith says:

    Sierra Simone’s Supplicant has a catering staff heroine who runs into the hero after years apart at a fundraiser. It was part of the “Naughty Brits” anthology: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54829524-naughty-brits

  5. DiscoDollyDeb says:

    I was going to suggest Lucy Score’s THE WORST BEST MAN (not to be confused with the Mia Sosa book with the same title), but I do caution that “heroine is part of wait-staff/catering staff at an elaborate function and encounters a man (the hero) she’s trying to avoid” is a element in a number of contemporary romances. Sometimes it’s played for humor (especially if the heroine accidentally spills something on the hero), but other times (as in dark romance) there’s an ominous inevitability to the heroine coming face-to-face with the hero.

  6. LML says:

    I think the heroine’s nickname is Frankie but not the Frankie in Lucy Score’s book. The book didn’t begin with the banquet, the main characters already had a relationship, the story took place within NYC, it might have been one in a short series…and I can’t find it among kindle or Scribd, and KU books are not visible when you are not subscribing (although all magically reappear when you re-subscribe). So close, and yet so far…

  7. Marie says:

    Thanks for the suggestions! I did a quick skim of The Worst Best Man and that doesn’t seem to be it. In the book I am looking for, I recall the female lead is only doing the catering temporarily, not throughout the book.

    It was a contemporary, so not the Paper Magician. I will look at Billionare Bargain now.

  8. Marie says:

    It isn’t the Billionaire Bargain, either. Thanks for the idea, thoug!

  9. Vicki says:

    This sounds like Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson. Hero and Heroine have a hot weekend long thing then 10 years later he’s attending a benefit that heroine is catering. She recognizes him and has to leave because reasons.

  10. SaraGale says:

    Alyssa Cole’s A Princess in Theory has a catering gig bit, but I believe the male lead ends up working for her for the evening and screwing it up for her. They don’t get together till later in the book.

  11. Marie says:

    Thanks for the suggestions, Vicki and SaraGale, but it isn’t either one of those books.

    The female lead isn’t a caterer as a profession. I think she was piecing together multiple part time jobs to get by.

    I may reread Simply Irresistible just for fun since you brought it up. I like Rachel Gibson.

  12. Kate says:

    There’s a book on the tip of my brain that fits this but I can’t figure out what it is. Is she at the wedding because she needs to deliver the cake but then they are short staffed? Is there something where he follows her out of the reception venue and then there’s an awkward family hallway encounter?

  13. Marie says:

    I am nearly positive it wasn’t a wedding. I think the female character was recognized by the male’s buddy/colleague when the main male character was either accepting award or talking about charity. He was up on stage.

    I don’t think the main characters spoke at the event. She was just recognized. I think the buddy/colleague was surprised to see her. She had maybe broken contact with main male and didn’t want to be revealed.

  14. Kay Benavidez says:

    Try “Burn for You (Slow Burn #1) by JT Geissinger……Jackson “The Beast” Boudreaux is rich, gorgeous, and unbelievably rude to the staff at Chef Bianca Hardwick’s New Orleans restaurant. Bianca would sooner douse herself in hot sauce than cook for Jackson again, but when he asks her to cater his fund-raiser, Bianca can’t refuse, knowing the cash will help pay her mother’s medical bills…..

  15. Kimberly says:

    I’ve definitely read this. Could it be a hockey romance?

  16. Marie says:

    Kimberly, it definitely could be a hockey romance. I had been reading some around that time. I didn’t want to add that info to the post in case it misled some people if I was wrong.

    Thanks for the suggestion, Kay, but it isn’t that book. The main female wasn’t a chef. She took a server job to help make ends meet. I don’t think she normally worked in food service.

  17. Noel Stark says:

    It might be Sierra Simone’s Supplicant. That’s the set up for their reunion but there’s no male group in that novella.

  18. LMC says:

    Could it be WEEKENDS REQUIRED by Sydney Landon? Heroine takes a catering (?) job to help her Mom with medical bills at a Bachelor party where her boss/coworker (?) attends. I think she runs off. Years since I read it.

  19. Brianna says:

    Is it “Playing Doctor” by Lori Foster, in the “When good things happen to bad boys” anthology? IIRC, the heroine is med student who goes to the hero for a gyn exam, and she her dad is a famous bigwig at the hospital. She ends up working at some charity dinner because she’s a student, and runs into the hero again.

  20. Marie says:

    Thanks Noel, LMC and .Brianna for your ideas. It isn’t any of those titles. I have the last two titles in my library and double checked. It wasn’t a novella and definitely had a group of either friends or close colleagues to male MC. It was one of them that spotted female MC serving at event.

  21. Paige says:

    Is it Sway by Adriana Locke? That’s on KU. Single mom, server, he’s the son of a wealthy family running for governor or something. There is a college hockey romance where the heroine is a server at a banquet, maybe an Elle Kennedy?

  22. Sarah says:

    This sounds like it could be “Midnight at Tiffany’s” by Sarah Morgan. She’s a writer doing catering gigs on the side and he’s a big shot millionaire type. I’m pretty sure they end up on an elevator together, then spending the night together. I think most, if not all, of the details sound right.

  23. Marie says:

    Thanks, Paige and Sarah, but it isn’t Sway or Midnight at Tiffany’s. There wasn’t a politician in it. I borrowed Midnight… from the public library and scanned it. Not that book, either!

    It is a full-length contemporary without any paranormal or fantasy elements. The female is not typically a server; she picks up the job to supplement her other income or because she lost her other job.

    It’s driving me crazy because I either bought it/got for free on Kindle, or it is listed in my public library or KU past borrowing history. If I didn’t have he nasty habit of peaking at endings I would be able to search Kindle by unfinished.

    I appreciate any ideas people have!

  24. Deborah says:

    If I didn’t have he nasty habit of peaking at endings

    We’re best friends now.

  25. Leah says:

    Hot and Bothered by Elle Kennedy was 3 novellas about SEALs, I think the middle novella, Heat of Passion, included a catering event. I think they had already hooked up and he was looking for her again and sees her at the event, but it’s been a while since I read it, so I’m not positive.

  26. Marie says:

    Thanks, Leah. I had Heat of Passion in my Kindle library and it does have a catering server. The book I read was written more recently.

  27. EK says:

    Hi Marie, there is a similar scene in Sophie Kinsella’s The Undomestic Goddess. The way it doesn’t match to your description is that the heroine’s love interest is not at the party, but her former colleagues (including one who she had romantic interest in at the beginning of the book) are there.

  28. Marie says:

    Thanks for your idea, EK, but it isn’t Undomestic Goddess. I did read that this year, though. I love Sophie Kinsella’s books.

    In the book that is eluding me right now, the female has picked up some extra work as a server at an event. She isn’t normally a chef, server, or the like. She was also having financial difficulties.

    Every so often I poke around my Kindle titles to see if I can find this book. It is still bothering me that I can’t find it to finish. If anyone else has a possible title, please suggest it!

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top