Chapter 28 - The Empty Delivery
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Sienna stood on the loading dock at the rear of the St. Moritz, the crisp morning air doing little to ease the tension radiating from Chef Andre. The loading bay, usually bustling with delivery trucks bringing fresh, premium ingredients, was disturbingly quiet.
"They just canceled the contract, Ms. Vance," Chef Andre said, waving a piece of paper in the air. "Four generations my family has worked with that coastal fishery. Vanguard offered them a ten-year exclusivity buyout. They apologized, but they took the money."
Sienna took the cancellation notice, her jaw tightening as she read the legal jargon.
"It is not just the seafood, Chef," Sienna said quietly. "Maya informed me twenty minutes ago that our premium linen supplier also backed out. Julian is trying to choke our supply lines."
"What are we going to do?" Andre asked, running a hand through his hair. "I have a six-course tasting menu for a visiting ambassador tomorrow evening. I cannot serve subpar ingredients in this kitchen. It goes against everything we stand for."
"And you won't have to," Sienna replied, her voice steady and resolute. "Julian thinks money can buy every resource in the state. He is wrong. He only bought the corporate distributors."
"Where else can we go?"
"To the people who don't want to deal with Vanguard," Sienna said, pulling out her phone. "Andre, grab your keys. We are taking a drive out to the valley."
"The valley?"
"There is a cooperative of independent, family-owned organic farms and private fisheries out there," Sienna explained, heading toward her car. "My father used to buy from them before the hotel scaled up. They don't have the volume for Vanguard, but they have the quality for us."
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"They will be expensive, and the logistics will be a nightmare without a centralized distributor," Andre warned, matching her stride.
"I don't care," Sienna said firmly. "We will pay them fairly, and we will handle the logistics ourselves. We are going to build a supply chain Julian Thorne can never touch."
