by Piper Rayne
Taryn gasped. “Too tight, Ma.” She tried to push her back a little but her arms were pinned to her side. She dropped the bananas she had been holding and they thumped on the kitchen tile floor.
“Oh, sorry.” Leah laughed and let up… a little. “I’m just so excited.”
“Me too.” I think. “I’m supposed to be there at eight tomorrow morning to train with another manager.” Taryn shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s a great thing, but it’ll pay the bills until I can find something else—something more suitable.”
Leah’s eyebrows arched pulling her smile down with them. “Why isn’t it a good thing?”
Taryn shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Well…” she swallowed hard. “It’s in a restaurant and I don’t know the first thing about cooking.”
“So?” Leah asked. “You just need to know about people in order to manage, sweetie. You don’t have to be the chef too.” Concern flashed in her eyes. “Do you?”
“I don’t think so.” Taryn laughed. “I’m not so sure I know how to manage people anymore either. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked at anything besides being a wife to Ed and being what his family expected me to be.” Taryn sighed and flopped down on one of Ally’s once perfect ivory leather barstools. Her finger traced a fresh bright pink marker swipe on the seat. “I really need to get us our own place before we destroy hers.”
“Fake it until you make it.” Leah smirked.
Taryn chuckled. “I’m not sure that’s going to work this time, Ma.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to do inventory for a kitchen, scheduling, dealing with orders, customers…” She rubbed her hands down her face. “I’m not even sure what my responsibilities will be.”
“You’ll be fine.” Leah smiled. “You didn’t know anything about medical supplies when you started working for Ed’s parents either.” She cocked her head to the side as she shrugged her shoulders. “You wound up making them seven-figures a year.”
“For the last eight years.” Taryn pursed her lips.
“Exactly.” Leah grabbed Taryn’s shoulders and shook them just enough to force her to look up at her. “You are not going to fail at this, sweetie. You’ve never failed at anything in your life.”
“No!” The scream echoed through the small condo.
Taryn and Leah ran up the stairs to the kids playroom. Leah stopped in the doorway and Taryn pushed past to see what the commotion had been.
“Give me that back!” Peyton’s voice carried above the boys’. “It’s my doll!” She stomped her foot.
“Thank goodness.” Leah put a hand over her heart. “That scared the daylights out of me.”
Taryn laughed. “Tell me about it. That’s just the warning scream before she goes full-metal on them though, and by the looks of it...” She pointed to Peyton’s face, which was turning bright red.
“On it.” Leah tapped the door and pushed it fully open. “Someone got a new job. Let’s go have some ice cream to celebrate.”
This time they all scream—happy screams and giggles filled the room as Aiden and Peyton both planted themselves on the floor wrapping their legs around their grandma’s legs.
“Carry us,” they both said in unison.
“Up.” Lee says with his arms stretching up for Leah to pick him up off the floor where he had still been playing with Peyton’s doll.
“I want strawberry,” Peyton yelled as Leah took her first step forward with the two new appendages stuck to her legs.
“Chocolate.” Aiden stuck out his tongue at his sister. “Strawberry is pink. Gross.”
“Straw…” Lee spit and sputtered the ‘berry’ part.
Leah managed to make it all the way to the kitchen with both kids still arguing while wrapped around her. “Here.” She sat the mini cartons of ice cream and spoons on the bartop. “Something for everyone.”
Peyton and Aiden dug in without wasting a second while Taryn fastened Lee into his highchair.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do, Mom, Taryn blurted.
Leah smiled knowingly. “You’re going to do what you always do. You’ll figure it out as you go and you’re going to do great.”
“Thanks.” Taryn scrunched her nose and sighed.
“I’m serious.” Leah laughed under her breath. “You always manage to find a way even when the cards are stacked against you.”
Taryn let out a deep sigh. “I guess it’s really no different than cramming for a mid-term, and I’ve done that more than I care to admit.”
“Exactly.” Leah passed her a spoon.
“I need to research everything though.” Taryn rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. “Literally—everything from lingo to processes. It’s overwhelming, really. I don’t even know where to start.”
“You can learn the language as you go.” Leah stated matter-of-factly. “You need to know the processes and what’s expected of you. Start there.”
“Good idea. Thanks for giving me a swift kick in the rear.” I’ve got so much to learn before tomorrow, she thought. She would definitely search the job criteria. Maybe she could even find the opening listed on a job board and figure it out that way if they had everything listed under Job Expectations. Even if it wasn’t for the same restaurant, surely the expectations would be the same—or at least similar.
It turned out, sitting in the freezer was just as inviting as it sounded. Taryn shivered as a chill traveled up her spine. “Who knew food inventory would be such a pain in the—”
“What are you doing in here?” The freezer door slammed against the wall of the kitchen as Chef crossed her arms over her chest in the open doorway. “No one is supposed to be in my kitchen this early.”
“I’m sorry.” What had she done wrong? Taryn could feel her face warm from the embarrassment consuming her. “I’m just doing the inventory.” Like Google had told her to.
“I do the food inventory.” Chef Chris snickered and waved her hands dismissively as she stomped toward the thermostat. “You were in here how long, and you didn’t even have it set right? You’re going to make all my food spoil.” She mumbled something under her breath.
“I didn’t touch the—” Did she just tell me to shoo? Taryn decided it was better to just walk away than continue to argue. Walking away and preserving some level of peace had been something she became very good at before Ed’s illness took over.
“You’re trying to sabotage me, aren’t you?” Chef practically choked on her own words. “You clearly have no real experience in the kitchen.” She moved closer to Taryn and glared down her nose at her. “I don’t know what your angle is, but I know that you have one. I’m not going to stop until I figure it out.”
Taryn couldn’t decide if Chef Chris was finally coming to her senses, or if she had lost her mind completely. Of course Taryn didn’t have any real kitchen experience. “No.” Taryn shook her head. That was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. “I’m not trying to take your job. I’m just trying to do mine.”
“Your job doesn’t have anything to do with my kitchen.” Chef pointed to the double swinging doors.
“Your job is out there and if you really had experience in a Michelin Star restaurant then you would know that.” Chef narrowed her eyes. “You do your job. I’ll handle mine.” Her blue eyes turn almost green. .
Michelin Star? What is that? What had Jack told James? Taryn thought the glare could burn a hole right through her skin if she didn’t move out of the line of Chef Chris’s clear disdain. “I don’t have time to argue with you. Get me the numbers before it’s time to start preparing for lunch service.”
Chef laughed harder.
“I don’t see what’s so funny.” The website had said she should do inventory first thing in the morning so that the kitchen manager knew what the kitchen staff would have to work with.
“What’s funny is that you think you can tell me what to do.” Chef cocked her head to the side. “Do you have someone lined up for my job?
Is that it?”
“What?” Her first day was going exceptionally well. “No.”
“That has to be it.” Chef’s jaw clenched tighter with each millisecond.
Great. She's coming up with a conspiracy theory, Taryn scoffed to herself. “No. I don’t.” Aren’t angry, crazed chefs just a made-for-TV thing. “I don’t even know another chef in this city.”
“So, you want to bring in someone you worked with in Chicago?” Chef gasped and her jaw hung open.
“No.” Medical supply professionals would not have been a good fit at Cherry Street. Clearly.
Chef shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“That’s fine, you don’t have to. I have work to do, and so do you.” Taryn walked through the doors and heard Chef’s laughter echo as they swung shut behind her.
“Stick to the front of house and I’ll take care of my kitchen.” Chef’s voice was firm, no hint of laughter left in it.
Off to a great start, Taryn thought. She watched James who was parked in the corner booth pouring over some paperwork. Did he hear the drama from the kitchen?
His eyes glance up and an awkward smile crept across his face. “I see you’re getting along well with Chef.”
So much for high hopes of not being heard. “Uh-uh, indeed.” Taryn rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever made anyone so mad, so many times, in such a short amount of time.”
James laughed and leaned back against the red leather booth. “Don’t worry about Chef.” He shrugged. “It’s a bit of a bark is worse than the actual bite situation.”
Taryn cringed. “Great.” A pitbull might have actually been a perfect comparison. “What are you working on?” Taryn asked before she realized that was probably an inappropriate question.
His eyes shifted up in a questioning look. “Uh…” He shifted the papers around so she could see. “It’s just the end of quarter reports. It’s not looking great, but I can’t figure out why we’re losing money left and right. The number of customers seems to be about the same, but our profits are way less for last quarter than any of the previous quarters.”
“That is strange.” Taryn glanced at the spreadsheets and immediately regretted not taking those classes in college that taught you how to read financial statements. “Were there major price reductions or anything that would have contributed to the loss?”
“Nope.” James stared blankly at the papers on the tabletop. “Nothing at all changed.”
“Something must have.” That was just too weird of a coincidence to be nothing.
“Maybe, but I can’t find it.” James shrugged. “I’m about ready to throw the towel in on this for the day and go to work on getting things set up for the afternoon rush.”
If you plan to continue with this series, there’s an epilogue…but I suggest you stop here if you don’t like cliffhangers and don’t plan to continue.
Thanks for reading!
Epilogue
The crisp cool late autumn air was a welcome change from the slew of odors stagnating in the kitchen. Chef Chris had been determined to try out a new dish for the Winter Bash and had been testing recipes all week, but since her sous chef had miscalculated and bumped the heat up by 15 degrees, the kitchen smelled of burnt pastry and overcooked beef. Overcooked food and Chef Chris—not a good combination. The chill in the air meant it was time for the Winter Farmer’s Market. The market was open most of the year, but between Autumn and Winter the selection and the vendors changed drastically. James could see the white and icy blue tents being set up with the red and white checkered ones being taken down right behind them just at the end of the block. Soon the entire street would be lined, once again, with local goods, mostly baked goods this time since it was Winter and that’s a notoriously difficult crop season in Oklahoma. Baked goods… Ugh. How was he going to help Casey with the bake sale when the only thing he knew about baking was how to spread canned icing?
“Ally, I don’t have the first clue as to what I’m doing.” Taryn’s voice was muffled but he heard the soft sigh escape. “This was a terrible idea.”
What on Earth was she talking about? If she needed help, maybe there was something he could do. Eavesdropping is universally rude, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to help her.
“They think I worked at a Michelin Star restaurant in Chicago, Ally. What did you tell Jack, exactly?” each word was more strained than the last. Was she holding back tears? “Do you know what Michelin Star means? I didn’t until I looked it up. Ally, this is bad. This is really bad.”
His heart sank to his feet. So she really didn’t have experience. Chef Chris had been right. If he was being honest, he had guessed that after hearing the near miss with Chef in the kitchen that morning. No restaurant would tolerate such clear misunderstanding of the rules between front of house management and Chef’s duties. But what else had she lied about? He shook his head and tried to ignore the fact that he was the one who had told Ashleigh Lang about her shining qualifications, which even he knew were stretched—very, very thin. Still, lying was the one thing he could never forgive himself for. How could he trust her now? The managers had to trust each other to be able to effectively manage the staff and she could just lie about her entire resume? It was too much. He needed to come clean to Lang too, but that might just cause more damage.
“Ally…” he heard her voice even more hushed now than before. “The kids needs this joh to work out. I can’t fail at this. Not this time.”
He smiled at the memory of Aiden and Peyton fighting over the crayon illustrated unicorn. Those kids weren’t at fault. Surely there was a way to fix this even if he would never be able to trust her—or her trust him for that matter. Did he need to tell her the truth now that she knew she what the staff thought her qualifications were? Was there another position she was better suited for in the restaurant? Hostess was available as of this morning. Hayley had pushed it too far that morning. Coming in late is bad enough, but 3 times within 5 days was just too much. He hadn’t let her go before because they needed to improve their customer satisfaction rates rather than make it harder to meet their needs by being short staffed. It was a constant balancing act.
“Truthfully, I’m probably better suited for that hostess job that we saw in the want ads; but it just isn’t enough, Ally.”
That answered that. James flung the back door to the kitchen open and let it slam behind him. It was all just too much. Maybe she would hear the door slam and realize she’d been found out and turn-in her resignation. That would have certainly made his job much easier. He immediately cringed at the thought, but he wasn’t sure why. He let the door to his office slam closed just as loud as the backdoor to the kitchen. He knew that would get at least one complaint from the diners trying to enjoy their meal. He just kept making things worse. Liars were the bottom of the barrel as far as he was concerned, and he found himself right there beside her. His blood boiled at the thought that he let himself be turned into something he despised so much. He knew better. His parents raised him better than that. He needed to fix it, and fast. But how? He couldn’t let her know he had heard the conversation. That would be a betrayal of trust too. He slammed his hands down on his desk and a stack of papers fluttered in response. The corners lifted up just enough to expose the contents of one paper wedged between the half-completed schedule for next week and approvals for time off, like those could even be approved this close to the holiday.
His eyes focused on the exposed paper, it was Taryn’s resume. He saw ‘Marketing’ listed as one of her key skills. Was she really a marketing protege or had that been a lie too? It was probably true. It definitely made sense. She had marketed herself very well. Was Jack in on it too? Maybe she had deceived him too, or maybe he just really needed to help a friend who happened to be his future sister-in-law. If she could help turn things around at Cherry Street and save everyone their jobs, it might be worth keeping her around. They would have to clear the air first. That was not a conversation
he looked forward to having, but he couldn’t keep deceiving her. If they were able to turn Cherry Street around then he could still tell Lang the truth—and maybe help salvage the new year for everyone who worked there. His stomach flipped. The stakes were ridiculously high, but nothing worth doing ever comes easy.
He smirked at the memory of how her face flushed when she thought he was going to ask them to leave the first day he’d met her. She didn’t deserve to be kicked out then anymore than she did in that moment. He knew she was stronger than she let on and anyone that strong was bound to have secrets. He had a few of his own. A fact that he was less than proud of, but still a fact. Heck, she might have even been stronger than she believed she was. Anyone who could stand up to Chef Chris the way she did was certainly forged by fire. She had obviously been through a lot. “That’s none of my business,” he chided himself under his breath and pressed the play button on the still annoying baker who clearly had too much time on his hands because this video was tutorial one-thousand-eighty-seven, and he had only started the channel a little over a year ago. “If I can learn to bake then nothing is impossible and there might be hope yet,” he told the baker behind the screen.
It was shaping up to be Cherry Street’s busiest night of the month. James had wanted to confront Taryn when she returned from her late lunch break and tell her the plan, but with the rush of dinner guests it just hadn’t been possible—yet. Taryn fumbled with the tray of dishes as she helped clear tables and get them ready for the next round of dinner guests. He was certain the tray was going to topple over and every dish would come crashing to the ground, but she eventually made it back to the swinging doors and disappeared into the kitchen. She was trying. He had to give her that much. It couldn’t be easy to walk into a fast paced restaurant with no experience and just jump into the middle of everything, yet that’s exactly what she did. She clearly did need this job and the more he had watched her through the rest of her shift, he had come to realize that she was struggling to keep her head above water the same as he was. She just did it more gracefully. He wondered if the customers even noticed. He was certain that even if he hadn’t been so busy and preoccupied the first few days he wouldn’t have caught it without hearing the conversation between her and her sister. Taryn’s smile never wavered as she pursed her lips together. Was she struggling to remember the shorthand for orders? She scribbled the orders down on the paper and he noticed that she double checked the cheat sheet stashed beside the order station before she keyed in the items listed on her pad. She even tossed a few papers out and started over, but at least she was focused on getting it right and learning on the fly.