“I’m so sorry, let me grab you a napkin.” The tall man in front of her was apologetic and strangely familiar. Emma placed him in an instant.
“Veal parmesan, extra sauce on the side, right?” He’d come in twice for lunch last week—once alone and another time with what Emma guessed were several co-workers.
“Yes! Great memory.” He quickly grabbed a paper napkin from a nearby coffee stand, blotted up the small amount of spilled coffee and then held out his hand and introduced himself. “John Bigley. The accounting firm I work for is a block away, just off Main Street. Guess you could say I’m a regular.”
“I’m Emma. My sisters and I are the new owners of Mimi’s Place and we definitely appreciate our regulars.” He still seemed a bit nervous, so she tried to make him feel at ease. “Don’t worry about the coffee. I only spilled a drop, and it was growing cold, anyway. I’ve been here awhile, and that was actually my third cup. I’m well caffeinated.” She smiled and was glad to see him relax a bit. He was kind of cute if you liked the clean-cut preppy type.
He was about six feet tall and was wearing a pale blue oxford shirt tucked into well-worn jeans. His hair was sandy blonde and very short, as if he’d just had a cut. He was probably about her age, and if she was looking, he was the type she might go for. But of course she wasn’t—looking, that is. And because of that, she wasn’t nearly as nervous as she would have been otherwise.
“Are you sure? I was just heading up to get in line. I’d be happy to pick up a hot cup for you,” he offered.
“No, I’m good, thanks. I’m going to be heading out shortly.” She looked at her watch and sat up in surprise at the time. Several hours had flown by since she’d first arrived at the café and she was due at the restaurant in a half hour. “I didn’t realize how late it was. I have to run.”
“Right. Well, I’ll see you next week, I’m sure.” He went to join the coffee line and Emma gathered up her stuff. She was going to have to race to make it to Mimi’s Place by three and relieve Mandy, who had to pick up the kids. It was a juggling act, but between the three of them, they were managing to make it work, so far.
Paul worked one lunch shift each week to give Jason a day off and also to give himself a night off. He was writing out the daily specials list when Mandy walked into the kitchen and looked around until she saw him and made her way over to him.
“I have something I need to tell you,” she began. She seemed a little nervous.
“What is it?”
“So, my husband, Cory, hired a consultant to come in here a few times and then make some recommendations for how we can improve the business.”
Paul immediately felt defensive. “What’s wrong with the business?”
Mandy hesitated. “Well, have you read over the financials?”
“No, not yet.” They were in a folder with all the other paperwork that he’d been given and he hadn’t really glanced at them. He’d never been a numbers person.
“Well, sales are down and costs are up, and this is what Cory does, evaluate businesses. So, he hired the guy as a gift for all of us.”
Paul still wasn’t sure if he liked the sound of it.
“What kind of changes is he going to want?”
“He’s going to come in a few times to eat, and he’d like to be able to walk around the whole restaurant, including the kitchen, just to see everything. This is all he does, help restaurants reinvent themselves. And it’s all just going to be observations and suggestions. We’ll review everything and then the four of us will decide what, if anything, we want to do.”
“Okay, he can walk around. I suppose it will be interesting to see what he has to say.”
When Emma arrived at the restaurant, Mandy was organizing lunch checks at the front desk. She looked up and smiled when she saw her sister.
“Thanks for agreeing to come in a bit earlier. Brooke is starting a new dance class today.”
“No problem. How was lunch? Was it busy?” Emma glanced around the nearly empty dining room, which wasn’t really a good indicator as it was in between lunch and dinner.
“It actually wasn’t too bad. We had a bit of a rush earlier. Gary experimented with putting a sign outside listing the day’s specials. So it may have been that, or just warmer than usual weather. You never know, right?” Mandy left a moment later, and Emma poked her head in the kitchen to say hello to Paul.
“I heard your lunch specials were a big hit,” Emma said as she helped herself to a roll and butter.
“We’ll see how they do tonight. That will be the real test.” Paul said, but he was smiling and Emma could tell he was pleased. “We’re also adding a butternut squash tortelloni with toasted walnuts, prosciutto and a cream sauce with a little gorgonzola.”
“Yum.” Emma bit into her roll and then her stomach did a giddy dance as Paul pushed a small dish of the pasta special towards her.
“I really shouldn’t,” she protested lamely as her fork dug into the creamy sauce. As anticipated, the contrast of flavors and textures was delicious.
“Now you can sell it to the customers.”
And she did. Emma loved when she was asked what was good and what she’d recommend. She didn’t hesitate to give her honest opinion. If there was a dish she loved, she raved about it. If there was one she was less crazy about such as the surf and turf, which in her opinion had a too small and thin steak, she’d truthfully say something like, “It’s an excellent steak, but if you’re very hungry, it’s not an oversized portion. You might enjoy the New York strip instead.”
As it happened, she said exactly that when Mandy’s consultant came in again and insisted on ordering the surf and turf anyway, along with the steak she did recommend and the pasta special. By now most of the employees knew he was some kind of consultant and since no one knew what he was likely to suggest changing, they all still treated him as if he were a food critic, walking on eggshells to make sure everything went as smoothly as it possibly could. He stayed for several hours, didn’t bother to take his leftovers home and, after eating, spent a bit of time in the kitchen, observing quietly and browsing through the walk-in refrigerator and oversized pantry area.
He finished up with a draft beer at the bar and must have written at least a dozen or so pages of notes. Emma knew he was there to help them, but she still couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous herself, especially if one of his suggestions was to trim the staff. She wanted to make sure that the positive work environment that Grams had been so proud of stayed intact.
At the end of the night, when most of the staff had left, Emma joined Gary and Paul at the bar for an after-shift drink. Talk turned to the consultant as both Gary and Paul were curious about him.
“What did he think of the food?” Paul asked.
“He seemed to like everything, but I think he liked the pasta the best. It was the only meal he finished.”
Paul smiled. “That’s good to hear.”
Gary’s phone buzzed, and he glanced down at a text message and frowned.
“I have to run. Maria needs me to stop at the store on the way home. I’ll catch up with you both later.” He took a big sip of his beer, then dumped the rest of it in the sink and headed out.
Paul sipped his Jack and Coke and looked at Emma thoughtfully.
“So, how is it going? This has to be a huge change for all of you.”
Emma nodded. “It is. It’s probably the most challenging for Jill, as she still has her business going in New York and is trying to juggle that during the day. For Mandy and me, it’s actually a godsend. We both needed something new. I love the fast pace. And during the day, I can still do some of my photography.”
“I didn’t know you were into photography? Did you do that full-time?”
“No. I was a teacher in Arizona. I always did photography on the side. I actually had an idea for how I might be able to tie it into the restaurant.” She told him about her website and food blog. “What do you think of me taking some pictures of you and you
r signature dishes and maybe sharing a recipe or two on the blog? I could link it to social media like Instagram and Facebook. It might be a way to help get the word out.”
Paul looked intrigued. “I like it. Let me think of what might be a good dish to start with and you can pop by to take some pictures. Do you like to cook too?”
“I do. Just as a hobby, though. The thought of doing it for hundreds of people like you do is intimidating. I never knew you wanted to be a chef. I thought you might go into the family business after college.” Paul’s family ran a clothing store on Main Street. He made a face at the thought.
“I hate retail. I sort of fell into restaurant work. After graduating from college, I spent the summer working in the kitchen at The Straight Wharf. It was just supposed to be temporary, but I fell in love with it and decided to go to culinary school. That’s where I met Patsy and a year later, we were married.”
“That was fast.” Emma knew he’d married but didn’t know the history of it.
“We probably never should have gotten married,” Paul admitted. “We’re very different. Patsy is loud and passionate and the life of the party. She was fun to be around. When she got pregnant, it seemed like the thing to do.”
Emma was surprised. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had children.”
“I don’t. She miscarried a month after we got married. It became apparent not too long after we started the restaurant together that we weren’t well suited. Patsy was somewhat difficult to work with. I’m sure I was too. It just wasn’t a good match.”
“I’m sorry that didn’t work out. Divorce is hard.”
“Yeah, it is. It was a long time ago for me though.” He grinned. “I’m over it now. I’m sorry that you are going through it. You were married a lot longer than I was.”
Emma sighed. “Almost fifteen years. And I thought we were happy. Well, happy enough. Looking back now I realize we were probably more like roommates, but we were always great friends.”
Paul opened his mouth as if he was going to ask a question, but then thought better of it and took a sip of his drink instead. She guessed he’d been about to ask why they got divorced.
“He left me for another man. Can you believe it? His best friend from college. I had no idea, none. I think I’m still a little bit in shock.”
Paul set his drink and met Emma’s gaze. “Em, I am so sorry. Jeez. I can’t imagine.”
“I know, right? How could I not have known?” She explained how they’d reconnected when Tom took a job in town. “He said they’d experimented in college but realized it was more than that when they saw each other again.”
“So, how are you doing? That must be difficult to process.”
Emma laughed. “That’s an understatement. It makes you question everything. In a weird way, I suppose it’s a little better than if it had been another woman? I don’t know. I’ll just say I’m in no hurry to get into another relationship any time soon.”
Paul nodded. “I bet. It was close to a year before I dated after the divorce.”
Emma wondered if there was anyone serious in his life now. She noticed there was no ring on his finger, but knew that some people didn’t always wear their rings when they worked with their hands.
He must have seen the question on her face. “I still don’t date much. Nothing serious anyway. It’s hard with the hours I work. I have a cat though. He’s good company.”
Emma smiled. She remembered that Paul had always loved animals.
“I’m tempted to get a cat too. I’ll have to run that by Jill as we’re both staying at my grandmother’s place.”
“If you do decide to get one, let me know. I can give you the name of the shelter I went to.”
“I’ll do that.” Emma glanced at the clock as she tried to hold back a yawn. She was enjoying catching up with Paul, but it had been a long day. “I should probably get going. I didn’t realize how late it was.”
Paul took the last sip of his drink. “Same here. I’ll walk you out.”
Mandy pulled into her driveway at a little past five. As the garage door opened, she was surprised to see Cory’s car already there. He was rarely home from work this early.
“Kids, go get changed and start your homework,” she said as they walked through the door. “I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”
Mandy hung her coat up and headed into the kitchen. The house was silent except for the sounds of the children as they ran upstairs. The door to the downstairs study/office was open a crack and Mandy was thinking the room was empty as it was so quiet, and that Cory must be up in his bedroom. But then she heard a familiar chuckle and his voice, but he was talking so softly that she couldn’t make out any words. She poked her head in the door and when Cory turned, she waved hello.
“Excuse me,” he said to whoever was on the phone, and looked up at Mandy. “I’ll be off in a minute.” He seemed annoyed at the interruption.
“Take your time. I just wanted to say hello and that dinner will be in about a half hour.” Without waiting for a reply, she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her. He was so grouchy lately.
She got busy in the kitchen, heating up leftover spaghetti sauce and meatballs and putting a pot of water on the stove to boil the pasta. Once the spaghetti was ready, she fixed plates for the kids and for herself and Cory, and set everything on the table, along with butter and a loaf of soft Italian bread.
She called upstairs to the kids when dinner was ready and knocked softly on the door to Cory’s office. A few minutes later, they were all gathered around the table and had a nice family meal. Brooke excitedly told Cory about her new dance class and Blake announced that he’d made an A on his math test earlier that day. Mandy relaxed and dug into her pasta. Once everyone finished and the kids had bolted from the table, Mandy poured herself a small glass of red wine and offered some to Cory.
“No, thanks. I need to get back to work for a few more hours. That will just put me to sleep.”
“I thought it was odd that you were home so early. I should have known you weren’t done working.”
“There was too much commotion at the office, construction on the floor above us. I’ve actually been home since noon, just working from here.”
“You work too much,” Mandy began. “Isn’t it time that you hired someone that can take on some of the stuff that bogs you down?”
Cory ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “We were just talking about that this morning. Both of us are feeling burnt out and agreed that we need to delegate more. Soon, though. I’m actually heading out to a conference next week for a few days and might do some informal recruiting there, to get the word out.”
“What kind of conference?” Cory had never gone to a conference before, so it was a bit of a surprise.
“It’s an industry networking and strategy brainstorming kind of thing. It was recommended by my old boss at BBH and I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to have a few days ‘off’ so to speak.”
“Will you close the office then? How will you manage?” Mandy wondered out loud.
“We’re not both going. Patrick will hold down the fort for a few days and I’ll fill him in on everything I learn when I get back. Plus, it’s in Vegas.” His smile reminded Mandy of an excited little boy. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”
Chapter 11
Jill ordered a glass of chardonnay as soon as the flight attendant came through the cabin. She’d worked the lunch shift that afternoon, then quickly showered and changed and raced to make a five-thirty flight. She was meeting Billy for dinner and spending the next day at the office. Fridays were usually a quieter day, and Jill knew that her presence would hopefully kick things up a notch. The JetBlue flight from Nantucket to New York was just over an hour and she was looking forward to relaxing and calming her nerves.
She was actually nervous about seeing Billy, which was ridiculous since they were so close, but her new feelings for him were confusing and exciting and terrif
ying all at once. Billy had never really given her ‘that vibe’ before, the one you get when you know a guy is interested, but she would have thought it strange if he had, given that they were such good friends and business partners. She’d never given him the slightest inclination of interest either, so she knew she had to do this carefully, to test the waters first.
She actually thought it might help that she was working in Nantucket for a while. Having some distance from Billy and the day-to-day environment of the office would give her some privacy and also the necessary time to sort out her feelings. She also hoped that Billy might miss her being around and perhaps be open to seeing things in a new light. The first step in her plan was going to take place that night. She was meeting him for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, Rosa Mexicana, at the Upper East Side location. The restaurant was dark and cozy, and the upscale Mexican food was delicious.
Jill wore her favorite dress. It was a deep ruby red and flattering with a form-fitting cut that was a bit shorter than usual and showed off her legs, and she was wearing a pair of very cute high heels. She’d blown her hair dry just before leaving for the airport and it fell in fluffy, layered waves just past her shoulders. She’d kept her makeup light, just a coat of rich black mascara to make her lashes lush and her eyes pop, and her favorite glossy rose lipstick that had magic lip plumping abilities. She wanted Billy to notice her in a new way tonight.
Jill took the last sip of her wine as the plane started its descent. Within minutes they were on the ground and after jumping in a cab, she was at the restaurant right on time. Billy was already there, waiting for her at the bar.
“Hello, gorgeous!” He pulled her in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Have a seat and a margarita. I think we have a few more minutes until our table is ready.”
Jill settled herself in the seat next to Billy and took her coat off. When he saw her dress, Billy whistled softly and said, “You look fantastic. Nantucket seems to be agreeing with you.”
The Restaurant Page 8