“Jack? Jack, are you listening?”
Jack hadn’t even realized Ruthie was standing in front of him trying to get his attention. He sat at his desk, cigarette in hand. He’d been going over the books and found out he was in deeper trouble than he’d imagined. It seemed like the more he tried to save money, the more he spent. With the supplies for Eden’s garden, the clothes he bought her, and the places they’d gone, he was only getting himself deeper in debt. When he added up the bills from the restaurant, he knew he’d never be able to make ends meet.
“What is it, Ruthie? I’m busy.” All he wanted was to escape from his worries for a while, and for everyone to just leave him alone to think.
“There’s a woman here to see you. I think she’s a reporter or a food critic or something like that.”
Oh, hell, that was just what he needed. More bad publicity for The Golden Talon. In his mind, Jack had no idea how things could get any worse.
“What does she want?” he asked Ruthie.
“She said something about doing a special article on our restaurant. She’s been interviewing all the restaurant owners around here and she’s rating them for some kind of entertainment coupon book that’ll be coming out this fall.”
“Great. Just another happy thought to fill my day. Do they have such a thing as a negative star rating?”
“Just go talk to her, Jack. She seems like a nice woman.”
Jack took a deep drag of his cigarette. “Fine,” he said. “Seat her in my usual booth and tell her I’ll be out in a minute. Get Alfredo to cook something up and bring it over for her to taste.”
“What do you want Alfredo to make for her?”
“Anything he can’t burn.”
Jack smashed out his cigarette, pushing his ledgers to the side, and headed over to the table. He saw the woman sitting there, surveying the place. She was a woman in her sixties, dressed in a business blazer and skirt, with catlike glasses on her face, and her dark hair pulled back tight in a bun. She looked so finicky that he figured whatever they served, whatever they did, she wasn’t going to like it.
“Hello, I’m Mabel Durnsby, past mayor of Sweetwater, Michigan, and Best of Show, Blue Ribbon winner of my pickles in the county fair.” She extended a hand before Jack could say a word. “I take it you’re Jack Talon, the owner of this restaurant?”
“I am.” Jack shook her hand and slid into the booth across from her.
“Oh, there you are, Mrs. Durnsby,” came a man’s voice. “I had a hell of a time finding a parking spot.” Jack turned to see a man that he’d known for a long time but hadn’t seen in years.
“Levi? Is that you?” asked Jack. “Levi Taylor?”
The man took a double take and a wide grin spread across his face. “Little Jack Talon? Don’t tell me you’re the owner of this restaurant.”
Jack jumped to his feet and pumped the man’s hand. Levi was one of the twelve Taylor brothers. Jack had met Levi at his restaurant, The Big Apple, in Michigan many years ago when he was traveling with his father. Jack was about ten years younger than Levi, and had been impressed at the man’s success and his skill in the kitchen.
“It’s my father’s restaurant but will, hopefully, be mine soon,” Jack explained, and then changed the subject. “I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
“Yeah, I think you were only in high school the last time your father brought you into my restaurant.”
Jack cringed when he said high school, and tried his best to change the subject once more. “So how the heck are you? How is The Big Apple? I’m sure your place has won a Michelin Star or two by now.”
“Uh, no. I mean, I don’t own The Big Apple anymore,” said Levi, seeming uncomfortable.
“Why not?”
“Jail time will do that to a person,” sniffed Mabel from the booth.
“Jail?” Jack looked back at Levi. He couldn’t believe the man he’d admired had ended up behind bars. “What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Levi, glancing over to Mabel and then back to Jack. “The important thing is that I turned my life around. I now own a diner in Sweetwater where I’m also the town’s mayor. Plus, I’m married with a family.”
“Married? I never expected that after the way you used to talk,” said Jack.
“She’s a wonderful woman. Maybe you remember her. She used to have a cable TV cooking show and she was also the host of a restaurant review show on the dining network right here in Chicago. It was called What’s for Dinner?
“I remember that,” said Jack. “Are you telling me you married that hot chick, Candace Marie Kane?”
“Not only that, but she’s the mother of my three children, and we plan on having more.” Levi smiled proudly.
Mabel Durnsby cleared her throat to get Jack’s attention. “Mr. Talon, I’m from the Just Entertainment service. Perhaps you’ve heard of us. We make coupon books.”
“I haven’t,” he said, looking back to Levi.
“It’s a temporary job, and won’t last long,” Levi whispered. “I just gave her a ride here since she doesn’t drive.”
“Levi, please wait for us on the other side of the restaurant and don’t disturb us again,” snapped Mabel.
“That’s gratitude for you,” mumbled Levi. Before he walked away, he leaned over and whispered to Jack. “Ever since I made her the winner of the pickle competition, she thinks she knows all there is about food.”
“So, is she a food reviewer or not?” asked Jack, glancing back to Mabel who was drumming her fingers on the table and looking at her wristwatch.
“Unfortunately, in this case, she is,” Levi said in a low voice. “I don’t envy you, Jack. The woman could find something wrong in a Michelin Five-Star restaurant. She is virtually impossible to please.”
“Thanks,” said Jack with a frustrated sigh. “Just what I needed to hear.”
“All right, good luck.” Levi looked across the room. “Oh, great, you’ve got a bar. I could use a cold brew about now. That was a very long car ride from Sweetwater, and I’m going to need a few drinks before I’m ready to drive her back home.”
Jack turned back to the table, looking at the old bitty, wishing he was going to the bar with Levi. He decided there was nothing he could do to stop this, so he just wanted it over with as soon as possible. “I’ve got a full schedule today, Mrs. Durnsby, so what do you want to know?” He quickly slid back into the booth across from her.
She looked perturbed, but Jack wasn’t sure if it was her normal expression or not. After Levi’s little warning, he wasn’t looking forward to spending two minutes talking to this woman.
“I hear your restaurant is slowly falling apart.” She was blunt and to the point.
Slowly falling apart? Quickly falling apart was more like it, but hell if he’d admit it.
“We’re just experiencing a slight setback,” he told her, faking a smile. “Things will be up to snuff in no time.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” she bit off. “I’ve just been over to The Ruby, and I tell you it’s quite impressive. It’ll be getting the super gold, five-star rating in the report I’m putting together.”
Jack ran a weary hand through his hair. “Well, thank you for filling me in on that tidbit of information.” He looked around for Ruthie. He needed a drink. “Can I get you a drink, Mrs. Durnsby?”
“A drink? At this hour of the day?” she gasped, and wrote something down on her notepad. “No, thank you, I don’t drink while I’m working.”
“Well, I do.” He saw Ruthie eavesdropping from the busser’s station. Since she was making no motion to come to the table, he called to her across the room. “Ruthie. Bring me my usual. No, make it a double.”
“Do you always drink so early in the morning, Mr. Talon?” Mabel Durnsby was looking sternly at him, with her catlike glasses perched on her nose. She reminded him of his freshman English teacher, and he felt his stomach clench.
He felt the need for a cigarette and regrette
d not bringing them with to the table. Then again, since there was no smoking allowed, she’d probably write him up for that, too. “Do you always ask such personal questions? Or are you planning on printing that in your little article as well?” Jack glanced over to the bar and saw Levi raising his frosted mug of beer in a silent salute. Jack just shook his head and looked the other way.
* * *
“What’s going on?” Eden popped her head out the kitchen door when she saw Ruthie, Alfredo, and Nathan standing at the busser’s station watching something intently.
“Shhhh,” whispered Ruthie. “We’re trying to hear what Jack is saying.”
Eden looked toward the booth and saw a woman sitting there with Jack. Neither of them looked too happy.
“Who is she?” asked Eden.
“A reporter of some sort,” said Ruthie, straining her ears to hear more. “She’s doing a review rating on the restaurant.”
“And Jack is blowing it,” added Nathan. “When he gets done, we’ll be lucky to find ourselves listed at all in that damned book she’s making up.”
“Well, then we’ve got to help him,” said Eden. “We’ve got to make this restaurant special so she’ll remember it.”
“Oh, she’ll remember it,” said Alfredo. “Especially after she tastes my cooking. She looks like someone who needs to be put in her place.”
Eden recognized that tone of voice. Alfredo was intending to do something to sabotage Jack and the restaurant. Well, she couldn’t allow that to happen. She had to do something to help Jack.
“Alfredo, you’re not going to cook her anything at all,” announced Eden.
“That’s the spirit,” Alfredo cheered her on. “Let her go hungry. I like it.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. What I’m saying is that I’m going to make her something to eat, instead of you.”
“You?” Alfredo laughed. “You’re going to cook for the old prune?”
“You’re damned right,” Eden said, surprising even herself at her use of profanity. Hanging around Jack, she was picking up some undesirable habits. “And that’s not all. Because all of you are going to help me.”
* * *
Jack was getting impatient waiting for that drink. Ruthie seemed to have disappeared, and he was about ready to get up and pour it himself. Mrs. Durnsby’s nosy questions were making him edgy, and he couldn’t wait until she left. If she kept up with her insults, he swore he’d see to the task personally.
“Service seems slow,” she noted, writing on her notepad. “And I don’t see many customers for so near the noon hour.”
“We get a later lunch crowd around here,” he lied. “Our customers are unique.”
Ruthie walked up with drinks in her hand, and Jack was thankful she’d finally thought to show up. He grabbed the cup of golden liquor from her tray wondering, why she was serving bourbon in a teacup. He figured Eddie was late for work again and they probably didn’t have any clean glasses. He downed a swig to try to calm his nerves, almost gagging on the hot contents. He would have spit it out hadn’t the old gossip been sitting across from him.
“Ruthie, I wanted a bourbon. What the hell is this?”
“It’s called mate. MAH-tay,” she pronounced the word slow and loud as she gave a cup of it to Mrs. Durnsby. It’s a Peruvian herbal tea. We don’t serve liquor before noon.”
“Since when?” snapped Jack, eyeing up Levi across the room, enjoying his cold beer. He wasn’t sure what was going on around there.
“I like that rule,” said Mabel as she blew on the contents, taking a little sip of the tea. She licked her lips and nodded her head. “It’s delicious. I’ve never heard of this before. When did you started serving imported teas?” she asked Jack.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Jack mumbled, looking over at Ruthie. She gave him a scolding glance, her mouth pursed, and her jaw actually still for a change. It was then that he realized she wasn’t chomping on a wad of gum.
Next, Tisha walked up, balancing a tray in one hand, resting partially on her huge belly. She set a cold plate of ceviche in front of them along with two small plates.
“Oh, my. What is this interesting-looking dish?” Mabel asked Jack, adjusting her glasses as she eyed up the squid and baby octopus on the platter.
“That’s ceviche,” Jack told her, using his fork to scoop some onto his plate. “It’s wonderful, that much I can vouch for. Unless you’re opposed to octopus so early in the morning?” He looked at her daringly, holding a dangling octopus leg up on his fork. He then stuck the whole thing in his mouth and watched her eyes bulge out in surprise.
“Of course not,” she said, picking a piece off the plate with her fork, acting a little leery of trying it. “I like ethnic food. Is this Peruvian as well?”
“It is,” said Tisha, bending sideways so her large belly wouldn’t get in the way when she set down the two bowls of soup that came next.
“Mmmmm,” said Mabel, swallowing and smacking her lips together. “I never thought I’d like it. That was delicious. I can’t wait to taste the soup next.” She wrote something else on her notepad. “Now what is this called?” She picked up her spoon and stirred the contents. The steam rose up and fogged her glasses, so she took them off and laid them on the table, looking quite different from the stern old bitty who had first entered.
“Almuerzo is like a potato broth,” explained Tisha. “And your main dish will be up shortly.” She and Ruthie left the table with smiles on their faces – something Jack hadn’t seen often when they served customers.
What was happening here? Who was making all these changes, and how the hell was Alfredo cooking up Peruvian food that tasted like heaven? Eden had to be behind this. He looked over to the busser’s stand and caught a glimpse of Eden peeking out from behind the coffee machine. Her eyes met his and their gazes interlocked. She looked scared and unsure of herself. He wanted more than anything to tell her he liked her idea, but couldn’t walk away from the table right now. Mrs. Durnsby seemed to feel favorably about the changes, and Jack rather liked them himself. It was what the restaurant needed. New life. New blood. Change. Eden.
He flashed Eden a quick smile, wanting to throw her a kiss, but her face disappeared from sight. A moment later, he saw the rim of her baseball cap over the top of the coffee machine as she disappeared into the kitchen.
Perhaps, he’d have to keep Eden around for a while longer. Maybe he wouldn’t send her home so soon after all.
* * *
“So how did it go?” Ruthie asked Jack as he pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen a half-hour later.
Eden stood behind the cook’s station with Alfredo and Rafael at her side. She was nervous, and Jack’s face was so solemn that she didn’t know what to think. Had she made an impression on the woman, or did she just make more trouble for Jack?
“Eden, I want to see you in my office right now.” Jack left the kitchen with the door swinging behind him.
“Uh oh. He’s mad,” said Tisha. “I’d know that look anywhere. Well, I’m going to go check on the kids outside. I don’t want them within shouting distance of him when he starts his cussing.” She wiped her hands on her apron and headed outside.
Eden’s face fell as she slowly made her way to the door. She shouldn’t have messed with the reviewer. Maybe she just should have minded her own business. Tomorrow’s headlines were going to be slander about The Golden Talon again, she just knew it.
“Don’t look so glum, Sweetie.” Ruthie popped a piece of gum into her mouth and flipped the wrapper into the garbage. “You did your best. We all did. And I’ll be danged, but I could have swore that woman liked her meal.”
“I don’t think Jack is happy with me, Ruthie. I should have minded my own business.”
“Your business is Jack, Hon. What he needs is a good woman behind him, but he is too thick-headed to admit it. You just go in there and stand up for what you believe. Don’t let Jack tell you anything you don’t want to hear. I
think you were wonderful.”
“Thanks, Ruthie.” Eden made her way to the office, not at all confident after Ruthie’s little pep talk. She didn’t want to face Jack now and wished she had her montera on her head instead of the small baseball cap Jack had bought her.
She walked up to the office entrance and stopped when she heard Nathan and Jack conversing in low voices. Then Jack cleared his throat, and Nathan gathered up the books and left.
“Come in, Eden,” Jack said and walked around his desk.
She entered slowly, pulling the brim of the baseball cap lower over her eyes.
“Did you want to see me?” she asked.
“I do. Eden, what you did was out of line. No one goes over my head and makes changes to the menu without asking me first. Especially not when a reviewer is the one eating the food.” He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest.
Eden knew she should apologize, but remembered what Ruthie told her. She should stick up for what she believed, and she did nothing wrong. “I was only trying to help you, Jack. And if you’d just give me a second to explain I’d –”
Her words were cut off as Jack pulled her into his arms, ripping off her hat and throwing it across the room. The next moment, he had her face cupped in his hands and was plastering a huge kiss on her mouth.
“You were saying?” he asked, looking her in the eyes.
Eden was too dumbfounded to continue. “I – I don’t understand, Jack. I thought you were angry with me.”
“Not at all. You were brilliant, Eden. Mrs. Durnsby loved the idea of Peruvian food in Chicago, and she’s giving us the highest rating, right up there with The Ruby.”
“She is?” Eden couldn’t believe it. Maybe what she did wasn’t so bad after all. Hopefully, now Jack’s luck would be changing.
Bistro Bachelor: Working Man Series - Book 2 Page 14