“More than some,” Beth said. “It’s not that hard to get the garnishes done on time and plated to get out. She’s had to redo a lot of simple items tonight.”

  She heard a snort from the back coming from Zeke. “Anything you want to add to this, Zeke?”

  “Just that some people get all high and mighty and like to push others around,” Zeke said.

  She moved to the back of the kitchen. “Care to explain that?”

  “Funny how you’ve found a voice in this position,” Zeke said while he was cooking. “Good for you.”

  She knew it wasn’t an insult. “I was hired to do a job and I’m doing it. I can’t do it properly if I don’t know what is going on.”

  “Beth likes to get on her high horse. Michele isn’t making nearly the mistakes that Beth says she is, but she’s making her redo things and it makes me refire as other dishes are cold and can’t be served.”

  “Why aren’t you speaking up?” she asked. “It’s wasteful and you know it.”

  “I’m just doing my job and trying to keep up with the orders.” Zeke lowered his voice. “Beth has a thing for Duke. She is always flirting with him and because she was asked to train the new line cook by him, she seems to think he’s given her some kind of authority.”

  She’d had no clue that Beth was flirting with Duke. She’d heard lots of the staff talk about Duke before. It was hard not to with the big presence he had, but knowing someone was flirting with her boyfriend wasn’t making her feel any better.

  Some of it was on her though. She didn’t want anyone to know she was dating Duke. It’s not like tonight was the night to deal with it either.

  “Thank you, Zeke. I want to know if this happens again. I’m going to address it now.” She moved back to where Beth and Michele were working. “Beth, I understand that you want perfection, but there is a scale of something being good, perfect, and needs to be sent back. If it’s good but not perfect, it can go out. It’s the garnish, not the main course.”

  “Did you read up on that? You’re just a server and a home baker. I’m the one with culinary experience and Duke asked me to train Michele. He values my opinion.”

  Though her heart was racing, she had to back up the words that she was hired to do a job and in order to do it, she had to be firm and show her authority.

  “Be that as it may, I’m the manager here, not you. If the chef is telling me that meals are being wasted over garnishes not being ‘perfect’ it’s a cost factor, not only a timing one. We’ve had complaints on the wait times of the food.”

  “I’m sorry,” Michele said. “I’ll do better.”

  “I appreciate that, Michele. I believe you’re doing a great job and keep it up.” She turned to Beth. “But you need to lighten up. One of the tables out there waiting for over forty minutes is Duke’s parents and sister.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Beth said. “We should be told information like that. When I worked at other restaurants, we were told if there was a special table out front. This falls on you and your ability to do your job.”

  She felt her face flush. “No. It’s on you. You’re to treat every customer that comes in here as if it’s Duke’s family. That’s why you don’t need to know. Now get moving on the food and get it out there now. Or do you have any other questions or comments for me?”

  Beth’s face matched the heat in hers. “Heard.”

  She walked back to Zeke. “Table sixteen. Please tell me that is done.”

  “Right here,” Zeke said. “It was one that had to come back.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Beth said the French fries were overdone. They were fine.”

  She rolled her eyes and grabbed the three plates and brought them to Beth and Michele. “Finish this now please so that I can bring them to Duke’s family with our apologies.”

  She stood there while Beth and Michele completed the plates in record time. “Thank you,” Michele said.

  She nodded her head and walked out, saw Heather and nodded her over. “I’m going to bring these, but you can see if they need another drink.”

  “I just got it for them. It’s being filled now,” Heather said.

  “Thank you.” She moved to the table. “Who has what?”

  She passed out the meals. “Thank you, Hadley,” Kelsey said. “Wish I knew what you said back there.”

  “More than I’ve ever said before,” she said, laughing. It was the truth and damn, did it feel so good.

  32

  What You Think

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Hadley asked him on Sunday.

  He was getting dressed to go into Southside today. Hadley was off. She got Sunday and Wednesdays off so that they could have one day a week for each other and then Sunday mornings and afternoons before he went into Duke’s. One day off himself was the most he’d do.

  Today he was going into Southside for the afternoon shift before Zeke came in to relieve him at four. No one knew he made the change last night and Zeke would still get paid for his time even if he wasn’t there yet.

  “It’s my business and I know what is a good idea or not,” he said. He looked at her face and saw her eyes drop down. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be harsh. I’m not happy with what happened on Friday and glad you told me yesterday.”

  His parents had called him shortly after Hadley had. He would have found out either way but was glad that he could rely on Hadley to not only handle the situation well but to also inform him of what happened and how it was resolved.

  She did everything right, but he was showing up because he had to make sure that Beth was aware that he had no interest in her.

  She flirted whenever he was around, but it wasn’t anything other than his gut telling him it was flirting. The way she smiled at him. Looked him over. Got closer than she needed to.

  It wasn’t often her words. She wasn’t an idiot.

  But other people had noticed it and then said something to his girlfriend.

  Not that anyone even knew Hadley was his girlfriend because she was still set on not saying a word.

  Did he understand why she felt that way?

  Yes, he did. She’d gotten some pushback on being put in the management position and he expected that. He thought she would have too and maybe should have talked to her about it more.

  She was handling herself well. He was proud of her.

  But he still had to deal with this situation.

  Beth was being a bully and that wasn’t allowed in his kitchen. He’d even got Zeke’s side of it so he could understand what was going on and not just Hadley’s version.

  Though he trusted her, he knew to get all sides of everything before he made a decision.

  And since Beth and Michele were both on today at the same time, he was hoping to see more of the situation.

  “Of course I’d tell you. I’m new at this position and I want to make sure that I handled it well.”

  “You did. And you know I have no interest in Beth, right?”

  “I know,” she said. “All the women think you’re hot. Some of the men too.”

  “Very funny,” he said.

  “It’s not a lie and you know it.”

  “I only care what you think of me.”

  “You know how I feel.”

  But he didn’t because they hadn’t talked about it once. She knew he cared about her. She kind of said it back but nothing more. If she felt more she was keeping it to herself and there was part of him that knew it might be wise anyway.

  They had to let more people know they were dating first. He had a feeling once that news came out at Southside she’d have more things to deal with than just people thinking she got the job because of her parents.

  That meant he had to do some damage control now and then stand by her when he would finally let others know.

  He was letting her call the shots on this because he knew she never got to call the shots on much in her life.

  “I do,” he said. “You like my body and are jealous of my hair.”

  “Ha ha, Duke,” she said. Her hand went up and grabbed a lock that was hanging on his back. “It is nice and soft. And thick. No frizz at all.”

  “Here we go again,” he said. “All you women are jealous. Maybe it’s because it’s virgin hair. You and Kelsey put all that product in it.”

  “Whatever,” she said, waving her hand.

  “Sorry, I know we were supposed to have the day to ourselves.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I understand. I’m just glad that by putting me in this position I’m able to free up time for us. And it’s helping me with my cake business too.”

  He knew that it was easier on her. As a hostess she didn’t need to go in so early. She’d go in and bake and then leave and return later for the night shift. She also got to have more mornings open to be with him on days she didn’t bake.

  “Speaking of that,” he said. “I know you don’t have room at your house to do the baking there.”

  “For what?” she asked. “I do my cakes there.”

  “No, for Southside’s desserts.”

  “No,” she said. “I don’t have room there. I barely have room for my cakes and am lucky that I don’t keep a lot of food there and can store them in the fridge before delivery.”

  “I thought on days where you only go in for a few hours to bake before returning for a later shift, like Saturdays, that maybe you could stay here on Friday, do the baking here and bring it in when it’s done. You’re still working but don’t have to be there for it.”

  She looked around his kitchen.

  “Maybe,” she said. “You just need the ingredients here. If you’ll let me touch anything. You normally don’t.”

  “I’m willing to make an exception for you,” he said, smirking. “Besides, I’m sure I’ve got most of them, but you work on Fridays and could bring them home with you if you thought of it.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she said.

  “What are you going to do today?” he asked. “Do you have plans?”

  “I’m going to relax. I might go to the beach and take a walk. I could sit in the sun and soak up some rays. I don’t get to do that often.”

  Now was the time to ask this, he supposed. “Labor Day weekend. That Sunday, my cousin Penelope Zale is having a little party. Not a lot of people. Just family.”

  “How many families?” she asked.

  “Penelope and her sister, Emily, their spouses. Griffin, that is Penelope’s husband, so Griffin’s sister, Jennie, and her boyfriend, Alex Bond.”

  “So kind of a double relations there?” she asked.

  “I guess. My parents and Kelsey. Another cousin of ours that works for Kelsey now, Alana Nadar, who is first cousin of Penelope and Emily. Like second or third with us. I lose track. Anyway, Penelope’s parents and that might be it. Not a lot. I’m invited too. I hadn’t decided yet, but I want you to meet more of my family if I go.”

  “When you put it that way it’s hard for me to say no,” she said.

  “Good,” he said. “Now I need to leave. I’m sorry. I’ll drop you off at home.”

  “It’s not a problem. I’m just thrilled to finally get my car back,” she said. “I’ll run some errands and then have the day to myself.”

  He hated that he was losing time with her, but he was going to try to make it up if he could.

  He pulled into Southside and opened the back. He was the first one there and expected no differently. He started to prep for the day and Beth came in next. Her face lit up when she saw him.

  “Hi, Duke. I didn’t know you were working today. Did Zeke call in sick? Sometimes he complains about being here on the weekend, but I don’t mind it.”

  He didn’t care for the fact that Beth was gossiping. More like making shit up. Zeke worked weekends for him all the time and never said a word about it. Most chefs knew that was part of the job.

  “I took a few hours to be here and see how things are going. He’ll be in at four,” he said.

  “Then I’m glad we get to work with you for a few hours,” Beth said. She was smiling all toothy like, her chef coat not on, her T-shirt fitted tight against her curvy body. He wasn’t trying to notice, but it was hard when she knew how to work what she had.

  He couldn’t say she came in like that for him since she had no clue he’d be here, unless she noticed his SUV in the parking lot.

  “I hear service was a little slow on Friday night,” he said.

  “Did Hadley tell you that?” Beth asked with a frown on her face.

  “It’s her job to tell me if there are problems,” he said. “But I didn’t need her to do that when I heard the same story from a few other sources.”

  Beth’s face got a little pink. “You asked me to train Michele and I was. She’s a little slow and made a lot of mistakes. I know you strive for perfection and I was only following your lead there.”

  Though he couldn’t dispute her words, her meaning and his were different. She was being catty and he was being professional.

  “I appreciate that you feel that way, but there is a fine line where service is slowed down and food is wasted, costing the business money. I believe Hadley would have pointed that out to you.”

  “She didn’t,” Beth lied. “Just gave me a hard time about the service being slow. I told her why. It’s not like she would understand. She is just a baker. I mean I know she’s the manager now, but she doesn’t understand the kitchen like we do.”

  He felt his face twist a bit. “She understands just fine,” he said firmly. “She’s the manager. If you are having a problem with someone that you should be training then maybe you’re not training them right either. There could be a lot of reasons and we can get to the bottom of it. But in the future, the service will not be affected by something like what happened on Friday night. Is that clear?”

  “Very clear,” Beth said, her face on fire.

  Beth got to work and so did he. At one Michele came in. There was no need to have them both there when they first opened, but it was picking up now.

  He kept an eye on Michele and noticed that she had a good pace, and though she seemed unsure of herself and nervous, it wasn’t anything horrible.

  When Beth went on a break, he moved over to check on Michele. “How is it going?”

  Michele jumped. “Good. I’ll move faster.”

  “You’re moving just fine. Why did you say that?” he asked.

  Michele looked around as if to check and see if anyone was watching or could hear. “Beth said you’re here watching me and the flow because everything was slowed down on Friday night. I’m sorry about that. I’ll do better.”

  He let out a sigh. Michele was probably in her early forties he was guessing. She was quiet and had a lot of experience as a line cook. She interviewed well and liked where she was at. Some people he knew didn’t strive for more, but if they did their job well and were happy, he only cared about that.

  “That isn’t why I’m here,” he said. “And I’m sorry that was the message that was conveyed to you. Yes, the service was slowed down, but I don’t believe it was your fault.”

  “I’m the one that had to keep making things over,” Michele said.

  She was working while she talked to him. Not many cooked that quickly and though she was nervous, she was checking things over a few times.

  “Not necessary, by the sounds of it,” he said. He saw Beth come back in. “Let Zeke or Hadley know if this continues.”

  “I just want to do my job,” Michele said.

  Michele reminded him of Hadley so much from months ago. Though Hadley was a different person now.

  He knew he couldn’t save everyone, but he was damn well going to try.

  Two more hours went by; he only had an hour before he was set to leave. He turned when the door opened in the back and saw Hadley standing there.

  “Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  She nodded her head for him to come out. “Beth,” he said. “Come back here and take over for a few minutes.”

  Hadley had slipped out before Beth noticed her, but he’d seen the rise of her eyebrows over his tone.

  “Everything okay here?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Why?”

  “I haven’t heard that tone before from you in the kitchen. I’ve heard rumors you could be that way but never experienced it.”

  He sighed. “Sometimes it’s called for. I’m on my last bit of patience right now and trying to figure things out while I work. Why are you here?”

  “As the manager now, all the staff have my cell number. I got a few texts that there was some drama in the back again.”

  “There is no drama,” he said. “Who said that?”

  “It doesn’t matter who. I just wanted to see what was going on. I wasn’t going to see you again for a few days and I’ve got to work tomorrow. Maybe it’s something I should be aware of?”

  “Or you are worried someone got fired?” he asked. Which was on the top of his list right now.

  “I’d like to know if that did happen,” she said. “You were sharp with Beth just now. I’m assuming things aren’t going well.”

  “I don’t like people who gossip and lie. Or exaggerate to make others feel like shit,” he said.

  “Do I want to know what she lied about?” she asked.

  “It’s not important. Trust me, after today she won’t be flirting with me anymore either. I’m sure I’m enemy number one and will be on the top of the list to badmouth.”

  “She’d be stupid to do that,” she said. “You know it.”

  “I don’t know what goes through anyone’s mind. I know how hard it is to get staff and maybe she is banking on that. But I’m not someone to keep anyone on to cause drama in my kitchen. Regardless. I’d rather be short staffed.”

  “I believe that,” she said.

  “Is that really why you stopped over?” he asked. “Or did you just want to get another look at me?”

  “Shhh,” she said. “Don’t talk so loud.”

  He wasn’t going to be bothered by that. “You didn’t say why you were here.”