I decided to let my reservations about my past slip away. Max was a friend. A friend I could trust.
“Lena and Abby both graduated from Brown.”
Max’s eyebrows arch across his forehead. “You mean the one in Rhode Island?”
“Yeah, that’s where I’m from. Providence.”
“Huh.” Max closes his mouth and frowns in thought. “You must have a smart wife then, Logan. However do you keep up with a woman smarter than you are?”
I roll my eyes. “Shut up.”
“Anyway, do you know if she has a boyfriend?” He smirks.
“I don’t think so. You know, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her with a boyfriend.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to find out when we have dinner Sunday night.” Max rubs his hands together in excitement. He’s acting as if he hasn’t been on a date with a woman in years when in reality, it’s probably only been a week.
If I didn’t already know the kind of man Max truly is, I would think he’s an asshole. But there are more times than not where he’s shown me he’s one of the most honest, genuine people I’ve ever met.
“So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Max leans back in his seat, placing his phone face down on his desk. The only time he ever puts his phone away is when he’s discussing business. I’m thankful for his change of subject because it allows us to move on from our conversation about Abby and distracts me from my thoughts about Lena.
“Oh yeah.” I lean forward in my chair, peeking out through the open office door, hoping Natalie has actually gone home. When I don’t see her, I sit back and share my concerns with Max.
“I’m not so sure Natalie is right for the sous chef position.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, for one, when I was working with her on prep today, she wasn’t watching how I was slicing the ingredients or packaging them.”
“What do you mean she wasn’t watching you?” Max’s eyes thin to small slits, confused with where I’m going with the conversation. I sigh, knowing I can’t be vague with Max. He needs details.
“It was like every time I would show her, I’d look up to her just staring at me.”
“Staring at you?” His question comes out laced with humor.
“I’m not kidding.” I place my hand on my desk, shaking my head. “I know you think it’s funny but I’m serious. It was weird. Then I’d ask her to explain to me what I’d just shown her and she’d completely blank. She looked like a deer in headlights. I had to explain everything to her at least three times before she actually understood and did it correctly.”
“Hhmm.” Max rubs his chin, thinking. “I’m surprised because when I interviewed her and she took her skills test, she was excellent.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
“Well, I know I’m pretty particular on who I hire and since I’ve seen Natalie’s skills in the kitchen, I think she deserves another chance. Maybe she was having an off day.”
“Okay.” I’m surprised Max isn’t as concerned as I am about Natalie’s performance so far. I’ve seen him fire chefs for simply putting the wrong kind of salt on a dish before.
“I know you’re probably surprised that I’m giving her another chance,” he deadpans, as if he can read my mind. He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he continues. “We really need her help, Logan. Like I said, I know she has what it takes, and I need someone with her skills to run the restaurant when you and I can’t be here. Especially since our reservations have gone up seventy-five percent in the past three months and with the fundraiser coming up with Gavin in just a couple of months, I need you and you need her. It’s as simple as that.”
“I understand.” I nod, agreeing. I know Max is right. He wants his restaurant to succeed, it won’t happen if he’s firing sous chefs left and right.
“Good.” Max picks up his phone, signaling he’s done talking business. But not before he adds one more detail. “Because I’m going to need you to come in every night this week and close with Natalie.”
“You’re kidding?” I scoff.
He shakes his head. “Nope. We have several meetings with Gavin starting in two weeks and I need you there. I need to trust her to close and I know you can teach her.”
“Okay.” I swallow. I’m not sure what it is but a part of me wonders how I’m going to figure out what’s going on between me and Lena when I’m stuck here every night training Natalie.
After my talk with Max, I texted Lena to let her know I was stopping by the store to grab a few ingredients for dinner before I was headed home.
She’d texted me back almost immediately, but I couldn’t help how her response only furthered my confusion. She’d only sent one word. Okay.
It was unlike Lena to text single words. If she did, she usually followed them up with some kind of emoji. The kissing face. The surprised face. Sometimes even an eggplant, which I always found hilarious.
Either way, Lena’s lack of communication had me slightly worried. The only part that put me at ease was how she had messaged me back almost immediately. That meant she was still safe.
I head to the grocery store, making sure to remove my chef jacket before going in, revealing the black T-shirt I’ve been wearing underneath. The thunderstorm that had passed this afternoon left a lingering heavy moisture in the air. My lungs inflate with the humid air as I jog into the store, splashing into a deep puddle on my way in. My shoe squeaks against the tile as I head straight for the produce aisle. I stop in front of the herbs, filtering through which one’s I’ll need to make dinner.
“Before I went
