Of course she does. “I agree, Sue. And it’s not just been me helping you. You’ve helped me so much. This restaurant so much. I couldn’t have convinced Lillie to make half the changes without your support. You’re a huge part of the success we’ve had these past few years.”
“Thank you for saying that. I want to stay, and I want to continue implementing changes, but you said it yourself. We just don’t have the room here.”
“Do you have a plan? Are you asking me something? Just tell me, Sue. We’ve been friends forever. You’re not just an employee around here.”
She inhales deeply and sets her glass down on the counter. “I have an offer from a restaurant opening in the fall. It’s for a sous chef which I don’t really want to be, but it’s full time and I think I need that.”
“I understand. You know if we win, we’ll be able to open up more shifts for you, right?”
She nods, a sad smile playing across her lips. “And that would be great, but you have to win first. More shifts would be great, but as long as you’re head chef, it won’t be full time, will it?”
The point she’s making is valid. A kitchen doesn’t have room for two head chefs. It’s worked well for us so far because she works the two days I’m off. When she’s down there alone, she still has Mama to answer to, but not in the details of running the kitchen. Just like when I’m down there. If we lose Sue though, I’m not sure what we’ll do. Mama can’t pick up those shifts because she’s unwell. I could work every day for a while, but that’s not sustainable.
I rub my hands across my face. “When do you have to let them know? Can you give me until after next month’s competition to try and figure something out?”
“I can.”
So much is depending on winning this competition. I still need to talk to Mama about not being so safe next time. Who knows how she’ll react, but it’s nonnegotiable.
I reach across the counter and squeeze Sue’s hand.
She smiles and squeezes back. “Now that that’s out of the way, how did everything go for the first round?”
I tell her about the competition, the judges, and what we cooked. I even tell her about Mike, but leave all details and thoughts of Knox out of it.
She notices. “Were the Everhearts there at all? Did they drop out?”
I sigh and lean back on my stool. “Unfortunately, no. They had the highest scores.”
She rolls her eyes. “I bet Knox really rubbed that in your face. Was he an asshat the entire time like you always say?”
I think back to our time together. He was…Knox. “Most of the time, but he helped me too.” I relate what happened with the knives.
Sue’s eyebrows shoot into her hairline. “Whoa. Really?”
“Yeah, and I’m glad you’re sitting down for this next bit.” I take a deep breath. “IalmostkissedKnoxandnowthinkabouthimallthetime.” I lay my head on the counter and whimper.
“Wait, what? I think I heard kiss and Knox in the same sentence. Spill.”
“I don’t know what happened, Sue. I was riding high on our win, had a little to drink, and then thought he was opening up to me about his father. Turns out he was being his normal Everheart-self and was just playing me. I don’t regret nearly kissing him though. I almost wish we weren’t interrupted.”
She’s laughing so hard, she has to hold her side. When she can finally catch a breath, she says, “Oh my God, you almost kissed him. Your arch enemy. The man you vowed to hate since the first day you met him.”
“I still hate him. I just don’t hate his body. I definitely hate his face, especially his eyes. Maybe not his lips.” I grin and slap my forehead. “Jeesh, I’m ridiculous. I can’t get him out of my head now. The sad thing is that I think he orchestrated this whole thing. This is how Everhearts operate when they want something. And Knox Everheart wants to win.”
“Oh, honey, you can’t really mean that. I know you two have history, but that’s sinister.”
I’m nodding before she finishes her sentence. “Yeah, now you get it.”
Her alarm goes off and she gets up and lifts her bag. “I’ll see you later. Are you coming down today at all?”
“Yeah, I’m going over to see Mama in a bit, but I’ll probably have dinner tonight. Save me some catfish.”
“Will do.” She waves as she heads out the door leading downstairs.
I sit on the sofa and contemplate everything. Sue’s career situation which leads into the competition because that’s step one of solving all of our troubles. I won’t let Knox soften me or my resolve, but I may have bigger fish to fry to get past the next phase of competition.
I pick up my cell and make the phone call.
*
I focus on the car next to mine in Mama’s driveway. When I called her this morning to let her know I was coming over to see her, she mentioned Daddy was with her. There’s only one reason for Daddy to be here.
His Range Rover is shiny and black and imposing, just like my father. Except Lillie doesn’t have any part of him when he’s trying to inflict his will on her. She’s just as stubborn. Before the restaurant, she supported him in building up his business and followed his lead. She didn’t know anything about technology nor did she have much interest, but that was his business, and she loved him. When she opened Smothered in Love, he tried to bring his gregarious personality into her tiny restaurant and that just didn’t work. He may have been a pioneer in tech, but she knew what she was doing in her place, and that was that.
I knock but use my key to unlock the door.
Daddy comes out of the kitchen wearing jeans and
