3. Cora
CORA
@MaskedMixer You’re still coming to lunch, right?
@ChefJenn Obviously. I’ve gotten out of bed today just for you, I replied to Jennifer’s Snug message as I climbed up the stairs from the subway station to the street. Not that I could have slept in with the amount of noise you were making this morning.
Jennifer wasn’t just my best friend but also my roomie.
We split a tiny one-bedroom apartment, and though it was tight quarters, with our packed work schedules, we didn’t often get in each other’s way.
Plus, I wasn’t really going to complain.
When my ex Levi walked out on me a year ago, I couldn’t afford my own place, and Jennifer had come to my rescue.
@MaskedMixer Sorry. Had to make sure you weren’t going to blow me off.
@ChefJenn When do I ever? I’m like fifteen minutes away.
@Masked Mixer Good.
@ChefJenn Is that smoothie woman still coming?
Jennifer responded with a laughing crying emoji. @MaskedMixer Her name is Allie.
@ChefJenn How was I supposed to know? You said you met her at the smoothie bar.
@MaskedMixer No, at the gym. Then we had smoothies. She’s super cool. So can you try not to call her smoothie woman when I introduce you two?
@ChefJenn No promises.
An eye-rolling emoji followed, but I knew her well enough to know I’d made her laugh again. Work had been stressing her lately, and I considered it my responsibility to cheer her up whenever I could. Especially on a day like today, when she might have lined up an important gig for me.
For all my pretending, I knew exactly how Jenn and Allie had met.
They’d gone for post-workout smoothies, and apparently Jennifer had made a one-off comment about how the Masked Mixer could have easily whipped up a better drink, which led to Allie mentioning an exciting job opportunity for me.
I was cautiously hopeful. After my disastrous run-in with Aiden the previous night, I could use some good news.
I rounded the end of the next block, spotting the green canopy over the door of Eastfield Eatery.
It was quite a step up from Clive’s, the dingy restaurant where she and I had both worked five years ago—me behind the bar and her in the kitchen.
It was how we’d met. I was glad she’d moved up in the world, getting to show off her amazing chef skills at a place that was actually worthy of her.
“Cora!” Jennifer called, waving me across the restaurant to our usual table. There were fresh cut flowers on every table and abstract artwork adorning the walls.
“How’s work?” I asked, sitting down.
“Same old. The new menu items launch tomorrow.”
“Exciting.”
She shrugged, indifferent. “You should order the bacon, brie, and cranberry panini if you’re hungry.”
I glanced over the menu. “I don’t see that on here.”
“I know. I want to put the kitchen on the spot. Make sure they’re ready for tomorrow.”
“Well, that sounds delicious. You know how much I love cheese.”
Her eyes darted to the door, and she raised her hand, smiling. “Allie, hi!”
The woman walked across the restaurant with a brisk, purposeful stride and parked herself in the seat next to Jennifer. She had a French bob, multiple ear piercings, and a tattoo of a dragon crawling up her forearm. I felt markedly less cool every second I spent looking at her. “Not late, am I?”
“Not at all,” Jennifer said, gesturing between us to make the introductions. “Cora just arrived too.”
“So this is the Masked Mixer?” Allie reached for my hand. “Alison Barker. Good to meet you.”
“Cora Newport.”
“Thanks for taking this meeting. I realize I sort of put Jennifer on the spot, and I’m exploiting your friendship a little here.”
I grinned. I liked her honesty.
“But when Jennifer told me she knew the Masked Mixer, I had to shoot my shot, as they say.”
“Well, I admire that.”
“And since you turned up, the friendship exploitation clearly worked.”
I chuckled. “Oh, I’m totally making Jenn pay for lunch to make up for revealing my alter ego.”
“That sounds fair to me,” Allie said.
“Umm…” Jennifer cut in. “Jenn can hear you both, you know.”
I smirked at her. “Does Jenn really have time to laze around eavesdropping on us instead of getting back to work in the kitchen?”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Jenn would like to suggest everyone stop referring to her in the third person starting…now. And with that, I am going back to work. Good to see you, Allie.”
“You too.” Allie flashed her a warm smile. “Thanks again for this.”
As soon as Jenn stepped away, a waiter came and took our drink orders, but then it was just us. I turned back to Allie. “Should we get down to the Masked Mixer business? Jennifer said something about a job opportunity you wanted to discuss.”
“Yes,” Allie said, rooting around in her bag for some paperwork. “I’m sure you’ve figured out I’m in the alcohol business.”
“Wait, what?” I said, teasing. “You’re not here to talk to me about my stellar fashion? I thought we were launching Masked Mixer merch.”
Allie laughed. “Branded Masked Mixer masks,” she said in a deep voice. “Coming to a store near you.”
“While quantities last.”
“Why is that kind of a brilliant idea?”
I snorted. “I don’t actually think anyone wants to spend money on a little eye mask.”
“What are you talking about? You’re giving the people what they want. The ability to live out their superhero dreams.”
“Some of them might be supervillains,” I said.
“I would so be a villain.” She found what she was looking for, laying the papers on the table. “Right. So, the company I work for is looking for an expert in drinks. And I think you’re that person.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “I’ve been a big fan of your videos ever since you first came on the scene. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big Long Island Iced Tea girl, and I was obsessed with your cherry Coke twist.”
“How obsessed?”
She laughed. “I think I was drunk the entire summer. That’s how much I liked it.”
“That’s a really old video,” I said, impressed. She really was a fan. “So, which company are we talking about?”
Allie gave me an apologetic smile. “This is where the business part comes in. I can’t say more about what we’re looking for until you sign an NDA.
” She passed the papers across the table to me.
“Not that I don’t trust you. But of course, we’ve only just met, and, you know, it’s just technicalities. ”
I skimmed over the NDA. My eyes caught on a word that turned my stomach like sour wine. “Wait. You work for Elixir?”
“Yes,” Allie said. “And I’d really like you to work with us too.” She tapped the bottom of the NDA where I had to sign.
Jennifer clearly had no idea Allie worked for Elixir or else she never would have suggested this meeting. Of all the drink companies in the world, of all the opportunities, why did this one keep knocking?
“Before you say anything else,” Allie said, “I just want you to know that I saw the video of you and Aiden at the bar last night. I know things didn’t exactly go well during your first meeting. But I still believe you’re the right person for this job, and I’m hoping we can talk things through.”
Clearly, the universe hadn’t gotten the message that Elixir and I were a no-go, which was really too bad because I liked Allie a lot so far.
“Look, Allie, you seem really cool, I just don’t think—”
“Signing the NDA doesn’t commit you to anything,” she tried to assure me. “It just lets us speak more freely so I can make the full offer.” She passed me a pen. “You came all the way here. At least hear me out?”
I didn’t want to hear her out.
“Elixir’s a really great place to work,” she said.
“I’m serious. This isn’t just me trying to sway you or spout bullshit about a company.
The pay’s good. So are the benefits. But it’s the collaborative work culture I think you’ll enjoy the most. I started there right out of college and haven’t even been tempted to look elsewhere. ”
A place with an obnoxious fool for a CEO, I reminded myself. Hard pass.
“Plus, I know you’re gonna be really stoked about this opportunity. From everything I’ve seen on your socials, I can tell it’s a good fit.”
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little interested in what this opportunity might be.
“Seriously,” she said. “There’s no pressure. Signing just means everything we talk about stays between us for legal reasons.”
I sighed. I supposed it wouldn’t hurt if I just listened to what Allie had to say. I scribbled my name along the signature line at the bottom of the NDA.
“Excellent,” Allie said. She signed the witness line, then placed the NDA back into her bag. “So,” she rubbed her hands together, “Elixir is looking to launch a nonalcoholic line of drinks.”
“Nonalcoholic?” I said, confused. “Your whole brand is liquor.” If that’s what they were after, why were they looking at me?
“Yes, but Elixir is looking to expand their brand to cover more of the market, starting with a line of mocktails.”
“You’re aware the Masked Mixer mixes alcoholic drinks, right?”
Allie laughed. “Of course. But you know what tastes good, what flavors work together, and how to come up with combinations no one else has thought of. We’re after someone who’s prepared to curate a unique flavor profile.
Someone who isn’t afraid to experiment and work with bold ingredients.
Ingredients that will set Elixir apart from the others currently on the shelf. ”
Bold ingredients sounded right up my alley. Stop that, I told myself.
“You’d have a lot of creative control,” Allie said. “Again, we’d be looking to you as the expert.”
“Hmm,” I said, reluctantly interested in the idea of creative control until I spotted a horribly familiar face coming toward us. “God, what’s he doing here?”
Allie glanced over her shoulder, smiling and waving. “Perfect timing. I did mention to Aiden that I was taking this meeting, but not that you’re the Masked Mixer. I thought it could be a good chance for the two of you to smooth things over.”
Damnit! I had no interest in smoothing things over.