16
P aetyn leaned against the prep station as Jonathan made the third requested dish. He didn’t give the other man any instructions and took away the recipe guides. Paetyn wanted him to make them from memory, or at least as much of it as he could.
The first two had come out okay. Jonathan had forgotten something for each, and they didn’t taste how they were supposed to. Though they hadn’t tasted bad, their customers would be coming for the authentic dish, not a cheap imitation.
He was doing fine with the third dish so far. He hadn’t added anything unneeded or forgotten something that went into the recipe, but there were still other things to add.
He’d given Jonathan a copy of the recipes he planned to incorporate in the bistro once he found a location he liked. Paetyn wasn’t sure that Jonathan was studying the recipes, but giving him these dishes proved he was. The dishes he’d chosen weren’t easy to remember.
Paetyn glanced at his watch. One to see how long Jonathan had been on the current dish, and two because he had a meeting with his real estate agent to look at two properties. He was searching last night and came across the two buildings. From the pictures, either of them could have been what he was looking for. Though, he’d been set on the original space a few blocks from Erin’s studio. However, at the last minute, the owner decided they didn’t want to sell.
He texted his agent and received a call that morning, saying he’d set up appointments to see them that afternoon.
Jonathan’s dish typically took eighteen minutes, meaning he only had four left. This exercise wasn’t just to test his memory but also his efficiency. His potential was undeniable. Paetyn knew he needed to get comfortable cooking from memory and within the dish timeframe.
When Jonathan finished the dish, Paetyn was impressed that he hadn’t forgotten an ingredient or added an unnecessary one. Once it was plated and the garnish added, Paetyn grabbed a fork and tasted it. Just because he’d added the correct ingredients didn’t always mean the taste would come out right, especially since Jonathan hadn’t tasted as he cooked.
It tasted good, but he knew that wouldn’t always be the case when cooking and not tasting what you were making, especially if he had to make more than one serving at a time.
“It’s good,” Paetyn told him honestly. “But you need to ensure that you taste as you cook. Making a single serving is one thing, but if you get a large table that decides they all want the same thing, you risk it not tasting correctly.”
“Understood,” Jonathan responded.
“Continue to study the recipes, and I don’t think you’ll have a problem once I’ve chosen a location and opened. Before then, I plan on rotating you through the other restaurants soon to give you different kitchen pace experiences.”
Paetyn could see the nervousness settle in Jonathan’s eyes. He knew that Jonathan hadn’t worked in a kitchen outside of the cooking expo, where he’d been allowed to make what he wanted and take his time. The pace would be new to him, but Paetyn didn’t plan on throwing him into his busiest restaurant during the busiest time right away. He would work him up to that.
Putting Jonathan to work in a faster-paced kitchen would make him feel more at ease in the bistro kitchen. It wouldn’t be as large as his other restaurants, and the pace would be more leisurely than where Paetyn would have him train.
“Don’t worry; you’ll be fine. On the first few nights you work, I’ll be the chef in the kitchen with you, and when I hand you over to my executive chefs, you’ll be in good hands.”
Jonathan nodded, seeming at ease with the information he’d just received. Paetyn told Jonathan to pack the rest of the dish to take with him, and they cleaned the kitchen, ensuring everything was back in place when the staff showed up in a couple of hours to prep Aefinity for the evening.
Paetyn entered the house through the garage door. He’d spent the last two hours looking at two potential locations and leaned toward the first. It was in a good place, and a bistro would be on trend with the area’s style. Not only that, it was already primed as a restaurant. However, it seemed that the owner couldn’t get additional funding for the few needed equipment items and tables.
That wouldn’t be an issue for Paetyn, and the current owner was willing to transfer the permits they’d already received, saving him ample time. He already had his staff, which he’d hired when he made an offer on the original building. Once it fell through, instead of laying anyone off, he’d spread them throughout his other restaurants because he knew he would still open the new one.
The asking price was also fair, and Paetyn figured they just wanted to make back the money they’d spent and what they may have lost. The building was also close in layout to the one he wanted to begin with, so that was another plus. He wasn’t sure he’d find anything else that met what he was looking for that closely. He decided to call his agent in the morning to make a cash offer.
Now, with that decision made, he had to decide if he would agree to be a judge on the cooking competition that reached out to him.
C ruz sat at his desk, reviewing the scheduled update of all the businesses that employed his security system. They’d been working on it for the past couple of months, and he’d had his hand on the process every step of the way. He knew all the kinks were worked out, and it was ready to go; however, he gave it one last look before the systems began to update over the following days.
“Mr. Adair, Amir Tarek Zaher is on the phone for you.”
Cruz turned his attention to the phone with a furrowed brow. He was momentarily confused until he remembered that Sheikh Asim Gamil Zaher had asked that his grandson be allowed to work with Cruz on installing security systems on their property. He’d stated it was because his grandson was more technically inclined than he was. Glancing at the time in the corner of his screen, Cruz noted that it was late for Amir. There was a nine-hour time difference between them.
“Send him through,” he responded. He only had to wait a few seconds before his phone rang. “This is Cruz.”
“Mr. Adair, my name is Amir Tarek Zaher. You spoke to my grandfather about installing your systems on our property.”
“I did, and please call me Cruz.”
“I know he spoke of having a main system for the estate and personal systems in specific rooms. We would also like systems for all family-owned businesses.”
Cruz paused for a moment. He hadn’t discussed that when speaking to Asim. With the number of systems already being requested, along with installation and setup time, he would already be gone for about three weeks. Asim asked Cruz to conduct the installation personally. While he had qualified technicians, he was known to take on and complete specific jobs. This was one of them.
“I know that wasn’t in the original estimate, but we’d be willing to compensate you nicely for the extra time and effort it would take,” Amir told him.
“Before I decide whether or not that’s something I can do, I’d like you to send over a list of businesses with the addresses and type of security you want for each one.”
Cruz firmly believed that all businesses required different levels of security, even if they were in the same industry. He always wanted to give a company what it needed, and contrary to popular belief, more was not always a good thing either.
“Once I’ve looked it over, I’ll give you my decision.”
Cruz knew that time would significantly influence whether or not he would accept. He wasn’t the same as Kieran and didn’t have a big hang-up about being out of the office for a couple of weeks at a time. He had a good team and didn’t always need to have his hands on everything. However, it wasn’t work he had an issue being away from.
“I’ll have it sent to you in the next couple of days,” Amir responded.
They ended the call, and Cruz sat back in his seat. He hadn’t told Erin he would be gone the last two weeks in July and the first week in August, but he needed to. He’d wait until he received the list from Amir. That way, he could give her an accurate time frame.
T he workday was winding down, and Cruz was sending out some final emails when his cell phone rang. He looked at the screen to see his mother was calling him. He answered on speaker.
“Hey, Mama.”
“Hi, son. Are you still working?”
“Just for the next few minutes.”
“Good, then I’m not disturbing you,” his mother stated. “I wanted to know when you and Paetyn were going to bring your girlfriend over to meet Ancel and me.”
Cruz was not surprised that was what she was calling him for. They’d both given their parents the courtesy of knowing they were dating. Not that his mother hadn’t already known they had their eye on Erin since she’d talked to him about it at the wedding.
“Mama, we aren’t at the meet the parents’ stage of our relationship yet. Besides, you’ve already met Erin.”
His mother sighed. “Yes, I have, but as Alijah and Chayse’s friend. Not as your and Paetyn’s girlfriend. There is a distinct difference between the two.” She paused momentarily. “And since I’ve met her once, your dating timeframe is inconsequential.”
She had a point, but Cruz wouldn’t tell her that. Erin also wouldn’t just be meeting his mother but Paetyn’s dad, whom she hadn’t met before. He didn’t think his mother had thought about that fact.
“Give us more time, Mama. We’ll bring her when she’s ready.”
“I’m holding you to that. I won’t keep you any longer and let you finish up for the day. Kocham ci?.”
“I love you too, Mama,” Cruz responded before they hung up.
He finished the last email and ensured everything was locked up before grabbing his things and leaving his office. His assistant was packing her belongings, and Cruz nodded his goodbye as he stepped on the elevator.
Once in his car, Cruz made the thirty-minute drive home. He vaguely thought about stopping off and grabbing something for dinner but decided to cook instead since he’d put some chicken breast in the refrigerator the day before to unthaw. That is, if Paetyn hadn’t beaten him to cooking.
E rin looked down at the logo she’d sketched and couldn’t help but smile. She’d lost count of how many she’d started and ended up scrapping halfway through because they hadn’t encompassed the vision she was looking for. She knew that to others, any of the other pictures she’d sketched would have gotten her point across. However, she was her own worst critic, and those hadn’t spoken to her. Not the way the one she’d just finished did. Now, she needed to clean it up and choose a company to employ to make it.
She’d researched several companies that offered sign services and narrowed it down to two. She liked the style in which they made their signs, and they all had outstanding reviews. Erin would call tomorrow to see when she could go in and talk to someone, show them her design, and get a quote.
She took a break from the logo and stretched as she looked around her shop. She’d chosen to work there for the day to get used to the space.
When she arrived, she took several pictures of the space with the blinds open. Though, she would ask Chayse to take some for her as well. She was going to start an Instagram page for her business and wanted photos of the space. She planned on renting booth space to at least two other artists and wanted them to be able to see it before they inquired. She firmly believed that a place’s energy and aesthetic drew people in, but the talent kept them returning.
She’d chosen to close the blinds as she worked on her logo so she wouldn’t be distracted by the people passing by. Erin now needed to determine what she planned on charging in booth rent. When she’d worked in Florida, her final split was seventy-thirty in her favor for booked clients and fifty-fifty for walk-ins. However, it took her almost four years to get the seventy-thirty split.
Erin decided to split the rent with the artist she hired at sixty-forty if they rented five days a week and have the same split for walk-ins. She would split it at fifty-fifty if they only wanted to rent the chair part-time.
While she didn’t have to pay rent on the building, she still wanted to be able to save if something needed fixing and to be sure the utilities were covered. Erin also planned on supplying the transfers, gloves, and skin cleaners since those things had been provided for her. She would also keep the snack bar stocked for staff and customers.
She’d already registered her name and filled out all the paperwork she needed online, and she expected them in the mail in the next couple of days. She needed to get a contract together for the artists she hired. She still had a copy of hers and knew she could use it for reference.
Getting up from where she sat, Erin went to the middle station. She knew the drawers for each station were filled with ink. However, she planned on removing the ink from two of them. Erin would not be supplying ink because it meant her having to keep up with how much each person used, and it was a bigger headache than it was worth. She would allow them to purchase ink from her if they ran out and planned on putting the ones in those two stations in reserve.
She would keep them in a box for now, but she made a mental note to get something else to keep them in. She would ask Paetyn where the drawers were from and order something similar to keep with the feel of the shop.
Her phone rang, and she paused to retrieve it from the desk. It was the same number as before, and she debated answering it but decided that if no one said anything this time, she would block it.
“Hello?” It was silent for a second, and she was about to hang up when someone spoke.
“I...see...avail...in...”
Erin furrowed her brow, only able to make out a few words. Their service was terrible wherever they were, but she thought she heard the word available and figured they might have been calling for a tattoo.
“I’m sorry. I can’t make out what you’re saying. If you’re calling about an appointment, can you call back or text me?”
She hung up and waited a few seconds. When she didn’t receive a call, she assumed they would text her and returned to removing the ink from the stations. She’d check her phone when she finished.
Once she had all the ink cleared from the two stations, she didn’t have room in the box to remove the ink from the two private rooms, but she put it on her mental to-do list.
Knowing that she would be adding several more things to her to-do list, Erin decided to sit down and list everything so she wouldn’t forget anything. She knew it would be a lot of work when she decided to take the leap of faith and relocate and start her own business. However, she was grateful to Paetyn and Cruz because they’d done two more challenging parts for her.
She still had so much to do and an opening day to choose. Erin also wanted to throw an opening event. So, she would need to get that planned out. First, she needed to rent out the two booths. As well as finalize her business hours and start some marketing. The next couple of months would be nonstop for her, but she was excited. Being her own boss would make it worth it, and she strove to be a better one to others than the two she had.
It wasn’t until she left the shop an hour later that she realized whoever that was hadn’t called or texted her. She wouldn’t worry about it. If they wanted an appointment, they’d reach out when they could.