Orlando
She knew how to torment me, that was for sure. Watching her walk out of my office made my heart begin to race. What was I thinking offering her a job? First, I didn’t date people I worked with. And second, I wasn’t sure I was keeping The Promenade, which meant I couldn’t guarantee she would have a job when new owners took over. But at least then I could date her.
I groaned in my chair and swiveled around to face the wall. A mantra came to my mind. I will not chase after her. I will not chase after her.
“Orlando?” My mother’s voice definitely cooled my jets.
I swung back around to see her standing there with Chef Tierney. I put on my game face. “Chef, thank you so much for coming out today. Your food was delicious.” I pointed to the chair before me and he took a seat.
Tierney was young, maybe my age but definitely not older. Would he be capable of running a full kitchen on his own? Could he manage waitstaff? Could he work with Amaya? Don’t let him near Amaya. I blinked. Where had that thought come from?
“I appreciate the opportunity,” he said, his knee bouncing.
Mom took a seat beside him. “Chef, can you run a kitchen? Take control?” It was like she read my mind.
The young man nodded. “I’m young, I know, but I have been in kitchens since I was a kid. I was a kitchen manager by twenty-two. My resume shows I’m fully capable and I am on fire for this opportunity.”
I narrowed my gaze on him and his knee stopped mid-bounce. “Can you handle serving weddings of two hundred plus?”
With a resolute nod, he cracked his knuckles. “I can, I have, and I will.”
We did a little negotiating and agreed to let everyone sleep on it. Once Tierney left, Mom’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. I could tell she liked him a lot.
“He’s perfect.”
“He’s young,” I argued.
“He has energy,” she countered. “And he would work well with Amaya. Did you talk to her?”
“A little.” I stretched my neck from side to side. “I told her the job was hers if she wanted it, but I’m not sure she does.”
“Of course she does. She would love to work more with you.” Mom stood, the bracelets on her tiny wrist jangling as she moved.
“Did she tell you that?” Try as I might, concealing my smile was impossible.
“No, silly. I can tell these things. After forty years in the wedding business, I know when I’m looking at soul mates.” She winked and walked off, just as graceful as ever. And as scheming as ever.
By the time the sun began to drop, I could hardly stand it. I picked up the phone and dialed Amaya’s number.
I fought off a curse when her voicemail picked up. What was I going to say? I hadn”t thought it through at all. When the beep sounded I cleared my throat. “Amaya, hi. I just wanted to follow up with you.” I thought for a moment. “I wanted to follow up with you about the chef that you met today and if you feel like he would be a good fit for The Promenade. Let me know, bye.”
I hung up quickly and groaned while I buried my head in my hands. What was I thinking? I grabbed my things, pocketed my phone, and headed out. My whole life revolved around the office these days, so I thought I would go for a jog to clear my head.
As I ran through the streets of Savannah, watching people stroll through the public squares, I thought back to my ex, Tori, and the life I thought we would have had. It struck me in that moment that I didn”t miss her and I guess I hadn”t loved her the way I should have. Was love something I was capable of? As it was, I was trying to sell my mother”s pride and joy outside of myself. That wasn’t being very loving.
My phone began to buzz in my pocket so I came to a corner, stopped, and fished it out. Seeing Amaya’s name pop up on the screen, I gave a breathless answer. “Hello?”
“Hey, I was just calling you back. You sound breathless. Everything okay?” Amaya”s concern for me made my heart swell, but I attempted to tamp it back. She was merely returning my call, right?
“Oh, thanks for calling me back. Yeah, I”m just out for a jog in this beautiful weather we”re having.” Beautiful weather? I sound like an idiot. “I, um, wanted to get your opinion on the chef that you met earlier today.”
A light chuckle came through the phone. “Well we did talk about him earlier but as I said, yes, I think he would be a good fit. I think he would be able to meet and maybe even exceed the expectations that you set for him. will you be interviewing anybody else?”
In truth, I had not thought to interview anybody else. I had lined him up last minute as an excuse for bringing her in. She didn’t need to know that, though. “Well I do think he”s the best that we”ve seen, and with your endorsement, I feel like we could offer him a position at The Promenade.”
Her voice went from friendly to professional and I could tell I was now dealing with bridesmaid Amaya and not the girl who had brought me to meet her sister’s new boyfriend. “Mr. Daniels I don”t even work for you at this point, so I don”t feel comfortable giving an endorsement for anyone or anything. Please don”t let this rest on my shoulders.”
“Of course, of course. I don”t mean to put that sort of pressure on you,” I told her. “I”m just happy to get your insight.”
“Well, I’m happy to give you my opinion.”
“How is your sister?”
“What?”
“Your sister—what happened with the guy you brought me to meet?”
“Oh, that,” Amaya said, sounding annoyed. “They have since parted ways as I suspected. Apparently, my sister thinks her biological clock is ticking which makes no sense because she”s only twenty-one. I told her at twenty-six my biological clock is not exactly ticking yet so there”s no way hers should be.”
I hadn’t known her exact age. She was only a few years younger than me and I felt relieved that she wasn’t younger. “I”m glad to hear that she broke up with him since you didn”t approve.” At this point I was grasping for straws on what I might be able to say to keep her on the phone.
“It”s not so much that I didn”t approve of him as a person, just not for her at this point in her life. I feel like she”d be more suited to this Chef Tierney than to a professor almost fifteen years her senior.”
An idea came to me in a flash. “Why don”t we set up a meeting between them? How about I set up a second interview with Chef Tierney and you and your sister can be the taste testers.”
“Mr. Daniels that is quite an idea,” she chuckled. “And I think I like the way you”re thinking. Let me know when and we will be there and,” she added, “I hope you will be there too.”
“Guaranteed.” Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. I finished my jog with renewed energy.
The next morning, I set up a second interview for Aaron Tierney a few days later. By then I hoped to know the future of the venue as well. I sent a text to Amaya with the details. I wasn’t much on matchmaking, but helping her set her sister up with someone was turning out to be fun. And setting myself up with Amaya was becoming even more fun.
There was one last person interested in purchasing The Promenade. The more I thought about it, though, the more uneasy I was with the whole thing. I was growing more comfortable with the idea of staying in Savannah. The old city had a way of getting under your skin and settling its salty air in. Staying close to my mother was something else I realized was important. She wasn’t getting younger and while she wasn’t frail, I knew it would be coming someday.
My thoughts turned to Amaya. They were turning to her more and more with each passing day. Her desire to see me at this mock second interview with the chef bolstered my confidence in our mutual attraction. Could we run The Promenade together one day? The idea both warmed and terrified me.