Chapter 10 #2
As it happened, she said exactly that when Mandy’s consultant came in again and insisted on ordering the surf and turf anyway, along with the steak she did recommend and the pasta special.
By now, most of the employees knew he was some kind of consultant, and since no one knew what he was likely to suggest changing, they all still treated him as if he were a food critic, walking on eggshells to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible.
He stayed for several hours, didn’t bother to take his leftovers home and, after eating, spent a bit of time in the kitchen, observing quietly and browsing through the walk-in refrigerator and oversize pantry area.
He finished up with a draft beer at the bar and must have written at least a dozen or so pages of notes.
Emma knew he was there to help them, but she still couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous, especially if one of his suggestions was to trim the staff.
She wanted to make sure that the positive work environment that Grams had been so proud of stayed intact.
At the end of the night, when most of the staff had left, Emma joined Gary and Paul at the bar for an after-shift drink. Paul ended up working a double as his sous chef called out sick. Talk turned to the consultant as both Gary and Paul were curious about him.
“What did he think of the food?” Paul asked.
“He seemed to like everything, but I think he liked the pasta the best. It was the only meal he finished.”
Paul smiled. “That’s good to hear.”
Gary’s phone buzzed, and he glanced down at a text message and frowned.
“I have to run. Maria needs me to stop at the store on the way home. I’ll catch up with you both later.” He took a big sip of his beer, then dumped the rest of it in the sink and headed out.
Paul sipped his draft beer and looked at Emma thoughtfully.
“So how is it going? This is a huge change for all of you.”
Emma nodded. “It is. It’s probably the most challenging for Jill, as she still has her business going in New York and is trying to juggle that during the day.
For Mandy and me, it’s actually a godsend.
We both needed something new. I love the fast pace.
And during the day, I can still do some of my photography. ”
“I didn’t know you were into photography. Did you do that full-time?”
“No. I was a teacher in Arizona. I always did photography on the side. I actually had an idea for how I might be able to tie it into the restaurant.” She told him about her website and food blog.
“What do you think of me taking some pictures of you and your signature dishes and maybe sharing a recipe or two on the blog? I could link it to social media like Instagram and Facebook. It might be a way to help get the word out.”
Paul looked intrigued. “I like it. Let me think about what might be a good dish to start with, and you can pop by to take some pictures. Do you like to cook too?”
“I do. Just as a hobby though. The thought of doing it for hundreds of people like you do is intimidating.” Emma took a sip of her chardonnay. “I never knew you wanted to be a chef. I thought you might go into the family business after college.” Paul’s family ran a clothing store on Main Street.
He made a face at the thought. “I hate retail. I sort of fell into restaurant work. After graduating from college, I spent the summer working in the kitchen at the Straight Wharf. It was just supposed to be temporary, but I fell in love with it and decided to go to culinary school. That’s where I met Patsy, and a year later, we were married. ”
“That was fast.” Emma knew he’d married but didn’t know the history of it.
“We probably never should have gotten married,” Paul admitted. “We’re very different. Patsy is loud and passionate and the life of the party. She was fun to be around. When she got pregnant, it seemed like the thing to do.”
Emma was surprised. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had children.”
“I don’t. She miscarried a month after we got married. It became apparent not too long after we started the restaurant together that we weren’t well suited. Patsy was somewhat difficult to work with. I’m sure I was too. It just wasn’t a good match.”
“I’m sorry that didn’t work out. Divorce is hard.”
“Yeah, it is. It was a long time ago for me though.” He grinned. “I’m over it now. I’m sorry that you are going through it. You were married a lot longer than I was.”
Emma sighed. “Almost fifteen years. And I thought we were happy. Well, happy enough. Looking back now, I realize we were probably more like roommates, but we were always great friends.”
Paul opened his mouth as if he was going to ask a question but then thought better of it and took a sip of his drink instead. She guessed he’d been about to ask why they got divorced.
“He left me for another man. His best friend from college. I had no idea, none. I think I’m still a little bit in shock.”
Paul set his drink down and met Emma’s gaze. “Em, I am so sorry. Jeez. I can’t imagine.”
“I know, right? How could I not have known?” She explained how Peter and Tom had reconnected when Tom took a job in town. “He said they’d experimented in college but realized it was more than that when they saw each other again.”
“So how are you doing? That must be difficult to process.”
Emma laughed. “That’s an understatement. It makes you question everything. In a weird way, I suppose it’s a little better than if it had been another woman? I don’t know. I’ll just say I’m in no hurry to get into another relationship any time soon.”
Paul nodded. “I bet. It was close to a year before I dated after the divorce.”
Emma wondered if there was anyone serious in his life now. She noticed there was no ring on his finger, but she knew that some people didn’t always wear their rings when they worked with their hands.
He must have seen the question on her face. “I still don’t date much. Nothing serious anyway. It’s hard with the hours I work. I have a cat though. He’s good company.”
Emma smiled. She remembered that Paul had always loved animals.
“I’m tempted to get a cat too. I’ll have to run that by Jill as we’re both staying at my grandmother’s place.”
“If you do decide to get one, let me know. I can give you the name of the shelter I went to.”
“I’ll do that.” Emma glanced at the clock and tried to hold back a yawn. She was enjoying catching up with Paul, but it had been a long day. “I should probably get going. I didn’t realize how late it was.”
Paul took the last sip of his drink. “Same here. I’ll walk you out.”
Mandy pulled into her driveway at a little past five. As the garage door opened, she was surprised to see Cory’s car already there. He was rarely home from work this early.
“Kids, go get changed, and start your homework,” she said as they walked through the door. “I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”
Mandy hung her coat up and headed into the kitchen.
The house was silent except for the sounds of the children as they ran upstairs.
The door to the downstairs study/office was open a crack, and it was so quiet that Mandy thought the room was empty and that Cory must be up in his bedroom.
But then she heard a familiar chuckle and his voice, but he was talking so softly that she couldn’t make out any words.
She poked her head in the door, and when Cory turned, she waved hello.
“Excuse me,” he said to whoever was on the phone and looked up at Mandy. “I’ll be off in a minute.” He seemed annoyed at the interruption.
“Take your time. I just wanted to say hello and that dinner will be in about a half hour.” Without waiting for a reply, she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her. He was so grouchy lately.
She got busy in the kitchen, heating up leftover spaghetti sauce and meatballs and putting a pot of water on the stove to boil the pasta.
Once the spaghetti was ready, she fixed plates for the kids and for herself and Cory and set everything on the table, along with butter and a loaf of soft Italian bread.
She called upstairs to the kids when dinner was ready and knocked softly on the door to Cory’s office.
A few minutes later, they were all gathered around the table and had a nice family meal.
Brooke excitedly told Cory about her new dance class, and Blake announced that he’d made an A on his math test earlier that day.
Mandy relaxed and dug into her pasta. Once everyone finished and the kids had bolted from the table, Mandy poured herself a small glass of red wine and offered some to Cory.
“No, thanks. I need to get back to work for a few more hours. That will just put me to sleep.”
“I thought it was odd that you were home so early. I should have known you weren’t done working.”
“There was too much commotion at the office, construction on the floor above us. I’ve actually been home since noon, just working from here.”
“You work too much,” Mandy began. “Isn’t it time that you hired someone that can take on some of the stuff that bogs you down?”
Cory ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
“We were just talking about that this morning. Both of us are feeling burned out and agreed that we need to delegate more. Soon though. I’m actually heading out to a conference next week for a few days and might do some informal recruiting there to get the word out. ”
“What kind of conference?” Cory had never gone to a conference before, so it was a bit of a surprise.
“It’s an industry networking and strategy brainstorming kind of thing. It was recommended by my old boss at BBH, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to have a few days ‘off’ so to speak.”
“Will you close the office then? How will you manage?” Mandy wondered out loud.
“We’re not both going. Patrick will hold down the fort for a few days, and I’ll fill him in on everything I learn when I get back. Plus, it’s in Vegas.” His smile reminded Mandy of an excited little boy. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”