Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
T he next few weeks saw a steep increase in reservations and sales, which was a welcome relief to Jill, Mandy, Emma, and Paul.
The new menu was a hit, and they were seeing a steady stream of new customers coming from local hotels and bed-and-breakfasts.
Mandy had some loyalty cards and coupons printed up and distributed them at the local businesses, and they were starting to see them being used as well.
The regulars liked the idea of the loyalty cards, which were stamped each time they came in, and then on their tenth visit, they would receive a free entrée.
The coupons were good for ten dollars off the bill, and that got a lot of new people in to try the restaurant.
“Mac really did have some good ideas,” Jill said Thursday morning while Emma ate her breakfast and they were talking about how successful the coupons and loyalty cards seemed to be.
“Will you see him this weekend?” Emma asked.
“I told him I’d meet him after work tomorrow night.” Jill was flying out later that day and planned to work in the New York office on Friday.
“Will you see Billy too? Are you staying through the weekend?”
Jill nodded. “Yes. When he found out I have plans with Mac tomorrow night, he insisted I stay until Sunday so we can go out Saturday night.”
Emma raised her eyebrows. “You’re sure you’re not dating?”
Jill laughed. “No. Billy just thinks he owes me for his recent trip here. It will be fun. We’re going to some new restaurant he loves that I haven’t been to yet.”
“That does sound fun.”
Emma finished her breakfast and went upstairs to shower and change. When she came back down an hour later, she stopped short when she stepped in the kitchen and saw Jill staring at Izzy.
“Look at your crazy cat.” Jill laughed. She had been so deep into what she was doing that she didn’t realize at first that Izzy was trying to get her attention. The fluffy cat had climbed onto the kitchen table and was sitting just behind the laptop with her little nose resting on the edge.
Emma watched as Izzy stared at Jill until she finally saw her and reached out to pat her. “Izzy, get off the table.” Emma tried to sound stern but failed utterly, and Izzy just looked at her and didn’t move. Finally, Emma went over and scooped her up.
“She is too cute,” Jill said. They’d both fallen in love with Izzy, and it was hard not to spoil her. Jill liked having her around while she worked. Izzy often slept in the chair next to her or brushed against her feet to get her attention.
“She’ll miss you this weekend,” Emma said.
“I’ll miss her too.” Jill went to pat her, but then her phone buzzed again as her email dinged, and she had to shift her focus back to work.
“Have a good weekend. I’ll see you when you get home on Sunday,” Emma said.
Jill’s flight was at six. She was too busy to get out earlier.
Billy had wanted her to come into the office and go for an after-work drink, but she wasn’t going to get in early enough to do that, and truth be told, she was just as happy to go straight to her own condo and get a good night’s sleep and then be well rested to get into the office early the next day.
High winds caused her flight to be delayed a half hour, and it was just after eight by the time her Uber pulled up to her condo building.
It was nice to relax in her own place and sleep in her own bed.
She woke early the next day, did an online yoga class, and felt energized as she jumped into the shower.
An hour later, she walked through the doors of her office.
Billy was already there and grinned when he saw her.
“You almost beat me. I got here literally two seconds ago.” He gave her a hug, and they caught up over coffee in his office.
It didn’t take long before the rest of the team arrived.
They had their morning meeting, and then it was nonstop action for the rest of the day.
Jill barely had time to eat a sandwich at her desk, it was so busy.
She loved it though, and it was great to see the team.
She wanted to get back to the office at least once a month, twice if at all possible.
Now that she was settled on Nantucket and into a routine with the restaurant, it would be easier to take some weekends away.
Around four, Billy came into her office and leaned on the side of her desk. “Are you sure you can’t come for just one with us? What time are you meeting your date?” Jill was amused that Billy either didn’t remember or just didn’t want to say Mac’s name.
“Not until seven.”
“So you have time to come out with us for a little while. We’ll just go around the corner to our usual spot.”
It was tempting. And Jill was half wishing that she didn’t have plans with Mac and could just relax with everyone after work. “Okay, I’ll come for a little while. What time are we heading over?”
Billy jumped up. “Great, I’ll let the others know that we’re wrapping it up at five sharp. Come to my office, and we’ll head out then.”
Jill started winding down her day, and by five, she was ready to go. They all headed to their favorite bar and took their usual spots.
“Dill pickle martini for you?” Billy asked once they were settled. It was Jill’s favorite cocktail. They made it with cucumber vodka and homemade pickles.
But Jill shook her head. “No vodka for me. I need to pace myself. Just a wine, I think. Cabernet. And a glass of water.”
It was fun to hang out with everyone from the office.
Jill realized how much she’d missed it. She especially missed the energy and enthusiasm of their newer recruiters.
One of their newest, Lara, had just landed her first client and had an offer pending on her own candidate, so it would be what they called a “double-bubble,” when you had both the job order and candidate sides of the placement.
Like real estate, the placement fees were split between the holder of the job listing and the person with the candidate.
And that amount was then split with the house, which was Jill and Billy.
While they were all chatting at the bar, Lara’s phone rang, and she looked like she was about to throw up as she went outside to take the call. A few minutes later, she came back, white as a ghost, and seemed a bit in shock.
“What happened, Lara? Did your candidate say no?” Billy looked sympathetic.
But Lara shook her head and took a moment to speak. “No, he actually said yes. He took the job.”
A chorus of cheers erupted, and Billy waved the bartender over and ordered a bottle of their most expensive champagne.
“Congrats on your first double-bubble. It’s time to celebrate.” Billy handed out flutes of champagne to everyone.
“Awesome job, Lara. To the first of many double-bubbles,” Jill said.
The mood was festive as everyone toasted Lara, and she looked like she couldn’t quite believe what had happened. Jill was thrilled for her. She glanced at the time to make sure she wouldn’t be late to meet Mac. Billy caught her doing it and frowned.
“I wish you didn’t have to go. Can’t you cancel and reschedule with him? Better yet, don’t go out with him at all.”
Jill laughed. “What do you have against Mac? I think you’d actually like him. He’s a nice guy.”
“I’m sure he is. We just don’t get to see you often enough.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to tomorrow night. Tell me again about the place we’re going to?”
“It’s small but fancy. Everything is top notch. I don’t know what kind of food it is, but it’s all good. You’ll like it.”
“It sounds great. I probably should get going though. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Jill made her way out of the bar, flagged down a cab, and gave the address of the restaurant where she was meeting Mac.
It was the flagship location of his family’s steakhouse.
The last time she’d been there was over a year ago with Billy, when they were celebrating a new client and another big placement.
Mac was waiting for her just inside the door and was chatting with a tall man at the reception desk who looked vaguely familiar. She realized why as soon as Mac introduced him.
“Jill, this is my brother, Ryan.” The resemblance was strong.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
Ryan led them to a quiet table in a corner. The lights were dim, and the leather and wood were dark. A small candle glowed in the middle of the table. The overall feeling was comfortable elegance.
Jill wasn’t a big meat eater, but now and then, she enjoyed a good steak and ordered the house-aged sirloin that was coffee crusted and served with a butter sauce.
Mac got the same, and they shared a side order of creamed spinach and scalloped potatoes.
Mac ordered a good bottle of cabernet, and they sipped it while they chatted.
It was nice catching up with him. Jill felt like she was with an old friend.
There wasn’t any nervousness, and they chatted easily.
Mac was especially interested to hear about the changes they’d implemented and the reopening party.
“I should have suggested a party. That was a great idea that Mandy had. And it sounds like it went well?”
“It really did. It let us introduce Paul’s menu changes to a lot of people, and once they sampled the food, they were sold.”
Their steaks were done perfectly, and Jill thought it was pretty much a perfect date except for one thing.
Mac was a perfect gentleman. He was funny and attentive and easy to talk to, and they had a lot in common as they swapped restaurant stories.
It was a fun night, but Jill still didn’t feel any kind of physical attraction.
She wanted to want to kiss him, but it just wasn’t there.
And she was pretty sure that it would have been by now if there was anything there.
It was frustrating, because on the surface, Mac seemed ideal for her.