35. Leo
LEO
I didn’t take Eliza asking me to stay lightly. I fully knew I had her trust in the palm of my hand, and I wanted to show her that I deserved it. That I deserved her heart and would do anything and everything to protect it.
There was still the question about my job, which was what I wanted to talk to Wes about today. I wanted to know what my options were if I stayed…because I’d come to love this town, the freedom in the kitchen, the creativity with the menu, the reactions from people who enjoyed my food.
I wouldn’t be sacrificing my career if I stayed. I’d gain exactly what I’d been working so damn hard for.
Eliza and I had originally said we’d stop whatever this was between us when I left Golden Falls.
Well, I didn’t want to leave. And I didn’t want us to stop.
There was another sentence on the tip of my tongue.
I loved Eliza Hayes. I’d loved her for longer than I wanted to admit, and now that I nearly had her, I couldn’t walk away.
“Hey, man. Come on in,” Wes said as I approached the doorway.
I closed the door behind me and sat in the chair across from his desk.
“This past weekend was insane. Last summer had been busy, but nothing compared to the start of this one,” Wes said. “We’re lucky to have you.”
“Thanks, Wes. I appreciate it. I’ve…honestly, I’ve enjoyed my time here more than I thought I would.”
He nodded understandingly. “I knew you were overqualified the moment we hired you. I wasn’t sure how long we’d have you for, but I figured however long you’d want to be here would help us.
I want the best for you, Leo, even if that means leaving Lake Ridge, which…
is kind of where I imagined this conversation stemmed from? ”
“Not exactly,” I admitted. “Truthfully, I’m not sure what I want to do.
” Wes had been open with me from the moment I took this job, and I wanted to give him that same honesty.
“When I got to town, I didn’t think I’d be here very long.
I thought I’d get the menu started, potentially help you hire a new chef, and then take my next role. ”
Wes nodded. Either he wasn’t surprised at all or he had a killer poker face—both could be true.
“But this bar, this town, have come to mean a lot. I’ve worked at a lot of restaurants, and there’s always a sense of community, but it’s never been like this.
There’s something special here.” Someone special, too.
“With how positive the reception has been to the menus, I want to take it a step further once we add some additional capacity, if you’re open to hiring.
” Wes had mentioned he was open to hiring additional staff when I first joined Lake Ridge, but I wasn’t sure if he’d changed his mind.
“I’m very open to hiring. You have my full support to build the team you want.” Wes leaned his forearms against the desk. “What did you have in mind?”
I had a handful of ideas that’d been circling my mind when I let myself think about staying, and I shared them all with Wes.
Sustainability was important to both of us and the community—I wanted to lean into that. We were already trying to minimize food waste and source ingredients locally, but we needed to be better about it.
There had to be multiple vegetarian and vegan options on each seasonal menu.
I wanted to build a kitchen staff that would complement the dynamic I had with Ray, who cared about the community, who wanted to create innovative, delicious food at a reasonable price point, because good, healthy food shouldn’t break someone’s wallet.
Lake Ridge was already on people’s radars locally and in the surrounding states—I wanted to broaden that and have Golden Falls be a small town that drew attention for its innovative restaurants.
I wanted to win Lake Ridge a James Beard Award, an Oscar of the culinary world that recognized excellence in the industry.
With each idea I brought up, Wes enthusiastically added his thoughts. We spent an hour brainstorming and figuring out what was possible in the short-term and what we’d work up to.
Even with all that, there was a thought in the back of my head that prevented me from fully committing to staying. Because there was one person’s opinion that meant everything. If she wanted me to stay, I would in a heartbeat. If she didn’t want this…then that changed everything.