Page 7 of The Sweet Spot

“You know what? I think I might.”

“You’re welcome to share my Uber with me. I’m going to the airport, but we have time to stop somewhere else.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

She grabbed her oversized cloth bag that looked like a patchwork quilt and followed me out the door. We climbed into the Uber, and she gave instructions to the driver on where to drop her off.

“You serious about doing the whole personal chef thing?” I asked.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I suppose it’s an option.”

“If your career is over like you say it is, then maybe starting over somewhere new is the right call.”

“Maybe.”

“Ryan would be an idiot not to hire you as his personal chef.”

“I don’t even know if I want to be a personal chef.”

As we slowed down in front of an apartment building, she tried to pay the Uber driver, but I assured her I would cover it.

She grabbed her bag and was about to leave, but I cleared my throat to stop her. For the last hour or so, I’d been thinking about everything and how nice it would be to have someone handle all my meals. It would be one less thing to worry about, especially when I got lazy.

“Before you go,” I said, “I know you don’t know what your future plans are, but if you do decide to try the personal chef route, I’d like to hire you.”

I blurted that out before I’d fully thought it through, whichwas unlike me, but something about it felt right. Wolseley made some amazing food, and if I could have someone do it all for me, I could have more time to get in shape, to focus, and not have to think about what I was putting in my body. I’d leave food prep to Wolseley.

She blinked a few times. “For real?”

“I wouldn’t joke about it.”

“But I have no idea what I’m doing. No idea what an athlete needs to eat.”

“I’m sure you can figure it out. Why don’t you think about it? Give me your number, and I’ll text you with mine. When you’ve figured out what you want to do, let me know.”

She blinked a few more times. “Okay. Thanks.”

I took her number and sent a quick text to her. Once she’d received it, she thanked me again and headed to her building.

Ryan’s waffling was about to be my gain.

Chapter Five

Wolseley

At least the scandal that we, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant, served dishes with animal products didn’t make the front page of the newspaper, but we did make the front page of the Arts and Lifestyle section, which was almost as bad. By the time I’d assembled all my staff in the restaurant, the mood was grim, along with lowered voices and gossiping. I couldn’t blame them. I wanted to tell them sooner, but that would have ruined the vibe at Tangi’s wedding, and that was selfish of me, but what difference would it have made? I was still losing my restaurant.

We gathered around in the dining area, and all gazes were fixed on me. Suddenly, the room had fallen silent. My heart thundered in my chest as I weighed my words carefully. I was about to put dozens of people out of work.

“I’m sure you’ve all seen or heard about the paper today,” I said, fighting back the urge to sob. From serving staff, to line cooks, to Wren, my manager. I cared about all of them, and I’d screwed up so badly. “In case you’re wondering, the accusations are true. Daniel was secretly using ingredients thatwere not permitted or disclosed on our menu. When I found out, I sought legal advice. That was when Daniel was fired. This all happened very quickly, within the last few weeks. Daniel then threatened to go public and accuse me of using the prohibited ingredients and of …” A huge lump had formed in my throat. “He’s also accusing me of sexual harassment.”

Wren grumbled in disgust. She’d never liked Daniel and had cheered when I’d fired him. Steph, my line cook, who had brought to my attention, the allegations of Daniel using prohibited ingredients, also shook her head. If she blamed me or wanted to say,I told you so, she could, and I deserved it. I’d been so taken in by his charms. Why had I been so blind to Daniel when everyone else had seen through him? I knew why. He was interested in me, or so I thought. I’d assumed his feelings were genuine. Not the first time I’d fallen for that.

“Legal bills have already been mounting, and I expect that some customers may sue the restaurant. I’m sorry, everyone, but that’s not something I have the resources to fight and keep this restaurant going. Not to mention that the Oak will become a ghost town. It’s why I paid you early, and I have arranged for severance packages. Anyone who wants a letter of recommendation can have it, but I’m not sure you’ll want that from me. I am so sorry for letting you all down.”

“Shit,” Wren muttered. “That piece of shit. If I ever lay eyes on him …”

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