Page 36 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
Zoe gripped the steering wheel tight. “Okay, I see where you’re going with this. But we’ve really discussed it and we both agreed that it was ten years ago. If anything would have happened, it was in another lifetime.” A pause. “Besides, I’m very happy with Tom. I looked at stuff that he sent me about the wedding and it looks exciting!”
“Okay, okay. I believe you. I was just making sure I understood everything.” Nicki said apologetically. “It’s nice to hear that you’re excited about the wedding!” There was another lull in the conversation. “Am I holding you back and making you late for the race track?”
Zoe glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “Oh shit. Yes. I really enjoyed talking to you, Nicki.”
“Me too. Just call me if you want to chat. I promise we won’t talk about work things. Bye!”
“I’ll do that. See you.”
The line cut and the car rumbled as Zoe started the engine again. She just needed to get through this day then, Yasmine and Julie would arrive the day after tomorrow for wedding preparations. Zoe couldn’t wait.
* * *
A cold draft seeped into the pit box. Zoe was freezing in nothing but her chef’s whites. How could this place be so cold? It was alright when she was standing next to the stove and the oven, but now that she was taking a break and walking around a bit, she could fully feel the damp chill emanating from the concrete walls. Zoe had a hard time imagining that the room she was standing in used to be a completely bare and empty concrete box just yesterday evening. The race team crew had decorated the entire place like it was a luxury car dealership, with dining and lounging areas. Her “kitchen” was hidden behind two solidPlexiglas walls with sponsor logos on it. It looked surprisingly tidy and cosy. The only thing missing was the heating, apparently.
Zoe ventured outside of the box. The event was coming to an end. Her show cooking at lunch had gone very well, without any surprises. Everyone had gasped when she set her wok on fire. Hersalmon en croûtehad been a huge hit as always, and now all that was left was to serve and entertain the guests during the closing cocktail. She was very happy to take a twenty-minute break - she hadn’t even seen anything except for the pit box since this morning. She wandered through the pit lane, where mechanics were running around fitting tyres to her client’s car. A group of men - potential investors - were standing around, discussing with the driver. These types of events, with rich fancy people, were always a good networking opportunity and Zoe already had two requests for catering at other events from some of the gentlemen.
The loud sound of the Porsche race car punched Zoe’s ears as it roared. Her heart jumped and she staggered for a second. She had heard the sound of the engine all day but hadn’t expected it to be that thunderous up close. The driver broke away from the group of investors and headed toward the car. He waved and winked at Zoe before putting on his helmet and getting behind the wheel.
Zoe groaned internally. She’d been unpleasantly surprised this morning to find that the mysterious rich race car driver looking for investors for his racing team wasn’t so mysterious to her after all. Colin was an acquaintance of Tom’s that Zoe had met a couple of times. He was an actor too, and had played in a small production with Tom when they were both starting out. The email requesting Zoe’s services had been sent by his team manager, so she’d had no idea that he was the driver in question until she’d arrived this morning.
Zoe waved back, gritting her teeth a little bit. Colin had been much too nonchalant with her all day. She could sense his intentions when his hand hovered for a second too long on her back while introducing her to his guests, or when he leaned in just a bit too close to ask her something.
The problem with actors, she thought, is that they all knew they were charming and somehow thought that it made it acceptable for them to be unprofessional. Zoe hated that. She was here to work, not to be seduced. But to a lot of men, a woman like Zoe could never be taken seriously. She sighed. She knew that a lot of women would love to be in her place, being wooed by a handsome actor, and it seemed like a silly thing to complain about. She could imagine telling Julie about it and Julie jokingly answering “Whoa, it must be hard to be too pretty.”
Not because Julie thought she was pretty of course. But because she would just make fun of her. Did Julie think she was pretty? Did she think Julie was pretty? Zoe walked back towards the kitchen area, nodding at a few of the Flemish waiters she hired who were also on a break. Julie would probably not make fun of her if she’d told her how annoyed she was at those types of men though, Zoe was sure of that. She would listen and take Zoe’s side. She sat on a high stool next to the kitchen island and took her phone out. She smiled faintly as she read back the messages she’d been exchanging with Julie. She started typing.
“I’m at the race track, no comfy sofas unfortunately and it’s so cold. I’m pretty sure the guy who hired me is hitting on me. Can’t wait until Yasmine and you get here.”
Zoe pressed “send”, then regretted it. It sounded so whiny. The event was going perfectly well, why did she feel the need to complain to Julie? An answer came almost immediately.
“Are you alright, Zoe? Did this guy do something inappropriate?”
Oh no. Now she got Julie worried.
“No! He’s just… You know how men are. I feel like sometimes guys forget that I’m here because they hired me, not because I’m interested in them.”She double texted.“But everything is going alright! I’m just super excited for the wedding.”
Zoe tapped nervously on her thigh. Hopefully Julie was still next to her phone. She felt relief when she saw that Julie was typing.
“Whoa… Must be hard to be too pretty.”
Called it. Zoe smiled. Julie was still typing.
“I’m joking. That’s not okay, he’s your employer and he should act like it. Do you want me to fight him?”
Another message from Julie came directly.
“When I said I was joking, I meant that I was joking about not taking you seriously! I wasn’t saying you weren’t pretty.”
Zoe felt her cheeks colour. Before she could answer, Julie sent another message.
“By which I mean, you are objectively pretty. Like, scientifically, in a “golden ratio” type of way. Not in any personal subjective interpretation. Hope I’m being clear!”
Julie really knew how to speak to women. Maybe that’s the reason why she was still single. Zoe tried to repress a smile, in case somebody would walk into the kitchen and see her grinning like a maniac at her phone. She wanted to entertain whatever was going on in this conversation.
“You think I’m pretty?”
“Sorry Zo, gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
