Page 37 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
Classic Julie. Zoe knew the answer anyway. If Julie had a crush on her ten years ago, there was no way she didn’t think Zoe was still good-looking now. Zoe knew the years had been kind to her, just as they’d been to Julie. Not that it mattered anyway,since any type of attraction between them was definitely a thing of the past. But still, it wasn’t a terrible thing to think about.
Chapter 17
The lavish French doors opened and the main course was wheeled through: beef tenderloin layered with bresaola, surrounded by charred shallots and chanterelles. Another cart followed behind filled with plates of garnished broccoli with red peppers. The guests all exclaimed in delight, sitting around a long wooden table. The castle was a gigantic old hunting pavilion that had some renaissance elements mixed in with 19th century renovations. Zoe oversaw the serving of the main course then proceeded to give a description of the dish. Most people didn’t remember half of what was in the food, but she found that rich people liked to feel like their meal had a complicated story behind it, like ordinary people wouldn’t be smart enough to appreciate it. Several men nodded in agreement as she gave an overly long explanation of the bresaola.
“Excuse me, Zoe.” Colin waved at her. His tidy blonde hair was damp; he’d clearly showered after coming back to the castle.
Zoe had to repress the urge to roll her eyes. Colin was once again finding an excuse to talk to her, and she had no choice but to oblige. He’d hired her, after all.
“Yes?” She walked next to him, her hands behind her back.
“I didn’t quite catch how long the beef tenderloin had been dry aged for?”
“It was dry aged for five days.” Zoe tried to keep the answers short and concise.
“That sounds nice. Did you dry age it yourself?”
“Not personally. My team did.” She flashed a brief smile.
Colin leaned towards Zoe and said in a lower voice. “I’m very interested in the dry ageing process of beef. Is there any way we can talk about this more after dinner?”
Zoe wanted to scream no. “My assistant chef will be happy to tell you about his process. I can put in a word for you and see if he’s available afterwards.”
Colin frowned. “I’d rather have that conversation with you. Your assistant chef is Belgian and I have some business plans for the UK. It makes more sense that you and I discuss this.” He paused. “I think Tom could be potentially interested in the venture as well.” Colin gave Zoe a soft look. The type of gaze that probably won him many women over the years.
Zoe internally sighed. She couldn’t say no to that and risk word getting around in the industry that she wouldn’t have a casual conversation about dry ageing with Colin. Especially since he’d mentioned Tom. What if he told Tom afterwards that Zoe had refused to hear his business idea out for no particular reason?
“Alright. We can meet in the lobby as soon as you’re ready.”
“Perfect. I’ll let you know.” Colin gave her a smirk and a careless wink.
Great. Zoe felt a heavy feeling in her stomach. She’ll just have to be very clear with Colin that she was only there for business.
Dinner went on without further incident. Zoe dreaded the end of it as they had all moved on to dessert: a green apple crostata with buttermilk and caramel ice cream. She saw Colin from the corner of her eye, finishing the last bits of hisgelato,wiping his mouth off with his towel. He still had his glass of wine to finish. Zoe decided to disappear back into the kitchen, notgiving him a chance to leave the table early and ask her to share the wine.
She looked at the clock on her phone. 10:07 pm. Zoe hesitated. She really wanted to text Julie, just to feel like she had a friend on her side. But at the same time, she didn’t want to wait around, hoping for an answer. She heard Colin’s raucous laughter through the door. Zoe started typing.
“This annoying guy now wants to have a private conversation with me about dry ageing beef. This is so uncomfortable.”
Zoe was not scared of Colin. She knew how to handle herself around men like him. She was just frustrated that he wouldn’t take her seriously. That he would’ve never behaved this way with a man. He was abusing his employer status because he thought Zoe had pretty eyes. Catering was a part of her job that she liked, but these types of situations happened more often than they should. And usually, Nicki was there to fend off these people. It was always more appropriate to be let down by a celebrity’s assistant than by the celebrity themselves. At least when an assistant did it, people could feel like it wasn’t personal. With Colin, it was extremely personal. Her phone screen lit up.
“How obnoxious can he be? Is there something I can do?”
Was there something Julie could do? Zoe wished there was. Another text came in.
“When do you clock out? What if I give him a fake phone call to keep him busy until you’re free to escape?”
Zoe let out a chuckle. Julie’s mind worked in incredible ways.
“I think that if I give you a celebrity client’s personal phone number, that would be very bad for my business.”
“Hmm true…”Julie double texted again.“Are you still at the race track?”
“No, I’m at a fancy castle. That’s where he’s staying.”
“I could call the fancy castle, say there’s an emergency for whatshisface?”
That was… actually not a bad idea. Zoe pondered the feasibility of it. Her heartbeat went faster as she typed.“Actually… His car is still at the race track. They’re doing whatever car testing tomorrow with a bunch of other race teams. What if an issue had happened to his car and he needed to be at the track immediately?”
