Chapter 5

5

DEREK

T he week was a slog of work and avoiding my best friend. Ally was pissed and had let me know exactly how pissed she was before going completely radio silent on me. Even Noah got in on it, reading me a riot act about how I had acted and how it had affected Ally and the girl, Jodi. Apparently, she had not been there for a setup. What she had been there for was still a bit unclear, but it wasn’t expressly to meet me. I felt rather foolish about the whole thing, and Noah had eventually let it go. Ally, not so much.

As Saturday dawned, I was dreading it for the first time since we reopened. Saturdays were always insane. It was the only day of the week where we did a full menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It had historically, since the day we reopened, been our biggest day, and busiest. Normally, a Saturday would see me crank up some music or put something funny on the television I insisted be put in the high corner of the kitchen when Noah rebuilt it. If I could keep the mood light-hearted, such a long day wouldn’t seem so bad.

But with Ally being as angry with me as she was, there was no hope of it being an easy day. I was about ready to go find my brothers and strangle them, one by one, for talking me into running the family restaurant. I could have done any number of things, worked in any number of restaurants rather than do this, but the pull of working with my family on the family vineyard had been too much. Also, having a custom-built kitchen and my best friend in it with me had sold me. Now, my best friend was angry with me, and for whatever reason the remote for the television wasn’t working.

My mind was occupied by the drama coming from the waitstaff though. One of the servers, Amanda, had quit yesterday, mid-service. Apparently, she was going through some family shit and wanted to go back home to the East Coast. She had finished up her shift and then was gone, meaning I was down a server for the busiest day of the week. On top of everything else.

The head of the waitstaff, Charlotte, was already in the office going through the personnel files. She had called a couple of the girls she used to work with at other restaurants to see if they wanted to come in and pick up a shift. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but we would make it work for a weekend or so until we could get someone more permanent.

One of the servers, Kylie, came in from the kitchen, moving like her ass was on fire as she usually did. She was usually the first of the regular waitstaff to clock in, and I was glad to see her. She was a tough cookie, and her partner, Sarah, was the bartender on Saturday nights. I could always depend on Kylie to expedite if things got hot and heavy, since she moved like she was training for the Olympics and yet still never broke a dish or had a collision. If there was ever someone custom-built for the job of being a standout waitress, it was Kylie.

Kylie made her way to the back, put on her apron, and started rolling silverware. She took a tray out to the floor at the same time that Ally came in, her eyes zeroing in on me as I began prep work, and I put the knife down.

“Ally,” I said, nodding.

She sighed heavily and crossed her arms over her chest for a moment.

“I am still pissed at you,” she said. “But I think I can solve this problem if you’re willing to be a man and eat some crow.”

“I’d eat a damn vulture if it meant you could get me a server for today,” I said. “Amanda quit. We have two people to run the floor for the entire day, and I’m not sure I can convince Sam to come in and work the first two shifts.”

Ally nodded. “I know. Kylie told me yesterday. Do you not think I talk to everyone?”

I shrugged. “You’ve been really angry the last couple days.”

“With good reason.”

I nodded, leaning back on the counter. “Yes, with good reason. But you haven’t been talking much to anyone, so I didn’t know if you knew.”

“I haven’t been talking to you , Derek. The world does not revolve around you though,” she said. “And again, I might have a solution that will save your ass if you are willing to be humble for a second.”

“If you have a solution to this mess, Ally, I am all ears.”

She held up one finger and went to the swinging door, sticking her hand out and yanking on something. That something happened to be the shirt of the wildly unhappy-looking woman I had been rude to, Jodi. She looked like she would rather be anywhere else on earth than in that kitchen at that moment. But she was wearing the uniform, I noticed. Black T-shirt, black jeans, black shoes with rubber soles. It was classic, if a bit boring, but it was sleek. Her long brown hair was even pulled up into a tight bun.

I sighed, pulled a bit of paper towel down, and toweled off my hands before tossing it into the bin and walking over. I held out my hand, and after glancing at Ally, Jodi took it and gently squeezed. I squeezed back and tried to make eye contact with her. Her eyes were so gorgeous, even as apprehensive as they were at that moment.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I acted like an enormous asshole to you the other day. Please save us.”

The faintest hint of a smile touched the corner of her full, pouty lips, and I felt something in my chest squeeze. She blinked a few times and looked at Ally and then back to me before shaking my hand up and down in a quick pump.

“Sure, I can do that. We are all entitled to bad days, so I get it.” She glanced back at Ally again, and a thought crossed my mind that something strange was going on. Ally nodded to her, and Jodi turned back to me again. “I need to work under the table.”

She said it so simply, so bluntly, it took a second to process. Usually, I was wary of bringing people in under the table. It only ever caused headaches if they worked for more than a couple of days like that, and if the tax man ever found out, I was up shit’s creek. However, once in a while, it was better to bring someone in that way and try them out before hiring them full-time. Someone asking to stay under the table was new to me.

Slowly, I nodded.

“Alright, I can work with that,” I said. “Since you’re saving our ass and all. If Ally vouches for you, we will keep it under the table. I can’t put you on the payroll though, if you’re not above board.”

“That’s fine. I’m good being tips-only.”

“I’m sure if Ally pulled you in, that means you have prior experience waiting tables?” I asked.

“Yup,” she said. “Tons.”

“Alright then, Charlotte is in the office now. Head on in to her and tell her I hired you under the table. She will get you set up and tell you what the specials and stuff are. The whole lay of the land. Welcome to the King Vineyard Restaurant.” I held out my hand again, and she took it and shook gently.

“Thanks,” she said.

She walked away, heading to the little office Charlotte was in and knocking on the door. Ally went with her and introduced her, and I overheard a bit of their conversation as I continued on the prep work. I watched her through the reflection of one of the silver pots and tried to force myself to look away.

She was stunning, absolutely a knockout, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. My hand was still buzzing from where I’d touched her; just shaking her hand sent me into a tizzy. What was going on with me? I never got this flustered. There was something different about Jodi, but I couldn’t put my finger on it just yet.

I found myself glancing back to the glass door of the waitstaff office over and over. I watched as she brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and smiled. Her full, ruby-red lips were so enticing, and I found myself gawking at her as she talked. Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice, and I went back to my work, only to find myself watching her again minutes later.

What the hell was going on with me?

Eventually, Ally left the office, catching me glancing in the window, but thankfully pretty far away and not actively gawking that time. She smirked as she walked over to her station and began to work. I put my head down, focusing on the food and the menu at hand, willing myself not to look at the office anymore.

After a little time, the door opened again, and Charlotte led her out. I looked up and made very brief eye contact with Jodi, felt my pants tighten, and looked away. It was like I was a high school boy all over again. Something about those mesmerizing green eyes and the way her pants hugged her tight, round ass made it hard for me to think about anything else. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to end up taking a finger off with my prep knife.

After Jodi and Charlotte disappeared through the door, I finally was able to focus again. Like a fog had lifted, my brain cleared, and I went back to being able to obsess over flavor and plating in such a way that I would be willing to take pictures of it for Alex’s social media pushes.

Ally began to warm up as the morning got into high gear, which made me feel a bit better about the day. It was tough being at odds with her, not only because she was my best friend and most respected colleague, but also her relationship with my brother complicated things. With her back to being silly and having me taste her dishes and vice versa, it made the day go by a lot smoother and a lot faster.

Still, I found myself walking slower when I crossed by the doors to the seating area, letting my eyes search for those ruby lips and green eyes. Every time I found them, she only seemed more enticing, more alluring. Thankfully, things got busy, and I didn’t have time to do much else other than cook.