Chapter 6

6

JODI

I was going to have to talk to Ally about her descriptive skills.

The way she made it out, the restaurant just needed a little boost, a server to act as a patch when they didn’t have enough people on the floor or there was a day when more than one person needed the time off. It sounded like a good filler for a time while I looked for something else, but probably not enough to really sustain me.

And then I got to the restaurant.

The place was in chaos. It was the type of smooth, controlled chaos that came from people who knew what they were doing and worked hard at not letting their customers know what was really going on. But it was chaos, nonetheless.

They weren’t just looking up for another server or someone they could have on call. This place was desperate for help. They needed someone who knew what they were doing, and they needed it fast.

I had to admit, I was leery when I agreed to apply for the server position at the vineyard. That didn’t get any better when I actually pulled in to meet Ally. If anything, I felt even more unsure of my decision. It seemed like things were falling into place too easily with this position, and things like that never happened for me. Not since realizing my life was in my family’s hands and they were planning on more or less offering me up to the highest bidder.

That was when I left. Before then, life was pampered, luxurious, and easy. At least, for the most part, in the ways most people immediately think about. I had everything I wanted and needed. Doors were opened for me both literally and figuratively. For that part of my life, everything came easy.

But I had never really had to try for anything, so I didn’t know what that meant. Now, I knew. And I knew roads were hard, obstacles were plentiful, and people weren’t to be trusted.

Only, I didn’t get that same vibe from Ally. She was sweet and friendly, but more than that, she seemed honest as hell. And I couldn’t overlook the reality that I needed the money. I couldn’t stay ahead of my family if I was broke. I just had to get through one more year. Just one more year of staying under the radar and I would be just fine.

Once that year passed, I would be old enough to gain access to my trust fund. My parents didn’t have the legal ability to touch that money, and there was nothing they could do to hinder me getting it. The money was left for me by my grandparents with strict protections, and the lawyers had all been very clear that no one could access it but me when I came of the age that was set with it.

That meant in just one year, I could take my money, do whatever the hell I wanted, and never have to worry about my family again.

But that was still a year away. Until then, I had to keep going. I had to find every grind I could just to keep myself afloat until I actually did get to that point. And this position was right here in front of me. It seemed almost too good, but at the same time, it did involve Derek. So maybe that was the flaw that was there to prove to me this was a genuine opportunity just waiting for me to take it.

So, I did.

As soon as we stepped into the restaurant and I saw the state of things, Ally looked both embarrassed and worried.

“Let me try to help them get things a bit under control, and then I’ll be back to bring you to the office to fill out an application,” she said.

“I can help,” I said. “Just point me in the direction of the kitchen.”

“Are you sure?”

“What’s a better application than actually seeing me in action?”

That seemed to convince her, and a minute later, I was bussing a table and listening in while one of the servers rattled on the daily specials. I only needed to hear the list a couple of times to have it memorized. That was one of the unexpected skills I’d discovered about myself when I started working in restaurants. I had the ability to absorb things like specials menus, drink options, and ingredients lists and repeat them back with little preparation.

That meant soon I was taking the orders of my own table and acting as backup for another server. Bringing out the food let me look at it and smell it, which enabled me to describe it more effectively to the customers.

The next couple of hours were a whirlwind, but finally we got everything on track, and it calmed down. As we entered the break between late lunch and dinner service, I took off my apron and tossed it into a container of dirtied linens with the others. Ally came up to me with a grin on her face and a glass of sweet tea in her hand. I accepted the drink and took a grateful sip, not realizing how thirsty I was until the first bit went down my throat.

“You are doing an amazing job,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough. You know, maybe I should just have ‘thank you, Jodi’ printed up on a T-shirt and I can wear it anytime I see you. It would save me a lot of time.”

I laughed. “No problem.”

“I should be thanking you too,” another voice said. I looked over toward it and saw Derek. He at least had the decency to look humble and maybe even a little sheepish. “I saw you working out there, and you were really good.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Ally looked at him, her eyebrows lifting expectantly, and he drew in a slight breath.

“I also want to actually apologize for the way I spoke to you the other day. It was presumptuous of me, and I was a jerk about it,” he said. “And if you are willing to stay for the dinner service, we would be happy to have you.”

I gave a single affirmative nod, and he glanced at Ally before walking away again.

“See, I told you he would eat crow,” she said with a laugh. “But I guess we do have to give him at least a little bit of a break about the whole thing. He is one of the last two single King brothers. The three of us women and his brothers have all been trying to set him up. I should probably apologize about that.”

“Don’t you dare,” I said. “Like I told you before, you aren’t responsible for his behavior. But maybe you shouldn’t be trying to set him up.”

We laughed together, and she told me to go to the kitchen to grab something to eat and catch a few minutes of rest before the dinner service started.

“So, does this mean I have the job? Should I still fill out an application?” I asked.

Ally slung an arm around my shoulders and walked with me into the kitchen to get food.

“You definitely don’t need an application,” she said. “At the rate you were working, you might just run some of the other servers off the vineyard.”

“Don’t say that,” I said. “I don’t think we could handle any fewer hands.”

We laughed again and accepted the plates the cook was holding out to us.

In an afternoon I had gone from slinging breakfast and burgers at the diner to having a job at a high-end restaurant serving froufrou food and expensive wine. It was a completely different experience even if many of the skills were the same. It definitely wasn’t bad. I had Ally there and was getting along with the other waitstaff as much as I could in the brief time we got to interact. The clientele wasn’t as loud or crass either, which could sometimes be fun but also lost its charm quickly.

Above all, the tips were more than worth it. I was pocketing far more pouring wine and serving up elegant dishes of food I barely recognized than I did with eggs and endless mugs of black coffee. I had to admit it reminded me a bit of the way I’d grown up and the life I left behind, but I could live with that if it helped me reach my goal.

The break to eat and relax a little turned out to be even more important than I expected it to be. Every reservation was booked that night, and we even got a few walk-ins desperate for a table who ended up sitting at the bar or waiting for hours to get wedged in when the reserved tables emptied.

By the end of the night, my feet hurt, but I was feeling flush with cash. There was more in my pockets to add to the duffle bag in my room than I would usually squirrel away in a few weeks. It was a good feeling.

The hard work also left me ravenous, and when Ally cornered me to make sure I was staying for a family meal, there was no way I was going to turn it down. I was ready to shove anything I could find into my mouth.

The kitchen staff brought out pans of pasta salad and the leftover ends of loaves of bread cut off before the neater slices were brought to tables. We loaded up our plates, poured glasses of wine and soft drinks, and spread out at the tables in the front of the house.

There was a sense of accomplishment and pride that came with settling down at the tables that were recently occupied by the customers we served. They came dressed up, ready to be on their best behavior in the beautiful restaurant and have an elegant meal. We got to slouch, sprawl, and relax, feeling at ease when we ate.

I would imagine it was kind of like the feeling of having people over to your home for a dinner party and then those first moments after you close the door behind them. I’d never had a dinner party of my own, obviously, but I remembered what the stuffy gatherings were like when my parents had them when I was young.

Even though it was only my first day, I found myself getting wrapped up in that feeling when I sat down with everyone to eat and celebrate the end of a great day. After everybody got a few bites in, Derek got a glass of wine and stood up in front of everybody.

“By now, most of you have probably already noticed we have a new face among us. You may have even met her. I doubt it, though, considering she’s been going at full speed since she got here. Now that we are all settled down, I want to introduce you to Jodi. She came in and saved us today, and since she has agreed to take the position full-time, she’ll be saving us a lot more. I want all of you to welcome her and make sure she’s comfortable. Here’s to Jodi,” he said.

He finished the toast and held up his glass. The small team all welcomed me, and I was immediately brought into several conversations as we dug into our meals. I had a feeling I was going to like it here.