Authors: Chris Cavender
Rest in Pizza (4 page)
“Because of the company?” I asked, teasing him.
“That, too, but you really can make a great pizza. Have you ever thought about going into business?”
I laughed. “No, it sounds too much like work.” As I said it, David yawned. “I’m not keeping you up, am I?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m just a little tired. I had to start work at six this morning so I could justify the drive back here tonight so I could see you.”
“Do you really have to go back right away?” I hated the thought of him driving three hours on the interstate when he was clearly exhausted.
He nodded. “I’m afraid so. I was lucky to carve out enough time to come back tonight, and I’m going to be paying for it tomorrow,” he said as he stood and stretched.
I walked him to his car, and then gave him my best good night kiss. “I’m glad you did.”
“Me, too,” he said. “Trust me, you’re worth every bit of the effort.”
For some reason, I just couldn’t seem to let him go. “You’re not driving back tonight, are you?”
“No, I’d never make it,” he admitted. “I’ll go back to my apartment and see if I can steal a little sleep before I tackle the drive. I’m glad I never gave up my lease on it.”
I hated the thought of what he’d given up just to see me. “How soon do you have to leave in the morning?”
He groaned softly. “It’ll have to be around five, if I’m going to make it to the morning meeting in time.”
“I hope it was worth it,” I asked.
“I’d leave right now, if I had to. That’s how much this all meant to me.”
“But you won’t, right? You need at least some sleep first,” I said as I gave him another kiss, and then pushed him away. “Don’t worry about the basket. I’ll do the dishes and have it ready for the next time you come over.”
“That sounds promising,” he said.
“Quit fishing,” I said. “You know there’s going to be a next time.”
“I always hope so,” he said. “But I don’t want to take anything for granted.”
“You’re not,” I said.
I stood on the porch and waved to David as he drove away, and then gathered the dishes and basket and walked inside.
I’d fought his presence in my life for a long time, but it was good having him in it now, and I knew in my heart that Joe would have approved.
Chapter 3
“E
leanor, I don’t know why we can’t shut down for a few hours today, too, so I can come with you. We won’t lose that much business.”
leanor, I don’t know why we can’t shut down for a few hours today, too, so I can come with you. We won’t lose that much business.”
I couldn’t believe that Maddy was actually arguing with me about closing the Slice while I helped Cindy to get ready for her grand opening and book signing. My sister had been the one urging me all last week to keep the place open while Chef Benet was in town, but now that we were on the eve of his visit, she was clearly beginning to have second thoughts.
“That’s not what you said before.”
Maddy shrugged. “I know, but a girl has a right to change her mind sometimes, doesn’t she?”
I laughed at her. “Come on, tell the truth. You’re just not all that crazy about running the kitchen while I’m gone, are you? Have some faith in yourself, Sis. You’re good at it. You’ve proven that before.”
She acted as though this wasn’t news to her, but she was clearly still unhappy about the arrangements. “I know I can handle it, but I still think that you could use my help dealing with Benet. You don’t know what he’s like.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve done some research,” I said. I had, too, checking out his name on the Internet. If half the stories I’d read were true, there was a part of me that was starting to think that
Maddy was right. The man might really be too much for me to handle on my own.
“Tell you what,” I said. “We’ll keep things like we planned them for now, but if I feel like I’m in over my head, I’ll send you a 911 text and you can rush right over.”
“I’ll be waiting for it,” she said.
“Come on. You’ll be fine,” I said, trying to buoy her spirits.
“I’m not the one I’m worried about,” she said as I left her alone in the kitchen.
Greg was prepared to wait on tables by himself, since Josh was still in school for another hour, but so far, we hadn’t had a customer all afternoon.
“What’s up, boss? Heading over to the slaughterhouse?”
“Keep an eye on her, would you?” I asked. “If things get too crazy, give me a call and I’ll see if I can come over and lend a hand.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”
“Josh is still coming as soon as school’s out, right?”
“He’ll be here. He texted me about ten minutes ago, and I can handle this madhouse by myself until he shows up. Not that it’s anything to worry about at the moment. Why the lull? Have any ideas?”
“Who knows? Our customer base is capricious at best. I’m sure someone will show up soon.”
“I hope so,” he said. “I’ve already done the crossword puzzle in today’s paper, and I’m going to start on the brainteasers next, and I hate doing those things.”
I nodded. “Maybe our lack of customers isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
He looked at me oddly, and then asked, “Are you feeling okay, boss? Do you have a fever or something?”
“I’m fine,” I said a little self-consciously. “Why, do I look bad?”
“No, but that’s the problem,” Greg answered. “I just figured if you stopped worrying about the bottom line around here, something must be horribly wrong with you.”
I had to laugh. “I may pinch pennies, but we both know that there’s more to life than money.”
Greg kept looking at me strangely. “If you’re trying to persuade me that you’re okay, you’re using the wrong words.”
I had to smile, mainly because he was right. “Okay, I get it. Seriously, though, we might end up shutting down a few hours today, along with tomorrow’s signing. Are you okay with that?”
“I’m fine with it. It’s not exactly like I need the money to get by, remember?” he asked with a grin.
“I know. I’m just grateful you keep coming in at all,” I said, sounding a little more sincere than I’d planned. “I’ve been afraid to ask, but why
do
you keep coming back?”
do
you keep coming back?”
It was his turn to look serious as he asked, “Eleanor, you’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”
“No way. I’m just not sure I’d act the same way if I were in your shoes.”
Greg just shrugged. “You might be surprised. I’d go crazy with nothing to do but go to college, and besides, where else would I find the kind of entertainment that’s around here every day?”
“I’ll grant you that,” I said with a smile. “Maddy and I both love having you here. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do, but it’s always good to hear,” he said.
Josh came in as we were talking, and he looked excited as he asked, “Did you two see the fire?”
I was about to ask him if he was cutting classes again to work at the pizzeria when his initial question cut through my mind and moved to the head of the line.
“What are you talking about? Where did you see a fire?” I asked, having a feeling of dread sink into my stomach as I imagined the books at the new bookstore going up in flames. “Is it in the Bookmark?”
“Believe it or not, it’s closer than that,” Josh said as he pointed outside. “Somebody must have just torched the trashcan out front.”
We all raced to the front window, and Maddy must have heard the commotion, because she soon joined us. “What’s going on?” she asked as she dried her hands on her apron.
I pointed outside as the flames in the trashcan leaped higher into the air. “It appears that there is an arsonist loose in Timber Ridge.”
“Well, hot dog, grab some marshmallows and let’s have ourselves a roast,” my sister said as she headed out the door.
We all followed her, and I found myself wondering what kind of craziness we’d see next in Timber Ridge. The ground around the can was covered in brick pavers, and there wasn’t another structure within two dozen feet, so I knew if we just left the fire alone, it would burn itself out soon enough. Not that there was any chance of that happening with the two young men I had working for me.
“Should we try to put it out?” Greg asked, just as I heard sirens coming from nearby. “I’ve been dying for the chance to use that fire extinguisher of yours.”
“No need,” I said. “This will give our volunteer firefighters something to practice on that they didn’t set themselves.”
“I’m taking bets about how many people they use to put it out,” Greg said. “Anybody want to make a friendly wager?”
“What’s your over and under number?” Maddy asked.
I swatted at my sister. “Don’t encourage him,” I said.
“Seven,” Greg added.
Maddy looked at him and said, “Knowing this town, I’ll take the over.”
“No way they’ll use more than four,” Josh said.
Greg looked at me and asked, “Eleanor, do you want to get in on this? The betting window is about to close.”
“You know I don’t approve of gambling,” I said, “but this is a sure thing. Maddy’s right. They’ll send at least nine.”
Maddy grinned at me, and I smiled back. We stood far enough away not to get in the way, and as the fire truck rolled up, I was amazed to see that there were only three firefighters on it.
Josh smiled. “It looks like I win.”
“Hang on a second. The fire’s not out yet,” Maddy said.
“No way. Only the ones on the truck count,” Josh said.
“Judges?” Maddy asked Greg.
He grinned. “The number has to be the total firefighters that show up until the blaze is out. Sorry, Josh.”
His best friend just laughed. “That’s okay. I can live with that.”
The hose was hooked up to a hydrant at the edge of the promenade, and by the time they got it unrolled and in front of the trashcan, which was now slowly burning out all by itself, there were exactly seven volunteers. They absolutely buried the can with water, snuffing out the last remaining ember and sending debris all over my section of the promenade. The force of the blast was so hard, I was afraid they’d knock the can off its chain, but it held fast. I looked around and saw that the activity had drawn quite a crowd, including Cindy from the Bookmark.
I called over to her, “Today’s the big day.”
“Are you coming?” she asked, the nervousness clear in her voice.
“No worries; I’ll be there soon.”
Cindy managed a halfhearted wave, and then disappeared back into her bookstore. I had to wonder just how bad her day had been so far, and how much worse it was probably going to get.
I just hoped that I was wrong. Now that the excitement was over, I decided that there was no point in putting it off. As the crew of volunteers rolled their hose up and put it back in the truck, I said, “Well, it looks like all of the entertainment is over, so I’d better take off. I’ll see you all later.”
“Have fun,” Maddy said with a hint of the devil in her eyes.
“You, too,” I answered.
“Remember the secret number if you get in a jam,” Maddy said, mouthing
nine one one
to me.
nine one one
to me.
I just laughed as I left them there.
As I walked down the promenade toward the Bookmark, I took a deep breath.
It was time to follow up on my promise to help.
I just hoped Chef Benet wasn’t as bad as I’d heard.
But I wasn’t counting on it.
I had to knock on the Bookmark’s door three times before anyone came to let me in. Cindy finally heard me, and she looked frazzled already when she unlocked the door, something that was definitely not a good sign.
“Are things really that bad?” I asked.
“I don’t know how they could get any worse. Chef Benet’s assistant just got here, but the star of the show isn’t even in town yet. What am I going to do if Benet doesn’t show up tomorrow?”
Cindy looked as though she wanted to cry. It was time to do my best to calm her down. “Take it easy, and tell me what’s going on. Were you honestly expecting him to get here the day before his event? He’s probably busy with his television show responsibilities.”
“But they told me he’d be here today,” she said, as though repeating it enough would somehow make it happen.
I tapped my watch. “Don’t borrow trouble. Today’s not over yet, not by a long shot, Cindy. Has anything good happened so far?” I had to do my best to cheer her spirits.
“Well,” she admitted, “at least his personal assistant is here.”
“That’s good, right?” I asked, trying to reach for anything I could.
Cindy’s frown just deepened. “I’m not all that sure. From what he’s been saying so far, we’re going to be in for a rough ride. Eleanor, I’m so sorry I got you into this.”
“Nonsense, I’m happy to help. Now, let’s go see what we can do to make this go more smoothly and take some of the worries off your mind.”
“I’m not sure that’s even possible,” she admitted.
“Tomorrow is a big day for you, and you need to do your best to enjoy it.”
As we spoke, a tall, thin young man with ginger hair came out biting his lower lip and mumbling softly to himself.
When he spotted me, he asked Cindy, “Who is this? One of your clerks?”
“I’m Eleanor Swift,” I said, extending my hand.
He either didn’t notice it, or chose to ignore it, as he said, “I’m sorry, I should have guessed. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but we’ve got a ton of work to do before the event tomorrow. Why exactly are you here?”
“I asked her to come over to lend a hand. She’s going to be helping us out as one of Chef Benet’s assistants,” Cindy said. “She runs A Slice of Delight just down the promenade.”
“Right, the pizza place,” he said with a worried expression on his face. “I have to tell you, the chef is not at all happy about that.”
Okay, somehow this conversation had started off badly, but I wasn’t going to keep it that way. “I’m sorry. I introduced myself before, but I still don’t know who you are.”
“I’m the assistant to Chef Benet,” he answered a little too stiffly for my taste.
“I didn’t ask you what your job description was. Let’s try this again. I’m Eleanor Swift. And you are?” I asked with my brightest smile.
The young man sighed as he returned it and shrugged. “Forgive me. When I’m setting up for one of the chef’s events, I kind of get in a zone. I do apologize, and I’ll try to be a little less intense. My name is Oliver Wills, by the way.”
“So, how long have you worked for Benet?” I asked.
He flinched as I said the chef’s name. “It’s Chef, always Chef, and nothing but Chef. He won’t even answer to his name, if you can believe that.”
“From what I’ve heard about him, I have no trouble believing that all,” I said, still smiling.
Oliver laughed. “You think you know what he’s like, but you’re wrong. He’s a thousand times worse than his reputation.”
What an odd thing to say about an employer. “If you don’t mind my asking, why do you continue to work for him, then?”
Oliver looked as though he’d contemplated that very question a million times before. “He’s a celebrity, and I’m just a nobody. Not that I’m not a good cook in my own right,” he added hastily, “But Chef has the fame, and the reputation, and at our little network, that seems to be what matters most. Talent and ability both take a backseat to star power.”
Other books
Game by Barry Lyga
Dark Phase by Davison, Jonathan
Black Irish by Stephan Talty
To Marry a Duke by Fenella J Miller
All Night Long by Madelynne Ellis
Blackjack Wayward (The Blackjack Series) by Ben Bequer
Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell
El mundo y sus demonios by Carl Sagan
The Long Count by JM Gulvin
Running Free by K Webster