The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (62 page)

“So Lucas, rumor has it you’re an actor.  Have you done anything I might have seen?” I probe.

“I’ve had a few small parts in a couple of decent movies.  I haven’t really gotten any top-billed roles yet,” he explains. 

Not satisfied, Emmy pushes for more.  “Lucas, name a movie you’ve been in and I’ll tell you if I’ve seen it.”

Lucas is about to respond when the waitress arrives with their drinks.  It looks like Lucas ordered a Red Zone and Auggie ordered an Interception.  They take an experimental sip of their cocktails, and both seem pleased with their selections.  “Jette my Pet, this is great.  How’s your drink, Lucas?” Auggie asks.

“Wow, really awesome.  I might have a new favorite cocktail.  Please give my compliments to that adorable bartender,” Lucas teases, staring directly at Derek, winking at him and holding up his cocktail.  He’s openly flirting right in front of Auggie.  It makes me more than a little uncomfortable.  I don’t like it.

“So, Lucas, you were about to tell us about your roles.  What’s the biggest movie you’ve appeared in?” I ask.

“The biggest, huh?  I guess I’d have to say the Zenith Saga.  I only had a few lines in each movie, but I was in all of them.  Did you guys ever see them?”  He sits back in his chair, gloating, waiting for us to gush all over him.

Emmy kicks me under the table, but I answer first, “Nope, never did.  Sorry.  I have no interest in those vampire movies everyone’s so crazy about lately.”  Auggie knows I’m lying because he watched all the movies with me, but he doesn’t call me out on it.

Just as there’s a lull in the conversation, the waitress comes over with the boy’s food order.  Emmy and I excuse ourselves and leave the boys to hopefully enjoy their meal.

I leave Emmy at the bar in a slightly soured mood and head back to the kitchen to check in with Reese.  I take a quick look around, and I don’t see her.  I ask the other cooks where she is, and they point to the back door.  “She stepped out to make a call,” I’m told.

I wait a few minutes and chat with the other cooks, including my pastry chef, Natalie, to see how things are going.  I am very pleased with everything I’m seeing.  Natalie has bakery experience, but this is her first job in a restaurant.  Her desserts are outstanding.  I found her a great sous chef from the local community college who did an internship at a few restaurants.  Natalie and I have been working together closely for weeks now, collaborating on recipes and designing the perfectly plated dessert selections.  I have complete confidence in her ability to execute and deliver.

As we talk about tomorrow’s big day, the waitress returns with Auggie’s Brie burger.  She tells us that it’s underdone and he’d like a new one.  I take one look at it, and he’s wrong.  It’s not underdone, it’s damn near raw.  “Who cooked this burger?” I ask. 

A timid, soft-spoken young man raises his hand.  “I did,” he admits.

“Who plated the meal?” is my next question.

Another young man whose name escapes me raises his hand, “That would be me,” he claims.

“Aren’t you the intern from Brookdale?” I question him.

“I am,” he replies.

“Where’s Reese?  Why didn’t she cook this?  Or plate it?” I demand. 

Before anyone has a chance to answer, Reese comes waltzing back into the kitchen, still chatting on her phone.  She sees me and ends her call abruptly.

I hand her the plate of undercooked hamburger, “Here, this is for you.  Enjoy.”

She looks at it, confused.  “I don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand, either.  How did this happen, Reese?  It’s just a burger.  You weren’t here to cook it and apparently you weren’t here to plate it, either.  What’s going on?” I demand.

“No big deal.  We’ll make him a new one.  It’s just Auggie, right?” she dismisses my concerns.  She walks away from me and begins preparing a new burger.  At least it looks like she’s going to cook this one.

I slip out of the kitchen and go find Marcus.  I pull him into my office and close the door.  I have a small office in the back of the bar.  It’s got room enough for the essentials – a desk with a computer, a chair, and a small couch.  I take a seat behind the desk and Marcus makes himself comfortable in the small leather chair.

“Tell me, Marcus, how did the tasting go yesterday?” I question him.

“Well, one thing I know for sure is that Natalie is a rock star.  Everything she put out was top-notch.  Since this is a dessert bar, that’s a pretty big deal.  You really lucked out when you found her.  She’s got a great assistant in there with her.”  Marcus seems genuinely pleased with Natalie and I’m glad.

“What about the food?  How did Reese do?”  That’s what I’m the most concerned about right now.

“To be honest, once everything came out, it was really great.  We wound up having all the desserts first because Reese couldn’t coordinate everything coming out of the kitchen.  I had to go back there to help expedite.  I’ve never worked in a restaurant before, Jette, so I don’t know how helpful I was,” he explains.

“I knew Reese could cook, she was at the top of our class.  Skill and knowledge was never her problem.  I guess having little practical experience on the line is starting to show her weaknesses.  She definitely needs to work on her leadership skills,” I speculate.

“I think you’re right, Jette,” Marcus agrees.  “She needs someone in there with her that can lead and help.  I just don’t think she’s ready yet.  We’re opening with a condensed menu, and she’s only got three items on there right now.  We need to find someone to help her by the time you’re ready to launch your full menu.”

“We open tomorrow on Memorial Day.  After that, we’re only open three days a week throughout the month of June.  By the Fourth of July, I want a full menu and that means we need to find someone that can work in there with her.”  I give Marcus one final instruction, “Keep your eyes and ears open for me, okay?”

“Will do, boss lady.”  Marcus gets up to leave, then turns and adds a final thought.  “How would you feel if I found a military veteran with culinary experience?  I know there are a lot of unemployed vets out there looking for a job.  Mind if I make a few phone calls?”

“Mind?  That sounds beyond awesome, Marcus.”

Marcus gets back to his job, checking up on the front of house staff and I return to check in on our only guests today, Auggie and Lucas, just as they are about to begin on their desserts.  “So gentlemen, tell me the truth.  How was everything today?”

Auggie jumps in without hesitation, “Everything was absolutely delicious, Jette.  The drinks, the desserts, even my hamburger was out of this world.”

I challenge him on the hamburger remark.  “Auggie, I know you sent the burger back.  Can’t you at least be honest with me?”

“It’s true, I did send it back,” he admits.  “But the refire was out of this world.  It was great, really.  It may have been just a burger, but it was elevated to a whole new level of taste.” 

I look at him from the corner of my eyes warning him, “You better not be bullshitting me, Aug.  Was it really worth it?”

“Listen, Reese can cook, that’s for sure.  It really was good.  She’s just got to keep a closer eye on what goes on back there,” he assures me.  “Jette, my Pet, wait and see.  Everyone is going to fall in love with this place.  I sure did.”

“Did you enjoy your visit today, too, Lucas?  How was everything?” I ask.

“Loved it!  The food, the drinks, the scenery,” he looks around the room scanning for the young attractive male employees.  “Can’t wait to come back.”

Shape Up or Ship Out

A
uggie and Lucas drop me off at home.  Evan’s still out with Adam, so I send him a quick text message just to touch base.

Jette: 
hey, sexy – coming home for dinner?

Evan: 
who is this?

Jette: 
not funny, bossy man. Well?  Dinner?

Evan: 
yeah – starved.  Bringing Adam. 

Jette: 
K.  luv u.

Evan: 
<3

I rummage through the refrigerator and find enough chop meat for burgers.  After making the patties, I begin to peel and slice some potatoes for homemade potato chips while Maddy blissfully works on shredding her rope toy into pieces at my feet.  She’s great entertainment and I’m glad to have the company.

While I wait for the boys to return home, I decide to make a few calls to remind everyone about tomorrow’s schedule for the Soft Opening.  A quick call to my mother confirms that she and my grandmother will be making the drive down from Bayonne.  I give her tips on where to park, but she cuts me off mid-sentence, reminding me that she grew up here at the shore and she knows the area just as well as I do.  I haven’t seen her in a few weeks, and I’m actually looking forward to showing off the finished bar.  She saw it as an empty office space when we first got the keys.  The transformation is remarkable and I just know she’s going to be impressed.

The next call is to Evan’s mother, Jill.  I’ve become very close with Evan’s parents and sister over the last seven weeks.  We spent nearly ten hours together wondering if we would ever see him alive again.  That was, by far, the worst night of my life. We consoled one another when things looked grim, we tried to lift each other’s spirits when necessary, and we rejoiced together when we finally saw him emerge from the darkness.  I aged ten years in those hours, but I also forged a bond with the entire McGuire family that I will cherish forever.

“Juliette, dear, what time do you want us to arrive?  It will only be the four of us, you know.  Callie and Dean have decided to have Regan spend the night with Dean’s parents so they can relax and enjoy themselves,” she explains.

“Well, Evan and I will be there all day, but the doors will officially open at six o’clock,” I respond.  “We hope you and John will be the first in line.”

We chat for a few more minutes and just as I’m about to hang up, Jill asks about the latest gossip she’s been reading about Evan on the Internet.  I assure her Adam is handling things and explain about the voluntary drug testing Evan submitted himself to earlier today.  She seems satisfied and not overly concerned.  I don’t tell her about Evan’s near melt down or his big money deal in the works.  We’re not going to talk about it again until it’s official.

Just as I’m about to hang up, Evan comes walking in the door with Adam following closely behind.  I end the call as Evan grabs me and plants tiny love bites all over my neck.  I wrap my arms around his waist and give an affectionate squeeze to his posterior.  I love the feel of his tight ass in my hands.  As I do, he gives a little wriggle with his hips as a playful growl escapes from his lips.

“Hey, you two.  Do you mind?” Adam interrupts.

“Why don’t you make yourself useful and go turn on the grill,” Evan commands without breaking our bond.

Maddy follows Adam outside and Evan releases me from his grip.  “So, you seem to be in a great mood today.  Did you have fun tossing the football around?” I ask.

He nods in agreement, popping a few cherry tomatoes in his mouth before he continues.  “It was awesome.  A couple of kids from the high school football team heard we were on the field and came out to meet us.  We tossed the ball around with the kids and ran a few of their plays.  They’ve got a pretty good team, great bunch of boys.”

Adam returns and joins in, “Yeah, they were definitely excited to toss the pigskin with Big Mac, here,” he says as he gives Evan a masculine pat on the chest.

“How did you do, Evan?  You know, with your hand and everything?”  I know he’s been worried about his grip and his arm.  As far as I know, this is his first opportunity to test his skills.

Evan just grins and playfully arches his eyebrows, suggesting he’s happy with today’s performance.  It’s Adam that fills me in on the details.

“Jette, it was great to watch Evan back with a football in his hands.  I don’t know how it’s possible, but I think he’s actually better, more accurate, more precise.”  Evan just shrugs off the comment and starts nibbling on a pickle.

Adam continues, “Since Evan couldn’t work on his throwing techniques, he’s been working extraordinarily hard on his footwork.  What I saw today was amazing.  He’s always had a good arm and could toss the ball a mile deep, but now he’s got the footwork, too.  He’s faster, quicker and more nimble than ever.  Coach Vinciguerra is going to shit a brick when he sees Evan dominate the field.  Matt Ortiz better start looking at retirement villages and second careers because our man here is ready!”