“Several kinds actually,” the stranger beamed, and pointed to a chalkboard menu mounted on the wall behind the glass display case. “Of course, we have the traditional flavors, as you can see there – but we also have savory as well. Which are particularly good, I might add. I have samples for all of them.”
A vendor. Definitely a vendor. Although, I did have to admit he had pitched his creations better than most.
Tina and I looked at each other and decided to take a sample each. Tina chose Bourbon Pecan, and I went for one of the savory picks, with Betta’ Feta.
“Jake Hall,” the man said, and extended his hand as he gave me the mini-pie.
His handshake was warm, and pleasingly firm. At nearly six-foot myself, I absolutely loathed the dainty, half-finger-hold grasps that so many men seemed to love offering. I was a businesswoman, and they could shake my hand like one.
“Molly McGill,” I said, “And this is my sous-chef, Tina.” Tina gave him a quick wave.
He waited expectantly for a verdict as Tina and I both tucked into our samples and took a bite.
The ecstasy lighting up Tina’s face told me her sample was just as good as my own. The Betta’ Feta had a flaky phyllo dough topper, with a creamy feta cheese and spinach filling, and punctuated with a satisfying surprise of chopped walnuts. It was absolutely delicious.
I had been eager to simply write him off, but even I had to admit, these pies were phenomenal.
Jake beamed with pride.
“So, Jake Hall, proprietor of YIPPEE PIE YAY, tell me what you had in mind between our restaurant and store here, and your pies,” I said.
He grinned at the opening to pitch his business.
“You said your name was Molly. Molly McGill?”
I nodded, my body suddenly sending up warning flares of adrenaline. “That’s right,” I said, stiffening, and instinctively taking a few steps back.
“Would that make Chef James McGill your?” he asked, trailing off.
I knew it.
I stormed out of the truck, with Tina in tow. Jake leaned against the open door frame, and gazed down at us with a look of surprise. “I own half of this restaurant too,” I snapped. “And I am also a chef.”
Tina cocked an eyebrow at me. Ok, maybe chef was pushing it. Manager and owner was at least correct. I hated to admit it, but both Tina and James could cook circles around me. I needed a recipe. They could cook on the fly – and find a way to make a gourmet meal out of stale crackers and yogurt if they needed to.
Jake clapped his hands together. “Well, then I am still speaking to the right people,” he said, and damn it, if he didn’t offer that same grin. “I was hoping to speak with Chef James McGill, but I think you could help me too.”
“And how is that?” I said, looking up at him in defiance.
“I’m here to sell my truck,” he said matter-of-factly.
And with that news, I dropped my Mason jar. It thunked off the gravel drive, bounced once, and split clean in half.
It was an absolutely perfect reflection of what had just happened to my last nerve.
10
I stared daggers at Jake, and crossed my arms. I glanced down at my watch, then back to him. I had let my guard down and should have known this man was up to something. And sure enough, he was.
“Jake Hall, I think it’s time for you to go,” I said, hearing the venom in my voice. “Thank you for the samples, but no one here is interested in buying this contraption of yours.”
Jake ran a hand through his hair, and stepped slowly down from the truck. “I hate to be pushy, but I’d like to ask Chef McGill myself then,” he said in a measured tone.
Tina raised her eyebrows skyward, until they disappeared under her bangs.
A bolt of panic shot down my spine, sending goosebumps over my arms.
Until that moment, I had wondered when James would actually decide to grace us with his presence again. Now, I prayed like a pagan to any deity listening that we could get rid of Jake Hall before James showed up. One look at this truck, and James would most certainly buy the thing himself and finagle his way into a touring cooking show, gallivanting from here to Timbuktu.
“Well. He’s not here, and won’t be anytime soon,” I said.
The chunky black cat hopped back up on the truck’s countertop. Jake rewarded it by scratching it behind the ears, and rubbing its chin. The cat purred loudly with joy.
“Howzmyboy?” Jake cooed to the cat, still rubbing the little feline’s head, and completely ignoring me.
“Look, Jake,” I started. He glanced up at me, offering that same dazzling grin he’d sported the first time he saw me.
“This is Tiki,” he said. “Would you like to pet him?” The cat opened its eyes briefly at the mention of his name, and blinked once at me before settling back down into a comfortable loaf.
I had to admit, Tiki was adorable with his black-as-night fur and big clear eyes the color of copper. But cute cat or not, dazzling smile or not, this man had to go. Now.
“Tiki is lovely, but no,” I said. The little black loaf opened its eyes again, then tucked his nose into his paws for a nap.
Jake sighed. “I’m not trying to be a pest, but I do intend to sell my truck – and based on what I’ve read from Chef McGill himself, in his book, and blog – I am certain he’d want to buy it.”
I clenched my jaw together so hard that I bit the inside of my cheek and tasted blood. Of course, Jake was right. A hundred percent. Jake was a salesman who’d done his research and squarely found his mark.
My face burned as I pictured what would happen next.
In addition to doing a full spread on the new store, his publisher – and every reporter within spitting distance – would see this as their golden opportunity to hang their own star on the rising fame of everyone’s favorite new chef.
James would have his new food truck and this adventure could easily be the proposal for his next book. ‘The experience of life on the road; one chef’s travel memoirs.’
That book would then be proudly showcased in the front windows of James’s new store. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how the cable and tv networks would clamor over each other. Everyone fighting for the exclusive film rights. It could easily be a Netflix Original Series.
I could picture James pulling into towns and greeting a throng of adoring fans as he came. I’d wager he could even sell tickets for a personalized tour of his pie truck and tiny house.
To the marrow of my bones, I knew James would snap this truck up in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, I could not remember the last time my feet didn’t burn from exhaustion at the end of the day.
I could barely choke back the angry tears that threatened to spill over.
“Look. You seem like a decent guy. You do. But there are so many things you just don’t understand. My brother simply cannot, and I mean CANNOT, get his hands on this food truck,” I said.
Jake brightened.
“Unless I just missed something, I didn’t exactly tell you good news.”
“Not husband?” he grinned.
“Not husband!” Tina snapped at him. “Indeed.”
“Ok,” I said, spreading my arms wide like I was about to preach eternal fire and damnation to a church congregation. “We can do this the easy way – and you take your, your Yippee pie truck back to wherever it is you came from.”
“Texas,” he said.
“What?”
“You just asked where I came from. Waco, Texas.”
“I did not!”
“My apologies,” he grinned.
He was trying to change the conversation, and no matter how much he grinned at me, how much he … he. C’mon brain. And why are you looking down at his chest, and admiring what was clearly a lithe, toned body underneath that shirt … BRAIN! Snap out of it!
“Like I was saying,” I stammered, raising my eyes back to his, willing myself to focus. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”
He smiled again, seeming to enjoy the c
hallenge. “What’s the hard way?”
Ooh! I gaped at Tina.
“The hard way, is that the last time I checked, you are on private property and I’ve just asked you to leave. You refuse to leave, and I believe the law has a word for that,” I said, pausing as if I were trying to remember. “Oh, wait. They do. It’s called trespassing.”
Jake was a man unfazed. He simply crossed his arms in apparent amusement. “You two fine ladies could have some more pie while you think things over.”
“I do not want any more of your devil pie!” I roared at him. “And I’m glad you think trespassing is funny. You have five minutes then we’re calling the sheriff,” I said, and stormed toward the house, flinging the screen door open so hard the hinges screeched. Tina marched in after me, tossing Jake a dangerous glare over her shoulder as she went, then slammed the front door.
11
My body coursed with anger. It was as if the entire universe decided to conspire against me this week. I’d read about this phenomenon before. Mercury Retrograde. Three or four times a year, fancy-pants space scientists said an astronomical illusion made it appear that the planet Mercury reversed its orbit. Horoscope gurus and psychics translated this bit of news into clear and understandable Zodiac precautions.
Anything plans involving travel, communications, or technology in particular, went haywire. It was basically a hot mess trifecta.
Tina grabbed two juice glasses, and poured a swig of Jameson and a drizzle of Baileys in each.
“The earth can just crack open and swallow me up now. Somebody let Satan know I’m coming,” I said, and downed my drink.
“One more?” Tina asked.
I shook my head, and waved her off. “I’m so angry that another one would probably catch on fire as it went down.”
Tina walked over to the windows, and snorted.
“He hasn’t moved an inch, has he?” I asked.
“Nope.”
I could both feel and hear my heartbeat thundering away in my ears. All of the emotion I had been trying so hard to keep in check, finally broke free. I sank to the floor in a sobbing mess.
Tina immediately sat down across from me, cross-legged and offered a box of tissues, content to just sit with me and let me cry.
I opened my mouth to scream, but instead, the only thing I produced was a disgusted huff of defeat.
Suddenly, Tina slapped the floor so hard it startled me into coming to a sniffling stop. Her green eyes gleamed with mischief as she grabbed my elbows.
“Flower. I know exactly what you need to do,” she said. “You need to buy that pie truck.”
I blinked at her in dumbfounded confusion. “What?” I said, flatly.
Tina leapt to her feet. “Of course!” She paced to the end of the kitchen and back, mumbling tangents to herself and seemingly trying to collect her thoughts.
I leaned back on my palms and stared up at her. “Now you’re making less sense than even he is,” I said, glaring toward the front porch.
“This is it. You can’t lose.” Her hands fluttered with excitement as she spoke. “You know how we’ve been trying to figure out a way – all this week – to make the deal fall through for that store?”
“Yeeeees,” I said slowly.
“And that the best card we had, until now – was surprise, right?”
I nodded. It had taken every shred of restraint this week, not to call James on his bluff, and let him know that we had uncovered his plans for expansion. It was a hard truth to bear, even temporarily, while Tina and I bought time and tried to figure out a way to derail this store.
But I knew with every fiber of my being that if I took a hard stance with him, and told him he simply couldn’t do this – this store, this expansion, this everything – it would be the end. James would dig in to prove me, and everyone else wrong, and expand our fledgling empire right into oblivion.
Tina was fully wound. She couldn’t talk fast enough. “Surprise was our best card, but not anymore. You said it yourself, James will buy that truck in a heartbeat, yes?”
“I know he would. And Jake Hall out there certainly seems intent on selling it to him,” I sighed.
“Exactly,” Tina said. “So it doesn’t matter if we get Jake to leave anyway, he’ll just come back and when he does, well then that’s it. Unless you buy it first,” Tina grinned.
“With what money, Tina? We have no idea how much Jake is even trying to sell that thing for,” I said.
She held up a finger, and raced toward the front door. “Wait here!” she called over her shoulder.
I tried calling after her, but it was too late. Adrenaline gave her the preternatural speed of a werewolf, and before I could even stand up, I heard the screen door bang shut and footsteps racing across the wooden porch. I was still trying to organize my thoughts into a coherent stream when the sound of footsteps thundered again across the porch, and Tina galloped back into the kitchen, panting.
“Seventy-five thousand. He started with a hundred, I countered with fifty, and we settled on a middle,” Tina said, absolutely brimming with excitement. “Molly, I am telling you, you can’t lose on this deal. Even if you don’t keep the truck, you’ll easily be able to resell it, after it was owned by the celebrity chef’s empire.”
“And I think this sounds like the Jameson talking.”
I shook my head at the absurdity of all of it all. “What on earth am I going to do with a food truck? And besides, seventy-five thousand will nearly clear out the business checking account.”
Tina stared eagerly at me. “Say that last part again,” she beamed.
“What? That seventy-five thou—” A lightning bolt of comprehension slammed through me. “Oh my gosh,” I whispered.
“Unless there’s another account we don’t know about, James can’t close that deal if there’s no money in the bank for a down payment,” Tina grinned.
“Or as collateral,” I said, trailing off.
I thought briefly about what it had taken to purchase our own restaurant and the construction loan needed to convert one of the old barns into our store. The bank had offered very specific terms, and while there had been some room for negotiation, two things had been critical. The bank needed a down payment. And they also needed to see additional funds that they could claim as collateral, if we defaulted.
With a drained bank account, James’s deal was dead in the water.
“You magnificent thing,” I said, hugging Tina tight.
She in turn, grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the small office nook that curved off the kitchen. “Now. You call the bank – you’ll have to personally speak to someone to clear that much money quickly. And while you’re doing that – I’ll go pack for you,” she said, patting my shoulder.
“Pack? Wait! For what?” I asked, completely confused.
“Call the bank!” she yelled down the stairwell. “Then come up here and I’ll tell you! Lock that money up before James can spend it,” she boomed down the stairs. “He could be trying to write a check right now for all you know – hurry up!”
Hands shaking, I opened my laptop, pulled up our business banking information, and made the call.
12
Mercifully the money was still intact in the business account, and now it was neatly tied up and a pending transaction. A heady mix of adrenaline, nerves, and trepidation swirled around me. No doubt James was still scheming along on his new store in Knoxville, but for now at least that deal was going sink like a lead balloon. I cringed just thinking about how James would take the news.
My phone pinged again in the kitchen, and a fresh wave of anger rolled over me. Without even seeing the screen, I knew it would be a text from James.
Who else would it be from? The tide of anger that had just washed in, retreated, and left a pool of sudden and unexpected sadness in its wake. I had thrown myself into work after my last relationship fell apart. Friends that had once been as close as sisters growing up, and in school, were now busy in the
ir own lives as mothers and wives. We kept in touch over social media, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d enjoyed lunch, a dinner, or even a coffee with any of them.
“Girlie!” Tina hollered again from upstairs. “If you’re done, chop chop! Get up here and help me finish.”
I snatched my phone out of the kitchen and wasn’t a bit surprised to see that James planned on spending the Friday night in Knoxville. I knew he was stalling. But it wasn’t as if I exactly wanted him to come back right this second, especially with the YIPPEE PIE YAY sitting in our drive.
I pulled the kitchen curtains aside, and sure enough, Jake Hall was still in the driveway. He’d taken the liberty of plopping down a camping chair beside the truck, and sat in the brilliant October sunshine reading a book. I could see that his little black cat was curled up in his lap. He noticed the movement of the curtains, and smiled when his gaze met mine, and gave me an energetic wave.
Uncertainly, I returned a small wave back. He beamed like someone had just given him a thousand bucks. Or, seventy-five thousand for that matter. I let the curtain float back into place, and craned my neck at the ceiling wondering what exactly Tina was up to.
The sound of dresser drawers sliding open and bathroom cabinet doors smacking shut greeted me as I came up the stairs. I padded down the hall to my room, at the opposite end of the foyer from James’s, and was treated to the sight of Tina coming out of my closet with an armful of clothes.
“Tina. What are you doing?” I asked.
She held up two shirts. “Which one is your favorite?”
Actually, the two blouses she’d grabbed were both well-worn favorites. Favorites because they still fit after rounds of working in the test kitchen had started to take their toll.
“Good,” she grinned. “I thought you’d like both.” And into a suitcase they went. Peering closer at the suitcase, I wasn’t sure that it was even mine.
“Is that even my suitcase?”
She laughed. “No Flower, it’s mine. It’s the one I brought with me this week.”
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