"I'd want to keep Magma."
"Not Steel?"
His face suggested I'd said his baby was ugly, and in a way I had. "I love this one too," I said, realizing that I did. "But Magma, with the spices... it's just so me. If I had to choose one, I'd want to stay there."
"Got it." His face cleared; it seemed I hadn't offended him. "Well, maybe it won't come to that. Given how hard you work, it probably won't. So, are you ready to run both my kitchens?"
Crystal would be furious. "I am."
*****
We didn't announce my promotion that day because Kegan had to go meet with his bankers. Instead, he let the staff go home early since there wasn't much for them to do and I worked in silent bliss at the desk he'd so kindly provided then went to meet Tanisha.
I recognized her right away. A little heavier than her mother, but with the same friendly face and big grin. I joined her at her table and we shook hands.
"How's the leg?"
I grimaced. "Tedious."
She laughed. "Exactly. A nagging pain in the butt. Doesn't hurt any more, right?"
It still complained if I stood too long, but nothing like the pain I'd faced before. "Yup. Now it's just the annoyance of the stockings."
"I hear ya. Like stuffing ten pounds of mud into a five-pound bag."
We laughed, and she waved over the waiter and said to me, "You can have one drink. No more, or your blood'll be so thin you'll dissolve. I, on the other hand, am finally off the pills and can drink anything that's not nailed down."
I watched, amused, as she grilled the waiter on our drink options. Once we'd ordered a nectarine concoction for her and an extra-spicy Bloody Mary for me, she said, "You know why Mom wanted us to get together, right?"
I shook my head. "I did wonder. It was nice and everything, but..."
Tanisha snorted. "You are supposed to make me grow up and I'm supposed to make you lighten up."
"She said something like that, but I thought she was joking."
"Nope, she meant it. Hear the words of Mildred, the great interferer. 'Mary works too much, and she won't have time to find friends working for Kegan. You, my darling impossible girl, flit around like a distracted butterfly. You could learn from her.'"
"And you still agreed to meet me? I sound like a nightmare."
She laughed. "My little workaholic nightmare. To be honest, I might not have bothered if it weren't for your blood clot. I know it's scary."
Unexpectedly, my throat tightened with tears. I took a sip of my water and nodded.
She reached out and patted my hand. "I didn't know anyone who'd had a clot. The doctors and nurses are so busy and they can't let you talk it all out. I'd have liked having someone who could."
I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Yeah. It's like... being a ticking time bomb."
She put her hand over her heart. "You're brilliant. That's exactly how I felt." The hand dropped away. "Don't you dare tell her, but my mom's right about my side. I do need someone with a little work ethic in my life."
"Have you met your mother?"
She chuckled. "Yeah, but she's composed entirely of work ethic. It's intimidating. Plus, what thirty-three-year-old wants to get life lessons from her mother?"
I sighed, remembering my mother's desperate attempts to convince me I should stay with Charles. "None. And no thirty-four-year-old either."
She held out her water glass and I clinked mine against it. "To learning our own lessons," she said, and I echoed it.
"All right, Mary, so what lessons do you have to learn?"
"Apparently not to work so hard. But what else is there to do?"
She laughed. "How much time have you got? I do everything but work."
"What do you do?"
"Read, nap, walk around the city—"
"No, I meant, what work do you do?"
"I'm a grad student in psychology."
I blinked, and she said, "Don't tell me, you didn't expect the black chick to be a PhD candidate."
The sudden annoyance, mixed with a sad weariness, in her voice startled me. "I didn't mean that. It's just, your mother made it sound like you don't work at all."
She looked down at the table, then back at me. "Sorry. I get a lot of 'Wow, good for you for getting a degree' kind of comments," she said, doing a great impression of how my mother might have spoken to a black woman whose mother owned a coffee shop, "and I forget sometimes that not everyone's like that. Sorry, Mary."
"It's okay. That must suck. But why does Mildred act like you lie on the couch eating candy all day?"
"Because I kind of do?"
"If I'd known grad school was that easy, I'd have gone myself."
She laughed. "It's not usually. Only when you get stuck."
"Ah."
"Yeah. I was working with an advisor I loved, but he left and I haven't been able to figure out what to do since."
"When did he go?"
"Two years ago."
Ouch.
She gave me a grim smile. "Yeah. I have less than two years to finish this degree or they'll kick me out. But anyhow, enough about me. How'd you end up here? Mom says you're new to the area."
I wanted to encourage her to figure out what she needed to do for her degree and then get it done, but her expression made it clear she wasn't interested in hearing that so I didn't try. "I moved to Toronto in January but I've only been in her neighborhood since November when I applied to work at Steel."
She nodded, then flashed me her mother's bright smile. "Mom adores that Kegan guy. I think she hoped I'd hook up with him but he's not my type. From what I hear, though, he can be a slave driver."
I started to defend Kegan but she said, "Actually, that's not fair. He's focused as hell and doesn't let anything get in his way. And not everyone can work like that."
"Can't argue with that. Any of it."
"And you're enough like him that you can work with him?"
I crossed fingers on both my hands. "So far so good."
"I know Mom offered to hire you. Do you know she meant it?"
I shook my head. "She just wanted to make Kegan hire me."
"She did want that, but she'd have been even happier if you'd gone to work for her instead." Her laugh was bitter. "Since her lazy only daughter won't do it."
"If you're doing a PhD, you're hardly lazy."
She turned her hand palm-up on the table then let it topple over. "Not really doing the degree at the moment. Not really doing anything."
Before I could respond, she said, "No, forget it. No more about me. I have to know: did you really sit on Kegan's steps in the rain for days?"
I let her change the subject. "Nope. His flower box."
She shook her head, grinning, and we chatted for ages about clots and my work and our interests, but throughout I could see sadness and a deep frustration in her eyes.
Chapter Ten
Crystal hadn't moved a muscle since Kegan's announcement that I'd be chef of both Steel and Magma. Dorothy had hugged me so hard I'd had to gasp for air and the majority of the others looked happy too, but Crystal's followers stood shocked and Crystal herself didn't seem able to do anything but stare. It unnerved me, so I tried not to pay attention and instead focused on the ones who were responding to me with smiles and congratulations.
"Well, back to work, folks," Kegan said once they settled down. "We have two tastings this weekend and that food ain't going to make itself."
Crystal turned her head jerkily, as if her neck joints had rusted, to look at him. He looked back calmly, then said, "Mary has the plans ready, so I'll get out of the way and let her do her job." He gave me a good-natured slap on the shoulder and went into his office.
I gave them a brief overview of the weekend then said, "And before we get started I'd like to buy you all a drink from Mildred to thank you for working so hard when I couldn't be here."
Crystal just shook her head when I asked what she wanted, but the others smiled and gave me their orders, even he
r friends defrosting a little toward me. Before I left, I stuck my head into Kegan's office to offer him a drink; he was on the phone but nodded when I mouthed, "Coffee?"
"I'll help you carry them if you like," Dorothy said as I headed toward the front door.
Drinks for eleven people would be tough to transport. "I'd love the help, actually. Thanks."
She smiled and we started off, but I stopped after a few steps. "I don't have my purse. I'll grab some money and meet you there."
I slipped into the office and pulled four twenties from my purse, unable to hold back a smile at how quickly I'd gone from counting every penny to being able to buy treats for my staff (my staff!), then caught up with Dorothy near the café.
"You still don't have your purse."
I showed her the money in my hand. "More than enough here."
She studied me, looking uncomfortable. "Can I make a suggestion?"
"Always."
More studying, even more uncomfortable. "Don't leave your purse there."
I blinked. "Why not? It's safe, isn't it? It's in Kegan's office at my desk."
She seemed to be considering this. "Yes, it's there all right."
This non-answer threw me. "Look, I don't understand. Tell me what you mean."
She swallowed hard, and my heart skipped a beat as I recognized she was truly afraid.
"It's okay, Dorothy. If you have something to tell me, do it. I won't get mad or anything."
She sighed. "I know you won't."
I held open Mildred's door, and Dorothy stopped on the threshold. "I... don't leave your things unattended. Okay? Please."
Confused, I said, "I won't," and her face relaxed.
Mildred came out from behind the counter and grabbed Dorothy and me in one big hug. "My favorite girls."
An older lady standing at the counter said, "Hey, I'm right here."
Mildred laughed. "You're my favorite too, don't worry." To me, she said, "Dinner went well last night?"
I nodded. "Your daughter's great. I hope she had fun too."
"Sure she did. How could she not? She got to meet you." She grinned at me, then turned to Dorothy. "You doing okay, sweetheart?"
Dorothy gave a quick sharp nod.
Mildred's face softened and she patted Dorothy's arm. "It'll be okay. If you need me to—"
"No!"
I blinked at Dorothy's sharpness, but Mildred just said, "All right, honey, I won't. Come over and talk to me whenever you want, okay?"
Dorothy hugged Mildred again. I tried to put the pieces together, Dorothy's delight at my promotion and her nervousness over Steel's security and her insistence that Mildred didn't need to do whatever she'd been suggesting, but couldn't make them fit.
I hoped I wasn't the problem. I didn't think so, but I couldn't help worrying.
Mildred made our drinks and we carried them back in silence. I wanted to quiz Dorothy but I couldn't find a way to word it and she didn't volunteer anything.
As I held Steel's door open for her, she looked up at me and said, "I'm really glad you're here," then scooted past me into the restaurant. She sounded sincere, and my tension eased. It didn't vanish, though. If I wasn't the problem, what was?
Crystal met me at the kitchen doorway. "I changed my mind, Mary. It was so nice of you to offer us drinks that it surprised me. But I'd love an iced cappuccino." She smiled sweetly. "If you don't mind going again, that is."
I smiled back, pleased she seemed over her grumpiness. "I wouldn't mind, but I don't need to. Dorothy suggested we get you one and it turns out she was right." I plucked the frosty cup from the tray and held it out to her.
She took the cup, blinking, and I had a nasty thought. Had she deliberately said no to make me go back? I couldn't believe that. Why would she? But if she had, it hadn't worked. Because of Dorothy.
"Thanks." Crystal sounded like it choked her. She cleared her throat and turned to Dorothy. "And thank you. How thoughtful of you."
Dorothy paled, but raised her chin and said, "You're welcome."
"Damn it!"
We all jumped and turned toward Kegan's closed door. How loudly had he yelled to have been so clearly heard?
Crystal said, "Better leave him alone. He doesn't like to talk when he's angry."
"Good to know, thanks." I made sure I didn't sound sarcastic. I did want to know how best to handle my boss, and Crystal had been around longer so theoretically should have some information. So far, though, she'd told me he wouldn't hire me and he hated having people in his office and she'd been wrong on both, so maybe not the best source of Kegan-related insight.
Still, I didn't want to interrupt him, so I set his coffee on the bench outside his door then wrote "Coffee's out here" in big letters on a paper towel and propped it up in his window. That accomplished, I said, "All right. Let's get started. Here are the recipes."
I walked through them, assigning jobs and describing my expectations, finishing with, "Friday's dessert is the trickiest part. Pineapple mint sherbet can't be left to freeze too long or you can't add the egg whites to make it fluffy, and in the quantities we need 'too long' is hard to define. I'll be handling that one myself. Any questions?"
There weren't, so I set my staff to work on the steel tables Kegan had rented so we could do at least some preparation here rather than at the banquet hall. Once they began their tasks, I stood watching, amazed.
For the first tasting, I'd been so incredibly freaked out and we'd been in such a rush that the prep had flown by. Now, though, I had time to savor it, and I loved seeing these people turning my thoughts and dreams and ideas into delicious reality.
After a few moments spent studying the scene, I decided I'd better get to work myself, but before I'd taken two steps toward the huge fridge, temporarily installed in the middle of the room while the kitchen walls were repaired, that held the mint leaves I needed to start chopping, Kegan said, "Mary, can I see you a minute?"
I turned to see him standing in the doorway of his office. The coffee cup I'd left on his bench and my sign were gone, and he looked under control despite his earlier outburst. "Of course."
He closed the door behind us then pulled down his window blinds. He'd never done that before, and nervousness flooded me. I settled at my desk facing his, resting my legs on the footstool he'd provided, and waited. And worried. Was he angry with me? Why?
Once he'd returned to his chair, he studied me then said, "You know what, it's okay. Never mind. Tell me, how're things going out there?"
I blinked. "Great. I explained the recipes and everyone's working."
"Good stuff."
We sat in a stiff awkward silence until I made myself say, "What's going on?"
"Nothing. Everything's fine."
The words came as if by rote, and a chill slid down my spine. "Do you not like my menus? Or how I divided up the work?"
He frowned, showing the first real sign of life since we'd entered his office. "Why on earth would you assume you're the problem?"
"Because you called me in here but now you won't tell me what's wrong. And you just said there was no problem."
He shook his head slowly. "You're about the only thing going right these days. Trust me, I have no problems with you at all."
Delight tried to fill me, but I was still too worried to let it in.
He fiddled with a pen, while my nerves frayed, then dropped the pen and said in a rush, "You've noticed the contractors aren't here, I assume?"
I nodded. I had noticed, but since nobody had commented on it I'd figured everyone else knew where they'd gone and why and I'd felt strange asking my staff to fill me in.
He rubbed his forehead. "They quit."
My mouth fell open. Quitting made no sense. Danny's firm specialized in restaurants, and making Steel gorgeous again would have been a great addition to its resume. "Why?"
He studied me again, then straightened in his chair and seemed to withdraw at the same time. "No reason. But now I need to find a replacement firm a
nd I'm having trouble. And if I can't find one in a week or so..." He took a sip of coffee. "Steel won't reopen until January."
My heart skipped a beat. "We'd miss New Years Eve?" A huge night for any restaurant, and Kegan had already told me about last year's elegant dining and dancing event he'd planned to make an annual tradition.
He nodded. "And Christmas."
I licked my lips, afraid to push him but sure I needed to know. "Can't you convince them to come back?"
He gave his head one sharp shake. "Not a chance. Look, the staff knows about the contractors, of course, but not about the delay, and I want to keep it that way until they have to know. I don't want them stressing. I don't want you stressing either, which is why I wasn't going to tell you, but I had to tell someone. I'm going nuts here."
Touched, I said, "I'm honored you picked me."
"I know you haven't been around long, but I trust you. You share my obsession with this place. And Magma."
I smiled, because it was true, then my smile faded. "But you don't trust me enough to tell me why the contractors quit."
"It's not that. You don't need to know why."
"Do the others know?" I jerked my head toward his office door. "Crystal and everyone?"
"Don't. You don't want to know."
"That doesn't answer my question." I swung my legs off the footstool and pushed my chair back. "I think they do, so I'll go find out. Excuse me."
"Okay, fine." He sighed. "But remember later that I didn't want to tell you."
*****
When I went back out to the kitchen my hands did all the right things, squeezing oranges and chopping pineapple and mint, and I kept my staff on track and answered their questions, but his words echoed in my head over and over and I couldn't think of anything else.
My perverted nemesis Jimmy turned out to be the brother-in-law of Danny, who had explained to Kegan, apparently with huge sympathy for Kegan and frustration with Jimmy, that his wife wouldn't let him fire Jimmy or even leave him off jobs. If Kegan insisted Jimmy couldn't be in Steel any longer, then Danny and his workers couldn't be either.
Toronto Collection Volume 1 (Toronto Series #1-5) Page 84
