by Stacy Eaton
Ever since my last conversation with Holly, I hadn’t spoken about it to anyone. Not even the guys, or Alice and Maggie. Everyone had let it go, and I appreciated it. From time to time, when I heard the song on the radio that we’d danced to, I would think about her and hoped that she was doing well with the other guy.
I knew that the show would be airing on television soon, and I was still on the fence about watching it or not. Maybe I would, or maybe I wouldn't. I guess that would depend on how I felt that day, and if I wanted to have it rubbed in my face.
I growled silently to myself as we pulled down an alley and parked behind the restaurant as requested. Mike carried a notebook and was at the back door to the kitchen before me.
He knocked, and it opened a moment later. I was looking down at my phone when the door opened, and I started to step forward to introduce myself. I glanced up and did a double take as the woman gasped. “You!”
“Um,” I hesitated. I could turn around and walk the fuck away, or I could man up and be a professional here. So she hadn’t picked me; she went with someone else. I needed to get over that. “Hi, I didn’t expect to see you again. I’m Harvey, and this is Mike. We work with Safety Zone Security. I think you were expecting us.”
She laughed, slightly uncomfortable, or maybe nervously. “Hi, Harvey, Mike. I’m Ali Davidson; please come in.”
She stepped to the side, looking away from me and biting her lip. Holy shit! Alice had known about this! Did Jake? Is that why Jake hadn’t said anything? What the hell!
“What’s the sitrep here?” Mike asked as he leaned toward me and spoke softly. “Anything I should know?”
I shook my head slightly and turned to Ali. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail at the base of her neck, and she wore chef pants and a t-shirt with black sneakers. She looked so different than when we had danced but just as good—if not better.
“Um…” She swallowed nervously as her eyes jumped everywhere but toward me. “Did Alice explain what was going on?”
“No,” Mike said after I didn’t answer. She glanced at me and then turned her gaze to him. I figured it would probably be easier for her to speak with him. In fact, it would probably be a whole lot easier on both of us if I wasn’t even here. Why the hell would they do this to me? “We only know that something is going on here, and you needed some cameras.”
“Okay, so, about two months ago, I had an issue with food poisoning here in the kitchen.”
“You had food poisoning?” I asked, and she shook her head, keeping her attention on Mike.
“No, a customer, actually two.”
“Alright, what does that have to do with someone sabotaging your business?” He glanced around. “Is this your restaurant?”
“No, not really. I’m the Head Chef here, so while I don’t own it, it’s my restaurant because I run it. I control everything that happens in my kitchen. The Health Department came out and inspected our kitchen twice then, once they closed us for two days, but everything came back clean. All the tests were normal. I demand my employees to keep the highest of cleaning standards.”
“So maybe they got it from someplace else,” Mike replied.
“I would like to think so, but my kitchen is the only constant.”
“So if this happened two months ago, why are you asking for help now?” he asked her.
“Because last week there was another case, and yesterday, there were two more.” She winced, and her gaze fell on mine. I saw the frustration and pain in her eyes, but more than that, I saw anger and the need to fight back. “If I don’t figure out what is going on, they are going to close my kitchen down for good. I’ll be ruined as a chef. I can’t afford that, especially when I am not doing anything wrong.”
“So, you want us to put cameras in your kitchen because you think one of your employees is responsible for poisoning the diners?”
“I hate to think that, but it’s the only thing I can come up with.” She crossed her arms over her chest, looking uncomfortable, and then she dropped them. “It has to be someone in my kitchen. The Health Department has me on their shit list now, excuse my French, and they are determined to find something and pin it on me so they can fine the hell out of me and shut down this kitchen. I am not going down without a fight. I refuse to have someone think I have a dirty kitchen when it is anything but.”
I glanced around and saw nothing but spotless work areas and neatly stacked cooking equipment. Mike was doing the same thing. “Okay, so tell us how many people work here?”
“There are twelve of us here in the main kitchen.”
“Thirteen? You oversee twelve people?” I asked, and she hiked a brow.
“Yes, twelve. Why does that surprise you?”
“I’m just surprised that there are so many people that work in the kitchen. That was nothing against you, Ms. Davidson.”
She paused and swallowed. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. She had the right to be defensive, especially if someone was out to get her.
“Tell us about the people in the kitchen.” Mike urged her and then paused. “You don’t mind if I record this, do you? I know some people are camera shy, but it will give us a chance to look back over it after this and decide the best locations to put them.”
She looked at me. “I think I got over being camera shy a few weeks ago. Do what you need to do.” Mike gave me a questioning look but then turned on his recorder on his phone as she walked us around the area, pointing out what area was for what and who takes care of it.
“Do you have a measuring tape?” Mike asked her, and she shook her head.
“Sorry I don’t think so.”
“I have one in my console,” I told Mike and started to head toward the door, but he grabbed my arm and held his hand out.
“I’ll get it, just give me your keys.”
I almost told him that I’d do it, but at the last second, I handed him the key fob. Both Ali and I watched him leave, and I wondered if I was the only one to feel the tension building around us.
The door closed, and we both continued to stare at it. I finally cleared my throat. “You did a really good job with the dances. I hope you enjoyed yourself.”
She turned to me, a look of thankfulness on her features. As if she had been afraid to bring it up and was glad that I had. “Thank you, and you did too.” She gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment.
“It was fun.”
“It was,” she commented quietly and then lifted her green eyes to mine. “I’m sorry.”
Oh, the temptation to reach out and touch her was so strong. I shoved my hands into my pockets instead. “Hey, you had to do what you felt was right. I hope safe is working out for you.” Her lips parted in surprise, and I wanted to knock myself out for saying that. What an ass I was! I put my hand up. “I’m sorry. That was rude, but I do hope that you two are doing well and you are happy. Look, I’m going to go see what is taking him so long. I’ll make sure that someone else comes back to help Mike so that you don’t have to see me again. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
I rushed away from her before she could say a word, the entire time kicking myself in the ass. When I stepped outside, I found Mike leaning against the truck.
“What are you doing?”
“That didn’t take long.”
“What didn’t take long?”
“For you to run away.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Dude, I put two and two together. Both of you were acting strange, and when she mentioned being used to the cameras, I figured it out. She’s the one that you danced with on that show, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, so?”
He laughed as he pushed off the truck. “She’s also the one that twisted your head around your heart. I was hoping if I gave you two a few minutes, you could get yourself straightened out.”
“There is nothing to straighten out. She picked the other gu
y.”
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure after seeing the way she was watching you, that she sure wished that she hadn’t.”
“Whatever! Man, just go in there and do what you need to do. I’m going to wait out here in the truck.”
He chuckled as he headed toward the door. “Don’t say I didn’t try to help.”
“Ass,” I muttered as I opened my door and climbed in.
Chapter Twenty
Ali
“I have no clue what the hell to do now,” I muttered, and Charlie patted my back, while Holly pushed my drink closer. “I swear someone is out to get me.”
“What makes you think that?” Holly asked.
“Because Ali’s being a drama queen,” Charlie replied to Holly, and I glared at her.
“I am not being a drama queen, Char. Someone is poisoning my partons, and I don’t know who.”
“Are you sure it’s a person and not a circumstance?”
“It has to be a person!” I smacked my hand down on the bar hard enough to hurt. “It is not possible to get random E. coli poisonings like this. None of these people have eaten the same thing. None of them have even been to the restaurant at the same time. It doesn’t make sense.” I rubbed my hands over my face.
“What can we do to help?” Holly asked.
“Do you know anyone who knows anything about putting hidden cameras around a kitchen? Because other than that, I’m not sure what the hell to do.”
“Actually, I do,” Holly replied with a grin.
“Really?” I asked, surprised, and she nodded.
“Let me make a phone call.” She grabbed her phone and slipped off her barstool, heading to the door where it was quieter.
“How long are you closed now?”
“Two days. Two freaking days,” I growled as I tossed my hands into the air.
“Maybe you should give Blake a call now that you have time off.”
“No, I officially broke it off with him.”
Her brows popped, and then she smiled. “You did?”
“Why do you look so damn happy about that?”
She ignored my question. “Why did you break it off? I thought you liked him.”
“I did like him, but he had an issue with the fact that I always worked at night. He started hinting about me finding a different job where I could work during the day, and I would be able to cook for him at night.”
Charlie chuckled as Holly came back to her seat. “I am going to have someone come to see you tomorrow.”
“You are?”
“Yep! They need to take a look at the kitchen and figure out how many they will need, but they will be able to put cameras up and monitor them for you.”
“That’s fantastic!” I said, then tugged my bottom lip under my teeth. “Is it wrong to do this?”
“No,” Charlie immediately commented, and Holly kind of winced as Charlie continued. “Hey, someone is trying to hurt people. She’s not spying on her peeps to catch them sneaking food. Ali needs to know who is poisoning these people.”
“Yes, that’s true. Maybe you can put up one or two visible cameras. You could say the insurance company is requiring it as the policy is updating or something.”
I nodded as I thought about that. “That’s a good idea. I could do that. I could put two primary cameras in the kitchen and one at the back entrance for safety. I don’t have to tell them about the hidden ones.”
“Just don’t record sound, and you should be alright. You know you need to have permission to record sound.”
“I could make everyone aware that the cameras are in the kitchen and get consent. They don’t need to know about the smaller ones, but permission would allow me to record sound.”
“That would work,” Charlie said. “See, we figured it out! Now let’s get back to why you broke it off with Blake.”
“Ah, you told her.” Holly laughed as she sipped her drink.
“How did Holly know already?”
“I had to tell her because they were getting ready to do the update on us for the show. It airs this weekend.”
“I bet you would have had better luck with Mr. Sexy. What was his name?”
“Harvey,” Holly and I responded at the same time and then laughed. I hated to admit it, but I had thought about Mr. Sexy more times than I cared to admit.
“I agree, I think she would have done better with him.”
“How do you guys know that?”
Holly studied me for a moment. “Remember, I told you that one of the contestants had broken his leg?”
“Yes, and you got someone to fill in for him.”
“Yeah, I lied,” Holly smirked. “I totally thought you would like Harvey. In fact, I thought you two would be perfect together.”
“What made you think that we would be good for one another?” I put my hand up. “Wait, did he know you lied about that contestant being hurt?”
“Not until it was over. I lied to Harvey too.”
“Did he forgive you?” I asked, spiking a brow at her.
“Yeah,” she muttered, but then laughed. “He did. But he had to.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s family, Ali. Harvey is my brother.”
My jaw dropped. “Your brother? Harvey is your brother? You tried to set me up with your brother, Holly? Without telling me! Oh, my god! Wait, isn’t he in the military?”
“No, he was in the military. He’s retired now.”
“I can’t believe you lied to both of us.” I shook my head as Charlie leaned around me.
“Your brother is hot. Is he still single?”
“As far as I know, he is, but he’s out of town right now.”
“What does he do now?”
Holly shook her head and looked around the bar. “I don’t know exactly. I just know he travels a lot.”
“Find out if he is single and let me know,” Charlie said. “You don’t mind, do you, Ali?”
Oh, I minded, but I wasn’t going to say that to her. Instead, I smiled. “Nope, not at all.”
Charlie laughed. “She just lied to me. She wants to stab me in the eye right now.”
“I do not!” I hissed.
“You smiled, showing your teeth. Anytime you do that, you’re lying!”
Holly broke out in hysterics, and I started to giggle too. “Okay, I did lie. Stay away from him, at least for a little while longer.”
Charlie squeezed my forearm. “I will. I was just trying to get a rise out of you.” Then she mouthed to Holly that she really did want his number. I rolled my eyes at her.
The next morning, I was at the restaurant by nine and staring at the kitchen. I hated that people were getting sick here, and I was so frustrated from dealing with the Health Department. One of their employees, I think his name was Jack, said something to me on the side when nasty Henry Marks was busy. What he suggested had planted the seed that someone was doing this on purpose. Why else would there not be any signs of it?
When I heard a knock on the back door, I quickly opened it to see a tall man standing there, smiling, and then he moved. My world shifted, and I was glad that I was holding on to the door, or I would have stumbled back and fallen. “You!”
“Um,” he hesitated, “hi, I didn’t expect to see you again. I’m Harvey, and this is Mike. We work with Safety Zone Security. I think you were expecting us.”
I sure as hell wasn’t expecting him. Oh, Holly was in so much trouble! She had lied to me—again! Traveling my ass! She knew exactly what he did for a living. I had a mind to call her right now, but I didn’t. I’d wait till they left and then give her an earful!
Somehow I kept it together and didn’t freak out and fawn all over him. Both Charlie and Holly had been right. I should have gone with him, but I had wanted safe. What an idiot I was.
Safe turned out to be slightly dull, and then dull turned into nagging because he worked days, I worked nights, blah, blah, blah. It was the same argument—a different man. When Blake asked if I wa
nted kids, and if I planned to stay home to raise them, flags had begun waving like the Fourth of July, and I immediately told him that I didn’t think things would work for us. Yes, he was handsome, and he was kind, and I did like him. We had some chemistry, and our few makeout sessions were exciting, but they still didn’t make me tingle. I wanted to tingle.
The man standing a few feet away from me could make me tingle. He could probably make me scream or drop to my knees and beg, but that wasn’t going to happen. I had to stop thinking about him in any other capacity other than his job.
That was easy enough to do—sort of—while I talked about work, but the minute that Mike left us alone, I wanted to flee or grab him and kiss him and see if he made my body tingle again. Would that be wrong? I was totally at a loss for words and thankful that he spoke.
“You did a really good job with the dances. I hope you enjoyed yourself.”
“Thank you, and you did too.” The temptation to blurt out that I had chosen wrong was so strong that I don’t know how I held them back.
“It was fun.”
“It was,” I told him, and then looked him in the eye. The least I could do was apologize. “I’m sorry.”
For a second, I thought he would approach me. God, how I wanted him to, but instead, he stepped back. “Hey, you had to do what you felt was right. I hope safe is working out for you.”
What? What did he know about safe? Had Holly told him what I said? Oh, my god! She did!
“I’m sorry. That was rude, but I do hope that you two are doing well and you are happy. Look, I’m going to go see what is taking him so long. I’ll make sure that someone else comes back to help Mike so that you don’t have to see me again. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
I watched him leave. Oh, Holly Melton, wait till I get my hands on you! I put my face into my hands and sighed. A moment later, the door opened, and I jerked my head up, expecting to see Harvey, but it was only Mike.
“I need to take a few measurements. You don’t mind, do you?”
