Chapter Fourteen

After parking the cursed wheelchair out of the way, Aden stared out over the Grill. First reamed out by Margaret, and then Olivia, he tried to ignore what they said and focus on business. Impossible. After bumping into two of the waitstaff, he’d decided to get out of everyone’s way.

Now, an hour later, and with a bit of introspection, he needed to address the questions poking his brain. Was that how everyone saw him? He didn’t see anything wrong with wanting to be successful or striving to better his circumstances. Or was there? Cold reality washed over him. Life hadn’t gotten better, but much worse. The business was in turmoil. Olivia, doing her best to keep things going and taking care of him, was stressed and angry. The Down Home and Delicious syndication deal now tabled, was slipping through his fingers. His personal life was in shambles as well. He couldn’t deny any of it.

Sensing movement, Aden glanced over to see Eli sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, watching him. “What? Are you here to beat me up too?”

“Nope, you’re doing a great job all by yourself.”

Eli was his best friend. Aden considered him a brother, even without a blood connection. If anyone were on his side, it would be Eli. But the choices Aden made hurt him as well. “I’m sorry, Eli.”

“For what?”

His buddy wouldn’t let him off easy. “Margaret’s right. I’ve only been thinking of me. The disaster I’ve made of my life has affected you too. If I weren’t useless, you wouldn’t have gotten sick.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I can’t lay all the blame on you.” Eli sipped a glass of water. “I’ve been neglecting my health for a long time. There were warnings I ignored.”

“So why do I get the feeling you’re angry with me?”

“Aden, I’m not angry with you because of the hospital thing. I’m ticked off because of you losing your way. Because you almost killed yourself.” Eli leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table between them. “I care about you, man. And watching the car wreck, pun intended, of your life these past months makes me want to dope slap you.”

Aden scrubbed at his face with both hands. “And everyone saw it but me.”

“Every time either Liv or I tried to talk to you, we were brushed off.”

Precisely what he’d done. You’re moving too fast and spreading yourself too thin was a constant theme. So much so, he began to avoid their business meetings. When Barry approached him, and Kayla encouraged him, they echoed what he’d wanted to hear. Kayla even had him doubting the loyalty of the others. They’re holding you back, she’d said.

Eli continued. “Kayla and Barry had their own agenda. They were using you. And because she fed your ego, she made it easy to be with her. You didn’t even pay attention when someone complained about her. You ignored them, not wanting to deal with her.”

“Yeah, the night of the accident it became crystal clear.” Aden had finally seen what everyone else did, right before smashing his beautiful car.

“So what’s next? What do you want? Really want?”

What did he want? Rock House Grill was his dream. “I want this. I want to be like a family again.”

“Anything else?”

Aden glanced toward the doors to the kitchen, where Dereck was coming out. He caught a quick glimpse of Shay speaking to one of the line cooks. When the door swung closed, he turned back to Eli. “I want Shay in my life.”

“What about the TV show and Jazz House?”

“I’m letting the show go. At least for now. Jazz House is Olivia’s baby. As promised, I’ll see the development through.”

Jazz House was on a much smaller scale than Rock House. When it opened, it would be a more intimate, more romantic experience. A lightbulb went off in Aden’s head. “Do you think Shay will be up to being chef there?”

“Now, there’s the best idea I’ve heard coming from you in a long time.” Eli’s grin reached from ear to ear. “I’ll make sure she is.”

“I think your break is over. Don’t you have a kitchen to run?”

Eli got up. Before striding to the kitchen, he reached over and gave Aden the dope slap he’d mentioned earlier.

Aden rubbed the back of his head with a half-grin on his face. Things were settling in him. The discussions, long overdue, were painful, but just like the torturous physical therapy, dragging the troubles into the light and dealing with them would bring healing.

****

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Shay continued to chide herself with each chop of her chef’s knife. Number one rule—never fool around with the boss. Well, they hadn’t done anything, but it was a close call. She should thank Kayla. Well, maybe not. She wouldn’t go that far. Gah. Only a foolish woman would throw such a great chance away. And really, a man like Aden wouldn’t want anything long-term with someone like her. He was…

“Hey, get your head in the game. I wanted those peppers chopped, not minced.” Eli had returned to the kitchen.

Shay refocused. Ugh, what a mess she’d made. The peppers weren’t minced. They were mush—like something out of a food processor. She grabbed the cutting board and scraped the muddle into the compost bucket. “Sorry. I’ll start again.”

“Hey—” Eli laid a hand on her shoulder. “—It’ll work out. I promise.”

She gave him a small nod before heading to the cooler. Maybe he was right. Frigid air blasted out when she opened the door. One deep breath before going in steadied her. Grabbing more peppers from the box on the shelf, she hurried back to the kitchen and glanced at the clock. Nine-thirty, time to start cleaning up.

The last orders came in by eight. The Grill closed at eleven, every night except for Sunday. On Sundays, the doors locked at nine and they stayed closed on Mondays. Most of the diners had already eaten dinner, and only a few were still hanging out, either savoring Margaret’s latest dessert creation or having a final drink before heading home. Tuesday’s prep was finished, except for the mushed peppers, and the kitchen would sparkle before the staff left.

Eli nodded his approval at her doing a better job. “Consistency, Shay. The recipes need consistency if you plan on serving the same thing. If a customer likes something, they will order it again, and they want it to be identical.”

Early on, Eli had explained the staple menu items needed to be served with uniformity. The Specials Menu allowed a chef to experiment. There was the challenge.

She’d always cooked with what was on hand and liked to play with her food.

“Do you know any place that’s succeeded with an all Specials Menu?” She covered the peppers to go back into the cooler. “Surprising the patrons each time they visited?”

“Yeah, there are a few.” Eli set his checklist down. “But you can’t do it somewhere big like Rock House. Because of the quantities and style, we need to be stricter with the menu. I think Jazz House, when it opens, could be that sort of place.”

Shay’s mind started to race. If she worked hard with Eli, then maybe, when it opened, she could go over there. It would put needed distance between her and Aden. The pang in her chest at the idea of not seeing him as much caught her off guard. No, stop it. She steeled her will to push the sense of loss away. If she wanted to make the best of this opportunity, then there would be no fraternizing with the boss.

The next day was Monday, and her day off—sort of. She planned on going with Eli and Margaret to the market. Kind of like a field trip. Then came her duty night to keep her busy. She’d have at least a day and a half to get it together enough to face Aden. She would keep things between them professional. Time to forge ahead with her life and plans. Maybe she would adopt a cat.

While scrubbing down her station, she made a do- and not do-list. First, no more thinking about Aden as other than her boss. Second, talk to Olivia on Tuesday about transferring to the kitchen permanently. Shay would take a pay cut and promise to help the front whenever needed. After proving herself, maybe Jazz House could be her opportunity.

Tears welled at the thought of pushing Aden away. But what choice did she have? She wiped her face with her sleeve and tossed her cleaning rags into the laundry pile. With knives folded into their case, she headed to the door. “See you in the morning, guys. I can’t wait.”

Moments later, the door banged shut, and she trotted over to her car. She sat for a few minutes. Though she was firm in her decisions, regret and sadness left her feeling hollowed out.

****

Olivia walked into the condo and kicked off her shoes. If she could go barefooted all the time, she would. “Goodnight, Aden.”

“Goodnight, Liv.” He wheeled down the hallway.

They hadn’t spoken much on the ride home. She guessed they’d said enough that night, and both were wrung out. When his door closed, she started removing the next piece of clothing while heading for her room. Her Comfort Bra. Liars. No bra was comfortable enough to wear for twenty-four hours.

She slipped it off under her shirt and tossed it into the laundry basket in the bathroom. She was plugging in her phone when it went off, startling her. She juggled it a minute before getting a grip and then smiled. David was calling her back. “Hey.”

“Is it too late to call? I just got off duty at the hospital.”

“No, you’re good. I just got home too.”

“Can I come over?”

Olivia hesitated. They’d been dating, but not intimate. Was she ready for that? She had a flash of guilt when Manny popped into her head.

“Liv, are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understand it’s late.”

“No, it’s not … Yes, David, I would love for you to come over.”

”I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

That gave her fifteen minutes to shower and get ready. Five to have a meltdown. Olivia took the fastest shower on record, then stared into her closet. She didn’t want to be obvious. Maybe he was only coming over to relax and talk. She pulled on a pair of yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt.

Drying her hair, she glanced at the clock. Thank goodness, less than five minutes to go left no time for a meltdown. She ran to the wine rack and uncorked a bottle of merlot. After rinsing two glasses, she carried them, along with the bottle, to the living room. Setting them on the coffee table, she dashed back into the kitchen and examined the contents of the fridge. Some cheese with olives were still good and crackers completed the small platter.

Olivia jumped when the doorknocker rapped. She appreciated David’s discretion in not ringing the doorbell, knowing her brother was there. A deep breath calmed her nerves, and she went to let him in.

His frame filled the doorway.

This man had become very important to her in a short time.

David’s blue eyes studied her face. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Silly, I’m not even wearing makeup.”

He took her face in between his hands and leaned down.

They were inches from each other, and Olivia’s heart began to pound.

“You are definitely beautiful, and I want to kiss you.”

“I want to kiss you, too.”