After I left Sammy at the Maidstone, I barely made it to work on time. I ran to my station and put on my glasses when I heard a voice behind me.
“Of all the gin joints.”
I turned to see Ethan, dressed in a hoodie and jeans, holding a cooler. His hair was freshly washed, his scruff gone. He looked nice, for him at least, though the smell of fish, maybe from the cooler, still seeped out of his edges.
He smiled. “What are you doing?”
“Setting up my station.”
He laughed, literally out loud. “Z did not give you a job cooking here,” he said.
“No, I’m more in a quality control role.”
He tilted his head, and considered. “So you’re the new Taylor?”
“You know Taylor?”
“I know trash overhaul is a long way from quality control,” he said. “That’s what I know.”
I looked at him, my face turning red. “It’s part of a larger plan.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he said. “Those glasses mean business.”
“And I tried to save his job.”
“There’s no saving anyone from Chef Z,” he said. “But it was nice of you to try.”
I thought of my day with Sammy and I started to say that it was possible I was turning over a new leaf, but it occurred to me that turning over a new leaf probably involved saying it less and doing it more.
“What?” he said.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but the smell of you truly makes me sick.”
Ethan smiled. “How could I take that the wrong way?” he said.
I motioned to his outfit. “You’re almost dressed up,” I said. “What’s the occasion?”
“I have a dinner later tonight,” he said.
“With the nameless celebrity?”
He smirked. “You’ll have to peek in the dining room and see,” he said. “Z is going to fit me into the second seating.”
“That’s incredible,” I said. “I now have the answer as to who can get into 28 without a reservation without any advance notice.”
“What can I say?” He shrugged. “The man loves me.”
“Many people do.”
“What’s that mean?”
“My sister was bragging about your accomplishments the other night. You didn’t mention that you founded the whole fishing community.”
“The whole fishing community?”
“You know what I’m saying, Yalie.”
“I don’t think you’re called that when you teach there.”
He heaved the cooler up higher.
“So you guys were talking about me the other night?”
“A little. In between her lectures on what a terrible person I am.”
He grinned. “I’ve got to run, so you’ll have to tell me another time.” He paused. “And by the way, try not to feel too badly about Taylor. Z fires people from Cordon Bleu. I’d give you until the end of this shift.”
“Would you put in a good word? I kind of need to hold on to this job at least for a little while.”
“Chef Z is the most influential chef on the East End. He’s eighty percent of my high-end business in the Hamptons.”
“So you will?”
Ethan nodded, started walking away. “Absolutely not.”