Chapter 3
“Eleanor, I don’t know why we can’t shut down for a few hours today, too, so I can come with you. We won’t lose that much business.”
I couldn’t believe that Maddy was actually arguing with me about closing the Slice while I helped Cindy to get ready for her grand opening and book signing. My sister had been the one urging me all last week to keep the place open while Chef Benet was in town, but now that we were on the eve of his visit, she was clearly beginning to have second thoughts.
“That’s not what you said before.”
Maddy shrugged. “I know, but a girl has a right to change her mind sometimes, doesn’t she?”
I laughed at her. “Come on, tell the truth. You’re just not all that crazy about running the kitchen while I’m gone, are you? Have some faith in yourself, Sis. You’re good at it. You’ve proven that before.”
She acted as though this wasn’t news to her, but she was clearly still unhappy about the arrangements. “I know I can handle it, but I still think that you could use my help dealing with Benet. You don’t know what he’s like.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve done some research,” I said. I had, too, checking out his name on the Internet. If half the stories I’d read were true, there was a part of me that was starting to think that
Maddy was right. The man might really be too much for me to handle on my own.
“Tell you what,” I said. “We’ll keep things like we planned them for now, but if I feel like I’m in over my head, I’ll send you a 911 text and you can rush right over.”
“I’ll be waiting for it,” she said.
“Come on. You’ll be fine,” I said, trying to buoy her spirits.
“I’m not the one I’m worried about,” she said as I left her alone in the kitchen.
Greg was prepared to wait on tables by himself, since Josh was still in school for another hour, but so far, we hadn’t had a customer all afternoon.
“What’s up, boss? Heading over to the slaughterhouse?”
“Keep an eye on her, would you?” I asked. “If things get too crazy, give me a call and I’ll see if I can come over and lend a hand.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”
“Josh is still coming as soon as school’s out, right?”
“He’ll be here. He texted me about ten minutes ago, and I can handle this madhouse by myself until he shows up. Not that it’s anything to worry about at the moment. Why the lull? Have any ideas?”
“Who knows? Our customer base is capricious at best. I’m sure someone will show up soon.”
“I hope so,” he said. “I’ve already done the crossword puzzle in today’s paper, and I’m going to start on the brainteasers next, and I hate doing those things.”
I nodded. “Maybe our lack of customers isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
He looked at me oddly, and then asked, “Are you feeling okay, boss? Do you have a fever or something?”
“I’m fine,” I said a little self-consciously. “Why, do I look bad?”
“No, but that’s the problem,” Greg answered. “I just figured if you stopped worrying about the bottom line around here, something must be horribly wrong with you.”
I had to laugh. “I may pinch pennies, but we both know that there’s more to life than money.”
Greg kept looking at me strangely. “If you’re trying to persuade me that you’re okay, you’re using the wrong words.”
I had to smile, mainly because he was right. “Okay, I get it. Seriously, though, we might end up shutting down a few hours today, along with tomorrow’s signing. Are you okay with that?”
“I’m fine with it. It’s not exactly like I need the money to get by, remember?” he asked with a grin.
“I know. I’m just grateful you keep coming in at all,” I said, sounding a little more sincere than I’d planned. “I’ve been afraid to ask, but why do you keep coming back?”
It was his turn to look serious as he asked, “Eleanor, you’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”
“No way. I’m just not sure I’d act the same way if I were in your shoes.”
Greg just shrugged. “You might be surprised. I’d go crazy with nothing to do but go to college, and besides, where else would I find the kind of entertainment that’s around here every day?”
“I’ll grant you that,” I said with a smile. “Maddy and I both love having you here. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do, but it’s always good to hear,” he said.
Josh came in as we were talking, and he looked excited as he asked, “Did you two see the fire?”
I was about to ask him if he was cutting classes again to work at the pizzeria when his initial question cut through my mind and moved to the head of the line.
“What are you talking about? Where did you see a fire?” I asked, having a feeling of dread sink into my stomach as I imagined the books at the new bookstore going up in flames. “Is it in the Bookmark?”
“Believe it or not, it’s closer than that,” Josh said as he pointed outside. “Somebody must have just torched the trashcan out front.”
We all raced to the front window, and Maddy must have heard the commotion, because she soon joined us. “What’s going on?” she asked as she dried her hands on her apron.
I pointed outside as the flames in the trashcan leaped higher into the air. “It appears that there is an arsonist loose in Timber Ridge.”
“Well, hot dog, grab some marshmallows and let’s have ourselves a roast,” my sister said as she headed out the door.
We all followed her, and I found myself wondering what kind of craziness we’d see next in Timber Ridge. The ground around the can was covered in brick pavers, and there wasn’t another structure within two dozen feet, so I knew if we just left the fire alone, it would burn itself out soon enough. Not that there was any chance of that happening with the two young men I had working for me.
“Should we try to put it out?” Greg asked, just as I heard sirens coming from nearby. “I’ve been dying for the chance to use that fire extinguisher of yours.”
“No need,” I said. “This will give our volunteer firefighters something to practice on that they didn’t set themselves.”
“I’m taking bets about how many people they use to put it out,” Greg said. “Anybody want to make a friendly wager?”
“What’s your over and under number?” Maddy asked.
I swatted at my sister. “Don’t encourage him,” I said.
“Seven,” Greg added.
Maddy looked at him and said, “Knowing this town, I’ll take the over.”
“No way they’ll use more than four,” Josh said.
Greg looked at me and asked, “Eleanor, do you want to get in on this? The betting window is about to close.”
“You know I don’t approve of gambling,” I said, “but this is a sure thing. Maddy’s right. They’ll send at least nine.”
Maddy grinned at me, and I smiled back. We stood far enough away not to get in the way, and as the fire truck rolled up, I was amazed to see that there were only three firefighters on it.
Josh smiled. “It looks like I win.”
“Hang on a second. The fire’s not out yet,” Maddy said.
“No way. Only the ones on the truck count,” Josh said.
“Judges?” Maddy asked Greg.
He grinned. “The number has to be the total firefighters that show up until the blaze is out. Sorry, Josh.”
His best friend just laughed. “That’s okay. I can live with that.”
The hose was hooked up to a hydrant at the edge of the promenade, and by the time they got it unrolled and in front of the trashcan, which was now slowly burning out all by itself, there were exactly seven volunteers. They absolutely buried the can with water, snuffing out the last remaining ember and sending debris all over my section of the promenade. The force of the blast was so hard, I was afraid they’d knock the can off its chain, but it held fast. I looked around and saw that the activity had drawn quite a crowd, including Cindy from the Bookmark.
I called over to her, “Today’s the big day.”
“Are you coming?” she asked, the nervousness clear in her voice.
“No worries; I’ll be there soon.”
Cindy managed a halfhearted wave, and then disappeared back into her bookstore. I had to wonder just how bad her day had been so far, and how much worse it was probably going to get.
I just hoped that I was wrong. Now that the excitement was over, I decided that there was no point in putting it off. As the crew of volunteers rolled their hose up and put it back in the truck, I said, “Well, it looks like all of the entertainment is over, so I’d better take off. I’ll see you all later.”
“Have fun,” Maddy said with a hint of the devil in her eyes.
“You, too,” I answered.
“Remember the secret number if you get in a jam,” Maddy said, mouthing nine one one to me.
I just laughed as I left them there.
As I walked down the promenade toward the Bookmark, I took a deep breath.
It was time to follow up on my promise to help.
I just hoped Chef Benet wasn’t as bad as I’d heard.
But I wasn’t counting on it.
I had to knock on the Bookmark’s door three times before anyone came to let me in. Cindy finally heard me, and she looked frazzled already when she unlocked the door, something that was definitely not a good sign.
“Are things really that bad?” I asked.
“I don’t know how they could get any worse. Chef Benet’s assistant just got here, but the star of the show isn’t even in town yet. What am I going to do if Benet doesn’t show up tomorrow?”
Cindy looked as though she wanted to cry. It was time to do my best to calm her down. “Take it easy, and tell me what’s going on. Were you honestly expecting him to get here the day before his event? He’s probably busy with his television show responsibilities.”
“But they told me he’d be here today,” she said, as though repeating it enough would somehow make it happen.
I tapped my watch. “Don’t borrow trouble. Today’s not over yet, not by a long shot, Cindy. Has anything good happened so far?” I had to do my best to cheer her spirits.
“Well,” she admitted, “at least his personal assistant is here.”
“That’s good, right?” I asked, trying to reach for anything I could.
Cindy’s frown just deepened. “I’m not all that sure. From what he’s been saying so far, we’re going to be in for a rough ride. Eleanor, I’m so sorry I got you into this.”
“Nonsense, I’m happy to help. Now, let’s go see what we can do to make this go more smoothly and take some of the worries off your mind.”
“I’m not sure that’s even possible,” she admitted.
“Tomorrow is a big day for you, and you need to do your best to enjoy it.”
As we spoke, a tall, thin young man with ginger hair came out biting his lower lip and mumbling softly to himself.
When he spotted me, he asked Cindy, “Who is this? One of your clerks?”
“I’m Eleanor Swift,” I said, extending my hand.
He either didn’t notice it, or chose to ignore it, as he said, “I’m sorry, I should have guessed. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but we’ve got a ton of work to do before the event tomorrow. Why exactly are you here?”
“I asked her to come over to lend a hand. She’s going to be helping us out as one of Chef Benet’s assistants,” Cindy said. “She runs A Slice of Delight just down the promenade.”
“Right, the pizza place,” he said with a worried expression on his face. “I have to tell you, the chef is not at all happy about that.”
Okay, somehow this conversation had started off badly, but I wasn’t going to keep it that way. “I’m sorry. I introduced myself before, but I still don’t know who you are.”
“I’m the assistant to Chef Benet,” he answered a little too stiffly for my taste.
“I didn’t ask you what your job description was. Let’s try this again. I’m Eleanor Swift. And you are?” I asked with my brightest smile.
The young man sighed as he returned it and shrugged. “Forgive me. When I’m setting up for one of the chef’s events, I kind of get in a zone. I do apologize, and I’ll try to be a little less intense. My name is Oliver Wills, by the way.”
“So, how long have you worked for Benet?” I asked.
He flinched as I said the chef’s name. “It’s Chef, always Chef, and nothing but Chef. He won’t even answer to his name, if you can believe that.”
“From what I’ve heard about him, I have no trouble believing that all,” I said, still smiling.
Oliver laughed. “You think you know what he’s like, but you’re wrong. He’s a thousand times worse than his reputation.”
What an odd thing to say about an employer. “If you don’t mind my asking, why do you continue to work for him, then?”
Oliver looked as though he’d contemplated that very question a million times before. “He’s a celebrity, and I’m just a nobody. Not that I’m not a good cook in my own right,” he added hastily, “But Chef has the fame, and the reputation, and at our little network, that seems to be what matters most. Talent and ability both take a backseat to star power.”
“How sad,” I said. “It shouldn’t be that way.”
Oliver smiled as he turned to face Cindy. “You know what? I like her.”
“I do, too,” Cindy said with a relieved expression. I wasn’t sure how Benet was going to be, but Oliver seemed nice enough once we broke through his frosty shell.
It was time we all got busy. “Now, what can we do to make Benet, er, Chef, happy?”
“If I knew that, I’d have my own show by now,” Oliver said with a smile. “The test kitchen isn’t going to arrive for another hour. Would it be possible for us to visit your pizzeria while we’re waiting? I need to do some recon work there, too.”
“You’re not going to tear the place down, are you?” I asked.
“Not me, but I can’t speak for Chef.”
Oliver and I started to walk out, when Cindy asked, “Do you need me? If I may, I’d rather stay here while they’re setting the kitchen up for tomorrow’s demonstration.”
“Stay,” Oliver said, and then paused a moment to add, “I’m sorry if I was too hard on you before. Working for Chef has a tendency to do that to people.”
“You’re forgiven,” Cindy said with a broad smile.
After we left the bookstore, I said, “I’m curious about something. I was under the impression that celebrity events were planned well in advance. This kind of happened at the last minute, didn’t it?”
Oliver nodded. “Tell me about it. We were all set to debut the book in New York for the morning talk-show programs, but Chef decided at the last second that he had to come to North Carolina.”
“And you don’t know why?”
Oliver frowned. “No offense, but he turned down a massive amount of exposure, something that’s completely out of character for him. Plus, if he had to go someplace in North Carolina, why here? Bookstores in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Asheville all put in requests for him, but he insisted on coming to this little burg.”
I couldn’t let that comment slide, not with the way he’d said it. “I know we have a small town. That’s why so many of us like it.”
Oliver looked around at the shops, the brick promenade, the trees, the statues, the obelisk, and the captured cannon. “I didn’t mean anything derogatory, trust me. I can see why you all love it. It’s charming, and there’s no denying it.”
“But it’s not exactly a place for a proper book launch, right?” I asked.
“No, not in my mind. Is that your place?” he asked, pointing to my blue building.
“It is,” I said as we neared. “We’re open right now, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t disrupt our business any more than you have to.”
“Of course,” he said, and then said, “Why blue, if I might ask?”
“You can ask, but I honestly don’t know myself,” I answered honestly.
He studied the painted brick, mortar, and stone, and then said, “It looks as though it would be expensive to remove. I’m guessing you were stuck with it when you got the place.”
“Right in one,” I said. “How could you possibly know that?”
Oliver laughed. “You might have your own hidden sense of whimsy, but you look far too sensible to paint the structure blue yourself.”
“I might just surprise you,” I said, grinning at him. I held the door open, and after he walked in, I followed him.
During the time I’d been at the Bookmark, my pizzeria was now over halfway full. Greg and Josh were both waiting on customers, but both young men looked at me with matching inquiring glances as I walked in with Oliver. I smiled and nodded with as much reassurance as I could muster that all was right with the world, and they both went back to work. It was nice having them both look out for me, even if I didn’t need it as much as they thought I did.
“They’re worried about you,” Oliver said softly.
“I didn’t realize you caught that,” I said with a smile.
“Believe me, I don’t miss much.” He looked around, and then said, “I may have spoken too hastily. This place is really quaint.”
“We like it,” I said.
“May I see the kitchen?”
“This way,” I said, leading him to the back.
Maddy was surprised to see me, and before she noticed that we had company, she asked, “How bad was it? Is the man as dreadful as we thought? I can’t believe you’re already back here. I didn’t get any texts.”
I didn’t know what she was talking about at first, and then I realized that she was talking about the 911 call I was supposed to make at the first sign of trouble.
As the chef’s assistant joined us, I said, “Maddy, this is Oliver Wills. Oliver, this is my sister, Maddy, the best front person we have, and a rather excellent backup in the kitchen as well.”
They shook hands, and then Maddy said, “You must be special, Oliver. Eleanor doesn’t let just anyone come back here during working hours.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know about being special. I’m the chef’s personal assistant and food-prep man. It’s not really all that much of a claim to fame.”
“I assume you’re talking about Chef Benet,” Maddy said. “I’ve got to tell you, I just loved his Chicken Parm Twist from the show last night.”
“Can you keep a secret?” he asked.
I was about to answer for her when Maddy said, “Try me.”
Lowering his voice, Oliver said proudly, “That was actually one of mine.”
“Really?” Maddy asked, clearly happy with the backstage information.
“Well, at least it was my basic idea. The chef expounded on it and made it his own, of course, but I thought of the twist.”
“You’re good,” Maddy said.
Oliver seemed pleased with the praise, and then noticed the conveyor oven. “Is this how you make your pizzas?” he asked.
“Yes, it works fine for our needs,” I chimed in.
“You don’t have a wood-fired oven?” he asked.
Why did everyone believe that pizza had to be baked on a stone by the fire to be authentic? “There’s actually one on the square, but it’s in another restaurant.”
Oliver nodded. “May I see that one instead?”
“I’m sorry, but the owner is out of town until further notice.”
It was true. Nathan Pane had left town after losing his nephew, a man who had opened a rival to our pizzeria, and as far as I knew, the pizzeria’s true owner had no immediate plans to come back.
“That’s too bad,” Oliver said. As he looked around, he said, “I suppose this will just have to do.”
“It works for us,” Maddy said coldly, clearly not enjoying Oliver’s take on our kitchen. Whatever goodwill he’d amassed so far was now gone, and what’s more, he could tell it from our expressions.
“Please, don’t misunderstand,” Oliver said. “I learned to cook in a kitchen a great deal like this that my parents owned when I was a young boy. I personally think that it’s just about perfect. Chef is the one that is so hard to please.”
“He’ll just have to learn to live with a little disappointment, then,” Maddy said, some of the coolness easing out of her voice. But it was still clear that she wasn’t happy about having me, or Oliver, in the kitchen when she worked.
“Thanks, Maddy,” I said as I led Oliver out. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“It was truly nice meeting you,” the chef’s assistant said.
“You, too,” Maddy said, and she even managed a slight smile.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said as we walked out into the dining room.
“About what?”
“We tend to take things personally around here, and my sister doesn’t mind expressing her feelings when she’s not pleased about something,” I explained.
“There’s no need to apologize. Actually, I thought she was quite charming,” Oliver said.
“Boy, you really are used to abuse if you think my sister is pleasant,” I said with a smile.
“What can I say? We all have to put up with things we don’t like in order to do the things we do.”
“Wow. So, you’re a chef and a philosopher,” I said.
“No, I’m a cook. Just a cook,” he repeated as though it were a mantra. “We should get back the bookstore and see how Cindy is doing.”
“Do you think Chef will approve of our kitchen?” I asked. Blast it all, now he had me doing it.
“Don’t worry about it too much. He’d complain if you had a culinary institute at your disposal instead of a pizzeria. It seems to just be his nature.”
“I won’t sweat it then,” I said. “Listen, no matter what, this event is really important to Cindy, so if there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”
“I will,” he said.
His smile turned into a frown when we got back to the Bookmark and saw the new demonstration kitchen’s layout. “What happened? This doesn’t follow the plan at all. It’s all wrong. We have to redo everything.”
Cindy was about to break down, but I stepped in and said, “Then let’s do it. Why don’t you go tell them exactly what you need, Oliver?”
I gave her a quick hug as he talked to the moving men, who were thankfully still on site packing up their equipment.
“Do you really think that it’s going to be all right?” Cindy asked me, the hope bright in her eyes.
“I can’t guarantee that, but at least it will be quick,” I said with a grin. “In three days, it will be just like he’d never been here.”
Only I was wrong saying that then.
I just didn’t know it at the time.