Catering to Love (7 page)

Her mind switched to Leslie. Teaching a member of her staff in her restaurant was quite different than teaching at the Kitchen Widget. She released a giggle and repeated the words again,
her restaurant.
She never thought she would say that. Fortunately, Nell had offered to hold the loan, although she had asked her not to divulge it to anyone. Gabi assumed it had something to do with Corey, but she wasn’t sure. It was obvious he carried around a great deal of baggage, but she hoped she could change that in time. Unless they could find some common ground on which to work, she’d have to let him go. Although, having eye candy around would make the day less daunting as she got back into the swing of things. And right now, she didn’t want to fire him or anyone else, because she needed every one of them to help her keep this business on its feet.

Prepare the spice rub by placing all the ingredients into a large plastic bag. Having a cute female boss is like rubbing spice into that open wound of yours. Rub more and feel the burn.

Remove all the fat and sinew from the chicken breasts and place on a cutting board. Using a mallet, place a plastic bag over the head. No, not her head, the mallet’s head, dummy! But feel free to picture your ex’s face as you pound the chicken breasts to a 1/2-inch thickness using the flat side of the mallet. Add chicken breasts to the spice bag one at a time to coat each piece with the seasoning.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter and oil and place the breasts into the pan, but avoid crowding. If only your new boss knew a thing or two about not overcrowding a kitchen. Cover and keep warm in a closed microwave oven.

Measure out 3 cups cranberries and add to a 3-quart saucepan, add the brown sugar, water, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. Remove from the heat and remove the piece of zest, then stir in the 2 tablespoons of the bourbon. Take the third tablespoon for yourself to take the edge off. Serves 4. Ladle the sauce over the top of the chicken.

Gabi awoke when she heard kids running down the hall and the subsequent stern voice of a parent telling them to be quiet. She grabbed her pillow and buried her head under it to block out the noise. After a few minutes, she glanced at the clock and decided it was time to get up. Time had really marched on. She was at the end of her first month in New Hope, and found herself getting back into the swing of things rather nicely. Her comfort with being back in the hustle-bustle again had been just like riding a bike—she hadn’t forgotten. She checked the clock and rushed to take a fast shower and dress to begin her day.

Entering the kitchen an hour later, she waved to Steven, who was busy chopping garnishes for the day’s grill menu. Corey never even looked up as he pulled the movable rack of trays closer to his workstation and unloaded the square, stainless steel canisters filled with garnishes. Leslie had not yet arrived.

“How is everyone this morning?” Gabi asked.

“Too busy to talk,” Corey snapped and dismissed her with a turn of his head. “Grab those butternut squash for me, Joey, will you?”

Anger seeped inside Gabi’s chest, but she decided he wasn’t going to ruin her day, and she continued talking to Joey, who was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Being angry was exactly what Corey wanted, and she wasn’t about to fall into that trap.

“I’m not too busy to talk,” Leslie said, walking up behind her. “It’s a beautiful morning outside, and I’m ready to greet the day with a head full of ideas.”

“Super, Les!” She stopped in front of Corey’s station. “Where would you like me to work today?”

“Stick with Leslie.”

“Okay. That’s fine.” She turned to Leslie, who was hanging her coat on the rack. “I need to meet with Nell in a few minutes, but I’ll be right there as soon as I’m done.”

“Okay,” she said. “Shall I start making the syrup for the sorbet for tonight?”

“Good idea.”

Corey gave both of them a dirty look and continued walking in the opposite direction. Gabi wanted to say something to him but decided talking to Nell first was probably a better idea. Walking through the double doors, she found Nell engrossed in a conversation with a guest at the inn. Nell spotted Gabi and called her over.

“Mr. and Mrs. Boyd, I’d like you to meet Gabi Johnson, the new owner of Carters’.” Gabi extended her hand.

“Very pleased to meet you. I hope your accommodations are satisfactory,” Gabi said.

“Oh,” Mrs. Boyd said, flinging her hand in the air, “we’ve been coming here for years. Accommodations are always good… but we sure hope you’re not going to make too many changes. We’d hate to stop coming here.”

Despite the angst sailing through her, Gabi understood frequent guests, especially those who were older and had been coming to the place for years, would not like change. She respected that.

The woman turned to her husband. “Are you ready, Roy?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We’re meeting our son for breakfast.”

“Have a good day,” Gabi said. As she watched them exit the building, she turned to Nell. “We need to talk.”

“Okay. You look troubled.”

“I am… it’s Corey.”

“Hmm, I worried that might be a problem.”

“Okay, so let’s talk about it,” Gabi said, gesturing toward the dining room.

“Want some coffee?” Nell asked. Gabi nodded. Nell filled two cups and walked them over to the table.

“What do you know about him?” Nell asked, sitting down. “Anything?”

“No. I told you I actually met him my first full day in New Hope, at Cupcakes.”

“So you did know him?”

“No.
Met
is a relative term. I have to be honest. When I saw him walk into Cupcakes, his good looks did catch my attention, and I guess I was gawking. I don’t know,” she grinned. “That’s when he practically chopped my head off. I figured he was in a bad mood and let it go, never expecting
to see him again.” Gabi snorted. “Imagine my surprise when you introduced him as the sous-chef.”

“Which explains that surprised look on your face when I introduced you to the staff. Yeah, he can be a little flippant, but sometimes you have to bite your tongue. He’s a good worker and that’s why I’ve kept him. I did worry he’d be resentful of the new owner,” she said, lowering her voice. “I worry I led him on a bit when it came to him purchasing the inn. I did originally tell him no, then he convinced me to think about it, but John and I ultimately decided it would be a bad decision because… well, I don’t want to get into personal information with you, but let’s just say, he’s too much of a risk.” Nell sipped her coffee. “Anyway,” she continued, “I’ve been meaning to tell you how impressed we were with your parents. They must have a lot of faith in you to put their house up as collateral. Oh, and my attorney thinks we’re going to be closing sooner, rather than later.”

Gabi’s stomach clenched at the thought. “Thanks for the heads-up. And yes, I’m very lucky to have such wonderful parents. And it’s important to me to never let them down.”

Gabi pushed on the double doors and entered the kitchen. Corey stood behind his station chopping garnishes. He never looked up, but she could see the sourpuss look on his face. It appeared she had a bigger challenge than she thought.

Gabi dragged herself through the motel lobby and shuffled down the hall to the elevator, rode it up to her floor and meandered down the hall to her room. Using the key card,
she unlocked the door and flopped down on the bed to regroup before calling her parents. Ten minutes later, with nervous anxiety tightening in her stomach, she keyed in her parents’ phone number. She was happy, yet the anticipation of getting her dad’s approval meant everything to her. She heard his voice.

“Hey, Dad, how are you guys doing?”

“I wondered when you’d be calling. What’s going on?”

“It’s been very busy.”

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. Did Mr. Rosenfarb call today?”

“No. Why?”

“Nell told me we’d probably be closing soon.”

“It’s never too late to back out if you’re not sure. Are you?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

“Okay, then that’s good enough for me.”

“I promise, I won’t let you and Mom down.”

“I know you won’t. Okay, I’ll talk to Rosenfarb tomorrow and I’ll get a definite date.”

“Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetie. Here’s your mom.”

Walking into the kitchen this morning, Gabi felt completely different, knowing things were in the final stages and she was going to close the deal soon. She turned when Corey barreled into the kitchen and mumbled an aloof “Good morning.” Unable to tolerate his expression, she decided today was the day to break down his exterior armor and ask some pointed questions.

“Are you always this depressed?”

“Who said I was depressed? I’m just not a talker in the mornings.”

“You’re not much of a talker anytime during the day.” She looked around the kitchen to make sure they were alone. “Look, it’s just the two of us in here. What’s really going on? What did I do to make you dislike me so much?”

“I don’t dislike you. I just don’t like working with women.”

She jerked her head back. “Is that a fact!” she retorted abruptly.

“Sorry,” he said, “but that’s the way I feel. Women don’t belong in a restaurant kitchen.”

“Whoa! That was a sexist comment.”

“Perhaps… but you asked.”

“That’s an old-school mentality. This isn’t Julia Child’s era. For you to perpetuate that mentality is pathetic.” She eyed him quizzically. “Or is there something else that’s causing you to believe such archaic gibberish?”