Love and Food (7 page)

              “Of course you do.  I wouldn’t expect you to decide right this minute.  That probably wouldn’t be very wise.  I’m going to give you my business card and you can get back to me.”

              “Okay.  That sounds good,” she says, taking his card from him.

              “Well, it has been nice meeting you and I hope to hear from you in the future.  Before I leave, I would just like to say one more thing.  If you decide to put your trust in me, I promise to work very hard for you and I will try my very best to help you turn things around.  I will do everything in my power to make success happen for you.”

              “I’m sure you will.”

              “Look me up.  I mean what I say.  I’m the real deal.”

              “I intend to,” she says, glancing at her business card.

              “Well, I’ve said my piece.  I will leave you to your work, and again, it was nice meeting you.”

              “Nice meeting you, too,” she says, standing up behind her desk and shaking his hand.  She sits back down after he has left and closed the door to her office behind him.  She looks at his business card.  The meeting with Ethan Saint was the last thing she expected to happen.  If he is who he says he is, maybe this is the opportunity she’s been waiting for. 

              She’s gone over things over and over and there hasn’t been any other options until now.  Could the fact that Ethan Saint was sitting in the dining room at the exact moment he was be some sort of act of fate?  Could things be starting to swing in her favor?  Could Ethan Saint be the change that she needed?

As she stares at his business card, something inside of her starts to shift.  Maybe he is just what she needs.  Maybe there is hope for her yet.  Maybe he’s the miracle that she’s been waiting for.

* * * * *

              “Honey, it’s so good to hear from you.  How is the restaurant going?” her mother asks after a few minutes of pleasantries.

              “That is why I’m calling you, actually,” she says, dreading the conversation that she is about to have.

              “Oh?” her mother replies in the soft and sweet gentle voice that she’s always had.  “Is something wrong?”

              “Well, Mom, the restaurant isn’t doing so well.”

              “Oh, Honey, I’m so sorry to hear that.  When your father and I were there on opening night it seemed like everything was going to work out magnificently.”

              “It was good for awhile and then things started to do downhill.”

              “So, what are you going to do?  Are you going to close it down?”

              “If things don’t change, it looks like that is what I’m going to have to do.”

              “Haillee, I’m so sorry to hear that.  You worked to hard to get that restaurant going.”

              “I did put a lot of time and effort into the restaurant.  It’s my baby, you know that.”

              “Of course I do.  I was so proud of you when you opened that restaurant and the fact that you did it all on your own was truly amazing.”

              “Well, I met with this man that says that he can turn the business around.  He is a master at what he does and he thinks that he can save the restaurant, but it’s going to need a complete overhaul.”

              “That sounds expensive, Honey.”

              “That’s the thing, it is going to be very expensive and I don’t have the money to do it.”

              “How much is it going to cost?”

              “Probably in the ballpark of $30000 or more.”

              “That is a lot of money.”

              “I know it is and that is the reason why I’m calling.  I was hoping that you and Dad could lend me the money,” she says, relieved to finally get the question out.

              “Honey, you know that money isn’t an issue for us, but what I’m wondering is if the money is going to be worth spending.  Would it be better to just close the restaurant and use the money to start something new?”

              “Essentially, spending the money revamping the restaurant would be like spending it on something new.  The restaurant is going to be completely different.  It would be like out with the old and in with the new.  You know what I mean?”

              “I do.  Is this something that you really and truly want to do?”

              “It is, Mom,” she says.  “You know that I wouldn’t be asking you guys if I didn’t really need it.”

              “I know that, as sure as the sky is blue.  You haven’t asked your father and I for much.  You’ve always wanted to do things on your own.  You’ve been that way since you were a child.”

              “Things haven’t changed much, Mom.  I wish that I could solve this problem on my own, but it looks like it can’t be done.  I would really like it if you could help me.  I would like it and I would appreciate it.”

              “I know you would.  It always amazes me how you didn’t end up being entitled, especially with the upbringing that you had.  You could have led a life of leisure, but you always wanted to work.  You’re an amazing young woman and I’m very proud to call you my daughter.”

              “Thanks, Mom.  Will you help me?”

              “Of course we will.  You’re father and I would love nothing more than to help you.  You’re our daughter and we’d do anything for you.”

              “Thank you so much, Mom.”

              “You’re very welcome.  I will transfer the funds into your bank account as soon as I can.”

              “I love you.”

              “I love you too, darling.”

              “Tell Dad I love him, too.”

              “I will.  Talk to you soon.”

              “Okay.  Bye, Mom,” she says and hangs up the phone. 

The conversation went exactly how she expected it to go.  She knew that her parents would have no problem lending her the money; she just hated to ask them.  As she was growing up and she began to recognize that she had more than the average person did, she started to loathe the fact that she came from a rich family.  She didn’t want to be known as the spoiled rich girl.  She knew from a very young age that she wasn’t going to rely on her parent’s money.  She was going to make her way in the world on her own and with her own money.  She kind of feels like she is breaking the promise she made to herself all those years ago, but at the same time she is relieved that they are giving her the money.  She makes a vow to herself that if the restaurant is able to survive, she is going to pay back every single cent to her parents. 

              “So, I take it the conversation went well?” Kyle asks when she comes out of the bedroom into the living room. 

              “It did.  They’re going to give me the money.”

              “That’s good news.”

              “It is.”

              “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you about this Ethan Saint guy.  What do you know about him?  Can you trust the guy?”

              “You know me.  I don’t just trust someone because they say to.  I looked him up and he’s legit.  He’s not a phony or a fraud.  He’s saves businesses and he’s really good at it.  I even called some of the business owners on the website that he’s claimed to have saved and they have nothing but glowing things to say about him.  He saved their businesses and they are still thriving to this day.  He apparently really knows what he’s doing.”

              “Well, if you trust him.”

              “The tone of your voice makes me think that you think I shouldn’t trust him?”

              “There are scammers out there.  All I’m saying is be careful.”

              “I will be.  Don’t worry.”

              “Good.”

              Haillee looks at Kyle.  She is not sure whether he is just looking out for her or if he’s jealous because she is going to be working so closely with another man.  She chuckles to herself because if Kyle is jealous now, he’s really going to be jealous when he sees how amazingly gorgeous Ethan is.  Ethan is the epitome of tall, dark and handsome.  Not only is he good-looking, but he’s got brains as well.  Good-looking and intelligent - the guys is definitely blessed.  Ethan is definitely a good-looking guy and he may be smart, but he’s not on her radar.  She only has eyes for Kyle. 

* * * * *

              Ethan and Haillee sit in the dining room.  It is their first meeting.  She is little bit anxious and nervous about what is to come.  The seriousness of what is to happen and how much she has riding on the outcome of Ethan’s work scares her to death.  She is absolutely terrified to let Ethan take the reins while she steps back and lets him do his magic.  She is a control freak and letting go is a huge step for her.  Being passive is not something that she does easily.  She is aggressive.  She has an alpha type personality.

              “Well, here we are,” Ethan says, pulling out the chair for her to sit down.

              “Here we are,” she says, a tremble audible in her voice.  She kicks herself for displaying her nervousness.

              “I was really glad when I received your call and you told me that you were going to take me up on my offer.  I was surprised, actually.”

              “Why is that?”

              “Don’t take this the wrong way, Haillee, but I’ve seen your type before.”

              “And what type is that?”

              “The type that will not give up on something that they have created, even if the outcome doesn’t look good.  It’s not necessarily a bad quality, but I saw the ‘fight to the bitter end’ quality in you that day in the restaurant.”

              “I’m not going to dispute or protest because you’re exactly right.  I plan on fighting to the bitter end and I plan on doing everything I possibly can to make this restaurant work.”

              “Exactly.  You wouldn’t have taken me up on my offer otherwise, right?”

              “Right.”

              “Okay, so why don’t we start by you telling me how this place got started in the first place,” Ethan says, reclining in his seat and looking at her intently.

              She can’t help but wonder if he really cares, but she keeps her thoughts to herself.  “Well, ever since I was young, I loved to cook.  When I was just a young girl, I would constantly bother our cook while he was trying to cook dinner for our family.  At first, he would get so angry with me and kick me out of the kitchen, but after awhile I wore him done and he would let me help.  He acted like I was a nuisance, but I think that he secretly liked having a protégé – someone he could pass down all his trade secrets to.  I consider those moments with him in our kitchen to be some of the best times of my life.  In that kitchen, a love for cooking was birthed.  I was so eager to learn and I would spend hours in the kitchen, pouring of cookbooks and trying out the dishes.  My parents used to just shake their heads and roll their eyes at how much food I was going through trying out different recipes and combinations of food.  I knew from a very young age that cooking was going to be a major part of my life.”  She hates to let on about her privileged upbringing, but she wants to give Ethan the whole story.

              “I think that you were lucky to find something so early in your life that you loved to do.  Even while I was in college I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” Ethan says, chuckling.  His chuckles and what he says reminds her of Monica.  She was exactly the same way in college.  She’s not sure how many times Monica switched her major, but it was a lot.  She makes a mental note to casually find out if Ethan is single.  He and Monica might make a good couple.  “Go on,” he says, motioning for her to continue on with her story.

              “Well, I suffered through high school.  All I cared about and wanted to do was cook.  I couldn’t wait for my classes to be over, so I could get home and get into the kitchen.  When my chance came to go to culinary school, I was higher than a kite.  Nothing could bring me down.  It was literally my dream come true.  When I was standing in the school on my first day, you couldn’t wipe the smile on my face.  If the world had ended at that very moment, I would’ve died completely happy.  I was overjoyed to be there and I made sure that everyone knew it.”

              “How did you do in culinary school?”

              “I don’t mean to be arrogant or braggadocios, but I excelled.  A lot of the stuff I learned, I already knew from the amount of time I spent in the kitchen growing up.  I remember I would get dirty looks from my classmates because I could answer all the teacher’s questions.  I couldn’t help it.  I remember thinking; don’t hate me because I spent every waking hour and moment learning absolutely everything I could about cooking.  Cooking wasn’t just a hobby for me, it was my passion.  The need to cook was something that was ingrained deep into my soul, I think from birth.  I can’t explain it.  It was just something that was always there – the need, I mean.”