Delicious

CHAPTER THREE

“IT’S ALL FINE and good to look at qualifications,” Naomi said. “But I want someone I can have sex with.”

Penny ignored her friend and glanced at the application in front of her. “I hear good things about him,” she said, making notes on a pad. “Put him on the list.”

“But he’s married and he doesn’t cheat.” There was a definite whine in Naomi’s voice. “I can accept one, but not the other.”

“We are talking about raising a restaurant from the dead. Not your sex life.”

“Why do they have to be mutually exclusive? I can be a good employee and have a great sex life. In fact, getting laid on a regular basis keeps me cheerful.”

Penny looked at her papers so Naomi wouldn’t see her smile. “Focus,” she said.

Naomi sighed. “You’re less fun now that you’re in charge.”

“And likely to stay that way. Who’s next?”

While Naomi shuffled through papers, Penny glanced around the transformed dining room. The place had been painted and there were new window coverings. The old carpet was up and the floors had been refinished. The scent of varnish competed with the smell of cleanser and bleach coming from the kitchen. The horrible odor of rotting food had been driven from the place, which made Penny grateful. She was well into her fourth month and she didn’t want to experience morning sickness at this late date.

“Asshole alert at ten o’clock,” Naomi muttered.

Penny turned and saw Cal walking toward them. He looked good—tall and handsome, wearing a black leather bomber jacket and jeans. He walked with an easy, loose-hipped grace that all the Buchanan men had. Good genes, she thought, which, unfortunately, came from Gloria. Penny might not like the old woman but she knew her stubbornness and determination had been passed on to her grandchildren.

“He’s not an asshole anymore,” Penny said, ignoring the sudden quivering in her belly. “He’s our boss.”

“To me, he’ll always be the jerk who made you cry for two weeks straight when he walked out on you.”

Technically Penny had been the one to move out of the apartment, but she knew what Naomi meant. Cal had done nothing to keep her and certainly hadn’t come after her.

“That was a long time ago,” Penny reminded her. “I’ve let it go. You should work on that, too.”

“Maybe.”

Cal approached the table. “Ladies.” He held out a cardboard container with three cups of coffee. “A little something to help with the hiring process.”

Naomi grabbed a cup and looked at The Daily Grind logo. “I’m more a Starbucks person, but any port in a storm.”

“Nice,” Cal said, looking at her. “Hello, Naomi. It’s been a long time.”

“It has.” She stood. In her black leather boots, she was nearly eye-to-eye with Cal. “How’s it going?”

“Great.”

“I hear you’re in charge.”

“That’s right.”

She took a sip of the coffee. “Every time I go into one of your stores, I remember the time I saw you naked. It always gives me a little giggle.”

With that, she strolled away.

Penny closed her eyes and winced. Unfortunately Naomi had seen Cal naked. She’d walked in on them making love, once. After retreating, she’d stood behind the closed door and complained bitterly about people who didn’t have the common courtesy to at least make some noise while doing it so the world could know what they were up to and not accidentally walk in.

Cal took the seat she’d vacated and picked up one of the remaining coffees. “Do you really need her?” he asked.

“Sorry, yes. She’s great at her job and she watches my back.” Naomi would also take some of the heat off Penny as her pregnancy progressed. “We’ve become something of a team.”

“Great.”

“You’re only here for four months,” Penny reminded him. “How bad could it be?”

“We’re talking about Naomi. It could be a disaster.”

“Not for our big, bad general manager.”

He looked at her. “I don’t think I detect enough reverence in your voice. This is my restaurant and while I’m here, I’m a god.”

“I must have missed that memo. Could you resend it to me?”

“I’ll bring you a copy myself.” He glanced around the dining room. “What do you think?”

She followed his gaze. “It’s fine.”

“Fine? Do you know how much this is costing?”

“Nope. And I don’t much care. The front of the store is your business.”

He shook his head. “You haven’t changed. What happens when you open your own place? You’ll have to deal with the front of the store then.”

“I’ll manage. Naomi has fabulous taste.”

“Are you sure she won’t want to turn it into some kind of sex shop?”

Penny considered the question. “Good point. Then I’ll talk to Reid. I’m sure one of his former girlfriends was an interior decorator.”

“Assuming he remembers which one.”

“Another good point. You’re on a roll this morning.”

He sipped his coffee. “You’re feisty. When did that happen?”

“A hundred and forty-seven days ago. There was a report on the news.”

“I missed that.”

“I guess it’s hiding with your memo about being a god.”

He grinned and she smiled in return. Even as she wanted to lean in and continue the banter, she knew it was far better to keep things completely businesslike between them. Her former relationship with Cal had started with fun conversation and had gotten more dangerous by the minute. Although she felt completely immune now, she didn’t want to take any chances. Not when it was surprisingly easy to be around him.

“You’ve been out of the business a while,” she said. “How does it feel to be back?”

“Good. Familiar. I didn’t think I’d missed it, but there’s something about running a restaurant. Everything’s changing, with no hour the same, let alone a day. Time is always the enemy. The next crisis is just around the corner.”

“Sounds like you’ve missed it.”

“Maybe I have.”

“I hope you remember enough to keep this half up and running.”

“Your faith in me is overwhelming.”

Cal watched Penny lean back as if separating herself from him. He could read her mind as clearly as if she’d spoken.

He hadn’t had faith in her.

The statement wasn’t true, but he knew she wouldn’t believe him. His attempts to protect her from Gloria had only widened the chasm in their rapidly unraveling marriage.

Ancient history, he told himself. Better to forget it.

She reached into a battered backpack and pulled out a folder. “Here are some sample menus. I’ve marked the items I want to serve at the big preopening party. The question marks are in place where I’m not sure what will be available that particular day. Inventory changes quickly and my fish people can’t promise the more exotic selections until the day of the party.”

He took the sheets of paper. “The infamous fish people.”

She smiled. “Sometimes they dress in costume.”

“I’d like to see that.”

She laughed.

The sound washed over him in a wave of unexpected heat. He felt it sink into him, warming him, arousing him.

Whoa. Not going there. He didn’t believe in do-overs, not in personal relationships, anyway. He and Penny were simply co-workers, nothing more.

But even as he told himself to back off, sexual energy poured through him, making him aware of the humor in her eyes and the way her skin seemed almost luminous.

He told himself that the former was at his expense and the latter was simply the result of damn good lighting in the restaurant. But even he didn’t believe it.

“Are you even listening?” she asked.

“Yeah. Fish specials depend on the whim of the fish people.”

“No. I was saying that I’ll be building my specials slowly. I won’t want to dump a bunch of new items on the menu at once. I also have a few things in mind for new signature dishes. Once we’re established, I’ll offer them as specials and if they take off, I’ll put them on the menu. I’ve also been working on a seasonal menu. Certain fish is available at certain times of the year. I can build around that. The same with produce.”

“Berries in the summer, squash in the fall,” he said.

She sighed. “I’d like to think I’m more imaginative than that, but yes. That’s the idea.”

He looked over the menu. There were the basics—steamed and grilled fish, soups, salads, sides.

He’d had her garlic smashed potatoes before and his mouth watered at the memory. She put in a secret ingredient that she’d never shared, even with him.

He flipped to the list of specials. “Corn cakes?” he asked. “I thought we were specializing in Northwest cuisine. Isn’t that Southwestern?”

“That depends on how they’re prepared.”

He shrugged, then shook his head. “Fish and chips? Do we really want to do that here? We’re going for an upscale experience, not cheap fast food on the pier.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Do I look annoyed?” she asked. “Because you’re really pissing me off here. Did you or did you not want a special menu?”

“Yes, but—”

“Did you or did you not hire me to make the dining experience special?”

“Yes, but—”

“Perhaps you’d like to give me a chance to do my job before you start complaining.”

“Penny,” he said, his voice low and commanding. “I get final say on the menu. That’s in the contract.”

He could practically hear her teeth grinding.

“Fine. Mark everything you consider questionable. Then be back here in two days. We’ll have a tasting. At that point, you will sample the foods you object to. I will be in the kitchen where you can crawl to me and beg my forgiveness, after which you’ll never, ever question my menu selections again.”

He chuckled. “I won’t be crawling and I will question as I see fit, but the tasting session sounds fine.” He pulled out his Palm Pilot. “What time?”

“Three.”

“Fine. Of course if I’m not impressed, I’ll be calling the shots on the menu,” he told her.

“Only if hell has frozen over.”

“I hear it’s getting cold down there.”

She muttered something he couldn’t hear, which made him hold in a smile.

She’d gotten tough in the years they’d been apart. He liked that about her. He doubted she would have any trouble controlling the kitchen staff. He thought about what Gloria had told him, that Penny had stabbed someone. He wanted to hear the story, but not just yet.

Cal looked over the menu again. “We should price what we’ve agreed on,” he said. “Somehow I think that will be an argument.”

“I have the costs here.”

She pulled out several more sheets, these printed out from a computer. They broke down the approximate size of each serving and the cost to prepare it. Store costs—labor, wait staff and the fixed costs of the building were arrived at by estimating the total number of dinners served per night and dividing that into store costs for the day.

“Your portions are too large,” he said. “We’ll have to charge too much.”

“Better that than they go home hungry and have to stop for a burger on the way.”

He braced himself for the battle to come. “Who needs ten ounces of halibut?”

“Fish is different from meat. A four-ounce portion isn’t normal.”

“We’re talking about a premium product.”

She tapped her pen on the table. “Gee, and I thought this was going to be a premium restaurant. Did I have that wrong?”

Before he could answer, Naomi walked into the dining room with a guy Cal didn’t recognize. Penny’s friend fell back a step, pointed to the newcomer and mouthed, “I want him!”

Cal groaned.

“It’s the wine guy,” Naomi said. “Who’s going to be ordering?”

“I am,” Cal and Penny said at the same time.

CAL WALKED INTO the Downtown Sports Bar a little after nine on Wednesday night. The happy hour crowd had faded with the end of the last game and now there were only the regulars and a few business people who didn’t want to go home. Which meant the crowd was about ninety percent female.

His brother, Reid, stood behind the bar, holding court while a dozen or so large-breasted beauties listened, laughed and openly invited him into their respective beds. Or maybe not so respective. With Reid, one never knew.

He’d always been like this, Cal thought with a grin as he waved at his brother and made his way to a booth in the corner. Back in high school, Reid had had more than his share of interested women. Some of it had been because he was the pitching star on the high school team, and some of it was because he was a Buchanan. The Buchanan boys had never lacked for female companionship.

As he approached the booth he saw his baby sister, Dani, already seated. She had a beer in front of her and an expression of betrayal that warned him she’d heard the news.

“How’s it going, kid?” he asked as he slid in next to her.

“How do you think? I’m still trying to pull the knife out of my back.”

If they’d still been children he would have tugged her close and tickled her until she yelled uncle. Then he would have held her while she cried. That was no longer an option and he didn’t know how to make her feel better.

“Hey, Cal.”

He looked up and saw Lucy, one of the waitresses, walking toward him.

“The usual?” she asked.

Cal nodded.

“Dani ordered nachos,” she added. “Want it for two?”

“Make it three. Reid will be joining us.”

“Sure thing.”

She turned, giving him a view of her rounded tush in tight khaki shorts. Only Reid could get away with making his staff wear shorts and cropped T-shirts in Seattle in winter.

Cal turned to his sister. He leaned close to kiss her cheek, but she pulled away. Her dark brown eyes sharpened with accusation.

“How could you?” she demanded.

“Dammit, Dani, I didn’t have a choice. You know I don’t want to get back in the business. I sure don’t want to work for Gloria. I knew I could either take the job or watch the restaurant go down the toilet. None of us would want that.”

“Ha. Why would you care? You couldn’t wait to get away from it all.”

“I don’t care,” he said gently. “But you do. Reid’s in the business now. Walker may want to be a part of things when he retires from the marines.”

Dani reached for her beer. “All great reasons. You left out kids. Won’t we want this great company to pass on to our kids? Not that any of us has them. I don’t see them in my future anytime soon, and I’m the only one who’s married, but hey, it could happen. Maybe one of you guys could slip up and get a girl pregnant. Then we could have yet another generation in the family business.”

He knew she was bitter and he couldn’t blame her. Ironically, her words hit closer to the truth than she realized. He had gotten a girl pregnant. Seventeen years ago his daughter had been born. Gloria was the only one in his family who knew.

Thinking of his daughter now made him wonder if Lindsey would ever be interested in the family business. Not that she considered herself a Buchanan. She was adopted and aware of the fact but had no curiosity about her birth parents.

“I’m not making a career of The Waterfront,” he said, then thanked Lucy as she delivered his beer. “I’m back for four months and I have no desire ever to run the company.”

“Too bad, because Gloria would hand it over to you in a heartbeat.” Dani tucked her short dark hair behind her ears. “She’s a powerful woman. You’d think she’d respect that I want to be just as powerful, although a lot less bitchy. But does she care?”

Before he could figure out how to respond to that, Reid walked over.

“Hey, boys and girls.”

Dani glared at him. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?” Reid’s expression was innocent as he slid in next to Dani and put his arm around her. “That I’m the best looking of the Buchanan brothers? Not that it’s a tough competition.”

Cal shook his head. “One day your ego is going to come crashing back to earth and crush you like the insignificant bug you are.”

“Unlikely. My bevy of beauties will protect me.”

“Anything falling from the sky will just bounce off their implants,” Dani said. “You need to get him from below.”

Cal grinned. “She has a point.”

“And so do I,” Dani said. She shrugged off Reid’s arm. “You knew about Cal running The Waterfront.”

“Sure. Penny told me when she came by to say she had the job as executive chef.”

Cal winced as Dani slammed her hands down on the table. “Why am I always the last to know?” she asked. “Can’t you guys keep me in the loop on anything?”

“Why would you care who’s the chef?” Reid asked. “It’s not like it’s your restaurant.”

Cal glared at his brother. “Shut up.” He turned to Dani. “I was going to tell you tonight.”

Dani stared at him. “You hired your ex-wife to cook at your restaurant?”

“She’s good, she has a name that’ll bring in customers and she was available.”

“Just perfect,” Dani muttered. “At least it’s late enough that I don’t have to worry about my day getting too much worse.”

Cal didn’t know what to say. He hated that when it came to the family business, Dani always got screwed.

“Penny’s a great chef,” Reid said. “She’ll make the old place a success. Don’t you want that? Aren’t you the one so interested in seeing the company succeed?”

“That’s not the point,” Dani said.

Lucy arrived with a massive plate of nachos. They dug in and for a few minutes there was only small talk about who had heard from Walker and whether or not the Mariners would have a decent season.

Cal glanced at his sister. He could feel the tension in her and knew she wasn’t happy. Maybe it was because he was the oldest and she was the youngest or maybe it was because she was the only girl, but he’d always looked out for her. Nobody messed with Dani without going through him first, and that went for his brothers as well.

But she wasn’t that little girl anymore and he couldn’t keep the whole world at bay.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Fine. The new low-calorie selections are doing great. We’re getting the dieting mom crowd in. The kids can scarf down on burgers and fries and mom can stay on program.”

She didn’t sound very enthused. Not that he could blame her. Dani had a master’s in restaurant management. She’d returned to Seattle, fully intending to work her way up the ranks. But instead of putting her in a junior position at The Waterfront, or Buchanan’s, the family’s steak house, Gloria had sent Dani to Tukwila to run Burger Heaven. She’d started as a hostess, been a fry cook and two years ago had been made manager. But no matter how hard Dani worked or how many times she talked with Gloria, the old woman refused to move her.

“You let her get to you,” Reid said. “If it doesn’t matter, she can’t hurt you.”

“I don’t know how not to care,” Dani said simply.

Cal knew that was true. Dani didn’t have a choice. She lived and breathed the business. Despite everything, she was a Buchanan down to her bones. With Gloria standing between her and success, her choices were to endure and hope to change her grandmother’s mind or walk away.

He wrapped his arm around her neck, pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

“Life’s a bitch,” he muttered.

“Tell me about it.” She straightened and held out her beer. “Change of subject. To Walker. Stay safe and come home to us.”

They drank to their brother, currently serving a tour of duty with the marines in Afghanistan.

“At least we can all be together the next time he’s on leave,” she said.

Cal nodded. “We’ll plan something special.”

Dani wrinkled her nose. “Oh, please. Because you guys are so into social planning. I’ll be the one in charge of that and we all know it.”

Reid looked at him. “When did she get to be so bossy?”

“A few years ago.”

“I’m still bigger than you,” Reid told her.

Dani grinned. “Yeah, big guy, but you were raised to never hit a girl. Not even your sister. So there’s nothing you can do about it.”

CAL SAT in The Waterfront’s main dining room and waited. Right on time, the door to the kitchen swung open and Penny walked out. She wore checked pants, clogs and a three-quarter-sleeve white coat. A blue scarf held her braided hair off her face.

But instead of a tray carrying various dishes, she held only one plate.

He frowned at the fish and chips she put in front of him. “This isn’t the only item I questioned,” he said. “I want to taste the others, too.”

“Try this first,” she said, making no effort to conceal her certainty. “Taste it and weep. I’m going to step back a little so you’ll have room to come crawling to me.”

Yeah, right. She’d served fish and chips. How good could it be?

He was willing to admit she had the presentation nailed. The cream-colored oval plate contained three pieces of fish, waffle-cut fries and brightly colored coleslaw in a cabbage leaf.

“Got any malt vinegar?” he asked.

“Not a chance.”

“The diners may want it.”

“Not after they taste the fish. I’ll allow them to use it on the waffle fries, if they like.”

“How generous. Will you be posting a sign explaining that?”

She grinned. “I thought I’d just put it on the menu. You know, an asterisk by the menu item, then a little note at the bottom explaining the rules.”

Her confidence grated on him. He cut off a piece of the fish and tasted it.

Crunchy batter, but he’d expected that. Still, it was surprisingly crisp without being too hard. As he chewed, the flavors exploded on his tongue. The fish was nice and mild, yet fresh. There was also a hint of spice…No, wait. It was more sweet than spicy.

He took a second bite to try and figure out what she’d put into the batter. Something Thai? No, but chilies of some kind. And what was that tang?

He swore silently. This was better than good—it was addictive. He had to consciously hold back so he didn’t scarf down the entire plate of fish. Instead he deliberately turned to the fries.

The waffle cut made them look more elegant than other fries and he could see they’d been seasoned. He bit into one. Crispy on the outside, but soft and potato-y on the inside. And damn if the spices here didn’t add something extraordinary.

He moved on to the coleslaw and that blew him away. He should have known. Penny loved to experiment until she found exactly the right blend of seasonings. No doubt she’d been working on these recipes for months.

He looked at her. She stood just off to the side, her arms folded, her expression patient.

“You win,” he said with a sigh. “It’s great. I don’t know what you’re putting in the fish batter—”

“I’m not telling,” she said with a self-satisfied smile. “Chef’s secret.”

“Figures. Put this on the menu, along with everything else I questioned.”

Her smile turned smug. “I already did. Naomi called the order in to the printer this morning.”