“I can’t do that,” I said again. “My sons would be humiliated. Our company could lose clients and the syndication deal.”
“Then you’re right, you have two poor options,” she said bluntly. “Pick the one you can live with. But if you want my opinion, you’re assuming a lot. People might sympathize with you more than you think.”
Tempest might have sounded harsh to someone else, but I’d known her a long time and understood that this was just her way. She was a straight shooter, which was why I hired her and why I liked having her as a friend. I didn’t need someone blowing smoke up my butt. I needed to be surrounded by people who were honest and direct, and who had my best interests at heart.
“Give me a few more days,” I said. “I need to talk to Tori, and then I’ll come to a final decision.”
That call would have to wait a little while though, because I was going on a date.
* * *
Gigi was home with Kyra,Freddy was out of my hair for the moment, and I was going out with a man for the first time in many years. It felt surreal and weirdly wonderful to be driving to downtown Three Rivers in a pickup truck on a Friday night. I had on my cowboy boots, blue jeans and a white blouse because Matthew said we were going somewhere casual. He’d also told me to make sure I brought my bathing suit, which made me curious.
“You’re not going to make me jump into a pond at night, are you?” I asked. “You know my fear of critters.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “No ponds or swamps.”
“Good.” I took in a deep breath of sweet, crisp summer air. “Seventy-two degrees and low humidity. You have the perfect evenings here.”
“You’ll have to come back every summer then.”
I tilted my head and smiled at him. “I just might.”
Why did I feel so much lighter when I had the same problems as yesterday? Somehow, being with Matthew made me think about future possibilities instead of limitations.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said. “I like you in those boots.”
“Thank you. They’re breaking in perfectly.”
He reached over and took my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles. “Chef Damon hasn’t made his molten chocolate cake since you’ve been here, has he? I’ll have to ask him to put it on the menu because you’d love it.”
“How’s he doing?” I asked.
There was a flicker of tension in Matthew’s jaw. “He’s still a temperamental pain in the ass, but he’s not drinking at the moment.”
“I know he’s a great chef, but I can’t help wondering why you keep him on staff if he’s so unreliable? There has to be someone out there who could replace him, even if they’re not quite at his level.”
He sighed and waited to make the turn onto the road into town before he answered me. “After seventeen years of sobriety, he went through a personal trauma, losing his wife and son in a car accident. That’s when he went back to the booze. When I hired him, he was trying to get soberagain, but it’s been a challenge. I guess I feel for the guy, and I’m hoping he’ll work his way through his grief. Then maybe then he can stay sober for good.”
Matthew treated the people who worked for him like family, not just employees. We tried to do the same at Ms. Match, but if I’d had an employee with an issue like Chef Damon’s, I probably wouldn’t have given him as many chances. Matthew was possibly loyal to a fault, but I admired the way he didn’t give up on people.
His phone buzzed on the seat between us.
“Would you mind reading me that text?” he asked.
A man who had nothing to hide and would let me read his messages? That was definitely new and different romantic terrain for me.
“Oh no,” I said after tapping the message. “Kyra has to leave by eleven tonight. Her mom has to work the midnight shift so she has to go home and babysit her siblings.”
“Darn it, I’m sorry.” Matthew glanced over at me, the disappointment in his eyes mirroring my own.
“It’s alright,” I said. “She said we should still go out and enjoy ourselves. We just have to get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.”
“Cinderella joke, huh?” he smiled at me.
“I’m the princess who’s sweeping you off your feet and taking you out for the night. You work too hard and deserve a break. I’ve been excited about this all day.”
“Me too. I’ve been so distracted that I poured coffee creamer in my oatmeal this morning and wore my shirt inside out.”
