“Okay, I take your point. I shouldn’t have left Amira to manage the business, but I love cooking so much everything else feels uninspiring.”
She blew Denny a kiss, so he knew she meant spreadsheets, not him.
“I’ve found a job in Dublin, in case you’re interested.”
“Of course I am. I’m pleased to hear that, and so quickly, too.” Marianne felt a flush of relief she hadn’t ruined her protégé’s career alongside her own.
“It turns out years of experience in the kitchen of the famous Marianne Browne counts for something. Even if you’ve turned out to be a terrible businesswoman, people still appreciate your culinary skills.”
Marianne bit the inside of her cheek. She was going to have to get used to people telling her how badly she’d messed up, but it was still too painful. She deserved it from Colette of all people, who had put her whole career in Marianne’s hands.
“I’m glad I could help, if even indirectly. I’m truly sorry, Colette. How about everyone else?”
“Jimmy’s found somewhere else in town. A couple of the others are looking in Dublin.”
“Can you tell them all I’ll give them good references if they want them?”
She wondered how much her reputation would make up for the fact that the reference was from a defunct business. Everyone would know by now. Three days had passed, though she still hadn’t looked at her social media channels. She just couldn’t bear it. It was the longest she’d been offline for years.
She hung up from her downbeat call with Colette and cleaned up after Denny. He’d eaten most of the food he hadn’t decorated himself with.
What was she meant to do now? She couldn’t even go downstairs and cook to make herself feel better. She was startingto see how little there was to her life other than work. But that was how she’d always liked it.
Amira had gone back to Dublin to organize putting the restaurant on the market. They needed a quick sale to liquidate the business as soon as possible. That way at least, they would come out of the whole thing without any credit problems.
Her phone buzzed, displaying her mother’s name. She would have heard the news. What was Marianne going to tell her that she hadn’t read elsewhere?
Her mother’s face showed her disapproval before her tone did. “Marianne, why did you not tell me what was going on?”
She rested the phone on the table and lifted Denny onto her knee. “Hi, Mum. Denny, say hello to Granny.”
“Hello, Deniz. Can you say ‘granny’ yet?”
Denny said nothing but lunged forward toward the phone. Marianne caught him and held him tight.
“I didn’t know what was going on. I left all the finances to Amira. She insisted she had it all under control, and you know how I hate it.”
“Well, hasn’t that arrangement worked out well? Now that you’re ruined.”
Give me patience.“Not ruined, mother. We need to wind up the business and pay off our debts. I’ll find a job, eventually.”
“You’ll be lucky. I’ve seen what people are saying. No one likes an unreliable chef.”
“I’m not unreliable. I trusted my partner. Lots of people have found themselves in trouble that way.”
“So, when are you coming home? There’s no point staying there with your broken dreams.”
Denny worked his way free and ran off to his toy box.
“Mother, that’s enough. My whole life has been turned on its head and I could really do with the support.” She was trying notto cry at her mum’s insensitivity, even though she should have expected nothing less.
Her mum’s face softened very slightly. “Come home and we can make a plan for your rebirth.”
“I can’t.” She hadn’t made this decision until now, but as she said it, she was sure.
Her mum’s lips pursed in a way she knew well. “What are you talking about? It’s not as if you have anywhere else to go.”
“I’ll find somewhere. Amira’s moving back in with her family. There’s no room for Denny there, and she’s made it clear we’re over, so I’ve nothing to come back for.”
