Seconds ticked by and Goldie finally set her phone down. Her dark blond hair was pulled back in a neat though severe bun, and she was dressed in her usual black suit with a skirt and pumps, Ava knew even though she couldn’t see below her waist, because Goldie wore the exact same thing every day. Ava imagined her closet at home, filled with black blazers and skirts, all lined up on hangers, the exact same amount of space between each one, probably measured precisely with a ruler, several pairs of black pumps in matching cubbies. But the suits gave Goldie the air of a person in charge, and she wore that well. Ava couldn’t argue it.
“What’s up, Prescott?” Goldie didn’t call anybody by their first name. Ava always suspected it was her way of dehumanizing her employees so it was easier to be an asshole to them.
“Well,” Ava said, tightening her hands behind her back in hopes of calming her nerves, “I have some good news.”
“Oh, God, tell me you’re not pregnant.”
The words caught her off guard, and she blinked a couple times before saying, “Um, no. Nope. Not pregnant.”
“That’s a relief. I was afraid you were going to need an extended leave.”
Shit.
“Well…” Ava cleared her throat. Goddamn it, she hated the way this woman made her feel.Pull it together, Ava! You’re a confident professional. Be one.“I’ve been accepted into the Bennett-Schmidt retreat.” At Goldie’s perplexed expression, Ava reminded herself that if somebody wasn’t in the pastry business, they might not know of the retreat, so she explained, finishing with, “It’s a pretty big deal. Thousands of people apply, and only six are chosen. To learn new techniques from somebody as accomplished as Liza Bennett-Schmidt is…it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” She almost said more but knew she’d be gushing at that point, so she had to make a conscious effort to stop talking right there, to let the words sit and to wait for Goldie’s response. And to not smile too much because Goldie certainly wasn’t.
It took a moment, and then Goldie took in a long, deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well,” she said, then took another moment beforeshe went on. “Eight weeks is a very long time. I’ll need to figure out who takes your place. Probably Jen. I mean, who else knows the menu, right?”
Jen was Ava’s pastry sous chef, and she was very capable. “Jen could definitely do it.”
“You can get her trained on the big stuff, right?” Goldie tapped her finger against her lips, demonstrating how she was thinking. “She’ll need help, which means I’ll probably have to hire a temporary sous chef for her…” Goldie seemed to be thinking out loud rather than conversing with Ava, but she continued to stand there, not yet dismissed. “When will you need to leave?” They talked dates, Goldie doing more lip tapping, then she picked up her phone and scrolled what Ava assumed was her calendar. “Jesus, right into summer.” She murmured that line, though not quietly enough that Ava didn’t hear it, and sighed again, loudly.
Ava swallowed to avoid clearing her throat. And waited. And waited some more.
“Okay,” Goldie finally said. “Got it.”
Ava stood there and gave a nod, then wasn’t sure what to do next. “Great. Okay. Thanks.” She turned to leave, but a thought occurred to her then and she turned back, lifting her finger as she asked, “I…will still have a job afterward, won’t I?”
Goldie lifted one shoulder in the most nonchalant of shrugs. “I guess we’ll have to see.”
“Oh.” Ava swallowed again. “Okay then. Thanks.” She left the office, and her blood began to boil, for so many reasons, but mostly for thanking Goldie after she basically told her she might not have a job to come home to. She got to her station and began doing her setup for the evening. One of the dessert specials was a chocolate soufflé. She’d made the batter ahead of time but now needed to work on the elements of presentation. It would be a good way to take her mind off what had just happened.
Jen normally arrived about an hour after Ava, mostly because Ava always showed up early. She liked getting a jump on things.
“Hey,” Jen said when she’d sidled up next to Ava. “What needs to be done?”
Ava said hello and slid the list she’d made for Jen across the counter to her. She liked Jen. She was competent and did as she wasasked without complaint. Once she had the cherry topping for the New York cheesecake warming in a pot, she turned her blue eyes to Ava. “What’s new with you? You’re quiet. Everything okay?”
Ava met her gaze. Jen was pretty in a plain sort of way. She had straight brown hair that she always wore in a ponytail. Her blue eyes were bright and free of makeup, and she had great skin. She was prone to smiling for no reason. Often, Ava would glance over at her while she was whipping cream or slicing fruit, and she’d have this soft smile on her face. She was easy to be around, and Ava liked her. “I got accepted into the Bennett-Schmidt retreat,” she blurted, no introduction or preamble. Just a blurt.
And Jen, God bless her, her eyes went wide, and her mouth formed the shape of an O, and she clapped her hands together once, then threw her arms around Ava. “Oh my God! No way! That’s so hard to get into. Ava! That’s incredible!” She did nothing to keep her voice down or her excitement contained, and, for a brief moment, Ava almost shushed her, almost told her to keep it down. But she didn’t. And now the chefs were looking, and the servers were watching, and a couple came up and wanted to know what the cheering was for and finally…finally…Ava felt proud. And she knew her coworkers were proud of her. It was the reaction she’d hoped to get from Goldie—which was stupid of her. But Jen had taken care of it, and soon Darren, the head chef, was popping a bottle of champagne he’d gotten from Courtney at the bar, and the whole kitchen and waitstaff lifted little plastic cups in her honor.
“What is going on here?” Goldie asked when she walked in on the toast.
Before she could express her disapproval, Darren shoved a plastic cup into her hands and said, “Our Ava has accomplished something huge. Toast her.” And he gave her a look that Ava had seen him use on her before. It basically saidjust shut up and smile and be nice for five minutes.She suspected they were sleeping together, as Darren was the only member of the entire kitchen staff who didn’t cower when she walked in. He was also the only one who immediately smiled at Goldie. It was kind of cute, even if it was her.
The celebration didn’t last long, as they all had work to do, but Ava appreciated it so much. A bit of congratulations had been all she’d wanted from Goldie, but also, she should’ve known better. She was shaking her head at herself when Jen spoke up.
“I am so envious of you,” she said as she mixed the batter for the cheesecake the cherries would be drizzled over. “Liza Bennett-Schmidt is, like, the idol of every pastry chef I know. She’s a legend.”
“Right?” Ava said, putting sugar into a pan to make a caramel sauce to go with the soufflés. “I’m ridiculously excited about it. And so, so nervous.”
Jen gave a soft laugh. “Really?”
Ava stopped to look at her. “Of course. Why?”
“I mean, you’re just always so stoic and put together. It’s hard to know if you’re excited or nervous or whatever.”
Ava nodded and forced herself to smile. Jen wasn’t wrong. She’d been raised to be calm, always. Getting boisterous about things didn’t do any good, nor was it a good look, her father had always said. Calm, cool, collected. That’s what he’d taught her. He was gone now, had been gone for a couple years at this point, and she knew her mother was doing her best to undo some of those habits he’d instilled in her, loosen her up, but they were hard to break, and both she and her mother knew it.
