‘Yes, we’re going to be hosting a very special lunchtime function on Friday. I could use your expertise and your organisational skills.’
Emma blushed at the compliment. ‘I’d be honoured to help you. What is it?’
‘Well, you probably already know about it. It’s the banquet for the London and south-east regional food competition. I believe your partner is one of the finalists.’
‘He is, yes. But I thought that was being held at the Guildhall.’
‘It was, yes, but they’ve had a flood in their function room, so the organisers were desperate to relocate. Fortunately, the Clover Suite was free, so we agreed to take it on. It is short notice, but it’s a prestigious event and will garner a lot of publicity for the hotel.’
‘I’m sure it will.’ Emma was struggling to take it all in. If the event had been relocated, then surely Jay had been told. But he hadn’t said anything to her.What a surprise.
‘We have a lot of work to do before Friday,’ Faye continued. ‘Fortunately we don’t have to worry about the food. Although Chef isn’t too keen about giving up a large section of his kitchen to people he has no control over, but we’ll leave him to worry about that. We need to concentrate on the front of house and make sure that everything runs efficiently. Most importantly, we must have enough servers rostered on so that the food is put in front of the guests as soon as it comes to the pass. The last thing we need is for it to be late and be delivered lukewarm. There will be many prestigious people attending the event, including Michelin chefs, and we want to give them a good impression of the Rosemont.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Emma replied. She realised she would finally have some involvement in Jay’s competition journey, whether he wanted her to be there or not. And she would also get to meet his newfound friends.
‘Do you want me to contact the agencies to make sure we have enough staff?’
‘Yes, please, Emma. And make sure they know we want their best people. I need this to be perfect.’
‘So do I,’ Emma whispered.
* * *
‘I’ve got two guest tickets to the banquet. I was going to ask Liz, but I was wondering if you wanted to come with her?’ Jay said when Emma got home after her shift.
She smiled, glad that she was included. ‘Don’t you want to invite your nan and mum?
‘Nan doesn’t feel up to it. Mum wouldn’t want to come on her own, which means she’d invite Steve, and I don’t think I could handle that. Don’t you want to come?
‘Of course I do, but unfortunately I can’t. I have to work.’
‘Oh, so you know about the change in venue, then?’
‘Yes. I must admit it was a bit of a surprise to find that the function was being held at the Rosemont. How come you didn’t tell me?’
‘It’s all been a bit last minute,’ Jay said distractedly. ‘I suppose I could invite Alex instead. That way he and Liz can have a nice time out together before the baby is born.’
‘That sounds like a lovely idea, Jay. And I’ll still be there for you, even though I won’t be at one of the tables.’
‘Yes, of course. Must say though, now it’s only a few days away, I’m incredibly nervous. I just want it all to be over.’
‘Me too,’ Emma replied, hoping that, when it was, she’d get the old Jay back.
* * *
It was the day of the banquet. The day Jay had been working towards for so long. After today it would be all over and he could settle back into his normal life. Back in February, he’d been yearning for something more, some way to prove himself, but he’d done that now and it had been all-consuming. He didn’t regret doing it. He’d learned so much and met many interesting people, not least two of the chefs he’d most admired throughout his career. He’d learned that he didn’t need to set himself unrealistic goals. It didn’t matter that he’d be thirtynext year and there was still no sign of his own restaurant. It would happen when he was ready for it, and not before. In the meantime, he’d throw himself into the business he was already involved in. He’d commit himself to it one hundred per cent and make a success of managing it on his own while Liz was on maternity leave.
His nan’s recent health scare had brought home how important family was to him. Time was precious, so he’d be making more time for his nan once this was over. And his mum too. That was definitely a relationship that needed nurturing. And he would need to work on getting to know his half-brothers too and hope that, over time, they could develop some sort of relationship.
And then there was Emma. He turned his head to watch her sleeping beside him. He’d neglected her terribly recently and all she’d given him was love and support. She deserved so much better than that, and he was determined to do better. He was sad that she wouldn’t be a guest at the banquet tonight, but he was glad that she would still be there. Hopefully she’d realise that the last few months had all been worth it.
Jay pushed the duvet aside and quietly got out of bed, careful not to wake her. It was only five o’clock and way too early to be getting ready, but he was wide awake now. Lying in bed worrying about the day ahead wouldn’t do him any good at all.
In the kitchen, he made himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table to read through the schedule he’d written out after days of practice. In theory he would have more time than the others as his own dish would go out last. But it was a complex recipe and it only needed one element to go wrong for everything else to be thrown out of sync. He’d found that out during the last heat. Now he had the added complication of scaling the quantity up to accommodate one hundred guests. He wondered if attempting such a complicated dish was a fool’s errand, butit was the dish that had got him to the banquet. If he’d chosen something simpler, he might not even be cooking today. He’d just have to find the courage to get on with it and pray that nothing went seriously wrong.
He finished his coffee and rinsed out his mug in the sink. It was still early, but he couldn’t just sit around. At least at the hotel he’d be able to familiarise himself with the kitchen.
It would be strange stepping into Emma’s working environment, but Jay knew he would just have to put that to the back of his mind and concentrate on the cooking. As he pulled into the staff car park, someone got out of a car and headed towards him. It was Chloe. He opened his door and greeted her warmly. She was pale and visibly shaking.
