Page 11 of Promise Me Ever After
Alex
“Alex,make sure you speak to Georgie tonight. She’ll fill you in on all the details of the Favours for Fortunes event after seeing Emily Berry this afternoon,” Ellis told me.
Oh, I had every intention of speaking to Georgie, although I have to admit it wasn’t strictly for work purposes.
The knife I was using to chop up shallots for tonight’s batch of béarnaise sauce almost slipped. “What? How come you aren’t involved this year?”
“Tess says I’m too busy and I should delegate more,” he sighed, “she’s probably right. Why don’t you catch up with Georgie later on in the shift when it’s a bit quieter?”
“Sure.” I avoided looking at him and concentrated on my task.
“Ooo, who’s blushing?” Sid elbowed me in the ribs on his way past. “Someone’s got a crush!”
“Fuck off.” I tossed a tea towel at him, waiting for Ellis to leave the kitchen before I continued the conversation.
“Who wouldn’t?” he went on, once we were alone again. “She’s a babe.”
I stopped what I was doing and faced Sid, the knife still in my hand. “She might be a babe, but she’s still our front of house manager. You should show her some respect.” The words died on my lips as Georgie appeared in the doorway halfway through my sentence.
Her hazel green eyes met mine, gleaming playfully. “Thanks, Alex, good to know. Ellis said you wanted to talk to me about next week?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, mentally punching myself. “Not now though, I’ve got heaps of prep to do.” I waved the knife in the general direction of my workstation, then realised it looked like I was threatening her. The knife clattered out of my hand.
“Got it. I’ll catch you later.” She turned and sashayed away, leaving me the perfect opportunity to ogle her pert arse clad in tight black jeans.
Sid waited a beat before speaking again. “Do you think she’s got a boyfriend?”
“Whoa, slow down, Romeo. Besides which, she looks way too old for you.” I chuckled to myself.
“Ah, so youdohave your eye on her,” he crowed.
“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve only just met her. We’re all here to work, not flirt and find a girlfriend.”
“Who made you all sensible and grown-up?”
I shook my head. “No one. There’s work to do, that’s all.” I reached over and turned the radio up, blasting out our favourite indie rock station, stopping any further conversation.
For the next few hours, we worked methodically, prepping the food for the evening and then cooking to order, sending the dishes out with the servers. There’d barely been time to breathe, let alone have a conversation.
Shortly before ten, when we closed the kitchen, Georgie came in. I was cleaning down my station, making sure it was ready for the next shift, singing along to the radio.
“It’s a good thing they aren’t expecting you to sing at the charity thing next week.”
I glanced up, seeing the same smile she’d had on her face earlier, soft and inviting. “Rude.”
Georgie laughed. “I’m kidding. I don’t care whether you can hold a tune or not. Have you got a minute to chat?”
Sid cleared his throat. “I’ll go and sort out the bins.” He disappeared out of the back door without another word.
Given it was his least favourite task, I was grateful to him for giving me and Georgie a minute alone.
“This event sounds like fun. Have you ever done it before?” She leaned back against the opposite work surface to the one I was cleaning.
“Nope. Pretty scary actually,” I admitted. “Creating a menu is simple enough. I’ve worked with some of the other chefs before in one way or another, but the auction?” I shuddered. “I mean, I know it’s called Favours for Fortunes, but I’m not all that keen on being snapped up as a private chef for some of the women in this town.”
“What do you mean?” Georgie wrinkled her nose.
I threw down the cloth I’d been using. “You know what some of the more-money-than-class women around here are like. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d want me to do some kind of naked butler type event.”
