Page 9 of The Chef's Kiss
“I hadn’t planned on it, but we’re talking about you. What about grad school?”
“How did this get to be about me? I thought we were talking about your wedding.”
My brother narrowed his eyes at me, looking more like Dad than I’d ever noticed before. “You’re hiding something.”
“No, I’m not.” I stacked a layer of eggs and veggies on a piece of toast and stuffed it in my mouth.
“That’s okay.” Conrad ducked back into the kitchen to refill the toast basket. He dropped a kiss on top of my head like he did when I was five. “You’ll tell me when you’re ready. As long as it doesn’t involve grand larceny or failing out of Harvard in your last semester, we can deal with whatever Jorgie drama you’ve got going on.”
“He thinks he’s funny, you ever notice that?” I asked Leyla.
“It’s kind of his most adorable quality.” She leaned over the table to whisper.
“Ganging up on me already?” Conrad folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“What are your plans, Jorgina? If you don’t mind me asking.” Leyla ignored Conrad with a wink. “If you’re not sure about grad school, then have you lined up an internship or thought about a mentorship? That might be the perfect solution for the interim until you figure out what’s next.”
“That’s why I was begging Conner for a job last time I was here. The Orchard Hill Farms restaurant is going to be something really special. I heard they finally hired an executive chef too, some big-city prodigy with a messy personal life and a penchant for losing his cool.” I laid my fork down, suddenly a little queasy from too much food. “I don’t know. Ever since I heard about the restaurant, I can’t get my mind off it. I have so many ideas for marketing and building buzz for the grand opening. I just know I could get the foodies to come from all over.”
“Didn’t Conner say he’d get you an interview with Selena?” Conrad asked.
I leaned back in my chair, dropping my napkin on my empty plate. “He did, and she said she would interview me whenever, but I kind of got the feeling she just said that because I’m her future sister-in-law. I want to show her how serious I am about this opportunity.”
“So, you left school a month early to talk your brother’s fiancée into hiring you to do what, exactly?” Leyla asked.
“Public relations and marketing for the new restaurant. I’m hoping if I blow it out of the park, she’ll hire me to be the director of marketing for all of Orchard Hill.”
“That’s a big job for someone with no plans for an MBA.” Conrad’s voice took on a bit too much of Dad for my taste.
“Watch out, big brother, our father is showing through.”
“Take it back.” Conrad scowled. “I’m nothing like him.”
“Of course you’re not. Not on purpose, anyway. And I will have my degree soon enough. I can do a lot with a business degree.”
“What’s Dad going to say about the MBA, though?”
“Dad doesn’t need to know.” I folded my arms across my chest, mimicking his posture. “Does he?”
“Well, I’m definitely not going to tell him, but you have to go home at some point, Jorgina.”
“Why?”
“For one, you showed up on my doorstep covered in horse dung, without so much as a change of clothes or a car. You’re going to need to let Dad know you’re back in town, and he’s going to insist you move back in.”
“I was not covered. And I will go see Dad soon. I’ll get my things from my old room, but I can’t live there again. You know better than anyone how stifling that house is without Mom.”
“Why don’t you go with her, Conrad?” Leyla suggested. “It might be good for you to reconnect with your father and tell him our news.”
“You don’t want that, Leyla.” I reached out to cover her hand with mine. “You do not want onThe Ashford’sradar. Hold out on that for as long as you can.”
“Honestly, he can’t be that bad.” Leyla looked at Conrad.
“She’s right. Leyla. I don’t want the old man anywhere near us or our wedding day. We’ll deal with him after we’re married.”
“Surely you could go with your sister to give her a little moral support.”
“I would if I thought it would help. But if I go with her, he’ll just blame me for influencing her, though he knows just as well as her brothers do no one influences Jorgina Ashford. Conner would be more help than me.”
