Page 12 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“I’ve added a few more dishes I’ve been testing.” David opened the folder to the new menu section, flipped it around, and pushed it in front of her. “Your Uncle Sam has sourced a new lobster contact, and I’ve put a new lobster dish on the menu.”
“Really?” Carly’s brows lifted. “That’s awesome. We’ve had a lot of customers asking when we would put lobster back on the menu.”
“I’ve put all the previous favorite lobster dishes with this new one.” David finger-tapped the recipe. “What do you think?”
“That’s an expensive dish, David.” Carly looked at him.
“Yes, but we now have A-lister customers we need to cater to and stop losing them to that hack at the Summer Inn Hotels restaurant.” David’s eyes blazed at the mention of the Summer Inn. “Janice Goddard doesn’t deserve the five-star ratings she’s getting over ourrestaurant.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m amuchbetter chef than she’ll ever be.”
“That you are,” Carly agreed, eyeing the price of some of the new dishes David had added to the next week’s menu. “I see you’ve added a few new up-market-priced dishes.”
“Like I said, we want to keep the A-listers returning to us.” David shrugged.
“Fine!” Carly sighed. “But we run them for a month and gauge how they do.”
“Done.” David flipped the pages to the catering section. “We have three functions to cater for next week. Two kids’ birthday parties and another Alex Blackwell party at the glasshouse.”
“Just how many parties does that man have a month?” Carly shook her head in amazement.
“Who cares as long as he keeps ordering from us?” David grinned. “Thanks to Alex Blackwell’s weekly dinner parties, we can afford our new menu items.”
“As long as you can keep up with everything,” Carly told him.
“I can.” He closed the file as the food arrived and looked at her pointedly. “Besides, I have our other head chef, the second-best chef in America, to help me.”
“In my opinion, I’m the best chef around, andyou’resecond best to me,“ Carly teased.
“One day, you might be.” David took the lids off the dishes a kitchen staff member had wheeled in on a tea trolley. “But I’m still the master, and you, my student.”
“Who is alsoyourboss,“ Carly reminded him, licking her lips as he plated food for her. As he put the plate in front of her, she dug into a piece of succulent lamb flavored to perfection. “You still do the best roast meats.” She savored the taste.
“Thank you.” David took the compliment with his usualI knowgrin. “Here. Try the new sparkling fresh apple juice I’ve designed. It has a hint of mint.”
Carly finished her mouth full of lamb before sipping the Apple juice. “Wow!” Her eyes widened. “David, this is fantastic.” She tasted it on her tongue. “What else is in it?”
“A hint of red pepper and cinnamon.” He watched her take some more sips of the juice. “It’s quite morish, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Carly agreed before having more to eat.
“Chef,” Paula Reeves, the sous chef, popped her head in the door. “There’s a delivery for you.” She looked at Carly and smiled. “Hi, Carly.”
Carly waved. Her mouth was full of delicious food, and she wouldn’t rush as she savored every bite.
“Ah,” David said, looking at Carly. “That would be the lobster.” He pushed his chair back. “Will you excuse me?”
Carly nodded and waved him off. “Go ahead. I have to finish eating as I have a meeting in…”
Sue-Anne walked into the room as Paula left. “Carly, Ethan Blackwell is here to see you.”
“No!” Carly moaned, her eyes falling on her half-eaten food. “He’s fifteen minutes early.”
“Do you want me to offer him coffee and stall him?” Sue-Ann offered.
“No.” Carly blew out a breath and looked at Sue-Ann. “Tell him I’ll be there in five minutes.” As Sue-Anne was about to leave, Carly called. “Oh, and offer him coffee or some of David’s new apple juice.”
Sue-Anne smiled before leaving the office. Carly took one more bite before covering her plate and entering the small bathroom that joined hers and David’s offices. Carly rinsed her mouth with toothpaste and checked that she had nothing in her teeth. Ran a comb through her hair and applied a light touch of clear gloss to her lips. She didn’t know why she was touching up her looks? Carly usually didn’t care whatpeople thought of her—well, not in the last three years. The more she could blend into the background, the happier Carly was.
So why do you care what Ethan thinks?Her subconscious taunted her.Habit!Carly shook her head at her reflection, repositioning her thick-rimmed glasses before leaving through David’s office. On her way through the kitchen, she instructed the man who’d brought her food to put it away. She’d have it when her meeting was done, ignoring her protesting stomach as she walked into the restaurant. Her eyes immediately landed on Ethan sitting at one of the prime viewing tables. The expansive glass windows gave a view of Cobble Bay, including the lighthouse and all the way to the Summer Inn.
