Page 34 of Unexpected Pickle
The smoke alarm.
Mayhem ensures.
Four people in chef hats converge on the grill.
The burners are turned off. The food is moved away. Someone uses tongs to remove the crispy veggies and my towel.
Jeannie moves through them. “Hex? What is going on?”
Moreau is right behind her, shaking his head.
It’s already happened. They talked. I did this by pointing out his interest.
I take several steps back. I shouldn’t be here. Jeannie is making a love connection with a Frenchman. She’s finding her footing here.
And I’m in the way.
I pull off my skull cap and take off for the door.
12
JEANNIE’S GOT A LOVE TRIANGLE
Chef Sigal and I clean the char from the grill as the rest of the chefs present their lunches to the nutritionist.
“Hex sure is a mess,” Sigal says. “But a hot mess.”
“He is.” I run the wet rag along the bars of the grill, grimacing at how black it still is.
“I take it you know each other. You’re both from LA.”
“Yes, he’s best friends with my boss.”
“Which restaurant are you at?”
I sigh. This again. “Max Pickle works for Pickle Media. I do a lot of work for the chain, including commercials and food spreads.”
Her head pops up. “Wait. Now I know where I’ve seen Chef Hex. Wasn’t he in that commercial for that new nutrition site? They contacted us about presenting at this retreat.”
“He was. We worked together on it.”
“But he wasn’t a chef on the set.”
“No, he was the muscle.”
I finally get a clear wipe on the grill and drop the cloth in the water pail. “I think we’ve got this done.”
But Sigal still looks confused. “Why is he here as a chef? It’s clear he isn’t familiar with the equipment.”
She can say that again. “I’m not sure. I was as surprised as everyone else when I saw him here.”
She nods. “Well, he’s definitely deep in the nutrition business. Maybe he should stick to showing off his muscles and squashing apples.”
I wondered if that clip had made it in. I didn’t seek out the final commercials after the shoot.
“Maybe there’s more to him than muscle?” I say.
She picks up the water pail. “I had a feeling you were into him. I bet you’re the reason he’s here. He hasn’t looked twice at anybody else.”
