Page 4 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
CHAPTER TWO
Rhonda and I decided to go talk to Jean-Luc.
When he saw us approaching, he raised his eyebrows.“What brings you to my kitchen at such a busy time?”
The question held a bit of reproach.
“Sorry to interrupt you,” I quickly said.“Do you have a moment to talk to us?”
He looked up at the wall clock.“Okay.”
He led us to his office and stood waiting for us to speak.I knew he wasn’t necessarily being rude; he was just aware of his time before creating another successful dining experience at The Beach House Hotel.
“What do you know about Jonny Arno?”Rhonda asked.
“He’s opening a restaurant up the beach from us,” I added.
Jean-Luc frowned and shook his head.“Il est un bâtard.Difficile.”
“In English?”Rhonda said.
“He’s known as a real bastard, very difficult.His ego outweighs his body, if that’s possible.He’s lazy and out-of-shape from the rich food he has others make for him.”
“Wow!”Rhonda said.“You really don’t like him.”
“No,” Jean-Luc said.“I don’t trust him at all.And as for the restaurant he claims he’s opening, it will be left to others to do all the work, though he’ll take the credit for it.”
“Let us tell you about a young man we just met who’s looking for a job in the kitchen.A C.I.A graduate with ten-plus years of experience, he’s been blackballed in Miami for accusing Chef Arno of stealing his personal recipes.The chef made sure he’d never work in Miami, which is why he’s looking for work on the Gulf Coast ,” I explained.
“We’re going to talk to him and his friend, a bartender, to try and help them,” said Rhonda.“Would you be open to having him work in your kitchen?”
Jean-Luc shrugged.“If he’s qualified and willing to work hard, I’ll see.”
“That’s all we’re asking.We understand the decision is yours, not ours,” I said to Jean-Luc.We’d do nothing to abuse our respect and gratitude for him.
“I’m going to look into this new restaurant coming to the area.What else do you know about it?”Jean-Luc asked.
“The name of it is going to be Osteria Arno,” said Rhonda, “and that bastard, Brock Goodwin, is apparently an investor of sorts.”
“Already it doesn’t sound good,” said Jean-Luc.“Let me see what else I can find out about it, and I’ll get back to you.After talking with the young chef tomorrow, if you’re satisfied that he’s an excellent candidate, I’ll do my own evaluation.”
“Thank you, Jean-Luc,” I said, as he turned away.
“That was an interesting conversation,” said Rhonda.“I’m very curious to discover more about the young canapé chef.”
“And his charming girlfriend.I’m thinking she’d be someone to hire for the cocktail hour shift, so she can help to attract a younger crowd the girls want us to focus on.”
“Why don’t we ask Liz and Angela to interview her?That will give them a chance to participate in the hotel and will help us decide if we want to go ahead with a program aimed at young married and dating couples.”
“Smart idea,” I said.“I know how limited their time is as they tend to their growing families.But we need to keep our daughters’ interest up in helping us with the hotel so that they’ll be ready to take over for us someday.”
“With seven young children between the two of them, it’s difficult for them to work here,” Rhonda said.“But, like you, I don’t want them to lose their enthusiasm for running the hotel in the future.”
“I’m going to call Liz now to see when she and Angie could come to the hotel to meet with Harper,” I said, pleased for the opportunity to speak to my daughter.With almost five-year-old triplets and an eighteen-month-old baby boy, Liz didn’t have the time for much else.I punched in Liz’s number.
“Hi, Gammy,” said a voice I recognized as Olivia’s.My name had changed a few times, but had ended up as Gammy when Noah declared it was the best one.His sisters, Olivia and Emma, went along with it.
“Hi, Sweetheart.Is Mommy there?”
