Buchanan 1 - Delicious by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2006-03-22T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CAL WALKED INTO The Waterfront a little before ten. The dining room was surprisingly full, with three couples still waiting to be seated. It was going to be a late night.

He nodded at the hostess, then looked around for Randy. His assistant was a little new to have been left in charge on a Friday night, but Cal hadn’t had much choice. He wanted a report, then he wanted to check in with Penny.

As he crossed the dining room, he saw Randy race out of his office. The younger man slowed his pace slightly as he approached. He grabbed Cal’s arm and pulled him to the side.

“We ran out of wine,” he said, his voice low and thick with tension. “For the tasting dinner. Penny’s really mad. I mean really mad. She picked a different wine and wouldn’t let me run the numbers, so I don’t know if we’re losing money or not.”

Cal groaned. “We ran out of the pinot? How did that happen?”

Randy shrugged.

“Great. Let me go calm Penny down, then we’ll get through the evening and sort it out in the morning. There’s a decent pinot for the dinner now, isn’t there?”

“I think so. Penny didn’t want me involved in the decision.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of things.”

He patted Randy on the back, then started for the kitchen. He stepped through the swinging door and into the madness that was a kitchen at capacity.

“Penny, I heard there was a—”

Something whizzed past his head and slammed into the door frame. He turned and saw a meat cleaver sticking out of the wood. Except for the hiss of the steamer and the roar of fire at the burners, the kitchen went silent.

“What the hell?” He turned and saw Penny standing by the counter, glaring at him.

“Oops,” she said, not sounding the least bit sincere or concerned. “I must have slipped.”

He couldn’t believe it. “You threw a knife at me,” he said, more stunned than furious.

She shrugged, a casual enough gesture, but he could see the rage in her eyes.

She’d thrown a knife at him and she was mad? “What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded.

“Gosh, I don’t know. Like I said, it slipped.”

She turned back to the plates she was assembling. Conversation began again in the kitchen. Cal stared at her, not sure what was going on. Penny couldn’t be this mad because they were out of wine.

Penny thrust the plates at him. “Table sixteen. Did Randy tell you we’re out of the pinot for the tasting menu?”

“He mentioned it.”

“Next time you take off on our busiest night of the week, you might want to leave someone competent in charge.”

She turned her back on him and began calling out the new orders that popped out of the small printer. Cal stared at her for a second, then walked out into the dining room. Something was up, but he didn’t have any idea what.

After delivering the meal and chatting briefly with several guests, he walked toward his office. He stepped into the small space and found Naomi waiting for him.

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