Murder from Scratch by Leslie Karst

Author:Leslie Karst
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Chapter 15

Javier made a great show of reading through the four-page contract, frowning and wrinkling his narrow nose, then nodding sagely and taking up the ballpoint pen with a flourish. Of course, we’d hammered out the provisions of the partnership agreement together weeks before, so he was already intimately acquainted with every section, paragraph, subparagraph, and comma in the document. But it did serve to amuse those of the Gauguin staff who stood by in the office, witnessing the momentous occasion.

The chef initialed the bottom of the first three pages and signed his full name at the end, then handed the papers for me to do the same. I passed it to the notary public—a paralegal from my old law firm stomping grounds—who stamped the agreement and signed her own name to it, then duly entered the information into her journal.

“Okay, that’s it,” she said after having us sign our names in her notary book. “You are now legal partners in the ownership of Gauguin.”

Kris, Tomás, Gloria, Amy, and Evelyn all clapped their hands, while Brandon popped the cork off a bottle of Champagne and poured us each a small glass.

“To Javier,” I said, raising my flute, “the Lennon to my McCartney.”

“Ah, so you’re the pretty one, are you?” Javier grinned, and I couldn’t help thinking that with his silky, dark hair and fine features, he was more the pretty one than I.

We clinked glasses as everyone else raised theirs in salute. “Right,” I said after taking a sip. “First order of business now that you’re co-owner is I think you need to be the one who goes to the next restaurant owners’ luncheon. I thought today’s would never end.”

“Oh, please, no.” Javier threw out a hand as if to protect himself from an incoming projectile. “Anything but that. I detest small talk. And restaurant owners.”

“Great. As Bogie so elegantly didn’t say, I can tell this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership.” I shook my head and took another drink of bubbly. When I looked up, Brian was hovering at the office door.

“Uh, hi, guys,” he said. “I wondered where everyone was.”

“Well, look what the cat brought in,” Javier said, then tempered the remark by waving the cook to come into the room.

Brandon offered a glass of Champagne to Brian, who shook his head. “So what’s the occasion?” he asked.

Kris, who’d been off work Saturday night when Brian had stormed out of the kitchen and was thus oblivious to the tension in the room, answered brightly, “Sally and Javier just signed the contract making Javier equal partner in the restaurant. Isn’t it great?”

“Yeah, great,” Brian agreed, but without his fellow line cook’s enthusiasm. He looked my way. “Could I have a word with you, Sally?” he said, nodding toward the hallway.

“Sure.” I followed Brian out of the room and to the top of the stairway.

“I want to apologize for the other night,” he said. “I was a jerk to act like that, and then leave you hangin’ one person short when you were having to deal with the power outage and all.

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