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"I had no idea it was so technical." I took a sip of the coffee. "And this coffee is also obscenely good. Better than the stuff you pay three dollars for."
“Three dollars? A good cup of coffee is at least five dollars in New York.”
I whistled. “Jesus. I can see why you have to work so hard in the city.”
“Yep,” she said, oddly serious. “It’s true. Everything costs more there. And I mean everything.” She gazed out of the window for a few moments, then looked back at me with a grin. “But luckily, we’re not in the city right now. And we don’t have to work all day to afford a cup of coffee today.”
"We do have work to do, though. Got to get you to that fancy pastry school, somehow."
"Actually," she said, " I've made an executive decision. Today, Cole McCoy, is your day off."
I shook my head. "I don't think so. I've got way too much on my pl—"
"I'm your boss, actually. And what I say goes."
"I don't really do days off, Elara."
"Cole, listen to me. You need to look after yourself. Do you have any idea how tired you look?"
"Well, thank you."
"Obviously, it doesn't make you any less attractive. But seriously, you look beat. When was the last time you had a vacation day? I don’t mean a day you spent looking after your girls. I mean a real, true, day off, Ferris Bueller style.”
I sighed. "Do Christmas and Thanksgiving count?"
"No! No one works those days."
"Well then, in that case, maybe four years?"
"Four years! Even chefs don't work every day!"
I scoffed. "Bet chefs with kids do."
"Cole, listen to me. It's a vacation day. I'm going to look after you, just like you look after everyone else."
I groaned. "What about your bar?"
"You said finding those tiles saved us time. I'm giving some of it back to you."
As I looked at her resolute expression, I knew that there was no point in arguing. "Fine," I said, taking another bite of the heavenly bacon sandwich. "I'll agree to your kinky demands."
She clapped excitedly. "Hooray! You won't regret it, I promise."
"So. what do you do on a day off exactly? I’m a little rusty."
"First, you finish that sandwich and your coffee. While you do that, I'm going to run you a bath."
"I don't take baths."
"Today you do."
I reached down and sneaked a piece of bacon to Anthony, who'd been patiently waiting under the table. "Fine. I'll take your stinking bath."
"It'll be stinking by the time you've finished with it. You've got four years' worth of sweat to scrub off."
"I said I don't take vacations, not that I don't wash!"
"Sure, sure, sure, Mr. Stinky. Now finish up your breakfast while I run that bath."
