‘It says they’re looking for people to work here.’
‘Are you going to get a job?’
She shrugged. ‘Maybe.’ She hadn’t intended to make today about job-hunting, but she had some CVs in her bag that she’d printed out just in case, and it would be a dream to work in a place like this. She didn’t expect to get a job cooking here – it was way beyond her level – but it didn’t say what kind of staff they were looking for and she had plenty of waitressing experience, so it was worth a shot. And she’d feel a lot calmer about the move if she had a job lined up in advance.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened the camera in selfie mode. Checking her reflection in the screen, she smoothed her hair.
‘Do I look okay?’ she asked Jack.
‘Yeah.’ He smiled. ‘You look nice.’
‘Would you give me a job?’
He nodded vigorously.
She rubbed his hair, smiling. ‘You’re a bit biased, but thanks.’
She slipped her rucksack off her shoulder and pulled out a CV. ‘Okay, I’m just going to call in here and leave this.’
They walked inside, where a couple of waitresses were bustling around, clearing up after lunch service, and Lou felt a thrill of excitement. She loved the buzz of working in a restaurant and even if she wasn’t cooking, she could learn so much just from being around talented chefs and seeing all that wonderful food being prepared and plated.
One of the waitresses, a woman of about Lou’s age, glanced over as they entered and paused. ‘Can I help you? I’m afraid we’re closed for lunch.’
‘Oh, no. I just wanted to leave my CV.’ Lou waved the sheet of paper in her hand. ‘We were passing and I saw the sign in the window – about staff?’
‘Oh, okay.’ The woman smiled. ‘I’ll tell Aidan you’re here. Just a sec.’
‘Oh! I didn’t think…’ Lou trailed off as the woman bustled out of the room through a door to the side of the bar. She’d just meant to leave her CV. She hadn’t expected to meet the man himself, and she wasn’t prepared for an interview. Damn! She hadn’t thought things through, as usual. If she’d known this was going to happen, she’d have dressed up a bit, put on some make-up…
The waitress was back before she had time to think. ‘You can come on through,’ she said, holding the door open and jerking her head in the direction she’d come from.
‘Oh. Okay. Can you wait here?’ she said to Jack, bending down to him. ‘Is that okay?’ she asked the waitress.
‘Sure.’
‘He can sit here,’ the other waitress said, whisking a tablecloth off a table. She was a pretty redhead with a friendly face full of freckles. ‘He’ll be fine,’ she added as Lou hesitated. ‘Maria and I will look after him.’
‘Thanks.’ Lou smiled at her.
Jack let go of her hand and skipped over to the table happily.
‘Hi, I’m Ingrid,’ the redhead said to Jack. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Jack.’
‘Would you like some crayons, Jack?’ she heard Ingrid say as Maria led her away.
She caught a glimpse of the kitchen as she was shown into a small office to the side of it. She’d have loved to have a proper nose around it, once again feeling that buzz of excitement.
Aidan McBride was sitting behind a cluttered desk covered in papers and stood as they entered. He was wearing a white chef’s jacket, the sleeves rolled up.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ the waitress said, backing away but not closing the door behind her.
Aidan introduced himself and held his hand out to her.
‘Hi, I’m Lou.’ She’d already known that Aidan was movie-star handsome. She’d seen his picture in food magazines and newspaper articles. He even turned up occasionally on TV cooking shows. But none of that had prepared her for the real-life impact of his warm brown eyes and dazzling smile. Still, it didn’t affect her. Men that good-looking weren’t to be trusted, in her experience. Her ex had been gorgeous – face like Brad Pitt, personality like hisFight Clubcharacter, Tyler Durden, with all his dangerously seductive charisma and the same talent for bringing chaos wherever he went.
‘Hi, Lou. Have a seat.’ He nodded to the chair in front of the desk and they both sat. ‘So you’re looking for work?’
