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He shrugged. “Not a big deal. Anyway, Kelsey does payroll and all too. For the two hours a day that you are baking you’ll be paid at the baker’s rate that I have for Duke’s.”
“What?” she asked. Part of her was thrilled this was happening and she didn’t have to be the one to bring it up. She was never good in those situations. Asking for money. Or anything for herself for that matter.
But she sure the hell didn’t think she’d be paid the same as he was paying other bakers in his restaurant.
“There are different rates of pay for positions,” he said, grinning at her as he was mixing the ground beef and all sorts of other things she couldn’t keep track of.
She was on her second potato now and he was pulling out a bunch of pans and putting them on the stovetop. Dang, he was moving fast so she was peeling faster too.
“I figured as much. I’m more shocked you are paying me the same as your professional bakers. I’m a home baker.”
“I don’t care about experience. I care about results. Your results are proven so far. That’s how I work.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I really mean that.”
“You’re welcome. I also talked to Kelsey to get an advertising budget and what to pay you for this work too.”
“You don’t have to pay me differently for this too,” she said.
“Please,” he said. “Don’t insult me. I’m not taking advantage of things. Kelsey suggested that maybe you give me a flat weekly rate once we get the work hashed out. I need to hear what you’re doing and the time you think it will take and we’ll go from there.”
“I don’t want to insult you,” she said. “I’m just not used to negotiating or naming prices.”
“Maybe you should learn to be that way. Stand up for yourself.”
She sighed. “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. Why don’t we go over what I’ve got planned or lined up? You can decide on what you want and I’ll know about the amount of time it will take me to do the work.”
“That’s doable,” he said. “Now that the potatoes are done, go sit back down.”
She did as he said because she knew she’d be in the way.
He pulled out a grater and started to run the potatoes over it quickly and effortlessly. She couldn’t move that fast if she wanted to. Once the potatoes were shredded, he had them in a bowl and filled it with cold water to sit.
He moved over to get some bacon going in one pan, the patties now formed and aside.
“You mentioned you’ve got a Facebook page already for Southside.”
“And Duke’s,” he said. “You can do both places for me.”
He went back to the potatoes and was draining the water and then laying them on a towel and twisting all the water out of them. Her eyes couldn’t help but go to his muscles that were visible with his T-shirt on and her body started to heat up.
“Okay,” she said. “You’ll need to set up the other social media accounts too.”
“Which I hoped to do today with you so that is why this is working out better here. We’ll get to it after we eat.”
She should have realized he would be this organized. Guess they were going through with this regardless of the option he picked. She wasn’t sure what to expect.
“This might sound horrible. Can I just sit here and watch you work and not talk? I find I can’t focus because you’re moving so fast and I’m amazed.”
He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. There was a smile on his face. His long hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wasn’t sure how she’d felt in the past about men with long hair, but it just fit Duke and she was growing fond of it.
“Sure,” he said. “We can talk while we eat or after.”
She nodded and just watched him work. Fifteen minutes later she had a plate in front of her and she was pretty sure there was drool coming out of her mouth.
Duke sat next to her on the island and they ate together.
“This is out of this world,” she said after she finished chewing. She had no idea the spices he added and how simple ingredients could taste like this. “You really should put this on the menu at Southside. Like a Sunday brunch menu.”
