AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dinner parties?” I’d never hosted a dinner party before in my life. I’d had friends over for dinner and ordered pizzas, but I never cooked anything.
“If you don’t have any culinary skills, then I’m afraid…”
“Oh, no, no. I was just surprised you’d even ask the question. I’m a Michelin-star chef. I trained at the Culinary Institute of Paris,” I said, putting on a French accent.
“Oh.” She sounded impressed. “Paris, France?”
“Oh, yes. I trained under Chef Gordon Ramsay.”
“Gordon Ramsay?” she said, sounding confused. “Isn’t he British?”
“Yes, but he got paid a lot of money to teach at this culinary institute that I went to and—”
“Okay, and what are your favorite dishes to cook?”
“Oh, well, cheese souffle, bone marrow and foie gras, lobster ravioli, lamb chops, lasagna,” I said, listing off all the fanciest dishes I could think of, even though they weren’t very fancy.
“Very nice,” she said. “And you do desserts?”
“Oh, yes. I love to bake cakes and cookies and lemon possets.”
“Lemon what?” she said.
“Oh, this very special dessert that Gordon Ramsay taught me,” I said quickly, thinking about an episode ofMaster Chef.
“Oh, well, that sounds very good indeed. And you’re equipped to clean and…”
“Well, of course I can clean, but as the housekeeper, wouldn’t there be people underneath me to do that?” I cut her off.
“Yes, but you have to know this is Port Sunshine, dear. There aren’t that many cleaners around. And cleaners, well, you can’t always trust them to do a good job.”
“Oh, sure. Well, I’m very meticulous when it comes to cleaning. I carry a duster around with me at all times,” I lied as I looked around my bedroom, which was currently a hot mess. Stacks of clothes were at the end of my bed and on my chair. There were books everywhere, pens everywhere, two dirty plates from the previous evening when I’d had dinner, and then seconds. I licked my lips nervously as I stared at some ants on my pizza box. No one in their right mind would call me a neat freak or clean, but it wasn’t like I was going to tell this lady that.
“Well, dear, it does sound like you’re quite suitable for the job. I think that my boss would be quite pleased to interview you.”
“Oh, can I have your boss’s name?” I asked.
“Well,” she cleared her throat, “at this time, we are keeping that private.”
“Oh?” I said, my mind racing. Who could it be? “I suppose that’s for the best,” I said. “Is he quite famous?”
“Well, I don’t like to brag,” she said.
“Would I have heard of him?” I asked quickly. My heart was racing at the possibilities. What if it was Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, or Henry Cavill? I would die if it was Henry Cavill. I would absolutely die. I’d be the best cleaner known to man. I would google recipes to have something different every single day.
I couldn’t help thinking that maybe getting fired from the coffee shop was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Maybe I would become Mrs. Henry Cavill. What would Polly and Chelsea say then? They wouldn’t be laughing. And if Henry Cavill were lucky, he’d get a blowy every night. I giggled to myself.
“Sorry, what was your name, dear?” the lady asked, and I realized I’d let my imagination run away with me.
“Oh, my name’s Harriet. Harriet Campbell.”
“Okay, and you’re familiar with Port Sunshine, Harriet?”
“Yes, actually, I grew up here.”
“Hmm,” she said. “Interesting. And you’ve been back for how long?”
“What’d you mean, been back?” I asked, confused. I’d never left Port Sunshine, even though I’d always wanted to.
