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I squeezed my eyes shut. There was no trace of tenderness in his voice, no affection, nothing but firm distance. I just knew he was going to tell me it was over and he’d found a way to get us a quickie divorce or annulment.
“Thirty minutes. Sure.” Before I could say another word, he thanked me and hung up.
Chapter Nine
Oliver
Ipacedmytinyoffice, stomach in knots. How was I going to have this conversation with him? How was I going to explain to Cam that despite what we both wanted, we needed to stay together for a little while. Well… I guess it wasn’t what webothwanted. I remembered his pleading from earlier that morning, telling me to just give us a chance. I guessed Cam was going to get his wish after all.
I sighed and stepped into the kitchen. A couple of the newer bussers were in the back, roughhousing by the walk-in. “Hey,” I barked, and the whole kitchen stopped moving. I cleared my throat, acutely aware of what was going through their minds. I took a deep breath and strode toward the offenders. Dropping my tone to a more reasonable one, I cleared my throat. “Careful. There’s hot food and sharp knives here. No horseplay in the kitchen.”
“Yes, Chef,” they responded in unison.
I made my way back through the kitchen to where Jer stood. “Chef?”
Jeremiah looked up from his station, where he was helping to chop vegetables. “Yes, Chef?”
“Can we talk?”
Jer nodded. “Sure thing, Chef.” He put his knife away and followed me into the office. “What’s going on?”
I gestured toward the door and waited until he closed it. “We need to talk.”
He smirked. “You taking the day off after all?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Hardly. Well, actually, I might. But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. I had something I wanted to discuss with you.” I paused for a moment before continuing. “I want you to take on a bigger role here, officially. I’m going to start scouting locations to open up another restaurant soon and I’ll need you to take over here.”
Jeremiah’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, Chef. I’m not sure I’m ready to run this place.”
A little laugh escaped me. He was ready. He was more than ready. “You’re the best sous chef I’ve ever had. Hell, you’re the best sous chef I’ve ever met, and that includes me.”
It was Jeremiah’s turn to laugh. “Hardly.”
“I’m serious. You’re talented. You understand food. You understand people, too, in a way I don’t. You’ve never once raised your voice, and that staff loves you and respects you for it. Look at what you’ve done with Allie. She’s growing by leaps and bounds every day. It’s not like when—well, it’s not like before.”
He nodded. “Heard, Chef.” He hesitated before continuing. “You’re really going to open another restaurant? Another Hidden Cove?”
I shook my head. “Not another Hidden Cove. There will never be another place like this one. But yeah, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Talking to my lawyer. Now’s the right time.” Never mind the fact that I was somehow going to have to manage being a newlywed on top of all that. “It’s now or never. And I want you along for the ride.”
He chewed his bottom lip, looking less sure of himself than he ever had. Jeremiah was a confident man, never outwardly second-guessing himself, always steady. He was my rock. I didn’t know what I’d do if he said no.
“So what do you say? You willing to run this place full time while I start to scope out some other properties?”
The smile that broke over his face assured me that I was doing the right thing. “I am, Chef. Where’s the new place going to be? Here in Vegas?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. Maybe somewhere on the outskirts. But I’ll need a lot of help. It’s going to be a lot of hard work.”
“I can handle it, Chef.”
“I know you can. Now get back out there. We can’t have both of us missing from the kitchen for too long and I have a meeting coming in.” I glanced at the clock. “In just a few minutes, actually.”
“Thank you, Chef. I won’t disappoint you.”
“I know you won’t.”
