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‘Naomi, hello? Earth to Naomi. Where the fuck are you, woman?’ The loudness of his voice pierced through my eardrum.
Before I could reply, he was at it again.
‘Do you take this job seriously at all?’
I swallowed hard. ‘I’m so sorry, Daniel.’
‘Just fucking get here, okay?’ He hung up before I got my ‘okay’ out of my mouth.
My hands shook, and I fought hard not to cry. I’d been mentally preparing for this function for weeks, and now Daniel was furious at me again, and for anactualreason this time.
I unlocked the door, and Deb gave me that concerned look she does when I’m in a dilemma, then wrapped her arms around me. Her usual jasmine and patchouli perfume comforted me as I cried on her shoulder, overwhelmed with emotion.
‘You can do this, Naomi. Daniel is counting on you. Remember that,’ she whispered into my ear.
I sniffed. ‘And Paul.’
Deb took a step back to look at me. ‘Oh, didn’t you hear? The only thing Paul is cooking for the function is the duck spring rolls. The rest of the menu got pulled.’
‘What? So just spring rolls on the menu?’ My eyes widened with surprise.
‘Yep, and the pizzas and salmon filo cups.’
‘Why did the other food get pulled?’ I raised a worried brow and tilted my head in curiosity.
‘Because Patrick said he has enough food. Daniel told me Patrick came in last night and tried the pizza and duck spring rolls. He didn’t bother trying the salmon filo becausewho can stuff up that?His words, not mine.’
‘Oh my God, he tried my pizza last night?’ The blood rushed from my face again, and my neck turned hot. ‘What did he say?’
Deb’s response was interrupted by another buzz from my phone. This time it was a text message:
Daniel (Boss):Naomi, you’re never late, so I will try to be understanding in this matter. Can you and Debra be in by noon? Dan.
Me:Thank you so much. See you then.
‘Daniel just said we can start at twelve.’ My words came out in a rush.
Deb’s face lit up. ‘That’s awesome.’
‘I can’t believe it, to be honest.’ I sucked in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. ‘So, back to what we were talking about. What did Patrick say?’
‘He said he was blown away by the pizza and that whoever made it could work in his kitchen any day.’
I burst out laughing and gave Deb thatare-you-kidding-melook.
‘Stop laughing. I’m dead serious.’
‘Wow. Okay. I am stunned.’ I couldn’t help but grin that Patrick had said those words about my pizza. It made my stomach melt like warm honey.
‘Daniel told me not to tell you, but you know I can’t keep anything from you. Plus, you’re just really damn good at pizza. You definitely take after your dad when it comes to cooking.’
‘That really means a lot, Deb. Thanks.’ I smiled again but this time with a shaky lip.
I closed my eyes, and for a moment, I was a kid again, sitting on a stool kneading dough with my tiny fists, next to Dad. His hands smell like herbs from the garden as he chops them chiffonade-style on the stone board. His crinkly eyes smile at me as he watches my knuckles indent the dough. The late-afternoon sun is pouring in, and his face is all golden and full of laughter and life.
Deb snapped her fingers in front of my face. ‘Hey, wake up. You better get moving.’
I snapped back to the present. ‘Oh God, I have to shower and do my makeup.’
