This was definitely the weirdest interview Lindsay had ever conducted. Still, she got up and went into the kitchen. She looked around and managed to find the refrigerator. She could at least say for the previous chef that he was neat; the kitchen was clean, and the walk-in fridge was well organized. There was a clean apron hanging from a hook near the door, so Lindsay put it on and then raided the walk-in. She found a beef tenderloin and a bunch of asparagus, which would probably get the job done.
The first thing she did was turn on the stove. She found a cast-iron skillet and put it in the oven to get it to heat up. Then she sliced the tenderloin into filets. It had been a while since she’d done this, but the memory for how to cook a steak was still rattling around in her head. She liberally salted and peppered two filets, then moved the skillet to the stovetop. She dropped both fillets on the hot skillet while she decided what to do with the asparagus.
What the hell was she doing? Why was she cooking for Joey Maguire? This wasn’t how the world worked. Chefs worked for decades for an opportunity like this, and she had all of one year of restaurant experience under her belt. Joey Maguire was delusional if he thought she could do this. Or was he? Shecouldcook a steak. But was this a job she even wanted? She felt like she’d lost control somewhere. But maybe that was a good thing. She’d never been completely risk averse in her career—freelance food writing wasn’t the most stable or lucrative occupation—but she was generally a person who tended to stay in her own comfort zone. But wasn’t that what had gone awry with Brad? She hadn’t been willing to put her heart on the line.
She couldn’t think about that right now, though; she had to focus, because suddenly she wanted to impress Joey Maguire.
About fifteen minutes later, she brought two plates out to Joey, who was still sitting at the same table, reading a book. She put one plate in front of Joey and the other in front of the empty chair she planned to sit in.
“And asparagus!” Joey said, sounding delighted. “That is one of my favorite vegetables.”
“Oh. I didn’t even know that. It was the first vegetable I saw in the fridge.”
She’d opted to quickly blanch the asparagus and then grill it with olive oil and garlic. She felt better about her choices now that Joey was slicing into his steak. Since Lindsay had made a plate for herself, she sliced hers, too, and was glad to see she’d achieved a perfect medium rare. Any further cooking would have been a crime against filet mignon.
“Oh, that’s good,” Joey said with his mouth full. “So tender. Like butter.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“This is ten times better than anything my old chef made. I knew he wasn’t really up to snuff after the first week, but he had such an impressive résumé, and he brought a rack of ribs to his interview that were really delicious. Turns out that was all he really knew how to make.”
“If a chef can’t do the basics, he’s not much of a chef.”
“Look, I signed a five-year lease on this space. I could break it and pay the fee and walk away, or I could open a new restaurant with a competent executive chef this time. This is amazing.” Joey took another bite. “Oh, so good. So look, job is yours if you want it.”
Lindsay was gratified by his faith in her and how much he liked her cooking. But becoming a chef was a big career change, and she liked the job she had a lot. This was a leap she wasn’t quite ready for, no matter how much she’d discussed it with Brad in the abstract.
“This is one dish,” she said.
“True, but it’s not the rack-of-ribs situation again. You didn’t know you’d be cooking a steak when you walked in here, and you still did it flawlessly. You’ve got the chops. I have faith.”
So he’d learned nothing from his previous venture. “Are you sure about this? Steak could be the only thingIknow how to cook.”
“Is it?”
“No. But I barely have any restaurant experience.”
“Doesn’t matter. My previous chef had almost twenty years of restaurant experience, and look how that turned out.”
Lindsay sat back in her chair and stared at Joey. She couldn’t make her brain process this offer. On the one hand, she already had a job she liked and didn’t want to quit it for a job that might not last two months. On the other hand, this was the dream, wasn’t it? This was the very thing she’d been fantasizing since she decided to accept Brad back into her life.
“I’d give you a lot of control,” Joey said. “There are a couple of things I’d want to keep on the menu, but you’re the expert. And I can pay you a pretty good rate.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and a little pad of paper. He wrote something on the paper and handed it to Lindsay. It showed…a very big number.
“Executive chef salary,” said Joey. “I’m told that’s close to the average.”
“This is…good, yes.” And so much more than what she was currently making. Lindsay told herself to focus. “Uh, out of curiosity, what dishes would you keep on the menu?”
“A couple of the staples from my childhood. Mac and cheese, corn bread, that kind of thing. My granny used to make fried okra that was actually good and not slimy, and I wanted to add that to the menu, but the old chef refused. But southern dishes like that, or modern takes on them.”
Lindsay nodded. “Sure, that makes sense.”Focus, Linds. “But I already have a job.”
“I know, but… I can tack on an extra ten thousand a year if that sweetens the pot.”
What was even happening right now? Had Lindsay walked into some bizarre parallel universe? “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by this offer, but this is completely unexpected. I didn’t think I was coming here today for a job interview. I thoughtIwould be interviewingyou. Can I have some time to think about it?”
“Absolutely. Not too long, because the longer this place sits empty, the more money I lose. I want to have a concept for the rebrand rolling by next week, and I don’t want to be closed longer than a month. So I need an answer by…Monday, say?”
