There were so many other mouthwatering items on the list as well. Enough that we hoped nobody would be able to decide their first time sitting down and then they’d note at least three other things they wanted to try. They’d mark this restaurant in their heads with a gold star and the memory that they wanted to come back and try x, y and z.
And maybe, if we were super lucky, they’d give us a glowing review on Yelp.
Or Google.
That was possibly wishful thinking. But after being here for months, I hoped for something other than the demise of my very short-lived career.
“Three tables so far,” Julia, one of my most reliable servers, said as she breezed into the kitchen. “But they seem excited about the menu change.”
My stomach squeezed with nerves. Three? That was hardly enough to justify the time change. “That’s good.” Because it was, I reminded myself. “We have to start somewhere. At least there are people out there.”
She nodded with a tight-lipped smile. “Good point, Chef.”
I tried not to smile at her. Clearly this girl was terrified of me. Which meant I was doing part of my job right!
My impulse was to rip off my toque, throw it on the ground and do a happy dance right on top of it. But I kept my cool.
At least for now.
“Good work out there, Jules. We can save the sign-spinning for later in the morning.” Her jaw unhinged and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m kidding.”
She hurried from the kitchen.
“You’re in a good mood this morning,” Blaze noted while we all watched the printer, waiting for the first order to appear.
Shrugging off the giddiness that had followed me all week, I told him, “I’m excited to see how this goes. I’ve got a good feeling.”
“I do too,” he agreed. “I think this is going to change Bianca’s reputation for good.”
I beamed at his unexpected compliment and then remembered he would be giving me a final answer later today if he was going to leave Bianca or stay as sous.
He’d told me he’d get me through opening weekend before he moved on. But now it was opening weekend and my hopes that he would change his mind were slowly dwindling. He hadn’t said anything since our initial conversation.
And there had been a day he had mysteriously asked off last week. I’d tried to casually pry, but he’d been a locked box. And when I had asked the rest of the staff in his absence, they hadn’t given me any useful information.
So here we were. Hours away from his final decision. And I was a tight ball of nerves.
This was terrible planning on my part. I should have scheduled the meeting a year from now. But definitely not on the day we launched Bianca’s new menu. During our first brunch.
One day I would get my life together. Probably not any day soon. But one day.
One. Day.
“We should talk,” I blurted, unable to hold back my morbid curiosity any longer. And honestly, I was starting to question my mental sanity and if I could even make it that long. I was basically bubbling over, waiting to see how today went, waiting to see if this would work or if we’d fail before we ever really started… waiting for him to give me his answer.
Honestly, I was about three seconds away from just firing him, so I didn’t have to try to survive when he quit. Also I needed to get rid of some of this intense adrenaline. We were at critical levels.
“We should,” he agreed.
“Let’s go to my office.”
Surprise jumped all over his face. “Now?”
“Listen, I’m over here just assuming the worst. Let’s talk about it and I’ll adjust accordingly. And I’ll also work better today. This is important to me.” I turned to Eduardo and Caden. “Can you all hold down the fort for five minutes?”
Their eyes bugged and it made me seriously question my example of leadership in this place. Why did no one want the sous chef job?
Was I as bad as Wyatt?
