“Allie.”
“What?”
Her face softens. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Do I look like I want to talk about it?”
“Allie,” she tries again.
“Don’t you dare pot-kettle me, Ms. Caldwell.”
“I deserve that,” she sighs as she places her hand on her belly. “I also know that holding things inside can break people…strain relationships.”
“Luckily, ours is rock-solid.” I throw in a wink for good measure, but she still doesn’t seem amused.
“Okay, fine. If you must know…I bombed the interview. I got in my head and I’m not even sure what I said. My car door got stuck, and my shoe flew off. Craig had to help me with it.”
“Wait, Craig? As in…”
“Holder, yeah.”
“He helped you with your shoe?”
“With the car door,” I clarify.
“What was Craig Holder doing at your interview?”
“He was in the parking lot after. I don’t know why he was there, but he looked good, Em. Damn good.”
Emory’s eyes light up with pure mischief, and I can’t tell if she’s about to jump up and start clapping or suggest we throw on masks and rob a bank.
“Don’t even look at me like—” I’m interrupted by my phone buzzing. I glance down at the local area code, but I don’t recognize the number. I hold a finger up to Emory and rush into the hallway to take the call.
“This is Allie,” I answer in my most professional voice.
“Ah, I’m so glad I caught you. This is Theo Aldridge. I wanted to thank you again for coming in today.”
I swallow the saliva building at the top of my throat. “Of course,” I reply. “Thank you for having me.”
“I’m going to cut to the chase here, Allie. As I said earlier, I have a few other interviews scheduled for next week, but I’d much rather cancel them and have you start on Monday.”
“You—” I try to formulate a coherent thought. “I’m sorry?”
Theo chuckles. “You made quite the impression, Allie. With your writing experience, knowledge, and passion for food, I think you would make a great addition to our team as our resident food writer. If you decide to accept the position, I’d also like to add a weekly column for you to write about the history and stories associated with various cuisines—maybe some articles about family-owned restaurants?”
I close my gaping mouth before drool starts sliding down my chin. This was not what I was expecting when I saw this number come up on my phone.
“I’m happy to give you a day if you need to think about it,”Theo goes on. “But I’d rather not keep the other applicants waiting, so the sooner, the bet?—”
“I’ll take it,” I say, cutting him off.
Theo coughs out a laugh. “Wonderful. And you can start on Monday?”
“Absolutely.”
“Splendid. I’ll have my assistant send over the paperwork this evening, and you can bring it with you then. I look forward to working with you, Allie.”
“Thank you, Theo. Same. I mean…I look forward to it as well.”
