“All right, mate?”
The smile widens a touch. “Knew you’d say that. Good flight?”
I shrug a little too hard, my body tired where my nervous system hasn’t got the memo yet. “Can’t complain. Who’d fucking listen?”
Tanner looks bemused. “I would. It’s why I asked.”
“No need. It was fine.” I hold out my hand, ignoring the faint twitch. “Nice to meet you.”
Tanner grasps my fingers in a knuckle-bending grip that would have my nan clapping in her grave. “Likewise. Jax is at work. He’ll be back later, but I can show you the apartment so you can get some rest.”
“Rest?”
“From your flight. You’ve been on the road since yesterday.”
It’s the sensible option, but the reality that I’m building a menu to cook in a kitchen I’ve never seen is gnawing at me, an un-scratchable itch.
Leave it.You’ve got all summer to hyperfocus. But… no. Sensible has never been my jam. If it was, I wouldn’t be here in the first place. “Can I dump my bag and take a look at the business?”
Tanner regards me, then nods. “Sure. This way.”
He pockets his phone and leads me inside. The bar is open and thrumming with a gentle afternoon crowd. Combined with the leather seats, vintage wood floors, and the smoky jazz filtering from hidden speakers, it’s a vibe that soothes my spiky soul.
I let out a low whistle that’s only partially involuntary. “This place is nice.”
Tanner tips his head. “Gets a bit livelier in the evening, but we try to keep it chill.”
“Where are you gonna be serving food?”
“Wherever people want it.”
“How many covers?”
“At once?”
“Yeah.” I spin around, counting tables and seats. “As in, if every drinker in here wants feeding at the same time, what are we looking at?”
“Carnage. We’ll have to figure out a cap when you’ve assessed what you can do with the kitchen.”
“I can do whatever you need, mate. I just need a number.”
Tanner doesn’t believe me, I can tell, but I didn’t spend a whole season in a festival burger van just for the banging weed. I’m good at my job. I just gotta define it first, and that means planning a menu the kitchen can facilitate with whatever team he gives me. Get that right, the rest of it is a breeze.
“We can talk about it later.” Tanner lets me know without trying that he’s stubborn as hell. “Have a look around first, get the feel of the place. The details can wait a few days.”
He thinks I’m capable of waiting that long to immerse myself in the madness I’ve signed up for. He’ll learn. People always do, and it either pans out, or I pack my bag and move on.
Most times I move on regardless. I’m not a long-term kinda bloke. “Where’s the kitchen?”
Tanner grins. “Dump your stuff first.”
I give in, for now, and follow him through the bar to the door that leads to the accommodation upstairs. On the way, I sense eyes on me, but I don’t look around. Behaving myself for the first ten minutes I spend with my new boss requires my full attention. Plus, there’s a roommate, which means a double bubble of decorum.
Tanner shows me to the third floor and points at a couple of doors. “I live there with Jax when we’re not at the cabin. This is you.”
He opens the second door. I brace myself for another set of eyes on me, but it becomes apparent that the apartment is empty the moment I step through the door. It’s silent and still. No signs of life. Actually, it feels like no one lives here, it’sso fucking tidy, and unease prickles my skin. Jax knows better than to pair me with a neat freak…right?
I hope so, or this cohabitation is doomed from the start.
