I turned back to Nate. “I don’t need a reason. But I do need a job. And if you think there’s enough work around here to keep me busy, I’m definitely interested in talking this over. So far, it sounds perfect.”
Nate grinned. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. Meet with Chase sometime this week and figure out how you want to proceed, and then we’ll all meet up and go over a few ideas.”
I had a hard time keeping the smile from my face by the time Tessa and Chad brought our food out. I eyed the monstrosity on my plate with an air of careful importance. At first glance, the presentation of the dish was much better than earlier this summer. The meatloaf looked less sludge-like than before, the bread was from a local bakery in town and looked hearty enough to handle. A piece of parsley and a toothpick rounded out the display, along with an impressive pile of fries surrounding the entire sandwich.
Aware of my audience, I hefted the sandwich into my fingers and took a large bite. A subtle yet delicious beef flavor flooded into my mouth. I pulled the sandwich away to examine it.
“I don’t detect a hint of badger anywhere in here.”
Chad swore while Tessa lifted her hands triumphantly into the air.
“That’s a certified mixture of beef and pork,” she said proudly.
I took another bite and groaned. Perhaps the groan was for my girlfriend’s sake—it was good, but it was still a meatloaf sandwich.
Tessa sat down next to me on the booth seat, the ripped plastic squeaking, and shifted to wrap her arms around my neck to kiss me. Nate promptly asked for a to-go box and said he’d be eating in his car, while Chad left, muttering something about biased customers.
Tessa broke away from me. “I’m taking my lunch break now, Chad.”
“You’re not getting paid for this. I don’t care what you do,” he called back.
Soon, we were all alone in the booth. Tessa stole a few fries off of my plate and took a bite of the sandwich, chewing carefully as if trying to decide what else it needed.
“You did good,” I said, nudging her with my elbow.
She smiled at me. “Chad wants me to help him overhaul his entire menu this fall.”
“Really? That’s awesome.”
“It will at least give me something to do while you’re gone during the week.”
I grinned at her. I had wanted to surprise her with the news, but I couldn’t stand waiting another second. Soon, she was all over me again, this time with only a disgusted Chad as our witness.
“Here, eat some more fries, Jailbait. We’ve got to keep your hands busy or else Chad will kick us out.”
“So, you’re staying?”
“It looks that way. I need to talk with Chase, and I’ll be back and forth to Boise here and there. I’ve got a house that I either need to rent or sell.”
Her brow furrowed slightly. “Are you really okay with moving back?”
“Oh yeah. Nate thinks there’s a lot of potential growth for this town, and if all goes well, the possibilities are endless. And I’ll be in charge of my own crew, which means I can do things my way. I guess the first thing would be to hire an assistant who can handle emails and phone calls for me. You interested?”
She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. “After the foosball table, I’m pretty sure I’d kill you if I had to work with you. Besides, I’m interested to see where things go with helping Chad out. I love being here.”
“Really?”
“Maybe The Grub Shack’s the perfect place to start on your quest to spruce up Main Street.” She leaned into my shoulder, stealing more fries off of my plate.
My eyes narrowed. “You’ve taken most of my fries, but you’ve only eaten one bite of the sandwich. Something seems off.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Eh. It’s better than it was, but it’s still a meatloaf sandwich.”
“Any dessert?”
“Chocolate cake.”
“Yours?”
