“I don’t think she’ll be doing that much longer. Today her soup was thicker than molasses.”
Nick plopped into his chair with limbs draped like spaghetti noodles. “She’s not going anywhere.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“She would’ve stopped a while ago like the rest.”
Rosalie paused, choosing her words carefully. As the new girl on the scene, she understood how the others might think she overstepped boundaries. In theory, she should’ve been happy to have a job in the first place. The reality was too hard to ignore, though. No business could go on forever with such low patronship. She was thinking about the future. The others weren’t.
“I think we’re in trouble.”
“Trouble—what d’you mean?” Nick sipped his coffee in between words.
“I don’t want to butt in, but it seems like we’re underperforming. We average around ten customers a day.”
“We get more than ten. Sometimes…”
“I just can’t imagine we’re on target profit-wise. What happens when our few regulars stop coming? We can’t rely on them when we can’t even cook them fresh food.”
“Back to the soup, huh?”
“Mr. Fontaine—”
“Nick.”
“Nick,” she corrected, teeth grinding, “we could probably improve our reputation if the food was better. Don’t you think?”
“Jefferson’s doing the best he can.” Nick drained the last of his coffee and leaned back into his leather chair.
“Zoe mentioned an old cook that used to work here. I was thinking if he’s still around, maybe we can reach out to him.”
“He’s not willing.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you already asked him.” Rosalie’s hope fell with the volume in her voice.
“No need to ask him. He’s not interested.”
She didn’t understand. “How do you know?”
“Because I’m him.”
Of course it was Nick. She didn’t see how she hadn’t figured that out on her own. He was Ady’s son after all. It made sense that she would show her son the ropes in the kitchen. That she would eventually hire him as her head chef.
The revelation soon led to more questions. If he was the chef Zoe had mentioned, why had he stepped down? Why was he no longer involved in overseeing the kitchen and the dishes being prepared? Did it have something to do with Ady’s passing?
When seconds went by and she said nothing, Nick flashed a dimpled grin. “Did that throw you off? You know my mom was Ady, right?”
His tease jolted Rosalie out of her thoughts. “Obviously I knew. I just didn’t put two and two together.”
“I’m joking, Rosalie. Anyway, that was before I became the new owner. Things are different now.”
“But why?”
“Why they’re different? Now you’ve gotta be the one joking,” said Nick, staring at her in furrowed-brow disbelief. “My mom passed away.”
Rosalie’s teeth caught her bottom lip. She hadn’t meant for it to sound like that. She didn’t want to seem insensitive to the grim situation. Ady’s passing clearly changed the dynamics, not just in the restaurant but of Nick’s life.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “It’s not my business why. Please forget I said that. I was just trying to figure out why the restaurant’s the way it is now.”
“I won’t lie, I don’t wanna talk about me being the old chef. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all in the past. But if you wanna know why the restaurant’s the way it is, I’ll tell you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you wanna know,” he said, sitting up in his chair. He fixed her with an intent gaze that most women in St. Aster would’ve swooned over. “My mom’s gone. It’s not—and it’s never gonna be—the real Ady’s again.”
“I think it’s the opposite. It’s still Ady’s if it’s your family restaurant, right?” Rosalie asked, stubborn. “It might not be the exact same as the past, but I think the place has potential.”
Nick studied her for a long second. He looked stuck between confusion and amusement, as if he couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh or frown. He settled on a half grin that read as skeptical. For whatever reason, he didn’t believe her and she couldn’t figure out why.
“You’re being serious. You think this place has potential?”
“Why shouldn’t I? I remember how Ady’s used to be. I don’t see why we can’t get there again. It’s going to take some work, but it’s doable.”
“Most employees would be fine with no customers. The work’s easier that way.”
“For how long?” she asked smartly. “I don’t know anything about your profit margin, but I’m guessing it’s not much. If we don’t turn this around soon, we’re all going to be out of a job. I don’t know about you, but I need this job, Nick.”
Her emphasis on his first name broke through his hold on his amusement. He released a short laugh and leaned forward on his desk.
“I’ve gotta admit, you make a convincing argument.”
“I was a finance major in college. Maybe I can help you with accounting. We can come up with some ways to keep costs low, but fix up the place. Call it Project Fixer-Upper.”
“I don’t think Ady’s needs fixing.”
Rosalie arched a brow and gestured to the mess around the office. “You don’t think a little spring cleaning would help out?”
“It’s October.”
“Something tells me you skipped out last spring.”
“Point taken. Okay, if we do some spring cleaning, what’s it involve?”
“We need to get rid of all the dust and clutter around here.”
“Fair.”
“And scrub down the bathrooms. And clear out the pantry.”
“Doable.”
Rosalie sensed his interest increasing and played into the back-and-forth with a small smirk. “And do something about our thirty-year-old furniture.”
“Not happening,” Nick said right away. “We can’t do anything about the furniture. We can’t afford anything new.”
“I didn’t say buy new furniture. I said do something about the stuff we have,” explained Rosalie. “We could fix the uneven legs. Paint the wood with a fresh finish. Patch up some of the cushions for the chairs. And maybe we can hit up the town thrift store. The used stuff in there is cheap. What do you think?”
Nick clenched shut his eyes and sighed. He took his time giving her an answer, in clear deliberation over her proposal. The little smirk she wore slid off as the seconds went on and she realized it was going to be a no. He wasn’t willing to make changes around Ady’s, because he was content letting the business flounder. Soon she’d be back at square one: broke and jobless.
“Alright, you’ve convinced me,” Nick said suddenly. He opened his eyes and offered up a handshake. “If you can help me figure out a small spend plan that makes sense then alright. Let’s give it a shot.”