Dish Best Served Cold - Leighann Dobbs Page 0,2

the other side of the vent, or at least close to it, because when she put her ear up to it, she could hear the faint sound of motors humming. What else needed to run all the time? If she knew where the plugs were, maybe she could snake a wire or something into the vent and yank the plugs out for some of the appliances. Or short-circuit them. Maybe she should do it at the last minute. It wasn’t like they could repair an oven or the giant refrigerator last minute.

Her plotting was interrupted by a noise, and she quickly jumped back behind the dumpster and crouched down out of view. Slowly peeking out to the side, she saw Raffe Washburn walking toward the kitchen door. Good. Maybe Sarah would think that he put the grease there. Word on the street was that they’d broken up. Things with Sarah being the head chef at Raffe’s super-trendy restaurant, EightyEight, hadn’t worked out as perfectly as they had hoped, apparently, because she was working for Gertie now. Boo-hoo.

Raffe hesitated at the bottom of the ramp that led to the rear door of the kitchen. What was all this sand doing all over the place? It looked like someone wanted to throw a beach-themed party. For all he knew, they were. They had some pretty crazy requests from clients, from what he had heard, and Gertie was known for being able to host the most extravagant events around.

He stepped around the mess and rang the buzzer, shifting uneasily on his feet while holding the bouquet of flowers that he had picked up away from his face. He'd never brought flowers to a woman before. He had had them delivered before, sure, but physically brought them himself? No. He had never really had to make much of an effort with any girlfriend. They always seemed to want to be with him all the time and hung on his every word. Except Sarah. She was independent and, well, different from all the others. She hadn’t cared about his money and was very career oriented and a hard worker. Which was why he had thought giving her the position of Head Chef at his restaurant was a great idea.

She hadn’t appreciated his feedback on her menus at EightyEight, but wasn’t that what she wanted? It was his reputation on the line. After all, it was his restaurant. Sure, he wanted an eclectic menu, something different for everyone, but Sarah took so long to perfect her creations! He hated to admit it, but since she had left EightyEight, things had gone downhill. He wanted her back, at work and in his life. But it seemed like every time they talked, it ended up in an argument, and he hated that. Now he felt like he was walking on eggshells every time they spoke. He just wanted his girlfriend back.

“Oh… er… hi,” Sarah said to him as she opened the door, looking irritated. She stepped outside and looked around the area and then back at him. “Have you been out here the whole time?”

“Uh, no. I just got here. I brought you these.”

Raffe handed her the arrangement, the colorful flowers brushing against his head.

“Oh, uh… thanks,” she mumbled, taking the bouquet and turning back to go into the kitchen.

Raffe felt awkward. Why did she make him feel this way lately? They had been so close before, and the conversation had been effortless. Now it was like pulling teeth to have a conversation. They were always short and tense.

“So, how’s things going for the tasting tomorrow night? I bet you’re whipping up some amazing food,” he said, following her into the kitchen and feeling like a puppy dog.

“Yup.”

“Uh, so are you free tonight? I thought maybe we could go out to dinner or to a movie?”

He watched as she took a deep breath. This couldn’t be good.

“Sorry, I’ll be here all night making sure I’ve got it all set for tomorrow. You of all people should know that I like the food to be spectacular. I mean, I’m still working on the side dishes, and I have no idea what dessert will be.”

“You don’t even have a dessert planned yet?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he hadn’t said anything. She looked annoyed and rolled her eyes, which didn’t surprise him. This pretty much summed up the last few months she had worked at EightyEight. How could she wait until the last minute