Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“Sure, I can do that. We are all entitled to bad days, so I get it.” She glanced back at Ally again, and a thought crossed my mind that something strange was going on. Ally nodded to her, and Jodi turned back to me again. “I need to work under the table.”
She said it so simply, so bluntly, it took a second to process. Usually, I was wary of bringing people in under the table. It only ever caused headaches if they worked for more than a couple of days like that, and if the tax man ever found out, I was up shit’s creek. However, once in a while, it was better to bring someone in that way and try them out before hiring them full-time. Someone asking to stay under the table was new to me.
Slowly, I nodded.
“Alright, I can work with that,” I said. “Since you’re saving our ass and all. If Ally vouches for you, we will keep it under the table. I can’t put you on the payroll though, if you’re not above board.”
“That’s fine. I’m good being tips-only.”
“I’m sure if Ally pulled you in, that means you have prior experience waiting tables?” I asked.
“Yup,” she said. “Tons.”
“Alright then, Charlotte is in the office now. Head on in to her and tell her I hired you under the table. She will get you set up and tell you what the specials and stuff are. The whole lay of the land. Welcome to the King Vineyard Restaurant.” I held out my hand again, and she took it and shook gently.
“Thanks,” she said.
She walked away, heading to the little office Charlotte was in and knocking on the door. Ally went with her and introduced her, and I overheard a bit of their conversation as I continued on the prep work. I watched her through the reflection of one of the silver pots and tried to force myself to look away.
She was stunning, absolutely a knockout, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. My hand was still buzzing from where I’d touched her; just shaking her hand sent me into a tizzy. What was going on with me? I never got this flustered. There was something different about Jodi, but I couldn’t put my finger on it just yet.
I found myself glancing back to the glass door of the waitstaff office over and over. I watched as she brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and smiled. Her full, ruby-red lips were so enticing, and I found myself gawking at her as she talked. Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice, and I went back to my work, only to find myself watching her again minutes later.
What the hell was going on with me?
Eventually, Ally left the office, catching me glancing in the window, but thankfully pretty far away and not actively gawking that time. She smirked as she walked over to her station and began to work. I put my head down, focusing on the food and the menu at hand, willing myself not to look at the office anymore.
After a little time, the door opened again, and Charlotte led her out. I looked up and made very brief eye contact with Jodi, felt my pants tighten, and looked away. It was like I was a high school boy all over again. Something about those mesmerizing green eyes and the way her pants hugged her tight, round ass made it hard for me to think about anything else. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to end up taking a finger off with my prep knife.
After Jodi and Charlotte disappeared through the door, I finally was able to focus again. Like a fog had lifted, my brain cleared, and I went back to being able to obsess over flavor and plating in such a way that I would be willing to take pictures of it for Alex’s social media pushes.
Ally began to warm up as the morning got into high gear, which made me feel a bit better about the day. It was tough being at odds with her, not only because she was my best friend and most respected colleague, but also her relationship with my brother complicated things. With her back to being silly and having me taste her dishes and vice versa, it made the day go by a lot smoother and a lot faster.
Still, I found myself walking slower when I crossed by the doors to the seating area, letting my eyes search for those ruby lips and green eyes. Every time I found them, she only seemed more enticing, more alluring. Thankfully, things got busy, and I didn’t have time to do much else other than cook.
6
JODI
Iwas going to have to talk to Ally about her descriptive skills.