Savor You (Fusion #5)(33)

“Finding someone with the right skills and experience isn’t going to be cheap.”

“We can afford someone good,” she reminds me. “We can pretty much afford whomever you want at this point.”

“And isn’t that amazing?” I ask. “I mean, when we started this, we just hoped that we might eventually get to a place where we could pay ourselves.”

“I know. We’re there and then some. So you find who you want, and we’ll work out the rest.”

“Thanks.”

“No, thank you for finally seeing that you need the help. I’ve been really worried about you. The other girls will be so happy when we tell them. In fact,” she checks her phone, “we should get going. We’re going to be late.”

“For what?”

“It’s hair day at Cici’s.”

“I can’t go to Cici’s. Nothing is ready for today.”

“Are you working alone?”

“No.”

“Then you can go. That other chick—I can never remember their names anymore, they come and go so fast—can handle things until dinner. Your roots need some serious attention.”

“They do?” I frown and touch my head. “Why didn’t anyone say something?”

“Because we have an appoint today,” she says with a grin.

“I’m going to be grilled.”

“Oh, for sure.”

I sigh and stand. “Let me make sure whatshername is really coming in today, and see if I’m needed for anything and then we can go.”

“Hurry.”

I roll my eyes and rush into the kitchen. Linda? Lisa? Liz? Shit, I can’t remember her name either, but she’s working.

“I have an appointment. Are you okay with this until dinner?”

She shrugs and looks around, nodding. “It should be fine. It’s just Monday. I can do this.”

“Are you sure?”

She rolls her eyes. “Mia. I can do this.”

I nod. “Okay. Thank you.”

I should stay. But I want to talk to my friends. I want to tell them about Camden, and get their opinions, and listen to their funny banter. So I take a deep breath, thank her again, and walk back out to find Cami waiting by the front door.

“Ready?”

“Let’s go.”

Cici’s new shop is within walking distance from Seduction. We arrive just about ten minutes later to find Addie already getting her hair balayaged, Kat sitting in a pedicure chair with her feet soaking, and Riley getting her eyebrows waxed.

“You’re here,” Addie says with a smile. “I was worried that you were going to back out of girl day.”

“I reminded her,” Cami says and sits in the pedicure chair next to Kat. I take the empty chair next to Addie and patiently wait for my turn in Cici’s chair.

Cici and Addie have been friends for years. Cici used to be Addie’s hair and makeup stylist when Addie was a fashion model. Now she lives in Portland with her family and has a very successful shop, which we take over at least once a month.

“Also,” Cami continues, “I am happy to report that Mia has agreed to hire another executive chef.”

“Really?” Kat asks.

“Yes. I’m tired, you guys.”

“You’ve been tired for two years,” Cici reminds me.

“I know. But I think it’s really caught up with me. And with the show, and our place only getting busier, I need the help. But I want someone amazing. So I’m going to have to do some headhunting.”

“You’ll find them,” Riley says after coming up from having her lip waxed. “And we’ll pay for them.”

“That’s what I said,” Cami replies. “I’m so proud of you for making this decision.”

The others nod in agreement. “I know I’m stubborn, and I should have made this move a year ago, but it’s important to me that everything is perfect. That our guests leave after having a wonderful experience. The recipes aren’t easy, and I just haven’t trusted that the people we’ve hired could do it as well as I would.”

“But it’s okay to have a life outside of work,” Addie says. “And maybe early on you were right to keep your own personal stamp on the menu. But we have a stellar reputation at this point, and I think it’s a good time to bring in another excellent chef.”

I nod, relieved that they also think it’s a good idea.

“Now that that’s resolved, spill it,” Kat says.

“Spill what?”

“Everything,” Riley adds. “Some of us know bits and pieces, but none of us knows everything, and it’s about time you let your best friends in on your history with Camden and what’s happening now.”

“Use all the naughty words,” Cami says with a nod.

I sigh and gather my thoughts. “Cami knows the history. Camden and I went to school together.”

I spend the next ten minutes filling them in on everything that happened when I was twenty. School, living together, the sex, the almost pregnancy and getting married.

Leaving him.

All of it.

“Wow,” Addie says with a sigh. “No wonder you freaked out when Riley said you’d be working with Camden.”