The Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #1)(34)

“I might as well tell you, since you are our partner and word is going to be out soon enough anyway. Cory and I are separating.” She didn’t go into why, and Paul didn’t need to know. His heart went out to her as he’d gone through a divorce himself and it was hard.

“I’m so sorry, Mandy. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I’ve been there.”

She smiled gratefully and he could see that her eyes were slightly red.

“Thank you, Paul. I appreciate that.”

As far as he was concerned, Mandy was better off without that guy, anyway. He didn’t know what Cory had done, but Paul didn’t like his attitude. He’d been in the restaurant a few times before with work colleagues and Paul heard from the waitstaff that Cory was a difficult customer. He was demanding and full of himself.

He spent a lot of money, though—expensive bottles of wine, after-dinner drinks, appetizers and dessert. Paul knew that Cory owned some kind of financial services company and made an obscene amount of money. There were a lot of those types on Nantucket.

Most of them had second homes on the island and visited them just a few weeks a year, but when they did, they expected to be catered to. Many of them hired personal chefs for their stay. Paul had worked a few of those gigs before he landed at Mimi’s Place. It was easy money being on call to cook whatever a rich family wanted—from peanut butter sandwiches to clambakes on the beach and elegant dinner parties. Some of the people were nice, but others were difficult and full of themselves, like Cory. Mandy seemed too down to earth and nice for someone like that.

“Okay, so I think we’re all set then?” Jill asked.

Mandy nodded. “I’ll start working on a plan for the event and run the details by you all in a few days.”

“And I’ll let you know some menu ideas soon, too.” Paul was looking forward to trying some new things and was excited to create a menu that would showcase what customers loved about Mimi’s Place along with some fresh new dishes.





Chapter 14





The next night, Jill worked the evening shift and was surprised when Macaulay Connor, the consultant Cory had hired, strolled in and took a seat at the bar. His dark brown hair was wavy and a little too long, but she’d always liked that look. As she walked toward him a hint of his cologne drifted her way, and it smelled really good. She set down a cocktail napkin in front of him.

“Nice to see you again. Would you like something to drink?”

He recognized her and smiled. “Hi, Jill. What do you suggest for a local IPA?”

“It’s Macaulay right?”

He nodded. “Yes, but call me Mac.”

“Okay, Mac. We have two local options from Cisco Brewers. Indie Pale Ale or Whale’s Tale.”

“I’ll try the Whale’s Tale.”

She returned with his beer and asked if he’d like to see a menu.

“Yes, I’m starving.”

Jill handed him a menu and ran through the specials. As soon as he heard short ribs, he said, “I’ll have that. It was excellent when I tried it before.”

“Anything else?”

He laughed. “No, one meal should do it tonight.”

Jill put his order in and went to take care of several new customers. The bar quickly grew busy as people started coming in and wanted drinks while they waited for their tables. When Mac’s short ribs came out from the kitchen, Jill set them in front of him and saw that his beer was almost empty.

“Would you like another?”

He nodded. “Sure, thanks.”

She checked to make sure his meal was to his liking and then left him alone to enjoy it. She didn’t like to bother people with chit chat while they were eating. And the bar was busy enough that she didn’t really have time to stop and chat, anyway.

There was a lull, though, when he finished, and she went to clear his plate.

“Did you save room for dessert?” She remembered that he seemed to enjoy all of their desserts.

“I’m pretty full, but it’s hard to pass up the tiramisu here. It’s one of the best I’ve had.”

“It really is good. It should be right out.”

Jill returned a few minutes later with his dessert and no one else needed her, so she decided to linger.

“Your job sounds great, getting paid to go out to eat at all different restaurants. How did you get into that?”

He grinned. “It doesn’t suck. I grew up working in restaurants, actually. My family owns Connor’s Grille in Manhattan.”

Jill’s jaw dropped. There were multiple locations for Connor’s Grille and it was one of her and Billy’s favorite places to take clients. It was similar to the Capital Grille, but they liked the environment better at Connor’s.

“I’ve been there many times. It’s our favorite place in the city for steak.”

“Thanks! I knew I wanted to do something food-related still. After I got my MBA, I joined a consulting firm that had a restaurant practice and it was a good fit.”

“My sister went through your report with us and there were some great suggestions. I knew you were finished, so I was surprised to see you here. Do you have another project on Nantucket?”

“No, but Nantucket is one of my favorite places, so I’m staying the rest of the week to take some vacation time and relax. It’s a nice time of year, not too crowded.”