Ella Frank - Exquisite

“You look happy.” she accused then looked around and then behind her. When she was satisfied they were alone she demanded, “Alright what happened and you need to tell me everything from the moment he dragged your drunk ass up those stairs.”

Lena grinned sat back in her chair and proceeded to tell Shelly every last scintillating detail and thought that for the first time in her life she was going to try and allow herself to enjoy the moment. She would deal with the guilt later tonight when she stopped by the flower shop.

On the other side of town Mason was not enjoying anything. Wendy had stormed into the staff meeting and sat down at one of the back tables. As Mason went through the slight staffing changes and menu additions he noticed she was glaring at him in a way that reminded him of Lena. She looked as though she wanted to strangle him. Rachel was sitting at one of the front tables filing her nails and once he was done everyone got up took the new menu and made their way to the kitchen. They would stay for another hour making sure everything was ready for tomorrow when they opened and then they’d head home. As the last of the staff trickled out to the kitchen Mason lifted a hand and motioned for Wendy to come forward.

“What’s wrong with you this morning?”

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked incredulously as she dug into her bag and pulled out a magazine. He recognized it as Delicious and winced wondering what’d been written for Wendy to be so pissed off.

“Have we or have we not been working our collective asses off for three years trying to establish this restaurant as number one in Chicago?”

Rachel was looking from Wendy to Mason then back to Wendy with a confused expression on her face then she nodded.

Mason nodded slowly as well. “Yes that has been our number one goal for the restaurant.”

Wendy let out a deep breath then tossed the magazine on the table in front of him. “Then perhaps you can explain to me what on earth happen on Friday night?” she paused as he reached out to pick the magazine up slowly. “Because as far as I understood it, our boss, the owner of this restaurant had told everybody not to screw up. It was vital to stay sharp and be professional!” she ended loudly.

As Mason flipped through the pages Rachel spoke up. “Did I miss something? Because I feel like I certainly missed something vital here.”

Wendy snapped her head around to face her. “What you missed was Mason’s new, whatever he calls her, go apeshit when an old girlfriend turned up and then lover boy over here ditched the most important interview of his life to chase some tail.”

Spinning back to Mason who was now staring at Wendy with a pissed off expression of his own she asked, “Isn’t that right? And you’re looking for page 23.”

Gritting his teeth Mason found the page and in large bold letters he read;

EXQUISITE. A TALENTED CHEF’S DREAM OR A PLAYBOY’S PLAYGROUND? By Peter Ryder

Oh shit . Wendy was right, what had he been thinking? This was not what he’d wanted his restaurant to be known for. He lifted a hand and rubbed his eyes. Then tried to swallow around the lump in his throat as he looked up at Rachel’s enquiring gaze and Wendy’s accusatory one.

Wendy shook her head then said in a tone that could only be called icy. “Well go ahead read it out loud for us all to hear.”

“Come on Wendy that’s enough.” Rachel muttered.

“No, he needs to know he just screwed us all.”

“I’m aware of that Wendy. Shit, do you really think I wanted that to happen the way it did? Were you not right there watching the whole thing turn to shit?” he asked through a clenched jaw. “I’ll read this, and I’ll admit to my mistakes but let me say this once and make it very clear. Do not refer to Lena as a piece of tail ever again.”

That seemed to register through Wendy’s anger and he saw Rachel bite her lip like she was a nervous child watching her parents fight.

“Go ahead Mase. Read it and get the damage over with.” Rachel spoke softly.

Taking a deep breath he cleared his throat and read;

Friday night and a crowd of people are lined up around the east side of an old warehouse building that houses the latest addition to Chicago’s restaurant district. People don’t seem to mind standing out in the cool air if it means getting the opportunity to come inside and dine on what has been named some of the finest cuisine to come out of chilly Chicago. Upon stepping inside this hidden gem you get the immediate feeling of old school jazz and a warmth that settles all the way down to the pit of your stomach. The atmosphere is electric and the music is soothing as the wait staff bustle from table to table .

“Well that doesn’t seem bad at all.” Rachel chimed in.

“Keep reading.” Wendy stated bluntly.

The decision to choose the lobster tail with the creamy butter sauce wasn’t a difficult one. Once I was seated waiting on my meal I got to enjoy the sounds of the greats, like Sinatra & Dean, while I sipped a fantastic cocktail from the bar. I’m delighted to tell you that when the lobster arrived it practically melted in my mouth. I chose a side of home style mashed potatoes that I’d been told were beyond compare and I’m thrilled to report that deduction was correct. Mixed through the fluffy white spuds were chives, garlic and a dash of paprika, this complimented the lobster and truly made for a mouthwatering experience.

“See they said your food was amazing Mase, that’s great.” Rachel tried again with a hint of desperation.

“Keep reading.”

It wasn’t until after my main course when things began to get extra delicious. We’ve all heard the whispers of the home town golden boy who worked his way through college and went on to study fine culinary cuisine abroad. However, it seems like the young Mason Langley may have picked up a thing or two in the ‘love them and leave them’ department from the French and the Italian’s. It seems that our highly respected entrepreneur is somewhat of a Casanova. It makes one start to wonder if his restaurant is a success due to fine cuisine or a pretty face with a playboy image. After all when a ravishing redhead and a buxom brunette are fighting over being #34 there must be more to this Head Chef than meets the eye. So in the end I give the dining experience 4 stars out of 5 but ladies I have a feeling you’ll be giving it a 5 for the ‘Exquisite’ experience, pardon the pun, and personal attention you’ll receive in Mason Langley’s high class restaurant.

Mason stopped reading and continued to stare at the article in front of him. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at the disappointment on the faces of the two women in front of him. Hell, he couldn’t even stand himself right this minute. How could he have been so utterly stupid? How could he have let himself get so caught up in the moment that he’d let all of their hard work go straight down the toilet because Lena O’Donnell had thrown one of her many temper tantrums? Closing his eyes he squeezed them tight thinking back to that night and how she’d cut him off at the knees in front of everyone, with little thought to what damage she may have or may not have been causing him and his own.

Sure, since then he’d hung out with her, laughed with her, come with her but right now he couldn’t even stand the thought of her. This was a huge mess and he’d really thought Peter fucking Ryder had overlooked the whole incident when he’d called him and asked him all about the menu. Stupid, he thought shaking his head then looking up at his girls. Yeah they were his girls. They’d been with him from the beginning of this whole endeavor and right now they were both looking at him like they wanted to punch him.