Plantation Underworld, page 21
Pierre told her he was very excited about her plans. She told him they would have to be careful about where they were seen. By spending more time with him, she could decide if she wanted him to return to Becksley with her. Richard took her to the airport; she was on her way.
Ellen seemed to be doing very well. She was living a reasonably healthy life with plenty of social activities and hobbies. Sara was pleased she was not sitting at home, lost without Tim. Ellen still missed him desperately, but she was determined to stay active and enjoy life as much as she could. She and several other ladies planned to go on an Alaskan cruise in July. Sara was so happy for her. Her dad travelled so much for business; he preferred staying close to home for the few vacations they took. Sunday afternoon, Sara hugged her mom goodbye and got into a taxi. Of course, Ellen thought Sara was going to the airport, but she went to the hotel.
Sara settled into her room. She booked a water-view studio at the Waterfront Inn. She figured that would be safe since her mother never frequented the area. It was within walking distance of nice restaurants and bars. If necessary, she would make arrangements for a rental car she could turn in at the airport when she actually did leave.
She thought it was early enough to catch Pierre at home, so she called him.
“I was just leaving to go to work,” he told her. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the Waterfront Inn,” She told him. “I can’t come to you at work because my mother thinks I left.”
“That place is beautiful,” he remarked. “You can walk around, go to the beach or the pool. I’ll come when I finish work. What room are you in?”
“I’m 234 overlooking the water.”
“Excellent,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Not soon enough,” she replied.
Sara wasn’t hungry, and she didn’t feel like walking around. She decided to take a bubble bath and then a nap. She put in a wake-up call for 8:00 p.m.
Pierre arrived at the hotel around nine fifteen. “It’s wonderful to see you,” he said. “I would like to scoop you up into my arms, but I do not want to scare you.”
She moved closer to him and threw her arms around him. After a long embrace, she leaned her head back and then moved into his face for a kiss.
“I dreamed about this for months,” he told her. “It is better than my dream.”
“I knew you would kiss well,” she told him. “You’re French.” They both laughed.
“Let’s go to listen to some soft music,” he suggested. “Do you like to dance?”
“I’m not much on the dance floor.”
“Well, I am sure you are good at slow dance,” he said. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since this morning.”
He took her to the Capri Lounge and Restaurant about ten miles away. They had a nice dinner and slow danced to soft music played by a mellow trio. But mostly, they talked.
Pierre asked Sara how her mother was doing, and she found that to be incredibly thoughtful.
She asked him about work.
“It pays my bills,” he said. “Every day I look for other opportunities that would be more suited to me. I found nothing so far.”
“You’ll find something soon,” she assured him. “Let’s spend the next ten days getting to know each other, and we’ll see where this goes.”
“I know where I want to go with you right now,” he said. “I want to be completely alone with you. I will not do anything you do not want. I just want to hold you and fall asleep with you.”
They picked up a couple bottles of wine on the way back to the hotel. When they got there, they sat on the balcony and sipped wine as they watched the lights twinkle on the water. After a while, Sara went in and put on an elegant nightgown and invited Pierre to join her in bed. She hoped he didn’t want to have sex, but if it happened, so be it.
65
Over the next several days, Sara enjoyed learning about Pierre and getting to know him. She lost herself in the whirlwind romance of it all. She had never experienced anything like this. She shared all the ins and outs of the Horse and Carriage Tavern and described the history of the Plantation. She had even given him a magazine that had a lengthy article on the lifestyle of the James River Plantations. On their last night together, she finally asked him if he would like to come to Virginia to be with her and help her run her restaurant.
“I will only come if I can be an owner with you,” he told her. “I don’t want to be your employee. I want to be your partner.”
“I will need some time to make that happen,” she explained. “If you come, I will make the proposal to the Plantation owner once you’re there for about a month or two. Please trust me on this. You can stay with me.”
Pierre agreed to give his two-week notice to Leftovers. Sara gave him the money for a plane ticket. “Just let me know when your flight is, and I’ll pick you up at the airport,” she said.
When she returned to Becksley and the Tavern, she only told Drew and Laura about Pierre’s expected arrival. They both knew this wasn’t going to sit well with Jack MacMilner. He was still upset with her about Harry.
When it got closer to Pierre’s arrival time, Sara told the kitchen staff about him. “Nothing much is going to change,” she told them. “It will be a great help to have him here for the summer business. I’m sure all of you will get along fine with him. I doubt he’ll try to change what we do. At best, he’ll probably add some of his signature seafood dishes to the dinner menu and maybe he’ll add one lunch item.”
“Where did he study?” Rhonda asked.
“He studied in France,” Sara replied. “But he worked here in the States, mostly in Florida.”
“We’ll see about this shit,” Rhonda mumbled.
Richard spoke up and said it was all fine with him. “I can work with anyone,” he said.
The sisters shrugged their shoulders and quietly said to each other, “We’ll still be here when he’s gone too.”
After six weeks or so, Pierre grew impatient. He did nothing to change the menu or even add to it. He left the food ordering to Rhonda and he basically performed as a line cook.
Sara begged him to be patient for one more month. “Once September gets here, things will slow down, and you’ll have a chance to put your mark on the menu,” she told him. “Right now, it’s too busy to go into a new direction.”
“I will not share my expertise or improve upon anything until I become a partner,” he replied. “I want a legal document showing that I am an owner.”
She told him September would also be the best time to approach Jack MacMilner in putting Pierre’s name on the lease and listing him as an owner. She would also have an attorney draw up the proper papers to form a partnership with him. She needed Jack’s approval, though, because once that was done, she would need to apply for a new liquor license with Pierre’s name on it.
Sara knocked on Jack’s office door. “I don’t know if you noticed that I have a new chef at the Tavern,” she said.
“Yeah, I noticed,” he replied. “Someone said he’s French.”
“That’s right,” Sara said. “But he is an American citizen and has lived in the States most of his life.”
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked. “I want to make him my business partner and put him on the lease and the liquor license,” she answered.
He slammed his hand down on the desk. “Absolutely not! Didn’t you learn your lesson with that Harry guy? The answer is no. I’ve put up with a lot of nonsense from you. For the last three years, you’ve been on a month-to-month lease. I swear I’ll terminate it if you try to pull this on me and I’ll see to it that you don’t get a liquor license. Hire him, sleep with him, support him, I don’t care. He will not be any kind of owner of any business located on this plantation.”
Sara had never seen Jack this angry with her or anyone. She shook it off and braced herself as she prepared to tell Pierre. For the time being, she told him that Jack was thinking about it and would get back to her.
She called Laura to tell her about Jack’s response to her request.
“What are you going to do?” Laura asked.
“I was hoping you could give me some good advice,” Sara replied. “I’m pretty sure he’ll leave once he finds out that he has no chance of ownership of the Tavern.”
“We didn’t even get a chance to meet him,” Laura joked. “This might be one of your shortest relationships yet.”
“Yeah, short and sweet,” Sara said. “I sure know how to pick them. I’m well aware that the only reason he wants to be with me is because I own a restaurant and he wants to get ahold of a big piece of it.”
“I’m sure he wanted a relationship with you,” Laura said. “Didn’t you say he was the most romantic guy you’ve ever known?”
“That was when he thought he could charm his way into ownership,” she replied. “That spark fizzled a good while back. Honestly, I’m rather bored with him now anyway. He did come in handy during the busy summer, though.”
“Another one bites the dust,” Laura said as she chuckled. “You need to stop bringing these guys back from Florida. Isn’t that where you found Harry?”
“It is. But that was in the Keys. Jupiter is more upscale.” The two of them burst into laughter at that statement.
After lunch service the next day, Sara told Pierre to go on to the house ; she would be there shortly. She told Drew and Richard about Jack’s decision and told them she planned to tell Pierre later that evening.
“I can go with you if you need me to,” Richard said. “Do you think he’ll get violent?”
“I doubt it,” Sara said. “But that might not be a bad idea. Let’s close up here, bring some food, and you can have dinner with us.”
Drew offered to go with as well, and Sara accepted his offer.
The three of them got to the house and found Pierre cleaning up the kitchen.
“We have company for dinner,” Sara said. “I have news for you. Jack MacMilner will not let me make you a partner. He has control over my lease and the liquor license. I’m so sorry.”
“I left my job and Florida for nothing?” he snapped. “You promised me ownership of your restaurant. I trusted you.”
“I’m just as disappointed as you are,” she assured him. “There is nothing I can do about it. I would lose everything if I tried to fight this. Try to understand that Jack MacMilner is a powerful man.”
“What am I to do now?” he asked.
“You can stay here and be with me and continue to work at the restaurant and be paid well,” Sara said.
“That is not enough,” he said. “I expected more.”
“That’s all I can offer you.”
After continued discussion they decided to part ways. Pierre packed his things. Sara gave him his wages in cash and enough money for a hotel room in Richmond and an airline ticket to Florida. Drew took him to the Airport Hyatt where he could get transportation to the airport. Richard helped Sara clean up the kitchen and headed home. Sara sauntered over to Jake’s place to get something to ease her tension, and she hoped she could hang around a while.
66
About two weeks later, Jack and Nate walked into the Tavern. Sara was working that day.
“Can we get some lunch?” Jack asked.
“Of course, you can,” Sara replied.
“It looks like we’re the only ones here,” he said. “Where is everyone?”
“You know it’s not busy this time of year,” Sara said. “It won’t pick up until late next month at Thanksgiving.”
“So does that mean you can join us?” Jack asked.
“I’ll sit with you when you’re finished with lunch,” Sara told him.
Before she sat down, Sara served them another round of beverages and treated herself to a glass of wine.
“I don’t do this often, so enjoy the moment,” the old man began. “I’m sorry for being so harsh with you over the Frenchman. I must be very careful about who I allow to conduct business on this plantation.”
Sara chuckled to herself thinking about Jake’s side business going on right under his nose. “I understand,” Sara said. “I’m over it. I do really need to find someone trustworthy to help me run this place. I’m more of a creative, artsy person. Even after all these years, I still don’t know the business end of things. I don’t know how to cost out a menu so I can make efficient food and beverage purchases. Year after year, it seems I run out of money even though I average a good amount of business. My bills don’t go down during the slow times.”
“Your food purchases and your payroll should,” Jack told her. “You should be putting away money during the busy times to pay your bills during the slow months and to pay your taxes.”
“I’m doing something wrong,” she said. “My flower business is suffering because I have to be here at least three days a week. I’ll have to hire another chef before next month so any extra money I make when it gets busy will go to him or her. I feel like it’s a vicious cycle.”
“We can ask around about a chef,” Nate said. “Just try to stop bringing them here from Florida.”
Sara couldn’t help but laugh. “My friend Laura said the same thing,” she said.
Just after mid-October, Sara had three candidates for a chef. The résumé that stood out to her most was from Mitchell MacDaniel. It stated that he studied with internationally renowned chefs in California and that he worked at a few of the premier restaurants in Williamsburg and Richmond. Years ago, he worked at Arrowhead Meadows Tavern when it first opened.
“Why do you want to work here?” Sara asked him.
“I’ve always felt that the Horse and Carriage Tavern has tremendous potential. I am familiar with the area extending from Richmond to Williamsburg. I have history here in George City County. I am confident that I can bring this establishment to new levels and will enjoy great prosperity with you. My wife and I have owned restaurants, I know how to make a profit, but we no longer wish to own a restaurant, so I feel I can make an immediate contribution to the success of the Horse and Carriage Tavern.”
“That sounds like exactly what I need,” Sara said. “I’d like to be able to concentrate on my flower shop and get that running again.”
They discussed salary. Mitchell requested that Sara include health insurance benefits for him and his wife.
“I’m not sure I can afford that,” Sara replied. “We don’t really get busy until later this month.”
“I have several special events that I can bring to the table,” he stated. “Plus, once word gets out that I am here, your business will increase.”
Sara reluctantly agreed to his terms. She introduced him to the staff and made plans to have him prepare dinner to introduce him to the MacMilners and just a few key people this time around.
It was a small gathering that included Jack and Gloria MacMilner, Nate and Janie, Conrad Carson and a plus-one, and Dollie and Jonas Brossard. Jack MacMilner insisted Sara invite the Murrays as well. Added to the list was Laura and Dan Stevens and a few couples from Hopeville who had booked events and come in for dinner on occasion. She also asked her sister Brenda to come. Nate’s only request was that if there was to be more than one table that he be seated at a different table from the Murrays. She placed him at the table with Laura and Dan. She and Brenda sat at the table with Jack and Gloria.
It was a set menu starting with a tomato fennel bisque followed by a chopped salad with romaine, tomato, avocado, cucumber, blue cheese, bacon, and buttermilk herb dressing. Guests were given a choice of miso-glazed salmon that came with brown rice and blistered green beans or filer mignon with roasted garlic whipped potatoes, grilled asparagus, and rosemary demi-glace. For dessert, Mitchell offered Key lime pie and espresso crème brûlée.
Once dinner was finished and the tables cleared, Sara brought Mitchell out for his introduction. He received positive feedback for the meal. He was disappointed he didn’t get rave reviews for his efforts. The guests complimented Sara on a lovely evening without expressing a great amount of enthusiasm for the food. Nevertheless, Sara had high hopes that the Tavern was headed in the right direction.
On the way home, Laura commented to Dan that the meal sounded impressive but tasted mediocre at best. She did say the desserts were excellent, though. “There is something not right about him,” she said. “He doesn’t have trustworthy eyes. I’m probably wrong. I hope he works out well for Sara.”
As promised, Mitchell booked several additional special events between Thanksgiving and Memorial Day. The Fortis College Ball, however, did not go as well as it had in past years.
“I’m not sure why the menu changed,” Edward Raleigh told Sara .
“Our new chef thought the menu was too repetitive year after year, so he decided to offer a menu he considered a positive change.”
“That might be appropriate if the attendees were the same every year. The students that attend are different,” he stated. “As for the few faculty members that come each year, well, we look forward to the elegant Southern cuisine you’ve offered over the years.”
Sara assured him she would convey his concerns to Mitchell and promised that their preferred menu would be put back in place. Mr. Raleigh agreed to book the event for next year, but he didn’t give Sara the usual bonus she came to expect.
Rhonda was in the kitchen when Sara discussed Mr. Raleigh’s preferences for next year.
“I told you they wanted Southern food for this,” Rhonda remarked. “Not everyone likes the West Coast bullshit you’re trying to peddle around here.”
“Let’s not argue,” Sara interceded. “I don’t want to lose this event, so we’re going to give Fortis what they want. As for dinner service, I handwrite the menus every week and make copies at the main-house office. We need to get along here and get ready for a busy Mother’s Day.”
