“I’m asking for next Saturday off, yes.” With my arms crossed, I stood with a blank expression on my face and waited for him to respond.
“Get a load of hot shit Sutton, guys. She wants Saturday off, our busiest day.” He laughed, clutching his swollen gut as his dark eyes glared at me. “Do you have a fancy Hollywood party to go to where you pretend you and only you are responsible for the delicious confections that come out of my kitchen?”
“Since this is Las Vegas, no, no Hollywood party.” The rest of that statement didn’t warrant a response. Though Vegas had its own over the top culinary flair, Landry pretended like this was New York in the eighties. The only cutthroat person around was him, but his toxic personality turned the culinary press against him. And he was powerless to change it because he saw himself as flawless.
“I hear Dinah and Dean have booked a table for Saturday, I should call and let them know it’s not my dessert they’ll be eating,” I said.
“Absolutely not! Worried they’ll like my food better than yours?” he taunted like the sniveling little shit bastard he was. “Let’s see what they have to say.” Meaning he would lay the blame on me when they hated it.
“Sure,” I told him easily because the truth was, one of their production assistants had already called and I let it slip. Totally accidentally, of course. “So, next Saturday?”
He was already distracted, probably thinking of all the desserts
he could fuck up and blame on me. “Yeah, sure. Take it off.”
I turned on my heels with a smile, walking away quickly before he remembered he changed his mind. My shift was over and I was ready to go home and put my feet up. Landry had me come in early to help with egg whites but I knew he really wanted to punish me for getting another mention from a critic. It was nice, but none of it really mattered because when I left Knead for good, I’d still need a recommendation from Landry.
I stopped just inside the exit to send a quick text to Teddy, letting her know she could count me among the guests for Jana and Max’s upcoming wedding. Now I had to find a dress and shoes and all that other crap that went along with dressing up, since the last time I dressed up it was to put my brother’s body in the ground. I wasn’t about to wear a funeral dress to a wedding.
The temperature had been in the high eighties all day, making the kitchen even hotter than the ten million ovens going at once. Now that the sun was so close to the horizon, the weather and the view was just about perfect. The light breeze whipped through my red V-neck tee, cooling my damp skin underneath. Cool air smacked against my nipples and just like that, I was back there, the night I buried Ammo, with Savior’s mouth closed around one stiff peak, staring at me with that wicked smile I couldn’t resist. Especially not in the thick of my grief over losing my older brother. My protector.
Even in my haze I made it to my car without being assaulted or accosted by anyone. Then a fucking brick came sailing through the back window, luckily, on the passenger side.
“Son of a bitch!”
I looked over my shoulder just in time to see some asshole in a hoodie running away. I didn’t know who it was, but I knew what he wanted.
To send a message.
Yeah, yeah. They wanted my skill at counting cards. I got it. Too bad they couldn’t have it. I put the car in drive and made my way home. I still hadn’t figured out what to do about Krissy and her thugs, but I would. And then this shit would stop.
“Hey, Mandy!”
I froze at the unfamiliar voice, clutching my keys between my fingers as I turned and stepped back.
“Oh, shit, Teddy. What’s up?”
“Not as enthusiastic as I was hoping for, but we’ll work on it. Shopping. I figured you probably wanted to do some shopping for San Diego and I came as support.”
“Who said I needed support?”
“Oh please. We both know you’ll go into the first boutique you find, grab something black or maybe plain blue you can wear again and again. I can help without taking all day.”
I was still skeptical. I liked Teddy just fine, yet, the last thing I wanted was to spend more time shopping.
Then, she sweetened the offer. “I’ll buy you a burger and a beer after.”
One look at her welcoming smile and my resistance melted in the Vegas sun. “Sold.”
She flashed a satisfied grin. “Good. I’ll wait until you’ve had a drink or two before I ask you what the hell happened to your window.” I groaned and she just laughed. “I’ll even let you take a shower first.”
“Wow, Teddy, and they say models are mean.”
She laughed at my deadpan delivery. “I’m a former model so maybe I’m losing my edge.”
“Yeah, right. You’re the type of chick born with an edge.” She was confident and tough, beautiful but not all in your face about it.
“Nah. Trust me, it was hard earned.”