“Zoe?” Julia smiled. “She’ll love the challenge. I’ll call her now.”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and punched in Zoe’s direct line. After two rings, Zoe answered. “Jules. Everything okay?”
“So far so good today. Although it’s only eleven A.M. I have a project for you, if you’re interested and have time to do it.”
She described what she needed, and excitement bubbled in Zoe’s voice as she said, “Hell, yes, I’m interested. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Don’t start without me.”
Ending the call, Julia slid her phone back into her pocket and smiled at Nico. “She’s on her way. She’s sure she can get into the system, check it out and be gone by the time Delia arrives.”
Nico nodded. “Perfect. Another step forward.” He looked around the empty kitchen and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Now for another problem.”
Julia groaned. “Like I don’t have enough of them already?”
“This one is fairly easy. I don’t want you in here alone, but it would be very strange for the new busser to be hanging around before he starts working. I have an idea, but do you have any thoughts?”
Julia frowned. “Not off the top of my head. What are you thinking?”
“As far as a reason for me being here before my shift starts, maybe you could pass the word that you’ve hired me to do some extra cleaning. That way, when I’m here when Delia and the line chefs arrive, and when Carole and the servers and bussers arrive, it would seem normal. Harmless.”
Julia nodded slowly. “Laundry. There’s always a ton of laundry, and we scramble to get it done. The cook’s uniforms, the towels we use in the kitchen, the napkins, the tablecloths, all have to be laundered every day. A lot of restaurants use a service, but my margins are too tight for that right now.” She smiled, pleased with the idea. “Delia and I have been doing the laundry, but that would be a perfect reason for you to get here early.”
“Great. I like that. I know my way around laundry, but you can go over your protocols with me. That works on a couple of levels. I told Carole I wanted to work as much as possible because I need the money.”
She nodded and looked at Nico. He was staring back at her. Neither of them looked away, and like a rubber band pulled taut, she leaned closer to Nico. As their gazes held and locked, it pulled tighter and tighter, inexorably drawing them together.
She sucked in a breath, her gaze dropping to his mouth. She waited for that rubber band to yank her against Nico. Hoped that it would.
How would Nico taste? How would he touch her? She couldn’t wait to find out.
A sharp knock on the back door broke the spell. She swallowed once. “That must be Zoe.”
Nico stepped in front of her and opened the door. Studying him for a moment, Zoe nodded once and brushed past him. “Jules,” she said, reaching to hug her friend. Then she stepped back and studied Nico. “You must be Mel’s best operative,” she said.
“Why do you say that?” he asked with a tiny frown. “We’re all pretty good.”
“Because I told Mel to put her best person on this job,” Zoe said with a grin. “I hope you live up to my expectations.”
“I think I can get the job done,” he said. He kept a straight face, but Julia caught the tiny twitch of his lips.
“Zoe, this is Nico,” Julia said.
Nodding at Nico, Zoe said, “Okay, Jules, let’s take a look at your system. Walk me through how you use it and what it does.”
Fifteen minutes later, after scribbling notes on the legal pad she pulled out of her messenger bag, Zoe dropped the yellow pad into her bag. “Got it. I think I can do this pretty easily -- it’s not a complicated problem. How to you access the functions of the system? How do the servers do it, for instance?”
“They all have a number, which they have to enter when they put in an order.”
“And what about when you want to switch out a menu item, or add a daily special, or change a price?”
“Only Delia and I can do that. We enter our passwords, then make the change.”
Zoe frowned. “Can you do that from your computer, as well? Without touching the display in the restaurant?”
“Yes, I can, but for the daily special, for example, I do that through the terminal. I don’t use my computer unless I’m changing a lot of items.”
“How about when you change your password?” Zoe asked. “Do you make that change at the terminal, or from your computer?”
“I do that from my computer. More secure. No one looking over my shoulder,” Julia said.