Chapter Ten
Eric
My phone rang justas I pulled into my parking space at the restaurant. I recognized the number from the night before. It was the owner of DeVille Staffing calling again, but why now?
"Hello, Mr. DeVille. What can I do for you this morning?"
"I need to meet with you today, Mr. Pierce. How does eleven-thirty sound?" he asked in a tone that said he expected me to make room in my schedule for him.
Why was this guy so interested in talking to me all of a sudden? Had someone reported Maddie to him for what she and I had been doing? Instantly, I hated that damn Antonio even more. That fucker had said something, hadn't he?
Glancing down at my watch, I saw it was almost quarter after eleven already. Whatever he had to say, he sure was in a hurry to get it out.
"Okay. I'll be at my restaurant. Feel free to stop by anytime."
In a serious voice, he said, "I'll be there at eleven-thirty sharp."
Fifteen minutes later, I looked up from my desk and saw him standing in my office doorway looking even more somber than the first time I'd met with him. His steely eyes stared directly at me, and something about that goatee he wore made him appear menacing.
I stood and extended my arm to welcome him in. "Mr. DeVille, please take a seat. What can I help you with?"
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he began as he sat down in front of my desk. "I thought it would be best to tell you in person as telling someone this kind of thing over the phone seems far too impersonal. We at DeVille Staffing strive to offer the most personal service around."
"Bad news?" I asked.
Now I was sure someone had reported Maddie to him. Fucking driver! Well, I had no intentions of letting her be reprimanded for being with me. If there was blame to be assigned, I had to take at least half of it, but I wasn't ashamed of what had happened between us, so if he was there to say we'd done something wrong, he'd get an earful from me.
He drew in his dark eyebrows so they looked like angry black slashes. "I'm afraid Maddie is going to have to end her time as your cook, Mr. Pierce. I'll be calling her right after we finish here and letting her know. I'm sorry things didn't work out, but I can assure you that we'll have a replacement out to your house by tomorrow at the latest."
I sat there stunned at his words, and before I could respond, he stood to leave. "Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Pierce, and again, I do apologize."
He began to walk away, but I needed answers about this whole thing. "Wait! Why are you forcing her to leave? She's done a fine job, so what's the problem?"
Frowning, he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't divulge that information, Mr. Pierce. I assure you that we will have a new cook for you no later than tomorrow, so you won't suffer much inconvenience. I appreciate that this might seem like a bit of an upheaval in your household, but your patience will be rewarded, I assure you."
"Why won't you at least give me a chance to explain? Maddie isn't the only one to blame here. We did nothing wrong, but I think I deserve the chance to put everything in context," I said, practically pleading with him as he continued on his way out of my office.
He didn't answer, and by the time I caught up to him in the hallway leading to the front door, he was speaking to someone on the phone. Grabbing the sleeve of his black suit coat, I stopped him, but he waved me away.
"I'm sorry, but I have to take this call, Mr. Pierce."
"I don't want Maddie to leave, Mr. DeVille. I'm quite happy with her as my cook, so whatever's happened, I'm sure it can all be cleared up and she can stay."
"I'm sorry, but it's been decided. As I said, it won't be too much of an inconvenience since we'll make sure to have someone to replace her at your house by tomorrow. It's only a cook, Mr. Pierce."
He walked out of the building as I stood there in shock. Maddie wasn't only a cook. In fact, she wasn't a cook at all, but that didn't matter. I didn't want her to leave.
I raced back to my office and called the house, but Magda didn't know where Maddie was and hadn't seen her all morning. Frustrated, I stared at my cell phone in disgust that I didn't even have her number. Then again, since we'd only known each other for a week and she lived at my house, I never thought to ask for it.
"Ancho just called and said he might be late for his shift tonight. Something about his car needing new tires. Or maybe he said someone stole his tires. I'm not really sure. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention."
Lifting my head, I saw Jack standing in the doorway to my office. "What are you talking about?"
"Our sous chef Ancho? You remember him? He might be late for work tonight. What's up with you, Eric? You look like you just got the news someone died. Did someone die?"
It felt like someone died. My body ached as if I'd been punched in the gut. "Nobody died."
"Then what the fuck is wrong? Should I be worried? You look pretty bad, man."