“You know what I mean. I’ll be using them for special orders.”
“Fair enough.”
She studied the notes on her pad. What else was there to discuss? She looked at him. “Did you have…” She frowned, catching his puzzled stare. “What?”
He took a step back. “Nothing.”
“You have the weirdest look on your face. What are you thinking about?”
“I said nothing.”
“It has to be something.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Cal swore silently. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten caught staring at a woman’s chest. What did he care about Penny’s parts?
He didn’t. He hadn’t in years. It was just…she looked different. There was an air of confidence he didn’t remember. That could have come from her recent success. But there was also the issue of her breasts.
They were bigger. He was sure of it. He dropped his gaze to her chest, then looked away. Yup, bigger. Her sweater hugged her curves before falling to just below her waist. He’d been married to her, had seen her naked countless times. While he’d always liked her body, she’d complained about being too boyish. All angles and lines. Her breasts had been small. But now…
They were bigger. How could that happen? Oh, sure, he knew about implants, but Penny wasn’t thetype, was she? And if she was willing to have surgery to increase her cleavage, wouldn’t she have gone for more than a cup size?
He shook his head and told himself to think of something else. He was the cofounder of a multimillion-dollar corporation and in charge of a good-sized restaurant. He was also over thirty. Surely he could get through the rest of the meeting without obsessing over his ex-wife’s breasts.
“Who are you bringing with you?” he asked to change the subject. “You said two people.”
“Edouard, my sous-chef, and Naomi.”
He swore. “No.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me, but you don’t get a vote. She helps me. Naomi handles things for me and she’s the best expediter in the business. We’ll need that when we get busy.”
He knew that a good expediter was worth any price when the restaurant was swamped. Someone had to get plates out to tables, making sure the various parties were all served the right food at the right time. The expediter was usually loyal to the back of the store, while helping out in the front. The expediter knew everything that was going on in both places and could keep the chef in the loop.
“How do you know we’re going to be that busy?” he asked. “It takes time to build up a clientele.”
She smiled. “Hey, it’s me. They’ll come.”
“Talk about my ego,” he grumbled.
“No, thanks.”
She went down her list and brought up severalmore items. “I’ll be paying my cooks really well, so brace yourself.”
“I have a budget.”
“And a restaurant with a reputation for serving horrible food. You’re only here for four months, Cal. I know what that means. You want to dazzle, then get out. I’m fine with that, but dazzle don’t come cheap.”
“Keep it reasonable.”
“I’ll do what it takes.”
He liked that she pushed back. She’d come into her own.
“Let’s meet on Monday and see where we are,” he said. “Say noon?”
“I’ll be here, holding interviews. Come by when it’s convenient.” She put down her pad. “I’m going to stay and look over the kitchen.”
“You have the keys. Just lock up when you’re ready to go.”
“Sure.” She smiled and turned away, which put her in profile. His gaze dropped to her breasts. What the hell was up with that?
A FTER HIS MEETING with Penny, Cal returned to his office at the headquarters of The Daily Grind. He’d nearly cleared up everything for his four-month absence, but there were a few final details.
He made his way to his office and checked his messages. His assistant would contact him directly at The Waterfront if anything came up while he was gone and he would have biweekly meetings with his partners