Tasteless Read Online Free PDF Page B

he really didn’t care what she thought, he also wasn’t looking to prove her right about the reputation that preceded him.  It would probably give her the platform to make even more unfounded assumptions about him, making his time at his new job unnecessarily miserable.
    Back in Mike’s office, Sam drafted a wish list of all the items he wanted first access to.  There were the peach-pink beets and the strawberries and rhubarb, the purple cabbage and the crepe-husked tomatillos.  He watched as Rye pursed her lips, expressing her disapproval of his deviation from their usual list.  But he was feeling optimistic and hoping her silence was indicative of a desire to compromise.  God knows they’d need that to get everything done.
    ~
    Through the week, Rye watched as Sam charmed vendor after vendor into giving them deals and discounts.  At Battensby Creamery, Sam helped the widowed Dottie Battensby hand-churn some fresh cream and in doing so, somehow rekindled the old woman’s libido.  To Rye’s horror, sweet old Dottie had a secret penchant for dirty double entendres. They left the creamery with Dottie promising to add a few new cheeses to her collection in order to fulfill Sam’s wish list, citing how pleasurable she found “experimentation.”
    At Stanley Pastures, Sam managed to convince Beth Stanley that they would be taking the grass-finished beef tenderloins to experiment with a steak tartare dish instead of the more economical grain-finished chuck roast that Rye had requested.  Rye was pretty sure that any customer could appreciate the classic flavors of her grandfather’s red wine beef stew, but Sam insisted the restaurant could benefit from a signature tartare and that he would be honored to have Beth as “a complicit partner in that endeavor.”  Even the maturity and composure of middle age couldn’t keep Beth from falling prey to Sam’s husky request and bedroom eyes.  Rye was dismayed when she returned to the diner to discover her roast had been replaced with the tenderloins.
    Even the straight as an arrow and hyper-masculine Donald McDougal found himself falling for Sam’s charm, opting to carve him the custom cutting boards he wanted when Rye insisted the ones they had back at the restaurant were perfectly fine and that replacing them would be a direct insult to her family.
    “I don’t like going against a young girl’s request,” Donald had said, his voice serious and gruff as he looked at Sam with eyes pleading for him to reconsider.  But Sam stood his ground and the next thing she knew, she was helping him carry his brand new cutting boards back to the car.
    Rye had never given much thought to her charm and charisma, but seeing Sam’s power over people made her suddenly aware of her own lack of both.  She supposed she had never truly needed to be particularly charming or charismatic, especially since she had always preferred to keep to herself and others at bay.  Besides, all the elderly regulars at Somerville Diner liked her just fine without her having to force a fake persona to get her way.  She didn’t have to resort to Sam’s tactics.
    But after a week of being witness to the conquering of Jamie Martelli, Dottie Battensby, Beth Stanley, and Donald McDougal, Rye was beginning to question her power in the overall handling of the restaurant.  Perhaps she should make more of an effort to be personable or at the very least, say something kind and flattering like Sam seemed to do so often.  But Rye knew there was just a little more to it than charm and flattery.  Sam was a shameless flirt.  Even with Donald, he had been surprisingly touchy and playful.  And Donald had responded positively, despite being just a hair on the homophobic side.
    Rye knew she had some sort of charm in her, but she wasn’t sure she could flirt.  She had tried and failed in her pursuit of Jeremy and didn’t even bother in her first and only short-lived relationship, back in her equally short-lived