used yesterday. “Get something like this. Order it online. I’ll show you where. You can use this crappy stuff for now.”
Now she’d begun to understand what Darcy meant. She sharpened the crappy knife regularly, every time she saw Darcy sharpening hers. It turned dull with astonishing speed. The handle was already cracked.
Joe still smiled at her every morning, but he hadn’t come back to the farm again. She told herself she wasn’t surprised or disappointed. After all, he had an important job that took a lot of his time. He couldn’t hang out with the chicken lady.
She still missed him, though, which was slightly weird since they hadn’t had anything close to a friendship.
Todd Fairley continued to ignore her existence as much as he could. She’d memorized the contents of the freezer so that she could find the packets of fresh pasta and frozen sauce that were stored there within seconds, and by now she spent so much time in the cooler that she already knew what was in there. As long as she kept the chefs going, Fairley apparently considered her invisible.
On Thursday, however, Fairley showed she wasn’t entirely invisible yet. He arrived after the breakfast rush with a tall, skinny guy in a Godflesh T-shirt and baseball cap. His greasy brown hair stood out in what looked like one of the last mullets in the Hill Country. Joe followed them into the kitchen. He didn’t look entirely happy.
“Okay, everybody, listen up,” he called. “This is Kevin Dietz. He’s on prep. He’ll be a runner for dinner. Got it?”
Darcy gave Kevin a long look. “Is he prep chef?”
Joe shook his head. “Assistant.”
“Like MG?” Darcy nodded in her direction. MG was a little surprised to find out Darcy remembered her name.
Joe shook his head again. “He’s had some experience. You won’t have to train him.”
Darcy gave Kevin a long look. “Experience where?”
“A lot of places around here,” Fairley snapped. “Don’t worry about it. He’s qualified.” He gave MG a look that seemed to indicate he couldn’t say the same about her.
“Just tell me what you need, baby. I’ll get it done for you.” Kevin’s voice was a smoker’s rumble. He gave Darcy a smirk that might have worked if he’d been ten years younger.
Darcy narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
“Okay, everybody, back to work,” Fairley called.
MG glanced at Joe. He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t look like he was going to do anything about it either.
It was sort of galling to realize that Kevin Dietz actually knew his stuff. He could produce a mountain of onion twice as fast as MG, even after she’d been doing it for a week. His carrot chopping was a thing of beauty. He could strip the stems off a bunch of parsley in the time it took MG to undo the twist tie holding it together. He was, in fact, a superlative prep guy.
He was also an asshole. That was clear after his first ten minutes in the kitchen. He kept up a constant flow of talk, mostly concerned with his sexual prowess and predilections. The cooks ignored him. MG tried her best to do the same. She noticed that Darcy gave her tasks that allowed her to work on the other side of the kitchen, for which she was profoundly grateful. Just being around Dietz made her feel like she should wash her hands.
She succeeded in sidestepping him until late one afternoon when she was hurrying to get the greens done. She bent over the sink to siphon out the last few leaves as Dietz walked by. He half turned and grasped her buttocks in both hands. “Mmm,” he muttered in her ear. “Good buns, mama.”
MG came upright in a spray of rinse water, her hands already balled in fists. “You lousy fucking asshole,” she snarled, aiming one fist at his ear.
Dietz jumped out of the way, grinning. “Whoa, pretty feisty there, mama. Just the way I like it.”
“What’s the problem?” Fairley’s voice behind her made her jump. She whirled to see him watching her with a flat gaze.
MG
Now she’d begun to understand what Darcy meant. She sharpened the crappy knife regularly, every time she saw Darcy sharpening hers. It turned dull with astonishing speed. The handle was already cracked.
Joe still smiled at her every morning, but he hadn’t come back to the farm again. She told herself she wasn’t surprised or disappointed. After all, he had an important job that took a lot of his time. He couldn’t hang out with the chicken lady.
She still missed him, though, which was slightly weird since they hadn’t had anything close to a friendship.
Todd Fairley continued to ignore her existence as much as he could. She’d memorized the contents of the freezer so that she could find the packets of fresh pasta and frozen sauce that were stored there within seconds, and by now she spent so much time in the cooler that she already knew what was in there. As long as she kept the chefs going, Fairley apparently considered her invisible.
On Thursday, however, Fairley showed she wasn’t entirely invisible yet. He arrived after the breakfast rush with a tall, skinny guy in a Godflesh T-shirt and baseball cap. His greasy brown hair stood out in what looked like one of the last mullets in the Hill Country. Joe followed them into the kitchen. He didn’t look entirely happy.
“Okay, everybody, listen up,” he called. “This is Kevin Dietz. He’s on prep. He’ll be a runner for dinner. Got it?”
Darcy gave Kevin a long look. “Is he prep chef?”
Joe shook his head. “Assistant.”
“Like MG?” Darcy nodded in her direction. MG was a little surprised to find out Darcy remembered her name.
Joe shook his head again. “He’s had some experience. You won’t have to train him.”
Darcy gave Kevin a long look. “Experience where?”
“A lot of places around here,” Fairley snapped. “Don’t worry about it. He’s qualified.” He gave MG a look that seemed to indicate he couldn’t say the same about her.
“Just tell me what you need, baby. I’ll get it done for you.” Kevin’s voice was a smoker’s rumble. He gave Darcy a smirk that might have worked if he’d been ten years younger.
Darcy narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
“Okay, everybody, back to work,” Fairley called.
MG glanced at Joe. He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t look like he was going to do anything about it either.
It was sort of galling to realize that Kevin Dietz actually knew his stuff. He could produce a mountain of onion twice as fast as MG, even after she’d been doing it for a week. His carrot chopping was a thing of beauty. He could strip the stems off a bunch of parsley in the time it took MG to undo the twist tie holding it together. He was, in fact, a superlative prep guy.
He was also an asshole. That was clear after his first ten minutes in the kitchen. He kept up a constant flow of talk, mostly concerned with his sexual prowess and predilections. The cooks ignored him. MG tried her best to do the same. She noticed that Darcy gave her tasks that allowed her to work on the other side of the kitchen, for which she was profoundly grateful. Just being around Dietz made her feel like she should wash her hands.
She succeeded in sidestepping him until late one afternoon when she was hurrying to get the greens done. She bent over the sink to siphon out the last few leaves as Dietz walked by. He half turned and grasped her buttocks in both hands. “Mmm,” he muttered in her ear. “Good buns, mama.”
MG came upright in a spray of rinse water, her hands already balled in fists. “You lousy fucking asshole,” she snarled, aiming one fist at his ear.
Dietz jumped out of the way, grinning. “Whoa, pretty feisty there, mama. Just the way I like it.”
“What’s the problem?” Fairley’s voice behind her made her jump. She whirled to see him watching her with a flat gaze.
MG
Similar Books
