Read Online To Fudge or Not to Fudge (A Candy-Coated Mystery with Recipes) by Nancy CoCo - Free Book Online Page B

“Fill this out and I will need to see your social security card and another form of ID for your personnel files.”
    “Okay . . .” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wallet. “I have them now.”
    “Wow, you came prepared.” I leaned against the receptionist desk.
    “I had hoped you would hire me.”
    “Why don’t you come in tomorrow about seven AM . I usually start making fudge for the counter about five AM and I will have dishes that need to be done.”
    “Perfect,” she replied.
    “Good.” I patted her on the shoulder and left her to Frances. Jenn would be thrilled to have a chocolatier on staff. I bet myself that within a day or so Jenn would put Sandy to work preparing centerpieces for her events.
     
     
    The next day I got the call from the producers when I was in the middle of a fudge-making demonstration. “The cold marble tabletop cools the hot candy in just the right amount of time to get a smooth and creamy finish.”
    I did a quickstep around the table, scooping the last of the fudge and forming a long loaf. Frances came over and picked up a spare hand scraper.
    “You have a phone call from those TV people.” She grabbed a plate and chopped off some of the fudge. Cutting it into bite-size pieces, she nudged me. “I’ll take it from here.”
    “I’m in the fudge business, not the television business,” I muttered.
    “We can use the publicity,” Frances nudged. “You’ve added another employee and are looking for yet another.”
    “Right.” I sighed and put my scraper in the sink and went out to the reception desk, where the phone line’s light blinked. “This is Allie.”
    “Hi, Allie, this is Bob Salinger, producer of the Candied Chef series.” He paused as if expecting my happy reply.
    “Yes, Frances told me,” I said.
    “We would like you to be a cast member on the show. We need you to come down today to do the opening credits photo shoot and to give some introductory information that we will use throughout the show. Be at the Grand Hotel Ballroom Salon 5 by three PM . Wear your chef coat.”
    “Today?”
    “Yes, today, our shooting schedule is very tight.”
    “I’m running a business . . .”
    “. . . that will benefit from your being on our show.”
    “Right,” I said. “I’ll be there.”
    “Good.”
    I hung up the phone and glanced over to the white and blue puppy bed inside the downstairs crate. Mal was sprawled out on it, her tummy and feet in the air. “It must be nice,” I muttered.
    I glanced back at the fudge shop to see Frances serving up fudge to a crowd of people. I went over to help. I needed to make at least two more batches of fudge before I left. I’d better get to it.
     
     
    “—And that’s why my boss always made us wear hairnets,” an elderly woman told me as I waited at the edge of the counter, holding her boxed fudge. “Be sure everyone wears hairnets. There are so many terrible things in hair.”
    “I thank you for your advice. My baker’s cap works as well as a hairnet,” I assured her. “It meets all health codes.”
    “Yes, I suppose it does,” she grumbled and snatched the bag out of my hand. “The gal at the reception desk wasn’t wearing a hairnet. I know she works behind the counter on occasion. I saw her there this afternoon.”
    “Right, so in future, I will be sure that Frances and anyone here at the McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shoppe wears a hairnet prior to handling the fudge. You see we have a clear demarcation between the fudge shop and the lobby.” I pointed out the black-and-white tile floor that butted up against the wooden floor of the lobby. “We also have glass walls on these two sides that meet the inspector’s code. I can assure you that my fudge is made in-house and is served fresh by the cleanest standards this side of a clean room.”
    “Yes, well I certainly hope you have a clean kitchen,” she said as I gently walked her out of the front door of the McMurphy.
    “You have a nice