Chapter Nineteen: Part One
Walking into the apartment, Kate found Dee and Carrie with their seven permanent staff crowded around the dining table for a Monday morning briefing. Dee read her smile as she entered. ‘Good for you, my love. Good for you.’
Giselle piped up. ‘Did you finally realise you love him, Kate?’ Seeing Kate’s smile widening, she added, ‘You guys said it? Wow! And?’
Kate just giggled where she stood for a moment, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Excited questions flew at her in rapid-fire; mostly revolving around who said what, who said it first, how it was said, and many other variations of the same theme. Her mood was contagious, and their tight group shared in her joy. Carrie pressed a hot cup of tea into her hands once the initial flurry had settled, and everyone insisted on Kate giving them an abridged recap of her weekend before their talk returned to business.
Kate’s cheeks were already hurting from smiling so much when Dee told her, ‘Giselle and Suzette had the lead in full at Dom’s, and they’re going to stay in the lead all week.’ Carrie chipped in, ‘Same for Luka in the kitchen too. It looks like we’ll be ready to start splitting teams for smaller gigs soon.’
~~~~~
The three amigas had already formed a tag-team process with their staff. For the rest of the week, they had Suzette, Giselle and Luka take on much more active roles in the morning briefings, learning to plan the functions from start to finish. For every gig that week, Suzette took the lead with the service and Giselle ran the floor whilst Kate and Dee circulated, watching everything that was happening.
Carrie had told Luka that the kitchen was his for the entire week. She pointedly held herself back from offering them a single clue or direction, just staying out of their way and observing them in action. When two boxes of crabs turned out to be suspect, Luka simply closed the boxes and called Melissa and Paula over. They calmly inventoried what was available, brainstormed their options, and executed a flawless and imaginative plan to save breakfast. Nobody missed the crab and Carrie’s confidence in her kitchen team was now solid. Luka was not only a brilliant chef, he was also an excellent technical teacher for Melissa and Paula, explaining exactly what to do, and more importantly, why and how to do it. Not once did he look to Carrie for her approval. In short, they were ready.
During the mayor’s dinner on Wednesday evening, Giselle discreetly and professionally resolved a situation when an intoxicated guest had become inappropriately touchy-feely with her. A few minutes after she had returned the guest to the function with a strong cup of coffee in his hands, Dee took Giselle aside. She explained that she and the mayor had witnessed the whole incident from the next room, and that he was very grateful for her discretion in what could have been an embarrassing situation. At the end of that evening, the mayor handed Giselle an envelope with a hand-written apology from the man in question, and early the next day she received from him a large bunch of flowers, along with a receipt, in her name, for a very substantial gift to Médecins Sans Frontières, a charity for which she actively campaigned.
The amigas were especially pleased when they learned that Giselle had settled the matter by sending notes to both men, accepting the apology of one and thanking both. Suzette and Giselle decided to give the lead roles for the Friday and Saturday gigs to their own understudies, Corey and Latisha, who both performed faultlessly. The week proved to the girls that their adaptable and happy team was ready to take on multiple bookings.
~~~~~
Driving through the light Sunday afternoon traffic to collect Kate, Harold grinned at Rick’s building excitement and anticipation. Watching everything become background to the lovers as soon as they were together, he smiled again.
‘Where are we headed?’ she asked Rick.
Holding his finger dramatically to his lips, he said in hushed tones, ‘Shhhh, it’s a secret.’
‘Hmmmm.’ Kate tried to sound disapproving but ended up giggling. During the drive, each caught up on the other’s week as the late-afternoon faded into evening. Stopping at a set of lights, Kate glanced out of the window before her eyes snapped back to Rick. ‘We’re nearly back at my place?’
Rick just smiled as Harold drove past her building, and a couple of blocks further on, before parking at Alberto’s.
‘I wanted to have you to myself for a while. Is that selfish of me?’
Kate looked at him with questions all over her face, and Rick’s smile was one of cheeky delight. She knew nothing was wrong, but she also knew that something was definitely going on. Climbing out of the car, Rick said to Harold as he held their door open, ‘Thanks H, much appreciated.’ It was then that she realised that Harold had swapped his familiar business attire for a simple polo shirt and jeans.
Kate was curious now, about Harold’s nick-name, and the fact that Alberto’s normal Sunday guests were crowded in much more tightly than normal. Those that saw them as they entered the small reception area were grinning at her and Rick. Although she knew every one of the Sunday regulars by name, this was most unusual. They entered the dining room and she saw their extended family of staff sitting around a long table on the far side of the restaurant, currently entranced by Madison as she finished telling a story to the general merriment of all there. By the blush of Mason’s ears, Kate could guess who was on the receiving end of the anecdote she’d just finished telling. Dom’s deep laugh came through, along with Edison’s and Juanita’s happy chuckles. Seeing the rest of her friends from Alegria there, as well as their full staff, Kate understood why Alberto’s was so crowded.
‘Katie!’ Suzette called out, setting off a raucous chorus of greetings from everyone there.
Beaming at the table, Kate said, ‘Everyone, this is Ricardo Myers, and this is Harold. Rick, Harold, this is everyone.’
JC leaned over to Giselle and said in a loud faux whisper, ‘See? I told you he’s butt ugly!’ Giselle shook her head, smiling back at Juan-Carlos.