as he bends down to retrieve it, then he bumps his head on the table on his way back up.
Jason notices it like I do, looking between Arush and Kate.
“Hey, Arush! Hey, Jason!” Kate’s blond ponytail swings as she waves. “Where’s Nova?”
“In the office,” Jason says. He saves the giant vat of chicken salad from certain doom when Arush nearly drops it. “Whoa, there, Arush. You’re on a roll.”
Kate shakes her head as she moves my way. I wonder why I’ve never noticed Arush’s apparent crush on Kate. Probably because I’ve had my focus on one crisis after another. But the crew is good right now. I can rely on them.
And I’m finally getting paid for what I do.
Things are good.
Kate approaches the door. “Knock, knock!”
“Hey.”
“So, the pickle of the month came in, but we don’t have a spot for it. Remember the cooling thingamajig broke on the last row?”
“Right. Hey, I can get it fixed now.” I spin around in the chair and pull up the Service Provider folder on the computer. “If we don’t already have a repair person, I’ll find one. Just stow the vat in Mr. Chill and we’ll start the pickle of the month when it’s fixed.”
I make a note on a sticky to call for repairs and realize Kate is still standing in the doorway.
“Is there something else? We have fifteen minutes until we open.”
Kate examines her pink fingernails. “I was going to ask you about Jason.”
Great. Does she want to date him? I’ve seen the clean-up girls giggling over him.
“You don’t need my blessing to ask him out,” I say.
“What? No! I mean, no!” She glances behind her and shakes her head. “No, no. Not my type.”
“Really?”
“I mean, he’s good-looking and all. But he seems a little too much. I don’t think I could date someone who wears thousand-dollar jeans.”
“What?” I look around her to spy on Jason’s pants.
“Fendi. Look them up. I had no idea, but Lamonte seems to know all about them. He’s lusted after a pair since middle school, apparently.”
“Why would anyone spend that much money on jeans?”
“I guess when you’ve got it, you spend it.”
“That’s a whole month’s rent!”
Kate turns to survey Jason as he washes the mixing bowls in the sink. His back is to us. “I guess there’s no price on making a butt look that good.”
She has a point.
Kate takes a couple of steps inside. “I was talking to Elda yesterday, and she agrees. He’s been looking at you.”
“He can look all he wants, but he’s not my type either.” I remember for a moment that spark when we touched. Nope. No way. Hate spark.
Although it’s probably toned down to a glow of annoyance.
“I figured. Poor little rich boy. I bet the customers will eat him up if you ever put him on the sandwich line.” Kate tilts her head. “Are you?”
I tear my eyes away from Jason’s butt and ask, “Am I what?”
“Uh huh. I thought so.”
Now she has my attention. “You thought what?”
“Never mind.” Her happy grin makes her look like a fresh-faced girl in a magazine ad. “Want me to unlock the front door?”
I glance at the clock on the computer. It’s time. “Sure. I’ll be out there before it gets hectic.”
“You always are!” She flips her ponytail and heads out.
Jason finishes washing the bowl and sets it on a drying rack. He opens the industrial dishwasher and starts pulling plates for the lunch run.
He’s got the hang of the routine.
And I have to admit, he’s working hard.
“Hey, Jason,” I call out, then realize my mouth got ahead of my brain.
He turns around. “What’s up?”
I guess I’m committed. “Come here!”
He stops in the doorway of the office and leans against the frame. “What can I do for you, boss?”
I stifle a completely inappropriate reply. “You know how to make bread?”
“Nope.”
“Well, today you’re going to learn.”
“During the lunch rush?”
“I’ll get you started, and I assume you’ll be able to watch dough rise while we serve?”
“Sure.”
“Pull all the usual ingredients for the white bread. It’s the base for the new one. We’ll add the special ingredients before we let it rise.”
“Will do. I assume we’re not using this bread today?”
I glance at the memo. “This says the start date is Monday. We’re closed on Sundays, which means we have today and tomorrow to get this bread perfected and ready to go on the line. We’ll do the first run today. I’ll start the early run tomorrow to fix anything that goes wrong today.”
“Aye, aye, captain.