Big Pickle: A Secret Boss Romantic Comedy - JJ Knight Page 0,76
own delis. Mainly Dad’s looking for a successor for the big Manhattan store, as well as control of the chain. Anthony already runs everything. He does the pickles of the month and the breads and all the clever stuff. It only makes sense he should win.”
Nova squeezes my hand. “Are you going to come back to Austin to run your deli?” Her voice is tentative, as if she hasn’t had the courage to ask this question all day.
I bring her hand to my lips. “Of course I am.”
“I’m staying here through Saturday.”
“Then I’ll get a flight back Saturday. I suppose we can spend some time running around New York if Dad’s done with us.”
“I think tomorrow is a Pickle breakfast at the deli. Then we have the rest of the day.”
“I can think of a lot of good uses for that time.”
The song ends and Max steps up on the tiny stage. “Everyone let’s welcome to the stage our favorite brother with a special song to the love of his life, his manager Nova Strong. Jace, come up here and sing to your lovely lady.”
Everyone claps and turns to my table. “Oh, shit,” I breathe.
“Can you carry a tune at all?” Nova asks.
“I don’t know. I guess. But I’m not really a singer.”
She nudges me. “I think you need to get up there. You owe it to him for punching him in the face.”
My hands tighten into fists. But Nova’s right. I decided I would take risks. Be a new man. Open up my feelings.
Why not start with shame and ridicule?
I scoot out from behind the table and another cheer goes up from the crowd.
Everyone is there. My dad, my brothers, Grammy. All the managers. My cousin Sunny has showed up. In the back I even spot Greta, pressing baby Caden to her chest inside one of those baby wrap carrier things.
I wind my way through the tables, quite ready to murder my brother in front of a live audience.
But I don’t. I stand next to him.
“Break a leg,” he says.
“What fresh hell have you come up with for me?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
I look out on the crowd of family, business partners, and friends. I have to step up. I’m making up for a lifetime as the big brother, the big cousin, the pain in the neck who bossed everyone around and judged them for being not cool enough.
I stayed away, too much of a legend in my own mind to be a mere deli owner.
Now it was time to be humble.
And as the opening chords of the song begins, and laughter ripples across the room, I realize something.
They got me good.
Before the first words can start, I find Nova in the dim light of the bar. “This one is apparently from my family to you,” I say. “So here I am, singing it just like you’d want me to.”
Another whoop goes up, and then it’s time for this Big Pickle to sing his own self-absorbed anthem:
“I’m Too Sexy.”
And to sell it, I throw my shirt at my girl.
37
Nova
Three Months Later
Lamonte spots me coming out of Bertha, a sack of flour under each of my arms.
He halts in his tracks. “Nova, what are you still doing here? You’re gonna be late!”
“I have to make sure we have enough ingredients. Samantha is new to making the bread. We’re not used to having to bake it all day. Everything is different!” I hear the strident note in my voice and try to take a deep breath.
“Aisha!” Lamonte calls. “Come here and help Samantha make the next round of bread.” He takes the bags of flour from me and places them on the mixing table. “Nova, we’ve got this. You get yourself to campus.”
He’s right. We do have this. Four new employees. Arush has been moved up to a second assistant manager. I’ve become a figurehead now that Jason is here every day.
Business is way, way up, and Jason is even looking at buying out the building next door to expand.
It’s been a wild rush since the beginning of summer and the implementation of all the new ideas we brought from the New York meeting. Jason and Anthony have been thick with plans, and now Austin Pickle is open through dinner as well as on Sundays. It’s been a huge adjustment.
But that’s not my problem at the moment. I have to get to campus. It’s the first day of the fall semester.