Luscious - Lexi Blake Page 0,64
out there for thirty minutes after Macon had walked away from her. She’d cried and Deena had come out to hug her. She’d asked what had happened, but Ally had simply cried. After a while, she’d asked Deena if she could be alone. She’d been able to see how reluctant her friend was, but she’d done it.
She was going to miss Deena and Serena and all the friends she’d made at Top. She’d made more genuine friends here in the few months she’d been in Dallas than in the years before. It had been a good place to be.
She wondered if they all hated her now.
It would be easier to slink away, but she was done with easy. She owed Chef Taggart an explanation. He’d given her a job when he shouldn’t have. She would give him the courtesy of quitting to his face. Of course, he might make it easy on her. He might fire her the minute she walked back in the door.
The dinner was going on as planned, though she thought the dining room was a lot quieter than it usually was. She could smell ribs and roasted potatoes, but she couldn’t eat a thing. Macon’s Napoleons looked perfect. Not that she would be invited to join, but she would miss it.
The room went silent as she walked in. It occurred to her that she was interrupting a family dinner. That’s what these people had become. Chef Taggart sat at one end and his brother at the other. They were partners in Top. Big Tag was the silent partner who often said he’d only put money into the business for the free pies, but it was easy to see that the Taggart brothers depended on each other.
Her brother was dead and the only man she’d ever loved hated her now. She was back on the street again. Story of her life.
Every eye was looking her way. She noticed Serena and Jake weren’t among them. The Miles family had closed ranks.
“Ally.” Deena stood up. Tiffany and Jenni stood up with her. All of her server coworkers, it seemed, were ready to talk to her at least.
Ally shook her head and Deena nodded. They all sat back down.
Ian Taggart’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her. His wife had joined him, but it looked like the twins had been put down for a nap. “You broke the pie maker.”
Charlotte Taggart slapped at her husband’s muscular arm. “Ian. Tact, please.”
“Baby, I don’t have any of that,” he admitted. “She broke the dude who makes the pies. She’s gotta fix him.”
She didn’t even want to get into an argument with Ian Taggart. He kind of scared her. She didn’t think he would be impressed with her little hammer. She turned to the man she’d come to talk to. “Chef Taggart, I’m so sorry to interrupt. Could I please have a word with you?”
He stood up, dropping his napkin, but his wife reached for his hand. He leaned over and she whispered something in his ear. Grace Taggart handed over their toddler girl. She’d been sitting in her mother’s lap, but she seemed content to go with her father.
“I’ll handle this,” Grace said. She stood up, smoothing out her skirt and nodding Ally’s way. “Let’s talk in the office.”
She was surprised but followed behind the gorgeous redhead. Did she not want Ally alone with her husband? What exactly had Macon said when he left? She shouldn’t be surprised that he’d talked bad about her, but she was. Somehow, even though she knew she’d hurt him, she hadn’t expected him to lash out. She’d come to know such gentleness from the big bear of a man, but she supposed that was only for the women who were worthy.
Grace closed the door behind her and the world got eerily quiet.
It was best to get it over with so she could get her things and leave. She wasn’t going to take him up on his offer to stay in the guesthouse. No way. She would pick a road and drive all night, and sometime tomorrow she would be somewhere else. Hell, maybe she’d be someone else. “Mrs. Taggart, I’m afraid I need this to be my last day. I’m sorry I can’t give you two weeks’ notice.”
“Unacceptable.” Grace sat down in her husband’s chair. The very one she’d so recently made love to Macon in. “You did a good job cleaning this place. It smells like citrus. You’ll have to tell me what you use.