"Lady, it's Friday night. We ain't sitting around twiddling our thumbs waiting on you to buy paint, and then working our arses off until midnight to get the job done."
"But the tables come tomorrow," she repeated plaintively.
"Then I guess you'd best get painting, because we aren't." He dragged the door open and climbed up behind the steering wheel. He then tried to pull the door closed, but Alex was in the way. Pausing, he scowled at her. "This job has been nothing but a pain in the ass from the start. We were nearly done here and ready to go when you came in and stopped us."
"It was the wrong paint," she pointed out with disbelief.
He ignored that and continued, "On top of that, we were actually supposed to do this job last week, but you rebooked and we nearly killed ourselves finishing other jobs over the last couple of days to make time to come here today."
"The wrong carpet was installed, I had to have it redone, and the only day the installers had available was the day you guys were supposed to come," she explained quickly, glancing past him as the other two men climbed into the van. Neither of them would even meet her gaze. It seemed they weren't eager to get stuck here either.
"And now you're claiming the wrong paint arrived," Bill continued dryly, drawing her eyes back to him. "It seems to me either you're the one making mistakes, or the Big Guy upstairs is trying to tell you something."
"But I need the restaurant painted," she said, almost pleading now.
"Then I guess you'd best get painting cause we'regoing for a beer. Now get the hell out of the way or I'll close the door on you."
Alex stared at him for a moment, but knew from his hard expression that she wasn't going to convince him to finish the job. Sighing, she stepped out of the way.
He tugged the door shut with a grunt and then gunned the engine to life before rolling down his window to peer out at her. "Sorry about your problems," he said almost gruffly, and then added, "We'll send you a bill for the painting we did today."
Chapter Four
"If you guys are done with your cleanup, I'll letyou out and lock up now."
Cale glanced to the sous-chef, Bev, who stood in Alex's office doorway. The woman was eyeing them all uncomfortably. He didn't need to read her mind to understand that it was because they were in Alex's office when Alex herself wasn't. However, they'd been exhausted after finishing, and there were no seats in the kitchen, so they'd made their way to the office to get off their feet for a few minutes.
Ignoring the sous-chef's reprimanding gaze, he said, "Alex said she'd come back at the end of the night. We're waiting for her."
Bev immediately shook her head. "She called earlier. There was a snag at the new restaurant and she's going to be there all night. She asked me to close and lock up. If you don't mind, I'll let you out the back door. Idon't have keys to the front and have to lock it from the inside."
Cale frowned, but then glanced to his aunt Marguerite as she shifted on the couch, digging in her purse to retrieve her cell phone. Marguerite and Leigh, his uncle Lucian's new bride, had plopped themselves there with relief once the last order had been filled and the chef de cuisine's station had been cleaned. He grimaced at the weary expression on both their faces, feeling guilty for causing their exhaustion.
Cale had lasted a little more than fifteen minutes after Alex left before calling Marguerite in a panic, begging her to come help him. That was after managing to produce two burnt fish dishes and one sauce that had bubbled over, caught fire, and made one hell of a mess on the grill. He hadn't known what else to do. Feeding the customers nasty, burnt food and letting Bricker twist their minds so they left thinking they'd had the best meal ever was bad enough, but burning down Alex's restaurant was another.
He'd called Marguerite. As it had turned out, she and Leigh were in town for dinner and a movie and were only ten minutes away. The two women had headed over before he'd even finished explaining the situation.
However, it hadn't been Marguerite who had ended up saving his bacon, but Leigh. He'd learned at the wedding that she owned a restaurant but hadn't realized she could cook too. She could. She'd taken his place tonight at the head chef's station and manned it like a pro. Cale and Marguerite had alternately backed her up when necessary as she scrambled to catch up with theorders, and spent the rest of their time controlling the minds of the cooks in the kitchen as well as the waiters and waitresses, who were continually popping into the room with orders. They'd kept them from noticing what was happening and calling to tattle to Alex. It seemed, however, while they'd prevented anyone's calling out, Alex had called in. Fortunately, a quick read of Bev's mind told him that she hadn't said anything about the help he'd had here tonight.
"Well then," Marguerite murmured, snapping her phone shut and getting to her feet as Leigh stood up. "I guess we may as well head home."
Cale stood at once and moved to hug each woman with gratitude. "Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome," Marguerite murmured as he stepped back. She then smiled wryly, and added, "I'll see if I can find someone to take your place tomorrow night."
Cale thanked her again. He then hesitated, his glance moving to Bricker as the younger immortal stood. "Would you mind-"
"Certainly," Marguerite interrupted. "The enforcer house is on our way. We'll drop Bricker off."
"I'll get our coats," Bricker offered.
Cale murmured his thanks and watched as the man headed out of the room.
"Cale."
He shifted his gaze back to Marguerite to see a troubled look on her face. After a sigh, she said, "I think it may be best if you tell Alex the truth about your lack of cooking ability as soon as you can. Perhaps not untilshe gets to know you a little better, but don't leave it too long. A relationship started on lies has a shaky foundation."
Cale nodded solemnly, knowing she was right. As immortals, they had enough secrets to overcome to enjoy a relationship. Unnecessary lies just added to the burden. "I will."