Page 47 of Sizzle
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that maybe there’s more than one way to live your life, Elliot.” I step into his space again, taking his shoulders in my hands and lowering my forehead to touch his. “Think about it, will you? If you forget about what you think you have to do, forget about the rules—what would you do if you really could have it all?”
15
Joelle
“There should be more people here by now,” I say. I slurp down more coffee way too fast and it scalds my tongue. “Damn it.”
“Relax,” says Jimmy from the next table over. “You built it. They will come.”
“Built it? Built what, the menu?”
He gives me a blank stare. Anna comes around the corner, leaning over the counter between us to grab the prep list.
“Give her a break, James,” she says without looking at him. “Not everybody shares your enthusiasm for the classics.” She leaves the kitchen before Jimmy can reply.
I glance over at Jimmy, who looks like he just swallowed his tongue. So that’s how it is. Way to go, Anna.
“What?” he asks when he remembers I'm still standing there.
“James, huh?” I say, giving him a cheeky smile behind my coffee cup. My smile only grows when he flushes.
“It’s my name. And don't change the subject,” he says. “Field of Dreams? Kevin Costner?”
Jimmy shakes his head in disgust when I just shrug.
“‘If you build it, they will come,’” says Elliot as he walks by, clipboard in hand. “Why are we quoting Field of Dreams?”
“FNG here hasn’t seen it,” says Jimmy.
Elliot halts in his tracks and spins around to gawk at me.
“What?” I ask.
“I can’t believe you’ve never seen that movie,” says Elliot, shaking his head exactly the way Jimmy had.
“This is, like, the fifth time we’ve had this conversation,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Because you have somehow missed a vast swath of American culture,” says Jimmy. Elliot is nodding, eyes back on his checklist.
“Really, it’s our civic duty to improve your education. We should have mandatory movie screenings every week.”
Elliot and Jimmy start rattling off film titles, most of which I don’t recognize, and I turn my attention back to the prep station. It’s immaculate, which means I’m technically done for the day, and I really should get out of here before Elliot gets on to me for milking the clock.
Except today is the big launch party for his—our—new menu. I know we’ve picked some winners and I’m pretty damned proud of what we’ve managed to put together. I’ve been running a whole series on the blog about Duckbill's menu redux and it’s gotten a good amount of local press, including the paper doing a spotlight piece on me.
Still, none of this accounts for Elliot’s stress level the last week or so. He’s acting like this is the afterparty for the end of the world, and while I can appreciate going all out for your job as much as the next girl, I suspect there’s more going on here than just a new menu rollout.
“Hey Joelle,” says Elliot. Apparently they’ve started an actual list of movies, because Jimmy’s got his own clipboard now, phone in hand. Looking over his shoulder, I can see movie posters on the screen. “Can I see you in my office for a minute?”
I nod, my voice suddenly caught in my throat. Elliot has taken great pains not to be alone with me since we cleared the air. He made it plain I don’t have to worry about losing my job, but I guess he’s just trying to make sure I get that he’s completely sincere.
It’s the most vicious kind of foreplay I’ve ever experienced. He’ll touch me in passing, innocent stuff like a hand on my back to let me know he’s walking by, or patting my shoulder after he’s praised my work.
I live for those moments. And if I suspect they last a little too long to be perfectly professional… well, chalk it up to my overheated imagination. I follow Elliot back to the tiny closet office. Breathe, dummy. Breathe. There’s no way this is about anything other than the launch party.
Right, it’s fine. I can handle this. It’s just… this is closest I’ve stood to him since… maybe ever.