Page 73 of Gross Misconduct

“This place is gorgeous,” Wolseley said. “Even as the plane was coming in, I could see the beauty. Man, I’m not going to want to leave.”

“We’d love you to stay,” I said.

She laughed and hugged me again. “I have a restaurant to run.”

We drove back to the condo so Wolseley could get settled in the spare room. Chloe took a keen interest in her, and spent time sniffing everything Wolseley owned before jumping on her bed. Jeremy had dropped her off the day before, while I was at work. I wanted Chloe to meet my other best friend.

“Chloe is the sweetest,” Wolseley said, scratching Chloe behind the ears.

“She may want to sleep with you,” I said. “If you don’t want her to, you can kick her out.”

“Nah, I’d love it.”

Tangi pulled on my arm. “Let Wolseley get ready. We heard about a restaurant you need to try. It’s walking distance, so dress appropriately. If you don’t have an umbrella, I’m sure Jill has an extra.”

I’d made a reservation at Fig Leaf, a new place in town that was getting rave reviews and had a mouth-watering selection of desserts. I had a hard time believing they were all vegan. Wolseley wasn’t necessarily a vegan, but a huge part of her menu was. She’d been a vegetarian since I’d known her, but that didn’t come as a surprise because her parents were also vegetarians.

“It’s so nice not to have to deal with snow,” Wolseley said as we exited my building fifteen minutes later. “And the mountains and ocean? I’d kill for just one, and you guys have both!”

“You can always open a restaurant here,” I said.

She frowned a little, which was so unlike her. Of the three of us, Wolseley was always the happy and carefree one, looking at the positive side of things. A frown had me concerned.

“I still have to turn a profit on my restaurant. Things are looking good, and that should happen soon, but I’m working myself to the bone.”

“Please tell me you’re taking a salary,” Tangi said.

“A small one. Enough to survive.”

The restaurant had taken its toll on Wolseley. Her once wrinkle-free face now had a few microscopic lines around her eyes, not to mention the dark circles.

“You’ve got to take care of yourself,” I said.

“I just need a little more time. It will be fine. Enough about me. I want to hear everything about what’s going on here.”

Tangi told Wolseley that she’d gotten a raise at work and that Maddy had transitioned to solid foods. Wolseley wanted to know when she’d get to see the stinker, and Tangi assured her she’d be by in the morning with Maddy. The five of us were going for breakfast, then some sightseeing. Wolseley was going to then spend the afternoon with me before we had dinner with Tangi, Ethan, and Maddy. I think the plan was to spend the two and a half days eating.

We got to the restaurant and all Tangi did was talk about the foods that Maddy didn’t like. We had to get her off this subject or we’d all be lulled into a nap.

“The food looks great,” I said, looking for an opening between Tangi telling us that Maddy hated peas but loved beans.

“It does look good,” Wolseley said. “I’m definitely having the sticky-tofu bowl, but I’m going to start off with the squash soup.

That talk got Tangi off Maddy’s most hated foods, especially when we asked her what she planned to order. I went with the mushroom burger and a side of sesame fries. Tangi chose the pumpkin risotto and asked me if I’d share the vegan Ceasar salad with her. I said yes because it came with a side of focaccia, and I needed all the carbs I could get.

“How about you, Jilly,” Wolseley said. “How’s it going with Jeremy?”

Tangi grimaced, so I knew instantly that Jeremy had told Ethan and Ethan had told her. I could lie to my bestie, but what was the point?

“We are on a bit of a break.”

“Ah, crap. I’m sorry to hear that. Does it have to do with his ex-teammate’s wife?”

“Sort of. He lied to me about it. It’s not a big deal. We were sort of dating, and now we’re just going to wait and see. Work is busy, and right now I don’t have time for guys.”

“I won’t get to meet him?” Wolseley asked. “I was looking forward to that.”

“Why don’t we invite him to breakfast? It doesn’t have to be weird.”