Page 7 of Go Cook Yourself
“But I will tell you, ladies, that she tried to take me home with her. I nearly went, but I wouldn’t have kept up. She was feral, like all sexy older women are.”
Cue raucous laughter from his new fifteen fangirls. Fanladies?
I laugh along with them, although if Amber were here, she’d elbow me for the worst fake laugh in England. I’ve got to do something to make him talk to me and to hide my crushed confidence.
Garett’s gaze snaps to me, and it’s full of daggers. I choke on my breath. I splutter and cough, which makes his stare worse. I ease myself out of the room, bumping into Wicksy. The rosemary he’s preparing for the group tickles my nose as I hide in a corner behind Kath.
“It’s okay, Ruby, sweetheart,” Kath murmurs as she rubs my back. The air conditioning whirs in the background, and I grip the edges of my suit jacket—well, Amber’s suit jacket. It barely gives me room to breathe as it is. It’s too big for her slight frame but fits like a straitjacket on me. Yet it still fits better than the pencil skirt my arse tests the seams of. “What you saw earlier was a blip. Garett isn’t always this grumpy.”
“Yes, he is,” Wicksy replies. His wavy hair bounces as he carries the plates of rosemary to the ladies. He looks like the adored social media influencer and fitness coach Joe Wicks. I’m guessing that’s the reason for the nickname. “The way he is with the clients, especially the female ones, is different from how he treats us.”
“It wasn’t all my fault,” I say quietly in case Garett has impressive hearing to accompany his skills in seducing older women. “He wasn’t answering his phone, and Amber couldn’thelp because her head was stuck in a toilet bowl. The diary said it was a children’s party.”
“I know. And the way you set up the room was so sweet.” Kath moves around the table, effortlessly adding things to it for lunch. She’s done this for so long that she could do it in her sleep. Sparkling cutlery and glasses of water turn the blue space into something suitable for a banquet.
The same space was laid out three hours earlier with party games and balloons. Amber never makes mistakes, but the children’s party is next week, not today. “As soon as I saw that it wasn’t a group of children coming through the door, I should have changed my plans.”
I collapse into a chair.
“The huffs of the group this morning were like the noises the women who don’t like my chat-up lines make,” Wicksy adds before collecting the next batch of rosemary.
“I tried my best.”
“Yes, you did. Amber will be proud of you,” Kath coos.
“I shouldn’t have let them fluster me.”
“You shouldn’t have demonstrated how to hold a knife if you weren’t sure,” Wicksy says with a shrug.
“I am sure.” I press my lips together and breathe through my nose. There’s no point explaining that my mobile was vibrating in my pocket the entire time because Neil was calling every five minutes. I know how to be professional, and I would have turned my phone off if not for Amber’s sickness and Garett not returning my calls. “But I panicked when Betty asked who she could complain to, and then she knocked that knife. The most important rule of grandma’s kitchen was never to catch a falling knife. She taught me that when I was a child, and I’ve never tried to catch one.”
“We all make mistakes, Ruby, love,” Kath replied. She was grandma’s best friend until she died. Kath should have retired,but she’s followed the cookery school from its former home in my parents’ garden to here and has shown no signs of leaving. “I know you’re a fantastic baker. This morning was first day nerves and a lot of anxiety.”
“Garett doesn’t see it that way. He’s treating me like an unwanted guest at a family party, a feeling I’m not alien to after the last couple of years. I tried to start afresh and introduce myself to him properly. Instead, he looks at my hand and walks away without a word.”
“Because he’s a grumpy bastard.” Wicksy stands beside me and gives me those damn puppy dog eyes again. “But I’m not.”
“Can I have some help in here?” Garett yells.
“See,” Wicksy adds, elbowing me before shouting, “Yes, Chef.”
???
Garett sets the ladies to work on the bread with another quip and a wink.
I make fake dough with my hands to reduce my anxiety as he swaggers around the kitchen, giving the women tips and tricks to add flavour or stop the dough from sticking to their hands. I could pick up some techniques for my baking from the renowned chef, but I’m like a can of soda that has been dropped and people are too scared to open it because it will explode everywhere. “Stop picking at the edge of your plaster, or you’ll undo your bandage,” Kath whispers.
I pull myself up to my total, albeit short, height. “I’m going to make Garett like me,” I announce. “Normally, everyone likes me, including animals. I’m going to make this day better, and I’m going to get him onside.”
“Ruby,” Kath tries to soothe me, but I won’t listen.
Wicksy crosses his arms and shakes his head. “He’s going to destroy you.”
I squeeze my lips tightly and tap my hand against my thigh as I hover near the workstation where Garett presses the dough. He grabs at flour and flutters his fingers. It falls like a powdery white waterfall onto the counter. It’s bad enough that he’s not following the brief Amber gave me, which she warned me might happen before she hurled her breakfast, but to make it worse, he’s sexy even when arrogant.
I roll my eyes, but as he turns to face me, I laugh as if his prowess enamours me. All that earns me is a glare.
“Let’s try this again. Hi, Garett. I’m Ruby.” He stares right through me, and I offer a glowing smile. “Could you tell me what I need to get prepped next?”