Susan Mallery - Delicious

Penny looked up, saw him and turned her attention to the waiter. “Sorry, it’s a secret. But I promise if I ever publish a cookbook, I’ll put the recipe in the first chapter.”

When the waiter left, Penny glanced at Cal. “You left during dinner.”

“I know.”

Her expression told him not to do it again, but she didn’t say the words. Penny was too good for that. She wouldn’t chew his ass in front of her staff.

But she wanted to and under the circumstances, he couldn’t blame her.

“We need to talk,” he told her. “Around ten?”

“Sure. I’ll be the one in the chef’s coat.”

BY NINE-FIFTEEN, things had quieted down. They’d worked through all their reservations and there were a few empty tables in the dining room. Cal retreated to his office to catch up on paperwork before his meeting with Penny. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to her. He wanted to apologize for overreacting, but he couldn’t tell her about Lindsey. Not when she’d just told him she was pregnant. He wanted to make things right with her before he dropped that bombshell.

He sat at his desk, but instead of turning on his computer, he leaned back in his chair and remembered the first time Penny had told him she was pregnant. Neither of them had planned for it. Sometimes birth control failed.

He’d been stunned-first by complete happiness and then by guilt. Because he would get to keep this child. He would experience everything he’d missed with Lindsey. What if he loved his child with Penny more than Lindsey?

He hadn’t known where to get answers to his questions, or who to trust with his confusion. So he hadn’t said anything. Eventually Penny had noticed that as time went on, he seemed less and less thrilled. She couldn’t understand why he’d held back. But then she’d never held back in her life.

“Knock, knock.”

Cal turned and saw Gloria standing in the doorway to his office. He held in a groan. Yeah, right, because he needed more stress in his day.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he told his grandmother.

Gloria swept into the small space and claimed the only other chair. “I don’t know why you think I spend my life micromanaging. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m just here because I want to see my grandson. Is there anything wrong with that?”

There wouldn’t be, if he believed her. But he didn’t. Gloria always had a purpose and a motive.

“Fine,” he said. “If this is strictly a social visit, then you won’t have anything to say about the restaurant.”

She pressed her lips together. “I did notice a few things.”

He stared at her. She exhaled slowly.

“I won’t mention them. Although why you don’t want constructive criticism is beyond me. I would think you would want the restaurant to be the best it can be.”

“Nice try, but I’m not biting.”

“Oh, all right.” She shrugged out of her coat. “I just wanted to let you know that Daniel quit.”

He stared at her. “Who’s Daniel?”

“Daniel Langstrom. The president of the company. Honestly, Callister, can’t you even pretend interest? He wouldn’t say why he left. It’s very inconvenient. He’s the third one to leave in fifteen months. The executive searches are very expensive. Not to mention time-consuming. One would think the search firms could bring better candidates.”

“The search firms aren’t the problem, Gloria,” Cal said. “You are. You’re hell to work for.”

Gloria stiffened. “I beg your pardon. You can’t talk to me like that. It’s rude and vulgar.”

“Maybe, but it’s true. You add new intensity to the term micromanage. You’ve never met an order you didn’t want to tweak or change or countermand. You get in the way, you change your mind fifteen times a day and you make everyone around you wish they were dead.”

She paled. “That’s not true.”

“Haven’t you noticed how difficult it is for you to keep an executive assistant, let alone a company president? You drove me away years ago. Reid and Walker never even bothered to try. You need to back off or there won’t be anyone left at the company.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re exaggerating. Regardless, I want you to take over the job as president.”

He would rather be shark bait. “No, thanks. I have a job.”

“At that coffeehouse.” She made it sound as if he sold acid milkshakes to children.

“You got it. I like it there, Gloria. I’m proud of what I do.” He stopped, reminding himself he was never going to convince her.

“This is your heritage,” she said. “You’re a Buchanan.”

“Not interested. No one is, except Dani. God knows why you haven’t been able to scare her off, but she’s still hanging on. Give her a shot.”

Gloria sniffed. “That’s impossible. She’s not one of us. Not a Buchanan. She is her mother’s daughter and I will never forgive her for that.”

“My mother had an affair nearly thirty years ago. You need to let it go.”

“Never.” Gloria’s eyes blazed with anger. “She betrayed my son. Don’t you care that she made a fool of your father?”

He wasn’t happy about it, but he found it hard to get worked up about it after all this time. “Move on,” he said. “Mom and Dad are dead.”

“But the proof of your mother’s affair lives on.”

“You might want to enter this century,” he said. “Dani is your granddaughter.”

“Never. She’s nothing. I allow her to believe she’s a Buchanan as a kindness.”

“Is that what you call it?”

When he’d graduated from college, Gloria had told him the truth-a twisted sort of present. She’d used the information to blackmail him into going into the family business.

He hadn’t wanted to be part of the empire, but she’d threatened to tell Dani she wasn’t really one of them. He’d taken that first job at Burger Heaven to make sure his sister didn’t know the truth.

Gloria glared at him. “I have been a part of this family since I was eighteen years old. I have sweated blood so that you could have this legacy. I’m the reason this family has wealth.”

“We would have been a whole lot better off if you’d simply let it go.”

She stood. “You may not care about family, but I do. Your mother destroyed my son with her lies and her deceit.”

“None of which is Dani’s fault. She’s the only one who gives a damn about the company. She’s paid her dues. She’s good at her job. So cut her a break. Move her up the food chain. Let her prove herself at Buchanan’s, or here.”

“Never.”

Cal felt like punching something, but he’d put his fist through a wall once and it hadn’t been a smart idea. “I should tell her myself,” he said, more to himself than Gloria.

“But you won’t.” His grandmother resumed her seat. “You would never hurt your sister like that.”

She was right. He wouldn’t knowingly hurt Dani. Although he was starting to wonder if not telling her was causing a different kind of pain.

“On a different subject, did you know your executive chef is pregnant?”

He swore. How had she found that out? Less surprising was her need to make trouble.

“Of course,” he said, not mentioning he’d only been told that day.

“Oh.” Gloria sounded disappointed. “Do you know who the father is?”

“Why does that matter?”

“She’s not right for you, Callister. I always thought so. I thought you’d seen it, as well.”

“My personal life isn’t your business.”

Her small eyes zeroed in on his. He knew she was wondering if he was telling her to back off because there was something between him and Penny or just on general principle.

“You never liked her,” he said. “Was it something specific about Penny or the fact that you didn’t get to handpick my wife?”

“I’m sure I would have done a better job than you did.”

That was it. Old lady or not, he’d had enough of her. He stood.

“It’s time for you to go.”

She collected her coat and rose. “Think about the president’s job,” she said. “It’s an excellent opportunity.”

“Not going to happen.”

“But, Callister…”

He walked her to the hallway, then firmly closed the door in her face.

PENNY SET OUT HER MEAL in a corner table of the dining room. The kitchen cleanup was nearly finished and while she was tired and ready to head home to bed, she was starving.

At first she’d been so angry at Cal for walking out at the start of dinner, she hadn’t been able to think about eating. Then she’d gotten busy and then the evening had been over. So she planned to make up for lost time.

She had a large plate of the batter-fried fish from her infamous fish and chips, a second plate with garlic smashed potatoes and a huge bowl of salad made with every vegetable she’d been able to dig up. There was enough to serve six or eight people, but sometimes she forgot how to cook for one.

She’d kind of thought Naomi would join her, but her friend had rushed off to warm Reid’s bed. Penny had always known they would eventually hook up and when they did, she would feel the temporary loss as her two closest friends entered a world of their own. She just hadn’t been expecting it now.

Cal walked into the dining room. She ignored him and began to fill her plate. He walked toward her.

“We had a good night,” he said.

She nodded.

“Numbers are still above projections.”

“You sound surprised,” she said.

“I am. I hope we can sustain the momentum.”

“No reason we can’t. The location is good, the food better. What’s not to like?”

He grinned. “You always did look on the bright side.”

“Beats the alternative.”

“Want company?”

She looked at him then, at the handsome lines of his face and faint curve of his mouth. He wasn’t mad anymore and neither was she. Oh, she could pretend. Given a few minutes, she could work herself into a temper, but to what end?

“Only if you’re hungry,” she said. “I made a little extra.”

“So I see.”

He sat next to her and took one of the empty plates. After filling it, he picked up a fork and took a bite of potatoes.

“Still the best,” he said.

She shrugged. “Potatoes, garlic, butter, a few spices. You’re too easy, Cal.”

“I know what I like.”

That statement had danger written all over it, so she decided to change the subject. “I saw Gloria was here earlier. Mercifully, she stayed out of my kitchen. What did she want with you?”

“She’s trying to badger me into accepting the job of president of the corporation. The third guy in fifteen months just quit.”

“If he reports directly to her, I can see why.”

“That’s what I told her. I said she had to loosen up or she was going to lose everything.”

“You’d never do it,” Penny said confidently. “You’d hate working for her and you wouldn’t want to give up your work with The Daily Grind.”

He stared at her. “How do you know that?”

“Am I wrong?”

“No.”

She smiled. “Cal, you’re a guy. Most of the time, you’re not very complex. Although there were a few times you confused the hell out of me.” She didn’t want to talk about them now. “So what’s the big deal? She should offer the job to Dani. She’d jump at the chance to run things and I think she’d do a good job.”

“That’s what I said, but Gloria won’t have any part of it.”

Typical, Penny thought. “Gloria’s always been horrible where Dani’s concerned. What’s the problem? What does she have against your sister?”

She expected Cal to brush off the question or say he didn’t know. He surprised her by putting down his fork and leaning toward her, then lowering his voice.

“She’s not a Buchanan.”

Penny couldn’t have been more surprised if Cal had morphed into a dancing squid. “Excuse me? She’s your sister.”

“Half sister. Same mother, different father. My dad was always really distant. He drank-I think having Gloria as his mother drove him to it. I don’t remember all that much about their marriage, but they never seemed happy or like other couples. At some point, she met someone else and had an affair. Dani was the result. I first found out about it when I graduated from college. I’d never guessed. None of us had.”

Penny instinctively reached for his hand and took it in her own. “That’s not possible. Of course Dani is one of you.”

“No. She’s completely different. Her looks, her personality. Also, look at how Gloria treats her. Dani thinks it’s because she’s a girl, but it’s more than that.”

Penny thought about the years she and Cal were married and interacting with the rest of the Buchanan family. Gloria was rude and difficult with everyone, but there was a special level of awfulness in her contact with Dani. It was almost…contempt.

“No,” Penny said, more to herself than Cal. “Family is everything to Dani. Being a Buchanan defines her world. The only thing she wants outside of her marriage is to run the corporation.”