Susan Mallery - Delicious

Of all the siblings, Dani was the one most interested in being a Buchanan. She had always defined herself that way-by her name and her connection to the business. Even when she’d married Hugh, she’d refused to change her name.

Penny parked, then climbed out of her car. She cupped her belly, hoping her concerns weren’t upsetting the baby.

“There’s going to be a lot of emotion, little one. Some crying and maybe even some bad language. None of this is about you. I love you very much and we’re going to be fine.”

With that she drew in a breath and walked into the house.

She found Dani curled up on the sofa in the living room. There was an open bottle of Merlot in front of her. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, her face blotchy. She was misery personified.

“Oh, Dani,” Penny breathed.

Her new roommate looked up. “Tell me Cal already told you so that I don’t have to repeat myself.”

“He did. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” She picked up her wine and took a drink. “Screw ’em all. What do I care about being a Buchanan? They’re all a bunch of losers. Good riddance. The same with Gloria.”

But as she spoke tears spilled onto her cheeks. Penny dropped her coat and her purse on the floor, then hurried to her friend’s side.

“I don’t know what to say,” she admitted as she sat on the sofa and touched Dani’s arm. “I wish I did.”

“Me, too,” Dani admitted. “Oh, God, Penny, this hurts so much. Way more than finding out Hugh was having an affair. That was a betrayal of trust. I wasn’t happy, but I knew I’d recover. This is different. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

“Yes, you do. You’re a bright, ambitious, hardworking, wonderful woman. You’re caring and loyal. Plus you got the looks in the family.”

Dani gave a faint smile as she brushed away her tears. “So you’re saying I’m prettier than my brothers?”

“Absolutely. Although Reid comes fairly close.”

“I agree. It’s the eyes.” Her mouth began to quiver as her smile faded. Her whole body trembled. “I can’t do this. I can’t survive.”

“Yes, you can,” Penny told her. “You may not like it and you’re going to hate how much it hurts, but you will survive. You know why?”

Dani shook her head.

“Because you’re tough. That’s the main reason. The other is you’re not going to give that bitch Gloria the satisfaction of winning.”

Once again Dani smiled through her tears. “You’re right about that. I’m so angry at her. Furious. I always knew she had a thing for power and running our lives, but I refused to believe she was deliberately cruel. But she is.”

“She’s horrible,” Penny said. “You’re doing such a great job for her, but she can’t see that.”

“I know.” Dani sighed. “And to tell me that way. I think she was almost happy to be able to ruin my life.”

“No,” Penny said. “Don’t say that. She didn’t ruin anything. Not if you don’t let her.”

“She sure didn’t make things better,” Dani said. “I don’t know who I am anymore.”

“That’s bullshit,” Penny said.

Dani blinked at her. “Excuse me?”

She stood and then motioned for Dani to rise. “Come here.”

Penny led the way into the hall bathroom. After turning on the light, she pulled Dani in next to her and had her face the mirror.

“What’s different?” she asked. “Look and tell me what’s different.”

Dani glanced at her reflection and grimaced. “I’m really puffy.”

“Ignore that. I mean what’s different about you? What has changed in the past twenty-four hours?”

“I don’t know who my father is. I’m not a Buchanan.”

“I know that. But your experiences are still your experiences. Your body is still your body. You’re talking about context, and yes, I’ll agree that can change everything, but it doesn’t have to. Not if you don’t let it.”

“But…”

Penny shook her head. “No buts, young lady. Yes, things are crappy now. Really crappy. This may be the worst moment of your life. But you will come out of it and you will be fine. Because the wonderful, empowered person you are hasn’t changed.”

Dani leaned over and hugged her. “Thanks for trying to help.”

“Hey, I’m not just trying here.”

Dani managed a weak smile. “Okay. Thanks for helping.”

“Better.”

She dropped her hand to Penny’s stomach. “You must be so happy about the baby.”

“I am.”

“I’ll get there someday. You’re right. This hurts so much and I don’t know how I’m going to survive it. But I will survive and I’ll go on and one day I’ll have everything I want.”

“Yes, you will. And when that happens, I’m going to be standing right next to you saying ‘I told you so.’”

THE NEXT WEEK PASSED in relative quiet. Penny figured they’d all earned the break.

The restaurant did well, Lindsey was released from the hospital, and while Dani was still emotionally devastated, she was making forward progress. Even the rats were gone, thanks to a very efficient Al.

Penny sat at her desk playing with different combinations for specials for the following week. The Alaskan fishing season was well underway, giving her access to some wonderful seafood. She was already receiving produce from the WallaWalla area and parts of Oregon. When the Walla Walla onions made their appearance, she had some great ideas in mind.

“Maybe a special tasting dinner,” she murmured. “One that features whatever is fresh and special.”

She made a note. That was something she would discuss with Cal later. Right now she needed to be brilliant.

“Salmon?” She loved salmon. It was about her favorite fish. But maybe something else. Something…

“Am I interrupting?”

Penny glanced up and saw Gloria standing in the doorway to her office. Great. The rats might be gone, but now there was a snake in the kitchen.

She wanted to tell the older woman to get her ass out, but technically, she did own The Waterfront and was Penny’s boss’s boss.

“I’m working on specials for next week,” Penny said. “I’ll be putting in my fish order fairly soon.”

“Ah, how interesting. I don’t suppose there’s any chanceyou’ll be taking the fish and chips off the menu.”

Penny forced herself to smile. “It’s our best seller.”

“How unfortunate. I always thought the people of Seattle had better taste than that.”

Penny ground her teeth together. “Did you stop by just to insult me, Gloria, or is there another reason?”

Gloria moved into her office and took a seat. “Insult you? I most certainly did not. Really, Penny, what a thing to say. I was saying that I didn’t like the fish and chips and wished they weren’t on the menu. How is that an insult?” She sighed. “You’re the executive chef. I suppose it’s reasonable for you to have a sense of ownership where the menu is concerned. That’s quite commendable.”

Penny frowned. Gloria sounded so reasonable, yet she was sure there was plenty more to come.

But before she could ask Gloria why she’d stopped by, the other woman glanced at her stomach and said, “You’re showing, dear. When is the baby due?”

“September.”

“A lovely time of year. I was told you don’t know who the father is. Is that true?”

“I had in vitro fertilization using a sperm donor, if that’s what you mean.”

“Uh-huh. So you know nothing about the man.”

“I have general information on him and his medical history.”

“But not his character.” She leaned forward. “It’s very much like buying those unmarked cans at the grocery store. It’s so very easy to get a bad batch of peas or carrots and not know until you’ve already brought them home.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“I did want to warn you, dear,” Gloria continued. “I know you have your heart set on Cal, but it’s not going to happen. He’s never forgiven you for walking out on him. He’s not interested in you or your bastard. I know. He told me.”

Penny didn’t care that this woman was in charge or that she was elderly. She stood and pointed to the door. “Get out.”

Gloria rose. “He won’t marry you, if that’s what you’re hoping. You may think he’s changed, but who really does? In truth, he gave up Lindsey and he gave you up once already. Why would he keep you now?”

“If you don’t leave, I’m going to call for the guys in the kitchen to haul you out,” Penny said, trying not to give in to the anger rising inside of her.

“We both know you won’t do that,” Gloria told her. “My words may sound cruel, but I’m telling you this for your own good. Cal’s contract with the restaurant is only for four months. He’s leaving.”

She spoke so triumphantly that Penny didn’t feel bad about bursting her bubble.

“You love to get in between people and mess around. I think it’s your idea of a good time. But here’s the thing. I already know Cal’s leaving. He told me the first day he tried to hire me.”

Gloria smiled. “Of course he did. Did he also mention that his little coffee company is expanding? They’re going to be opening stores back east. A complete waste of Cal’s talent if you ask me, but there we are. He’s heading the team. As soon as his job here is finished, he’s moving to New York. Did he happen to mention that?”

Penny didn’t want to believe her. It couldn’t be true. Cal moving? He hadn’t said a word.

“You’re a cold, calculating lying bitch,” she told Gloria. “I don’t know why you find such pleasure in hurting people, but you do. Dani only ever wanted to make you proud of her, but you couldn’t accept that. You had to run her off.”

Gloria sniffed. “Dani is hardly my granddaughter. We’re no blood relation at all.”

“Funny how worried you are that Dani’s not a Buchanan when you’re not one yourself. If I remember my history correctly, you married into this family. You were a poor nobody. What? A hotel chambermaid?”

Gloria stiffened.

Penny allowed herself a slight smile. “Oh, yeah. I did my research on you years ago. I know all about your affair with Ian Buchanan and how when that ended, you married his son. Tell me, Gloria. Were you still banging Daddy when you walked down the aisle with the son?”

“You slut,” Gloria hissed.

“You should know.”

“I’ll destroy you.”

“You can try. I’m up to the fight. But before you waste your effort on that, let me share one thing with you. You’re an old woman. You’ll be dead soon. But first you’re going to be alone because you’ve driven anyone interested in loving you away. Now get the hell out of my kitchen.”

PENNY SAT IN HER OFFICE long after Gloria had left. She had to wait for the shaking to stop before she could catch her breath. That hadn’t just happened, she told herself, even though she knew it had. No one could imagine an encounter like that. At least not on purpose.

“A nightmare,” she murmured. “That woman is a nightmare.”

She put her arms on her desk and rested her head on them. It was fine, she told herself. She was fine. Gloria could scream and yell and tell all the lies she wanted, but Penny refused to believe them. There was no way that old bitch was going to drive a wedge between her and Cal.

Of course she knew he was only working at the restaurant for four months. He’d told her that from the beginning. He wasn’t the man he had been three years ago. He didn’t keep secrets anymore. She knew about Lindsey and Dani and why he’d tried to keep her out of the family business. Honestly, after Gloria’s last visit, his motivation seemed more noble than ever.

But he hadn’t mentioned anything about expanding The Daily Grind back east.

“No,” she said as she sat up. “No, no, no. I won’t let her get away with this.”

Cal wasn’t leaving. He would have told her. They’d become friends. They were lovers. Their lives were entwined in a way they hadn’t been since they were married. She mattered to him. She had to because she was totally in love with him.

“Everything is fine,” she said aloud. But the words didn’t sound right and she didn’t believe them.

Hating herself for letting Gloria get to her, she found an old phone book in her bottom desk draw and looked up the corporate headquarters for The Daily Grind. After a receptionist answered, she asked for someone in charge of their corporate expansion.

CAL SAT in his office at The Daily Grind and considered his life. After tallying up the wins and losses, he knew he’d come up short of even, which meant he needed a new game plan.

Dani was furious at him, and rightfully so. He should have told her a long time ago. He should have known she was tough enough to hear the truth and that however it hurt her, better that she hear it from someone who loved her rather than from Gloria whose agenda was her own twisted secret. Dani would survive, but the timing sucked, coming on the heels of Hugh’s shitty behavior.