Page 30 of Blue Gold
“Now?” She gasped. “Do you know how hard it is to find decent chefs?” Grabbing her plate, she dragged it closer to her before picking up her fork. “This one took me months to find, Daniel. Months.” Now, with her mouth full, it was a bit harder to understand her words.
From beside me, I noticed Elliot shifting uncomfortably. I assumed the poor guy wanted to slip back into the kitchen but got stuck in the middle of my wife’s meltdown.
“Damn it!” Taking another bite, she chewed her food as if it had wronged her. “I will never find someone in time… and to think I was looking forward to the Hamptons.”
Oh, dear Lord, I’d completely forgotten about it.
“Hamptons?” Elliot asked, catching both of our attention.
Still eating, Claudia turned to look at him. “Don’t you know what the Hamptons are?”
His cheeks turned red. “T… Tampons?”
Elliot’s innocent mistake made Claudia burst out laughing, and she put down her fork. “Oh my, you’re adorable. It’s the Hamptons, sweetie, not tampons.” She chuckled. “Anyway, the Hamptons are a part of Long Island. Do you know where that is?” Not waiting for him to reply, she went on. “It’s like a vacation town, you know? By the beach?”
Elliot seemed even more confused than before, so I quickly explained to him what this Hamptons nonsense was all about. Once done, he frowned at me.
“So you’re going there, to that Hamptons?” he asked in French, and thank God, because the last thing I needed was for Elliot’s jealousy to translate.
“Yes,” I answered, in French.
His eyes narrowed down on me. “For how long?”
“I’ll be there for a few weeks, but I’ll be back on weekends for some work.” Noticing how the muscle in his jaw tensed, I sighed. “It’s only for the summer.”
“Again with that ‘only for’ nonsense?” he snarled and crossed his arms over his chest. “One week is too much.”
“Elliot, please calm down—”
“What are you talking about?” Claudia asked, her eyes jumping between us.
Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile. “Nothing, darling. He just asked more about the Hamptons.”
“Are you sure? It’s looks like you upset him—”
“No.” Elliot cut into her question, a big smile plastered on his lips. “I am sad not on Daniel. Restaurant is… How I say… Oh, oui, close.”
Understanding where he was going with this, my eyes immediately snapped to his. And the moment I saw the barely there smirk on his lips, I realized I was screwed.
“Close?” Claudia frowned before realization struck her, and she jumped to her feet. “Oh! The restaurant is closing. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” She took Elliot’s hands.
“Oui. Yes, yes.”
She yelped before pulling him into a hug I didn’t at all appreciate. In fact, this little stunt Elliot just pulled off was highly inappropriate, and I wasn’t about to allow it.
“Claudia, please calm down.”
Still hugging Elliot as if he were one of her new fur coats, she huffed. “I just found us a new private chef, Daniel. I’m allowed to be happy.”
“Oui, Daniel. Be happy,” Elliot said in his broken English, a knowing smile accompanying his words. “I go the Hamptons with you.”
Apparently, Elliot didn’t at all need my help in finding himself a new job—he’d just sorted things out for himself. And while doing so, he made sure to screw me over, and enjoyed it, too, given the glee on his face.
10
DANIEL
Sitting at the table in our yard, a newspaper in my hand, I could hear the sounds coming from the tennis court, where Claudia was having her morning lesson. Not far from me, Maya was playing with her dolls by the flower beds, and I watched her as she did. My little girl loved our Hamptons house, as it came with big lawns she could run around on. I also loved it here, especially how relaxing it was—different from the city, which never seemed to stop. Although, unlike my previous summers here, I wasn’t as calm this time. In fact, it almost felt like something was weighing on my shoulders. To be more specific, it was someone. A certain young man who shouldn’t be around my family at all, and yet, he’d just stepped out of the house carrying a tray with a pot of coffee and some pastries. It took my daughter no more than a second to let go of her precious doll before she ran toward Elliot, who bent down to be at eye level with her.
