Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Bryson Baudelaire.”
“How do you spell that?”
“No clue.”
“It sounds fake,” Vee said.
“That’s because it’s the last name of the kids in those Lemony Snicket books,” Hal told him, as he clicked a few keys.
Vee crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “See? Fake name.”
“It could also be a real last name. There was a French poet called Baudelaire.” Hal turned the laptop to face me and asked, “Is this him?”
“Yup.” The picture on the screen was definitely the man I’d met, but he looked way better. Last night, he’d been pale and rumpled. Plus, there was that whole sopping wet thing.
In the photo, he was dressed in a spotless white chef’s coat with his name embroidered where a name tag would go. His dark hair was neatly styled, and he was wearing a fancier pair of glasses. But the biggest difference was his confidence. That version of him stood tall and proud, staring into the camera with his arms crossed over his chest. In person, he’d seemed sort of beaten down… but then, he had just suffered a major public humiliation.
There was an article beneath the photo with a headline that read: Bryson Baudelaire prepares to take the culinary world by storm. I murmured, “That must have been right before his restaurant was set to open.”
Hal turned the screen to face him and scanned the article before saying, “I actually ate at his restaurant last year. It was called Almond, for some reason. I was interning for that hotshot designer, and he took me and his other intern there to celebrate a new contract with a major department store. I think he was trying to show off, because the restaurant had just opened the week before and it was hard to get a reservation.”
I murmured, “Oh wow. If it was new last year and it closed six months ago, it really didn’t last very long.”
“That’s not unusual,” Vee told me. “I remember hearing that half of all new restaurants close within the first year.”
I asked Hal, “What was it like?”
“It was pretty—soft colors, natural light, blond wood. Sort of Scandinavian.”
“How was the food?”
He shrugged. “Your typical fine dining bullshit. It tasted good and looked beautiful, but each course was only two or three bites. When we got back to the studio I had to eat a granola bar because I was still hungry, and I’m not a big eater.”
“I’ve never been to a place that fancy. Have you, Vee?”
“Nah. If I’m spending a hundred bucks on a meal, I want to be so full at the end of it that you have to roll me to the car.”
“It was way more expensive than that.” Hal closed the computer and said, “It’s good to know he was telling the truth about who he is, but you really need to think this through, Em. You’d be moving in with a total stranger. What if he pressured you for sex or something?”
“That won’t happen. Didn’t I mention he’s straight?”
My friends looked surprised again, and Vee said, “No, you didn’t. Why would a straight guy marry a man?”
“Because he doesn’t have any other options.” Vee started to protest, but I interrupted him. “I know the whole thing sounds strange, but this could do so much for me. In the short term, I’d be able to use the monthly stipend to give Yolanda and JoJo what I owe them.” I felt awful about owing my landladies two months’ back rent. “And in a year, I’d end up with a hundred grand, which I could use to start my own custom cake business. That’s the only way I’ll ever get to do what I love and be a cake decorator, after getting fired from just about every bakery in town for being too clumsy.”
“It’s definitely a life-changing amount, although after taxes it’ll come out to around sixty thousand.” Hal was always a realist.
“That’s still way more money than I’ve ever seen.”
“Sure,” Hal said, “but it’s not for nothing. You’re giving this stranger a year of your life. And what if you meet someone great during that time and want to date them? How would that work?”
“Let’s be real. My love life is a train wreck. Somehow, I don’t think Prince Charming is suddenly going to materialize and try to whisk me away.”
“It sounds like you’ve made up your mind about this,” Hal said.
“I guess I have. I want to do it, but who knows if Bryson is going to reach the same conclusion?”
“He probably will. Like you said, what choice does he have? But before this goes any further, I need to meet him,” Vee told me.
Hal cut in with, “We need to meet him.”
“Right. We need to meet him,” Vee said. “If we spot any red flags, you have to promise not to do this, Em. No amount of money is worth putting yourself in a bad situation. If you need some help catching up on your bills, I have a little money put away, and you’re welcome to it.”