She scanned it. “You’ve called it the Winter Warmer menu?”
“It’s no longer a taster menu, so I thought we should present it as something different. Confidently. Not as something we’ve thrown together in last-minute desperation. It’s snowing outside. People enjoy comfort food when it’s cold, and also at Christmas. I thought tomorrow’s menu could be Festive Feast. And maybe later in the week we could have Santa’s Supper.”
Hattie was so focused on simply surviving the evening, she hadn’t given a thought to the rest of the week. But Erica had thought about it. Winter Warmer. Festive Feast.
“I wanted to do something similar in the beginning—fun themed evenings. I thought we could do a Swiss night, with fondue and other traditional Swiss dishes. I even thought about offering posh afternoon tea, the way they do in the big hotels in London. Finger sandwiches and amazing cakes, maybe a glass of champagne—” She stopped and shook her head. “Sorry. Getting carried away and I need to stay focused. Thanks for the menu.”
“Wait—” Erica tapped her finger against her lips. “So what happened to your idea for Swiss night and afternoon tea? It wasn’t a success?”
“We didn’t try it. Brent didn’t think it would work. He wanted to offer a gourmet tasting menu with wine pairings. And that was popular. His idea was a good one.”
“But that doesn’t mean your idea was bad,” Erica murmured. “There is more than one good idea in the world. I’ve heard a lot about what Brent thought, but what about you? What does Hattie think?”
No one ever asked her what she thought. Everyone had just assumed she’d keep things going the way Brent had. Except Noah, of course. He’d always shown confidence in her and encouraged her to forge her own path.
Noah.
She wasn’t sure what she would have done without his support earlier. Just having him there had made things easier.
And she badly wanted to show the courage he seemed to think she possessed.
“I think I like what you’ve done with this menu. I think that once things have settled down, I’d like to explore being more creative with our dining options.”
“Good. If you want to toss around a few ideas, I’m a good listener.”
Hattie felt a flicker of excitement. It was slowly dawning on her that she could do whatever she liked. Make whatever decision she wanted to make. No one was going to stop her or tell her they had a better idea. It was both freeing and scary. The responsibility for success or failure was all hers.
She looked from the menu to Erica. “You were on your way out the door. Why are you helping me?”
“You look like someone who could use some help, so let’s start with that as a reason and tackle the rest later.” Erica tidied up the paper stacked by the printer. “We need to get this menu to Claudia for approval and then print them. After that, you can tell me what else needs to be done and we can throw around some ideas if that’s helpful. Do you want me to take her the menu?”
Hattie had no idea what Erica did for a living, but she was willing to bet she was good at it.
“Thank you, but I’ll do it. I should probably check on things.”
She headed to the kitchen. No matter how good Claudia was, the staff had been unsettled to have lost Chef Tucker and were probably upset by all the conflict and concerned for the future.
Braced to give another motivational speech, she pushed open the doors of the kitchen and stepped inside.
She felt the energy instantly. Everyone was busy, food was being prepared, the smells so delicious that for a moment she wished she were a guest and not the owner. And in the middle of it all was Claudia, who appeared to be everywhere at once, encouraging, demonstrating, praising and smiling.
Hattie felt a sudden burst of optimism. The ball of tension in her stomach eased.
Claudia noticed her and strode across the kitchen. “Are those our menus?”
Hattie liked her use of the word our. With Chef Tucker and Stephanie every conversation had been dominated by I. I need this. I want this.
“Yes. Erica has done a great job.”
“No surprise there.” Claudia took the menu and scanned it, checking for mistakes. “All looks good. Winter Warmer. I love it. Are you fine with all the menu changes?”
Hattie realized she’d barely looked at the content. “You’re the one in charge of that. If you think it works, then it will work.”
Claudia gave her a curious look. “Right. Good. It’s going to work, trust me.” She handed the menu back. “Erica can print these up for the tables and I’ll get back to work.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.” Hattie touched her arm. “You’ve saved the day.”
Just this one day, but it was a start.
“You’re the one who saved the day.” Claudia patted Hattie’s hand. “You got rid of Stephanie, and you trusted a stranger in your kitchen. Big decisions, but good ones. You need to have more faith in yourself. You’ve got this.”
Was that true?
For the first time since Brent had died Hattie felt that maybe, just maybe, she did have this. She just needed to believe in herself and stop listening to the negative voice in her head.
SEVENTEEN
Erica
Erica stood outside the door to Hattie’s private rooms.
She rarely felt awkward in situations, but she wondered now if that was because she avoided situations that made her feel awkward. She stayed in her comfort zone. But didn’t everyone, up to a point?
Having printed the menus, placed them on tables in the restaurant and checked on Anna, she’d contemplated returning to her room. But somehow, here she was, outside Hattie’s door.
Maybe this was a bad time. Anna had always hated being called in the middle of bath time when the twins were little. Erica glanced at her watch. Was this bath time? She had no idea. She wasn’t only outside her comfort zone, she was also outside her zone of expertise.
She knocked and waited.
There was no response, or sounds of movement, and she was about to walk away—at least no one would be able to say she hadn’t tried—when the door opened.
Hattie stood there. Her hair was loose over her shoulders and in her hand was a children’s book. She looked soft and maternal and more assured than earlier in the day facing Stephanie.
“I’m disturbing you.” Erica backed away, but Hattie shook her head and opened the door wider.
“No, you’re not. I finished the story half an hour ago, but it took a while for her to go to sleep. Too much excitement today. Come on in.”
Left with no choice, Erica stepped over the threshold.