“This looks like a fabulous area,” Harmony said.
Flynn nodded. “I looked at a lot of places. I ate at a lot of places, talked to quite a few people who lived in those areas. This one was just it for me. Plus it’s close to where I live. It has an old-city charm to it, yet modern and fresh. It just felt . . . right.”
She could tell Flynn loved this area. Who wouldn’t, with its tree-lined sidewalks and people milling about, wandering up and down the street and stopping in the shops. She was kind of envious of Flynn being able to live in such a beautiful city.
He took them into a restaurant called The Grove, very atmospheric with a woodsy décor. They were seated and presented with the menu.
Harmony perused it, her stomach grumbling.
“Well,” she said, as she laid the menu down, “I want everything.”
Flynn laughed. “I’ve had just about everything on the menu. Trust me, it’s all good.”
Since they served breakfast all day, and it was her favorite meal, she settled for the salmon omelet. Barrett decided on a turkey club and Flynn the tuna melt. They ordered drinks, which their waitress brought over right away.
“Tell me about the chef you’re interviewing today,” Barrett asked.
“She’s from Oregon,” Flynn said. “Comes highly recommended by the manager I hired. She’s looking for a fresh start. Recently divorced and has no attachments in the state she lives in, so she’s free to move. Her credentials are really damn good, and if she’s as good as my new manager, Ken, says she is, then I think she might fit what I’m looking for.”
“You gonna make her cook for you?” Barrett asked.
“I dunno.”
“You should. I would.”
“I don’t know if that’s necessary.”
Barrett shrugged. “Why not? No better way to find out if someone is as good as they say they are on paper than to put them to the test. You should invite her to the house for dinner. Have her prepare a meal for us. I mean for you.”
Harmony laughed. “Nothing like putting pressure on someone, Barrett.”
“It’s not a horrible idea,” Flynn said. “I’ll talk to her this afternoon. If I feel like she could work out, I might suggest dinner.”
“If that happens, be sure to text your brother,” Harmony said. “I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
“Plus, we like food,” Barrett said.
Flynn smirked. “Yeah, yeah.”
The subject shifted from Flynn’s restaurant to football, so Harmony sipped the tea she’d ordered and listened in as Barrett and Flynn argued various defensive strategies until their food arrived.
She not only ogled her plate, but Barrett’s and Flynn’s as well. “Wow.”
“I told you how great it was, didn’t I?” Flynn said.
Harmony dug into her salmon omelet, savoring every bite of goodness. “This is amazing. In fact, it’s so good, I want to eat it twice.”
All Barrett did was grunt, which she assumed meant he agreed. They all ate and made very little conversation, and when they were finished, she told Flynn he’d taken them to the best restaurant ever.
“At least until mine opens,” he said with a grin.
“True. I hope to come back and have dinner at your restaurant when it opens.”
“You have an invitation for opening night. Have Barrett bring you.”
She shifted her glance to Barrett, figuring he’d be uncomfortable with that. But he only leveled a knowing smile at her.
Hmm.
After lunch they walked a short way to the restaurant. It was just a shell right now, but Harmony loved the location.
“It’s perfect, Flynn,” she said. “I can see why you chose this area.”
He smiled. “Thanks. It’ll be even better when there’s something inside.”
“That’ll happen soon enough,” Barrett said.
Flynn took them on a tour of the inside of the restaurant, then they parted ways and Flynn took off to run some errands before his meeting, leaving her and Barrett alone.
“What do you want to do first?” Barrett asked.
“I have no idea. I’ve never been here, so I’m going to rely on you to be tour guide for me.”
“Okay. Let’s roll on out of here.”
Harmony couldn’t wait to see everything—or as much of everything—that San Francisco had to offer.
Twenty-Two
After running some errands, Flynn came back to the restaurant and met with his new manager, Ken, prior to the interview with the proposed chef. And since Ken had a lot of years of restaurant management experience, they discussed some inventory items and went back and forth on the layout. Since the place was gutted right now and no walls were up, he had some time to decide on placement before he met with the architect and contractors.
Right now they had a folding table and four chairs situated in the middle of the concrete floor. All he had was a vision.
“The windows out front afford a lot of light,” Ken said, “which will be great for your daytime crowd. You’ll have to decide what kind of ambience you want for evenings.”