“I have no idea.” Emma was having a hard time deciding until another server walked by carrying two gorgeous leafy salads topped with grilled scallops. “That looks delicious.”
“It is,” the waiter assured them. “The scallops are local, from Nantucket Bay. The chef brushes them with an orange butter sauce before they go on the grill. There’s also sliced avocado, pecans and crumbled goat cheese with an orange, sesame, and ginger vinaigrette.
Emma closed her menu. “I’ll have that.”
“Me too,” Jill and Mandy both said at the same time.
“Can you tell we’re related?” Jill asked with a grin.
“It’s an excellent choice.” He smiled as he gathered up their menus.
“Okay,” Mandy began. “Seriously, what are we going to do? None of us have run a restaurant. And both of you are scheduled to be on planes home this afternoon.”
“I have quite a bit of restaurant experience actually,” Emma said. She’d been thinking about nothing else since they’d left the attorney’s office and for the first time in weeks, she felt a bit of excitement building. Maybe Grams was onto something with this strange request.
“You worked as a server. You’ve never managed a restaurant,” Mandy corrected.
“True, but I worked as a server for several years. At The Barnacle, some of the wait staff had been there for over twenty or thirty years. When it was slow, we used to sit out back and discuss how we’d do things differently. This might not be such a crazy idea after all. A year goes by quickly and it’s not like we really have a choice.” She looked around the table, then added, “Unless we’re willing to just walk away and let Paul have Mimi’s Place.”
“Well, that’s another factor—Paul. How do you feel about working with him?” Mandy asked.
Emma sighed. She’d been shocked at the news initially, but she didn’t see why it needed to change anything.
“That was another lifetime. I’m sure Paul and I could find a way to work together. We both moved on years ago.”
“I don’t see how it’s possible though.” Mandy was always the voice of reason. “Jill runs a multi-million dollar business in Manhattan and you live clear across the country, and I’m just a stay-at-home wife and mother. I really don’t see how this could work.”
“First of all, you’re not ‘just’ a stay-at-home mother. Look at all those incredible charity events you’re always pulling together. Not everyone can do that. And I don’t have to live in Phoenix, especially now that I’m getting divorced.” Emma turned her attention to her other sister. “And Jill, you’ve said many times that you could work from anywhere, that all you need is a laptop and a phone.”
“Well yes, but…”
“So, theoretically you could work from here?” Emma pressed.
“Theoretically, I could,” Jill conceded. “But it would be difficult.”
They were all silent for a moment, and then Mandy leaned forward in her chair. “But not impossible.” She was obviously warming to the idea.
“Besides, New York isn’t far at all. You could probably get back there once or twice a month if you wanted to,” Emma added.
“There’s three of us,” Mandy began. “We can split our time up, so we won’t have to always be there together.”
Jill was surprised that Emma and Mandy seemed to have done a complete turnaround on Grams’ crazy idea. Her ears picked up a faint buzzing sound and realized that somewhere deep inside Mandy’s purse, her cell phone was ringing again. She sighed. It might be nice to have a break from the constant grind, and it would only be for a year.
“So Mandy, are you saying you want to do this too?” Jill asked when the waiter arrived with their salads.
Mandy took a bite of a scallop before answering. “Oh, these scallops are amazing.” She paused for a moment, savoring the flavor. Then she put her fork down and spoke, her tone serious. “Yes, I want to do this. Grams wanted it for us, and I can’t help but think that the timing is a good thing, sort of meant to be. I’ve been thinking for a while now that I wanted to do something, maybe find a part-time job now that the kids are a bit older.”
“Okay, so what do we do now then?” Jill asked.
“I think you and I should still fly home as planned,” Emma began. “I really only need a few days to get things settled, pack and fly back. I can go back in a few months to take care of anything I missed. How much time do you think you’ll need?”
“Well, Mandy’s right. Manhattan really isn’t that far, so I should only need a few days too. Especially since I’ll be going back more often.”
“Where do you think you want to stay?” Mandy asked. “There’s plenty of room with me, or of course there’s Grams’ house. It has four bedrooms, and you’d be just a short walk from Mimi’s Place.”
“I’d love to stay at Grams’ place I think,” Emma decided. “With that many bedrooms, we could each use one as an office too, if we like.”
“Works for me,” Jill agreed.
“I’ll call to schedule a meeting next week with Ray and Paul to go over everything.”
“Okay, then it’s settled.” Jill lifted her water glass. “To Mimi’s Place.”
Emma and Mandy clinked their glasses together.
“To Mimi’s Place.”
Jill strode into her office at a quarter to four.
“I’m so sorry about your grandmother. How are you doing?” Amy’s face reflected concern and care. She was a stellar receptionist, in her mid-fifties and was so naturally kind and caring that she had a calming effect on everyone from nervous candidates to Jill and Billy and the rest of the staff.
“Thank you, I’m doing okay. Is Billy in?”
“He’s in his office with Tony and Nicole. They seem excited about something.”
Jill headed back to her office, which was down the hall from Billy’s. As co-owners, they each had a corner office with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city.
As she walked through the office, various employees offered their condolences. The energy level was high as usual. Everyone was either on the phone or tapping away on their keyboards. Jill caught a glimpse of the ‘board’, where everyone tracked their placements for the month and saw that the overall number was up considerably. They must have closed several deals in the last few days. She dropped her bag and coat in her office before going to see Billy.
Tony and Nicole, two of their recruiters, were still in his office, the three of them gabbing away as she walked in.
“Hey! How are you?” Billy got up from his desk and walked over to give Jill a big hug.
“I’m fine. So, what are you all celebrating?”
Billy’s eyes lit up as he glanced at Tony and Nicole before answering. “These two just set a record for the biggest placement in our company’s history.”
“They filled the MacGregor search?” It had to be. Typical fees were in the twenty-five to thirty percent range of the candidate’s starting salary, but this client offered to pay forty percent to ensure that they were given the highest possible priority, given that this was also an extremely difficult search and they wanted an added incentive to stay focused and not give up.