A la Carte

Chapter 9

Charlotte yawned again, regretting that she asked for an extra shift on the Saturday afternoon. She rubbed her tired eyes, thankful she hadn't put any makeup on, only base to cover up the bags beneath her eyes. Her hair was still curly from the bun it had been in for the event and Charlotte had twisted it into a high ponytail, satisfied that her hair looked a bit better than her face did.

"Charlotte!" Perry called. She spun around and made her way quickly to where the blonde was standing.

"Yeah?"

"Table 5's bill." Charlotte muttered her thanks and headed off with the bill, plastering a fake smile to her face and handing it to the customer.

"Enjoy the rest of your day." She said cheerfully as they left. She checked her watch and nearly sighed in relief when she saw that her shift would be finished in ten minutes. Thankfully ten minutes flew by and soon Charlotte was hailing a cab to take her tired self - home.

"Betty I am back!" She called, not at all surprised to see Tyler stick his head around the corner and give her a wave.

"Hey Char!" He said enthusiastically.

"Hey Ty!" She exclaimed in a high pitched fan girl voice, he chuckled.

"You are my taste tester as of now, come taste." He said beckoning to her; she followed him to the kitchen where she found that Tyler had laid various plates of tiny little deserts across the counter.

"Geez, what is this for?" She said as she sat down at the counter.

"New client." Tyler said with a shrug.

"Cool, so what do I begin with?" Charlotte asked. Tyler handed her a plate with what looked like to be a red velvet type miniature cake, simple yet classic.

"That's really good." She said. Tyler then continued to hand her different plates which she evaluated and rated although they were equally all really good.

"I cannot eat anymore." She groaned as she rubbed her stomach and chuckled, Tyler looked amused as he washed up the dishes, Charlotte got up to help him, but he shooed her away and instead she made herself a strong cup of coffee even though all the sugary treats had seemed to give her a bit of energy.

"Betty mentioned you wanted to go culinary school, what stopped you?" Tyler asked as he scrubbed and rinsed. Charlotte tensed at his question.

"My parents," She sighed, "they wanted me to study Prelaw, but that wasn't my dream." She said with a shrug.

"I have a proposition," Tyler said facing her, "I could train you and as payment you could work with me."

"I wouldn't be qualified though." Charlotte pointed out.

"Yeah, but if you trained under me and worked with me it could open up doors to culinary schools and scholarships would be easier to get as well." Tyler said.

"What's in it for you?"

"I need an extra hand and I don't really trust many people to work with me, you have some experience and you are trustworthy." He explained.

Charlotte mulled it over, it could potentially open up opportunities that she hadn't had in the past and she would be doing what she always wanted to do, or close enough to it.

"Tell you what, talk to Betty and your friends or whoever and let me know when you're ready, but don't take too long." Tyler said.

"Thanks Tyler, I'll let you know." She said before grabbing her mug and disappearing into her room. The coffee did nothing to make Charlotte stay awake and soon she found herself drifting off into a deep and much needed sleep.