Personal Chef

Chapter 58

Shawn: releasing a statement today

Shawn: need a little moral support

Shawn: can I come by your bistro?

I hadn't heard from Shawn for a few days and wondered if he was upset about our friend-status, so I was surprised when he texted. I'd been monitoring his social media, as well as Kat's, looking for something related to Jayce, but nothing had shown up.

Me: Of course. Come hungry!

Shawn: see u soon

He walked through the door at the perfect time. The lunch crowd was gone and only a couple tables were occupied by people drinking coffee or tea. One table had a pair of older women who came by every week and sat and chatted for hours. Seated at the other table was a young guy who was on his computer. I provided free WiFi, so often people brought their laptops.

Shawn was dressed for comfort, which was a look I always liked on him. He had on loose gray sweats and a huge black hoodie under a long wool coat. I knew he would have had the hood over his head out in the street if he was looking to avoid any fan confrontations.

"Hey there," I said from behind the coffee bar. "Take a seat anywhere."

He looked around and chose a table towards the back. I fixed him an Americano and brought it over along with a menu. Maybe it was presumptuous to assume what he wanted to drink, but after working for him and dating him, I knew his preferences inside and out.

"Can you join me?" he asked.

"My server is on break for another ten minutes, but once she gets back I can. Look over the menu in the meantime."

I then went to check on the two occupied tables to see if they needed anything. Once the server, Tiffany, came back out front, I told her I was taking a break. First I was going to put in Shawn's food order.

"Have you decided on something to eat?" I asked.

"Everything sounds good. What do you recommend?"

"The soup and sandwich combo of the day is a good one. It's a Cuban sandwich with a bowl of Cuban black bean soup."

"Sounds amazing. I'll take that, please."

I went back to the kitchen and gave my cook the order. I then asked Tiff to bring it out when it was ready. She blushed and giggled at the idea of waiting on Shawn Mendes. I warned her that she needed to be professional.

Pulling out the chair across from Shawn, I sat down with a sigh.

"You tired?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"A little. The long hours are hard on me. I'm looking forward to hiring a manager. Once I do, I might get a full day off on occasion. As is, I work all day every day. Paige is working six days a week, so I'd like her to get more time off, too."

"Is it worth it?" he asked. "I don't mean that in a negative way. I just know when everything gets really nuts for me I sometimes wonder if it's worth the stress. Then I perform live and I know it is."

"It's kind of the same for me. I wake up tired and feel anxious knowing I have such a long day ahead of me. Someone will tell me how much they love my restaurant, or I'll look around and see tables full of happy customers, and I don't mind how hard I have to work to make it happen."

He smiled warmly. "Making your dream come true is really hard work, right? Nothing worth having comes easy."

I laughed. "Such a philosopher!"