Chapter 2

Rae had spent the entire morning watching Leah run the shoot at Nell’s with envy.

How did she do it?

Leah was dressed in a simple cream knit sweater. Yet, she looked even more beautiful in the morning light than she had last night (if that was even possible).

Rae sighed, remembering how she had spent two hours in front of her mirror trying to style her hair like Leah’s. It just hadn’t worked. She patted her hair unconsciously.

Leah had been a revelation that morning. Chris and Leah had taken over the dining room at Nell’s. They had decided that the restaurant needed a publicity push. So, they spent the entire day so far shooting photos, reels and testimonials.

Rae sighed. Leah was so good at this! No wonder she had over three million followers online. She didn’t understand how Leah could get the reclusive Mr. Sterling to openly give a gushing testimonial about Nell’s. She had warned Leah there was no way Mr. Sterling would talk to anyone. Leah took that as a personal challenge.

She had watched Leah glide over to Mr. Sterling with a dimpled smile carrying two warm Madeleines on a small plate. She still remembered how she had disarmed the man.

“Mr. Sterling, I know you hate cameras, but Paul baked these specifically because he knew you were in today. Could I get just ten seconds of you tasting one for our local legacy series? Please?”

How did that work?

Rae knew how to run the floor at Nell’s. She could negotiate with suppliers, vendors; balance the ledger; create work schedules in her sleep. Yet she could have never done what Leah managed with just a few soft words.

It just wasn’t fair. Everyone loved Leah. It almost felt like some kind of black magic.

Leah caught Rae’s reflection in the glass of the wine cabinet across the room. She paused, her eyes learning the way Rae stood.

God, she envied that posture.

Rae didn’t even have to try. She just held herself with this quiet, untouchable authority - even when she was doing something as mundane as staring down a stack of dinner menus. Leah had spent years trying to project that kind of confidence, but on her, it always felt like playing dress-up. Rae just had it.

Leah knew she was pretty, maybe even gorgeous. Sure, she had a lot of followers online that tried to look like her. But she didn’t have the effortless gravitas that Rae had. She didn’t know how to get things done - like work schedules or negotiating with suppliers to find the various new ingredients that Paul wanted. She couldn’t understand how Rae made it look so easy.

Rae didn’t need to sweet talk someone into doing things. People listened when Rae told them to do something.

Leah pulled her shoulders back, straightening her spine. She looked at the glass cabinet reflection again. Almost. She could never look like Rae.

Everything was going well until the menace arrived.

“Chris! You’ve been shooting for over an hour,” Paul grumbled. “I need to prepare for dinner. My staff keeps getting distracted with all the cameras and lights in here.”

“Paul. Chill out. You know that I typically charge thousands of dollars for something like this right? Hell, even Leah would normally get a lot of money for even showing up to promote a restaurant. We’re doing this for free because it’s you. Nell’s needs a better presence online.”

Paul spluttered. “Nell’s doesn’t need a digital strategy or whatever you’re calling this nowadays. People come to Nell’s for my food and my hospitality. It’s not because of some picture on a phone.”

Chris groaned. “Bro. You’ve done three takes so far. And in each of them you managed to look like you’ve been held hostage by a cartel. Can you please help us out here?”

Paul turned to glare at Leah. “Can you please tell your brother-in-law to wrap it up? I’m sick of talking about ‘artisan tradition’ or whatever.”

Leah didn’t flinch. She set her iPad down and walked over to Paul. She gave him a sweet smile and gently smoothed down the lapel of his coat.

“You’re going to repeat whatever lines Chris gives you, Chef. Chris and I are doing this for Aunt Nell. Understand?”

“But...”

“No Paul. You need to understand that we’re doing you a favor. Now, when Chris tells you to talk about artisan tradition, you do it. Capiche?”

Paul opened his mouth to argue. But then he looked at Leah’s face and deflated with an exaggerated sigh. “You two are tyrants.”

“We’re professionals, bro,” Chris deadpanned from behind a monitor. “Rae, tell this jackass that he’s being a jackass.”

Rae smirked, “Paul, you’re being a jackass.”

“Thank you! That’s what we’ve all been saying.”

Everyone other than Paul laughed uproariously. Paul retreated back into the kitchen.

Chris cleared his throat. “Okay people, Let’s get the next shot in. Rae, sweetheart, why don’t you stand here for this next shot? And action!”

The girls could hear Paul still arguing with Chris when the front door shut. Apparently Paul was bemoaning the need for a trending audio track on the content that Chris had shot that day.

“Honestly, I don’t know how Chris puts up with it! I’d have punched Paul by now.” Rae said, shaking her head.

“Seriously! The man cooks like an angel. But he is stubborn when it comes to things he doesn’t understand.” Leah added.

“If I had to listen to Paul whine about lighting one more time, I swear I would have drowned him in his own stockpot,” Dana declared. “Alright girls. Who wants to share this Cabernet with me?”

“Ooh. I do!” Rae said, with a smile. “I need something after listening to our man act like an ungrateful brat all day.”

“But he’s our ungrateful brat right?” Leah corrected. She sank into the corner of the sectional with her legs tucked in. She held out her glass for Dana to fill. “Still. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris puts him into a headlock soon.”

Dana giggled and raised a toast. “Here’s to our ungrateful brat. Paul the menace.”

The girls chuckled and clinked their full glasses with one another.

Three empty bottles rested on the rug within a couple of hours. In Paul’s absence, Leah and Rae reverted to being the close friends they had always been. The wine helped them let their hair down and kick back. The women gossiped and laughed until their ribs ached.

“Chris still treats us like we’re five years old. Doesn’t he?” Rae giggled when Leah poured her another glass.

“You know Chris thinks he’s protecting us right?” Leah said, her cheeks flushed warm with wine.

“Aw. Don’t talk about my husband that way. You know that he thinks you’re both his sisters right?”

“We know.” Rae laughed. “Last month, when I was supervising the setup at that Farmer’s Market, he yelled at this cute guy who was trying to hit on me. He yelled at him so loudly that the poor guy couldn’t get away quickly enough! I didn’t even get his name.”

Leah squealed. “Tell me about it. He did the exact same thing with me. There was this agency client of his that asked if he could get my number. Chris changed the contract and explicitly added a line stating that I don’t do off-hours consulting.”

“Aw! That’s so sweet!” Dana said. “My husband is the best.”

“Really? You’re telling me you would have appreciated someone driving men away from you when you were single?”

Dana’s eyes had a twinkle in them. “Really? You’re telling me either of you mind Chris chasing men away. Like you don’t have someone else that you’re interested in already?”

Neither woman answered.

Dana looked at Leah innocently. “So how are your love lives going? We haven’t talked about it for a while. What happened with that gorgeous actor you collaborated with last month, Leah? What was his name? Raj or something?”

Leah blushed, “Oh you know. He tried ... just like all these clueless men do. He was very good looking. But you know...”