But didn’t care to pursue. She peered towards the back of the café to the door that led to the kitchen. ‘No, thank you. I’ve popped in to see Lizzie.’
‘Lizzie Dumont?’
Jesse’s wife was a chef and the driving force behind the exemplary standards of the Morgan eateries. Alex had tried to poach her to work for him on a start-up in Sydney, a traditional French bistro. That was before he’d realised she’d been engaged to Jesse Morgan. That had stopped him. Back then he’d let nothing stop his quest for success—except loyalty to friends and family. That had never been negotiable.
‘She’s Lizzie Morgan now, well and truly married to Jesse,’ Adele said. ‘They have a beautiful baby boy, a brother for her daughter Amy.’
‘Yes,’ he said.
Lizzie had a child from her first marriage. Alex had admired Jesse for taking on a stepchild. Had admired him the more because it wasn’t something Alex himself could ever do. His feeling for family and heritage was too deeply ingrained to ever take on another man’s child. He would never date a woman who came encumbered.
‘Here she is.’ Adele waved at a tall woman with curly, pale blonde hair who had pushed her way through the doors from the kitchen.
‘Dell! It’s so good to see you.’ Alex watched as Lizzie swept Adele up in a hug. ‘It’s been too long. We’ve got so much to catch up on.’
‘We certainly do,’ said Adele, giving Lizzie the full benefit of her dazzling smile. Politely, she turned to include him in the conversation. No smile for him. ‘Lizzie, I think you know Alex Mik—’
‘Of course I do,’ Lizzie said. She greeted him with a hug and kisses on both cheeks. ‘He’s a good friend of Jesse’s. When we heard he was going to be in Sydney we invited him down to Bay Breeze. Long time, no see, Alex.’ Her smile dimmed and her voice softened. ‘Are you okay?’
He nodded. ‘As okay as I can be,’ he said. ‘I’ve appreciated the support from you and Jesse. It means a lot.’ He didn’t want to talk about his loss any further. Displaying vulnerability clashed with all the ideals of manhood that had been imbued in him by his family. ‘I didn’t know you two knew each other,’ he said. How much did Lizzie know of his history with Adele? No doubt he’d been painted as an ogre of the first order. A beast.
Lizzie beamed. ‘Dell was one of our first customers. Her glowing reviews of Bay Bites helped put us on the map. The bonus was we became friends. Though we don’t see each other as much as we’d like.’
Adele studiously avoided his eyes, obviously uncomfortable at the mention of her good reviews when she’d given Athina such a stinker. The court case had ensured she’d never reviewed his newer ventures, never put them ‘on the map’.
‘I’ve always loved this part of the world,’ she said. ‘And Bay Breeze is the icing on the cake. I love what you guys have done with it, Lizzie. The building, the fit-out, the food. The timing is perfect. Stress and burnout are endemic today. Offering this kind of retreat in such an awesome natural setting is just what a particular lucrative market is looking for.’
Had she read his mind? She could have been quoting him on the pitch for his new luxury boutique resort.
As she chatted with Lizzie, Alex was surprised at how much Adele knew about the hospitality business. She was both perceptive and canny. She understood how success came from meeting people’s needs but also about anticipating them. Giving them what they didn’t know they wanted until it was offered to them, all new and shiny. Knowing your customer through and through. Being open to change and nimble enough to adapt to it.
The strength of Bay Breeze she had pinpointed was on track with what he wanted for his new venue. It wasn’t often he met someone who was so in tune with how he thought about the business. Although that was perhaps not such a surprise when in the past he’d surrounded himself with too many ‘yes’ men.
‘So what are your plans for life after the newspaper?’ Lizzie asked her.
Adele frowned at Lizzie with what was obviously a warning. Alex realised she didn’t want him to hear that. Which made him determined not to miss a word.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
Lizzie sounded outraged. ‘That darn newspaper fired Dell. Booted her out with a cheque in lieu of notice.’
Adele glared at her friend for spilling the beans.
‘Is that true?’ he asked Adele. ‘You’ve lost your job?’
She shrugged. But he could see it was an effort for her to sound casual about such a blow. Especially in front of him. ‘Budget cuts, they said. It...it was a shock.’
‘Because of the court case?’ Regret churned in him. How much damage had he caused for something that now seemed unimportant?
She didn’t meet his eye. ‘No. That was three years ago. Although I was never popular with management afterwards. Being sued wasn’t regarded as a highlight of my résumé.’
He frowned. ‘What will you do?’ He felt a shaft of shame at what he had put her through. Although he had felt totally in the right at the time.
Alex expected a snarl and a rejoinder to mind his own business. But she couldn’t mask the panic in her eyes. ‘I don’t know yet. They only gave me the boot a week ago. But I’ve got options.’
‘Of course you have,’ said loyal Lizzie. ‘Publicity and marketing among them. That would be a logical move for you.’
Adele nodded to her friend. ‘Yes, I’ve thought of that,’ she said. ‘And I can freelance. It will also allow me to give my blog more attention.’
Alex doubted she could make enough to live on from that blog, in spite of the number of readers it attracted. Unless she’d made big strides with attracting advertising since he’d last looked at Dell Dishes.
‘Your husband?’ he asked after some hesitation. He was sure there’d been a husband.
Her mouth twisted. ‘Divorced.’ Her chin tilted upward. ‘In any case, I don’t depend on a man to support me.’
He wouldn’t have expected any other response from the feisty food critic. ‘Do you have children?’
Something he couldn’t read darkened her eyes. She shook her head.
‘Then come and work for me.’ The words escaped his mouth before he’d had time to think about them. But some of his best decisions had been made on impulse.
* * *
Dell looked up at Alex Mikhalis, the man she regarded as the devil incarnate. He towered over her, darkly formidable in black jeans and a black T-shirt that made no secret of his strength, his impressive muscles.
‘Did you just offer me a job?’ She couldn’t keep the disbelief from her voice. From behind her, she heard Lizzie gasp.
‘I did,’ he said gruffly.
‘Why would you do that?’
‘You need a job. I need help with a new venture.
