Tasteless (16 page)

“Let’s try to see each other more, okay sis?” Sage frowned, reaching out to touch Rye’s hair.  “We never hang out anymore and I so super miss that.”

“I so super miss that too,” Rye laughed.  Her family smiled, raising their glasses again and clinking them as they wished her and Warner the best of luck.  As they sipped on their wine, Rye peered out to look at the sight, to truly take it in.  She hoped her family would stay true to their word, but even if they didn’t, she suspected this memory would hold her over for a long time.

Chapter 9

Rye didn’t even know of Governors Island’s existence until Somerville Diner enrolled in the Eat-the-Farm Festival.  She realized just how little she knew of the city at all.  Since she met Sam and his friends, she was delighted to learn that New York was made up of more than the obnoxious neighborhoods her siblings lived in and frequented.

After an early morning of packing up a giant crate full of food and equipment, boarding the ferry, and taking the short and sunny little ride from Brooklyn to the tiny island, Rye found herself already exhausted.  She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through the day when she felt so fatigued before the tents even went up.  Sam on the other hand seemed pretty energetic.  He and a crew of old line chef friends were unpacking crates and setting up seating with the speed of five-year-olds running for the ice cream truck.  Their energy was contagious and Rye soon found herself with enough of a second wind to run around with them.

When the space was completed, they had managed to mimic the look of Zoe’s cocktail hour with the draped silk and little tables.  Unlike the other tents at the event, they had what almost looked like an official dining room.  Sam fired up the grill as she stood proudly beside him, helping him and the line chefs prep for the day while the press started filing in.  They posed for pictures, explained what they were cooking and where all the ingredients were sourced, and watched happily as the reporters tried and marveled over their food.

As she chatted with some bloggers, she noticed something familiar about one of the photographers taking Sam’s picture.  He was tall and lean, dressed in a fitted black t-shirt and bright red slim fit jeans and there was something about the way he stood that called out to her.  Without warning, he turned to her, snapping a few photos before lowering the camera from his face.

“Hey Rye,” Jeremy said, adjusting his thick black-frame glasses as he walked over to her.  Rye felt herself immediately preening herself, desperately running her fingers through her hair and smoothing out the floral sundress she had borrowed from Gemma.

“Jeremy, oh my goodness,” she laughed, walking around the grill and holding out her arms.

“God, you look…
incredible
,” he observed, speaking louder than she had ever heard him speak.  She hugged him before holding Jeremy out in front of her to get a better look at him.

“And you look like a grown-up!” Rye exclaimed, though she wasn’t totally sure what that meant.  All she knew was that Jeremy wasn’t the quiet, mysterious, brooding high school boy she had come to know.  He was dressed in what she understood to be nerdy-chic, but he looked less ridiculous than most of the people she had seen in that scene.  Pinned to the strap of his camera was a press pass reading “TBNY.”

“Yeah,” he said, noticing as she looked at the pass.  “I’ve been working there for almost a year.”

“That’s great, congratulations,” Rye replied.  She was surprised considering Jeremy had gone through high school as an eat-to-live kind of guy.  Taste Buddies New York was a publication that was very much live-to-eat.

“And congrats to you,” he returned, taking her hand and twirling her around.  “On all fronts, I mean seriously.”

“Oh,” she blushed, realizing he was referring to the way she was dressed.  She had also noticed that she looked pretty good in her borrowed outfit.  It was a cheeky nod to the fifties with its heart-shaped neckline, halter straps, and A-line skirt.  While she had been getting compliments all day, she had never expected one from Jeremy.  She hadn’t even expected to
see
him.  And it was a strange but pleasant surprise that in the years they hadn’t seen each other, he had gotten pretty vocal.

“Can I interview you for our piece?” he asked, leading her to one of the dining tables.  “We have a couple reporters covering the event, but they assigned me to this booth when they realized I was that weird kid from the show.”

“You were never weird,” Rye giggled as she took a seat.  “I was the weird kid.”

“We were both pretty weird,” Jeremy agreed.  “That’s why we got along so well.”  He smiled, taking out a small notebook from his back pocket.  He opened it, keeping an eye on her as he did so.  “So,” he began.  “Let’s start with the big question – when did you get so hot?”

“What?” Rye laughed, covering her mouth.  It was an explosive enough of a reaction on her end that she would have spit all over Jeremy had she not done so.

“Okay, fine, that wasn’t one of the official questions, but I’m going to need you to answer that before I can
actually
get started.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rye replied coyly.  “I’ve always been this hot.”

“Okay, I see,” Jeremy said, nodding in a mock-serious manner as he scribbled some notes.  “Always… been…. hot…” Rye laughed again, propping her head up in her hands as she leaned on the table.  By the grill, she could hear someone mocking her laughter.  She glanced over to see Sam and the line chefs looking on, giggling and fanning themselves as they made fun of her.  She threw them a quick finger before turning her attention back on Jeremy.

“Do you really think I look hot?” she whispered at him.  He peered up from his notebook, tucking the pen behind his ears.

“I’ve always thought you looked hot.”

“No you didn’t,” Rye said.  “You would have accepted one of my thousands of advances if you thought I was.”

“I’m pretty sure none of your advances were obvious enough or I would have noticed,” Jeremy said.  “But you know, I was young and didn’t know what I was doing either.”

“Not uh,” Rye laughed.  “I don’t think that was the issue.  You locked me up in the friend zone and you threw away that key.”

“Well, well, Rye Somerville,” he said, leaning back in his seat.  “You’re a lot more direct than I remembered.”

“As are you.”

“I guess that’s just something that happens when you grow up.”

Rye smiled at him, wondering if that were really the case.  If being older meant holding back less and expressing yourself more, did that confirm that Sam had no interest in her? Did it confirm that she had no real intention of making something happen with Sam? He glanced over at him, watching as he flirtatiously fed a female reporter a cherry tomato.  She wrinkled her nose.

“Are you two together?” Jeremy asked.  “And just so you know, that’s actually a question from TBNY and not me.”

“No,” Rye said.

“Well,” he replied.  “They’re going to be pretty disappointed with that answer.  I, on the other hand, am pretty happy.”

“Yeah?” she smiled, turning back to Jeremy.

“Oh yeah,” he laughed.

“Happy enough to do something about it?” Rye asked.  Jeremy raised his eyebrow, his laughter stopping in his tracks.  She wondered if she had called his bluff or if he was just surprised that she was continuing her direct streak.

“What do you mean?” he said, his voice dropping to the timid whisper she remembered.

“Would you want to try something now?” Rye continued.  “As in dating, just in case that wasn’t clear enough.”  Jeremy paused for a moment before laughing as explosively as she had earlier.

“
Yes
,” he said.  “Of course.  So wait, are you asking me out or are you asking me to ask you out?”

“Whatever,” Rye giggled.  “We’ve known each other for long enough, let’s just do this.”

“I can do that,” Jeremy said, standing up and pulling Rye from her seat.  He put his other hand on the back of her neck, pulling her into him and crushing his lips into hers.  She stood still for a second, shocked.  She could see the Somerville Diner line chefs twittering at the grill, but she couldn’t quite see Sam.  But as Jeremy’s hands slipped to her waist and she caught scent of his familiar smell, Rye found herself quickly forgetting about who was watching.  She sighed, kissing Jeremy back, wondering if she had dreamed this entire crazy week.  Rye was so used to things not going her way that it had become a natural part of her life.  But now that her craziest dreams were coming true, she wasn’t sure she could ever go back.

BREAKING: FORGOTTEN SOMERVILLE CHILD IS SEMI-RELEVANT AGAIN

The Snarker

August 30
th

LOL who would’ve thought that we’d have to hear about Rye Somerville ever again?

Rye and that weird kid she used to hang out with were caught making out at the Eat-the-Farm Festival, making them the biggest story to come out of the event.  Not only did Somerville Diner snatch up a whole bunch of precious real estate that day, they pulled a stupid stunt like this one, as if they had always set out to give a giant middle finger to the rest of the vendors.

Well, the press ate it up and fine, so did we.  There’s a handful of us on the staff who were “huge fans of the show” and always thought that Rye and Jeremy would hook up onscreen.  Totally not creepy, guys.  I mean, they
were
minors on the show, you know.

While they maybe giddy about this unofficial renewal of
Days of Somertime
gossip, I for one am not excited about having to see the grownup version of Rye’s knotty-haired, makeup-less face.  And judging from the angry snapshots of all the vendors at the festival, I’m not the only one.

SAM LAURENT DEBUTS NEW PROJECT AT NEW YORK FOOD FESTIVAL

The Pop Source

August 30
th

In a beautifully decorated corner of New York’s charmingly green Governors Island was the dream-like scene of draped white silk and white dining tables.  The setup was reminiscent of the few official photos that
Leadoff
actress, Zoe Mercury, released of her secret wedding last month.

And it’s no coincidence – Mercury and her sports agent husband had tied the knot in the Dutchess Plains location of Sam Laurent’s new restaurant project, the once famous Somerville Diner of the once popular
Days of Somertime.

The festival reported record sales of their ticketed event, citing Laurent’s project as the one responsible for the uptick in interest.  Serving everything from sous-vide duck breast to colorful beet salads, Laurent’s booth proved to be the most popular among pop culture zealots and food enthusiasts alike.

“We’re very excited for the success we had at the festival,” Laurent told The Pop Source.  “And we’re really hoping it translates to a successful opening upstate.”

The announcement of Laurent’s partnership with Somerville Diner was initially met with skepticism, with some critics saying he wasn’t a big enough name to attract city-dwellers up to the secluded restaurant while others claimed attaching his name to the former reality show diner would cheapen his personal brand.  Luckily for Laurent and the diner, it seems the sentiment has changed.

Also at the event – Warner Somerville and his ex-wife, Olive, who were spotted sitting together on a picnic blanket by the diner’s grill.  They were later joined by all the Somerville children, who had all gone on to find relative success post-show.  The family of eight happily posed for photographers as they shared a meal, creating a scene reminiscent of their days on camera and quickly prompting rumors of Warner and Olive’s rekindled romance.

“It’s nice to see something so dear to me and my family getting the attention it deserves,” said the Somerville patriarch.  “I’m looking forward to what more this will bring to the Somerville legacy.”

Before the festival, Sam had definitely thought a quick break from Rye would do his raging libido some good.  It had been awhile since he had sex and while it wasn’t abnormal for him to engage in incidental abstinence when he was in full work mode, he didn’t normally feel so bogged down by it.  But these days, every time Sam knew that Rye was within ten feet of him, he could feel himself going just a little stir-crazy.  Even in his most laser-focused of moments, there were always these strange fantasy sequences running simultaneously.

He had also never felt guilty for his sexual fantasies.  Sam was the type of guy who freely daydreamed about every attractive woman he came across, whether it was a perfect stranger or a professor or even a friend of his mother’s.  And when he had first met Gemma and Zoe, he had daydreamed about them as well.  It was all harmless fun as long as he didn’t act on it.  But as he thought about what it would be like to undress Rye, which was as far as he could seem to sexually fantasize about, he couldn’t help but feel like he was doing something wrong.  As sexy as she had started to look to him, there was still something about her that made him feel like he shouldn’t think of her in such a light – like she was probably a happily non-sexual being.  He wondered if she was a virgin, if she had ever even kissed another man.  She certainly walked around with an air of innocence in that department.

But the festival changed everything.  Sam couldn’t believe what he was seeing when that puny little twerp reporter kissed Rye in front of everyone.  And it wasn’t some chaste kiss either.  It was something that involved enough tongue that Sam and his crew could see it over ten feet away.  He had definitely dropped everything he was doing in that moment, stunned by the image of innocent and undoubtedly inexperienced Rye being manhandled by some beanpole.  But at the same time, he found it just a little bit exciting.  He was finally able to see her in the way that his mind wouldn’t fully allow, as someone who knew what sex was and probably enjoyed it.  Even if it was with a sorry excuse for a man.

He hadn’t seen her since they left the festival.  Sam was hoping that Jeremy would leave for the rest of the day so he could ask Rye about him, but he had stubbornly stuck around, even offering to take Rye out for a meal she “didn’t have to work.”  Gemma had originally planned for Rye to stay with them in their house while she was in the city for the press events, but she later texted that she would be staying with Jeremy.

Now, Sam was angrily suppressing images of the two of them together, bitter over every call or text message to Rye that wasn’t immediately answered.  Luckily, there was still enough work to distract him and he planned to dive into it all headfirst, starting with his status meeting with Warner at The Red Deer.  While seated at the bar, waiting for Warner to arrive, he spotted a trio of women throwing glances in his direction.  He recognized them to be swimsuit models that he had seen in some magazine a couple months back.

He smiled.  If it were two years ago, he would have taken one or two of them to the coat checkroom and snuck in a quickie before his lunch meeting.  But today, he was feeling more focused and responsible than his twenty-three-year old self would have been.  He settled for the idea of simply being checked out by the three hottest women in the room, enjoying their attention as he tried to keep his mind on the little voice in his head that was listing all the little things he had to tell Warner.

It was then that he was distracted by another little voice.  This one was coming from the backroom next to the part of the bar where he was sitting.

“Yes, we’re all pretty excited about it.  It’s exactly what we were setting out to do.”  Sam recognized it to be Warner’s voice.  He appeared to be on the phone, somewhere between the bar and the kitchen.

“You know how important family is to us, we completely understand what you’re going for…” Warner’s voice got softer as he seemed to be walking away.  Sam had no idea what he could be referring to, but he was definitely curious.  He was pretty sure Warner hadn’t scheduled another press event since their publicity itinerary was already pretty full.  Besides, that was something Mira had been handling.  Though he knew it was probably a bad idea, Sam found himself standing and walking towards Warner’s voice.

He peered out from behind the doorframe, watching as Warner turned away from him, mindlessly watched the kitchen as he continued to talk.

“Right, yes,” he said into his phone.  “We won’t disappoint you, Mr. Gregory.  And I promise you that everything will be set by the end of September.”

Mr. Gregory?
Sam wondered.  He had thought to be pretty informed of the Somerville Diner’s team members and vendors, even if they weren’t people he saw everyday.  But he didn’t know of anyone with the last name of Gregory.  Nor did he think that there was anyone on the team that Warner would are to appear deferential to.

“Hey honey,” a voice purred from behind him.  Sam turned to see one of the swimsuit models slipping her fingers into the front of his pants.

“Oh, hey,” he said, his voice hushed as he put a finger to his lips.  “We’re not supposed to be back here…”

“I know, so naughty,” she said, undoing his belt as she pushed him towards a dark corner.  He resisted, grabbing her hands and holding them up in front of him.  She laughed a raspy laugh, throwing him the most seductive glance she could muster.  “Sorry,” she said, shrugging a bare shoulder.  “I was just curious if you had anything cooking up for me down there…” Sam wrinkled his nose.  Her lines sounded pretty rehearsed.

“Sam,” Warner’s voice called.  “Is that you?”

“Fuck,” he whispered, turning towards him.  “Yeah, hey!” he greeted Warner with a wave, giving the swimsuit model a gentle push away.

“I didn’t realize you were here,” he said, walking towards Sam.  Warner turned and glared at the girl, successfully shooing her away.  “I was just taking some calls while I was waiting for you.”

“Oh, yeah, I got here… a little while ago.”

“How long were you back here?” he asked.

“Not long,” Sam laughed nervously, pointing at the model, now making her way back to her friend.  “As you can see, we hadn’t even gotten started.”

“Huh,” Warner smiled.  “Sorry to interrupt.”

“No, it’s okay,” Sam said.  “Business first, of course.”

“How much of my conversation did you hear?” he asked, crossing his arms as he stepped even closer to Sam.

“What conversation?”

“I was on the phone just now,” Warner said.  “If I was close enough to hear you canoodling with some girl, I assume you probably heard a little of what was said.”

“Oh.  No, I was too definitely too distracted by what was immediately in front of me,” Sam explained, looking over his shoulder at the model who was still watching him.  “As you can see, she’s pretty freaking hot.  Did you see her painted swimsuit section in Sports Illustrated?”

Warner looked out at the girl.  He smiled a strangely serene smile as he turned his attention back to Sam.

“You know,” he began.  “I wouldn’t believe you but I’ve heard about your strange luck with women, so I’ll let it go.  I can tell you now that I’m no fan of eavesdroppers and I normally wouldn’t forget about an incident like this so easily.  Thankfully, I had already planned on telling you about that conversation today.”

“Oh, okay,” Sam said.  “Great! Should we maybe get a table and keep talking…?”

“We’re selling Somerville Diner to the Richmond-Gregory restaurant group.”

“What?” Sam’s eyes widened as he stared at Warner.  He quickly realized he was serious.  “We’re not even open yet, how can we sell something that hasn’t even proven itself.”

“We’ve proven exactly what Stan Gregory needs to see.  They’re opening up a commercial campsite, about fifteen minutes away from the diner.  They wanted something independent and higher-end with a mom-and-pop feel to add to their existing restaurants, specifically something near the new resort.”

Sam stood there, stunned.  He knew of the Richmond-Gregory Group, but only as the company that owned a small regional chain of cheap, pseudo-Italian restaurants that targeted families with young children.  They had also been sponsors of a product placement heavy episode of
Chef Elite.
  It was nothing Sam wanted to be associated with and it was hard for him to wrap his mind around why a company like that would have any interest in a higher end establishment like theirs.

“So… my job…” Sam started.

“It’s safe,” he said.  “Don’t worry.  They’ll be bringing in their own team after the launch but they want to hold onto the head chef.”

“And Rye?” Sam asked, his heart dropping as he realized she probably had no idea this was happening.

“They only have the budget to keep one of you,” Warner said.  “And now that I’ve sold them our name, I don’t think they need her around.”

“Why would you do this?” he asked.  “I thought all the renovations, the changes – I thought it was because you cared about the restaurant.  Rye told me your father built it with his own two hands and when you knocked it down, I thought that was
actually
a tough decision you had to make because of how much it all meant to you.  What about all the things you said to the press these past few weeks?”

“C’mon,” Warner laughed.  “You should know as well as anyone that it was all for the cameras.  Richmond-Gregory is a family oriented company.  They wanted something to fit the brand, so I gave it to them.  And it doesn’t hurt that the press boost makes me the more favorable candidate for
Celebrity Samba.
”

“Right,” Sam said, covering his mouth as he thought about all that was going down.

“Don’t look so fucking morose, Sam,” Warner continued to laugh.  “You should be happy.  Richmond-Gregory’s promising you a pretty great pay bump.  And a job with a company like that is instant job stability.”

“How much are they offering you?” Sam asked.

“Now, that’s information I can’t share,” Warner said.  “And you should know that it’s less than tactful to ask someone about their paycheck.”

“I just want to know what all my work was worth,” Sam replied.  “I want to know how much it took to sell me out.”

“Don’t take yourself so seriously,” Warner smirked.  “When you get to my age, you’ll realize that there’s no such thing as ‘selling out.’  You do what you have to do to keep living the life you want to live.”

“I don’t want the life of working for some cheesy restaurant group that’s probably going to make the name into a cheap franchise like it does with all its projects.”

“You’ll change your mind once you see all the new zeros on your paycheck,” Warner said.  “Oh, and one more thing.  I trust that you’ll break this to Rye gently for me – right?”