Free Finding North (Naïve Mistakes Series) by Rachel Dunning Page B

Caivano."
    He took off my coat, gave it to a waiter. Whoa. Wait. Come again? Um, yeah, that was right: A waiter ! "And he's part of the business staff as well?"
    "Oh, no, I hired him to impress this girl I was taking out on a date."
    "I see..."
    He pulled my chair back for me, sat on the other side.
    "Now, of course, I know this is just drinks, but if you'd like to eat something—"
    "Oh, no, I'm good, but you go ahead."
    "One of the things this chef makes is deboned chicken breasts made in a fat-free pan. Only about three hundred calories per serving, plus the vegetables."
    Actually, it's two-hundred-and-fifty calories per chicken breast, but who's counting? I hadn't eaten yet. And my stomach was rumbling. But if I asked for food now after his little spiel I'd look like a total douche, like I'm paranoid about my weight or something (which I was, but he didn't need know that.)
    "Look, Leora, a shape like yours does not come by having no knowledge of caloric content or by yoyo dieting. It comes by hard work and precise calculations of calories-in versus calories-out. So don't be paranoid about it."
    My, that was a diplomatic way of telling me it's OK to go into cold sweats about my weight: Precise calculations of caloric content . Hmmm, no wonder his company paid him the big bucks to do their sales for them.
    "Your, um, 'friend,' the one you said I reminded you of: I take it she was...a bodybuilder?" I asked.
    "No, no. She was a fitness model. I ate so much deboned chicken that that I eventually started having pizzas on the sly before we hung out together just so I could tell her I wasn't hungry! Anyway, I know the gig. You mustn't think that I have some preconceived idea about you watching your figure or being obsessive about it or anything of the sort."
    My stomach rumbled. And I was way below quota on my intake for the day after all. I'd thought of coming out with Conall (maybe even getting a bit of an aerobic workout with him later on —wink wink) and then chowing down on the exciting tuna salad with no dressing sitting in our fridge at home. Yay. Living on the edge.
    Freshly made chicken breasts with a nice side salad sounded so much better.
    "Well, seeing as you especially hired them for the night. I mean, I wouldn't want your money to go to waste..."
    "But of course. Now, because it's chicken breast, doesn't mean it's dull." He gestured to the waiter who brought us...a menu ?
    I looked it over...
    "I have a confession to make," he said, leaning closer and whispering.
    Why is it that when people say that phrase it always feels like your heart's been put in a vice?
    "Yes?" I asked nervously, thinking he was going to tell me he secretly wore women's underwear or something.
    "The waiter and kitchen are part of this place. So I didn't have to look too hard to find them. But I did hire them for the night."
    "They have their own kitchen staff?"
    "You bet. Now wait 'til you look through the menu."
    I looked at the dishes. They all looked pretty normal to me. There was a fish section, chicken, pork (no, none of that for me thank you very much).
    "And?" he asked.
    "What?"
    "Look on the right of each item."
    Grilled Southwest Chicken + Tossed Garden Side Salad: 193 .
    193?
    I looked up at the top of the right column.
    "Oh," I said. "They put calories on the right instead of prices?" Suddenly I wanted to work at this place as well!
    "Yeah, the kitchen is there for the staff. You know, sort of like Google does it, only a little more chic. So, lunch is served here. No one pays for it. They have a lot of women on their staff (and finding a woman in this part of town who doesn't count calories is like finding a sunny day in December in England.) They also have a Kosher and Halal menu, but I didn't think you'd need that. Would you?"
    "Oh, no. Italian, remember? I'm technically catholic —at least nominally. Do these guys have anything to do with fashion? Are they hiring? Heck, I'll work here for free!"
    "No, they have about as much to