Free Dining with Joy by Rachel Hauck

‘Red’ Redmond, Jr., and Ami Redmond. You call your dad Red, as a matter of fact.”
    â€œWhere’d you get all of this?”
    â€œI have people.” Allison watered her words with a drink of tea. “You’re a chef from Manhattan by way of an Oklahoma ranch. Midwest meets big city meets the South. Your mother died when you were sixteen and you ended up dropping out of high school your senior year. Got your start in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen district. A few years later you enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America. While attending there, you passed your GED. You opened Ami’s just before your thirtieth birthday but filed for bankruptcy last year. Moved to the lowcountry this past January. Lived with your cousin, author Heath McCord, for a few weeks but now live on the third floor in the downtown historic district.” She sat back when she finished, a look of pomp on her face. She’d recited his bio from memory.
    â€œWell now, I’m a bit embarrassed.” Luke angled over the table. “I didn’t have time to dig up any dirt on you.”
    â€œThere’s not much to dig up. A couple of ex-boyfriends, but you’ll never find where they’re buried. Been in show business for twenty-five years. I don’t own any pets or plants because I don’t have the time or the patience to care for them. This business is my life and this show, Dining with Joy , is my baby, the one that will take care of me when I’m old and gray, sitting by the river watching the sunset.”
    â€œSomething tells me you’re never going to be old or gray, or sitting by the river watching sunsets.”
    Allison exhaled a laugh. “Look, you know me already.”
    â€œWhat does Joy say about all of this?”
    â€œI needed to talk to you first.” Allison retrieved a manila envelope from the attaché. “First-year contract with an option for three more.” She slid the envelope toward him. “If you don’t like it after one season, you can walk. No strings.”
    â€œWhat makes you think I want to do television?”
    â€œTwo years ago you made it to the final round on The Next Culinary Star . You were let go after a particularly grueling competition. Want to keep challenging me?”
    â€œAllison, Allison.” It was Luke’s turn to laugh. She was so intense and . . . in his face. “Then you know I got cut from the show because the judges didn’t see ‘star’ in my future. I could cook but lacked the ‘critical charisma’ to hold an audience.”
    â€œBut when you were on the Food Network, you weren’t paired with Joy Ballard.” Allison arched over the table. “Joy’s a fine cook, but her sweet spot is entertainment. You will be my foodie ace in the hole. Dining with Joy is moving to a major network, and I’m going to bring my A game. You’ll placate the snobby purist. Joy will continue to woo the everyday cook, the kitchen noodler, the busy mom who doesn’t have time to make”—she swirled her hand in the air, thinking—“. . . jellied onions for a grilled-out peppercorn hamburger. You trained at the Culinary Institute of America, the perfect juxtaposition to Joy’s down-home style cooking and church potluck recipes. And if she should kiss you again, or you kiss her—”
    â€œThe ratings go through the roof.” Luke opened the envelope and removed a contract, flipping through the pages. Did he want to do television? It was more hazardous than opening a restaurant. He paused as he read the numbers on page three. “You’re kidding.”
    â€œSalary plus bonus. Also, I’m talking to a publisher about a cookbook. I’d like you and Joy to write one together this year. Perhaps next year, your own cookbook.”
    Luke exhaled. The color of opportunity changed the way he saw things. He’d be able to repay Red and his friend