Nine

Allegra bustled through the hotel’s kitchen door feeling energized.  Jon’s show had been incredible, and she was still riding the adrenaline high as she arrived to finish meal preparations.  There were only a few staff members in the kitchen, at this time of night, so the area was hers for all practical purposes.

The baked spaghetti was already in the oven and she flipped on the broiler to brown the cheese.  After gathering vegetables from the refrigerator, she began assembling garden salads, shimmying to the beat of the music still resonating in her mind. 

Jon hadn’t seemed happy with the crowd’s response to the show, but she had been enthralled from the moment Bon Jovi took the stage.  As Richie promised, they’d included some music from the early days.  She didn’t know whether he actually had anything to do with it, or if the songs had already been planned.  Either way, they had made her smile.  Those were songs that she associated with her early teen years and she had so many good memories from that time.

As she moved the salads to the refrigerator, she confirmed that dessert had arrived from the local bakery and been plated.  Her body was going through the correct motions, but her thoughts were still on the previous hours. 

She’d always known Jon could sing, and he did it well, but the vocal abilities of the other guys were surprisingly good too.  Flashing back to Jon and Richie’s performance of Diamond Ring, she shivered at the memory of how their voices flawlessly melded with the guitars. 

Obviously Richie was a good guitarist or she knew he wouldn’t be with the band.  What she hadn’t realized was how good his vocals would be.  Hating to be traitorous, she really thought that Richie’s voice might be better than Jon’s.  Or at least it appealed to her more.  He had that rough, bluesy tone that drew the soul out of a song.  It was almost as if he was seducing the microphone as well as the audience with his sultry rendition of Lay Your Hands on Me.

“Ma’am?”  A voice intruded on her thoughts.  One of the sous chefs was trying to get her attention.  “I had to alarm you, but the oven is on fire.”

“Oh shit!”  She was so engrossed in her thoughts, she’d forgotten about the broiler!  The cheese had gone way beyond brown and had flames dancing on top of it.  “Where’s the fire extinguisher?!”

The sous chef had already returned and was spraying the oven and the other members of the kitchen staff were gathered around as well.  Allegra’s face was as much on fire as the mozzarella. 

Great!  I knew me cooking was a bad idea.  What am I going to do now?

Her mind raced to come up with options for how to feed ten people in less than thirty minutes.  The kitchen crew seemed to be making preparations for the next day.  The hour was late, but surely there was something in a hotel kitchen that could feed her group?  They served food on a regular basis.  What did they have tonight?

She turned to face the sous chef who’d put out the flames.  “Where is the head chef?”

He pointed to a petite blonde woman about ten feet away – who was looking none too happy.  Well that was too bad, because she wasn’t happy either.

She approached the woman with more confidence than she felt.  “Hi, I’m Allegra.  I understand you’re the head chef?”

“Yes, I’m Chef Lucy.”  Her tone was not the least bit inviting and the frown on her face didn’t reflect any welcome.

“Chef Lucy, I am terribly sorry for this little incident.  I will clean the oven myself and make sure everything is restored to its original condition.”  Seeing the other woman soften the tiniest bit, she continued, “But at the moment I have another situation that needs dealt with, and I was hoping you may be able to help me.”

That little bit of softness fled, and the invisible walls went back up.  She remained silent.

Allegra couldn’t afford to be deterred.  “I have ten people that I’m supposed to serve a late dinner to in a very short time.  Is there any way that you could help me with that?  I have salads and dessert, but as you saw, my entrée just went up in flames.” 

Her expression on her face was enough to tell Allegra that Lucy was not the least bit inclined to help.  There wasn’t time to play up to this woman’s ego, so she resorted to the only other thing she could think of on the spur of the moment – the celebrity card.

Continuing in a conversational tone, Allegra said, “You know, I tried to tell my cousin that I couldn’t really cook, but he was just insistent.  The band wanted a personal chef for the tour and I was appointed.  There was just no talking him out of it.  Of course, if there’s one thing Jon Bon Jovi is good at, it’s being persistent.”

 The chef’s head snapped up and her full attention was now on Allegra’s words.  “So, here I am trying to fix a home cooked meal for the band, and I blew it.  He’ll never let me live this down.”  She gave a wry chuckle.

“So this meal is for the members of Bon Jovi?” 

Gotcha! 

“Yes, and their significant others.  They’ll be so disappointed.  Dinner is one of the after show highlights.”  Was she trying to push too hard?

“I see.”  You could tell the wheels were turning under the chef’s hat.  “We’ve had the privilege of serving Mr. Sambora on more than one occasion.  I’m familiar with his taste, so we can probably help you out with something.”  Lucy finally conceded.

It was Allegra’s turn to be surprised, but it only lasted a moment. 

Petite blonde with big boobs - just Richie’s type.  I BET she cooked for him.  At this point I don’t care if they have sex in the dining room floor if it gets me an entrée.

Allegra plastered a huge Bongiovi smile across her lips.  “Wonderful!  And I will certainly let the band know how instrumental you are in making this evening’s dinner a success.”  Jon wasn’t the only one who could schmooze.

“We will take care of the entrée while you clean the oven,”  the chef instructed.  “I think a nice prime rib will be suitable.  And potatoes, of course.”  She gave orders to her staff and proceeded without a second glance at Allegra.

Begrudgingly accepting that she’d just been dismissed, Allegra turned toward the offending oven, and was glad she’d worn just jeans and a t-shirt tonight.  The cleanup didn’t take long, but it was messy and her clothes were streaked with soot and fire extinguisher foam.   

By the time she was finished, the flames had died down and the spaghetti was cool enough to handle.  She chucked blackened pan and all into the nearest trash can with a rueful shake of her head. 

Wonder how I can keep them from finding out the details of this little disaster?

Satisfied that everything was complete, Allegra made her way toward the room that had been set aside for tonight’s meal.  Two smaller tables had been put together to form one large enough to seat all ten guests.  White linens and china graced the tables, along with fine crystal and silver.  The hotel had placed elegant centerpieces on the tables as well.  Jon not only appreciated, but expected, the finer things in life.

Speaking of which…

Allegra turned to go back to the kitchen and inquire about the wine Jon had requested.  He’d ordered several various bottles to accommodate everyone’s tastes, and she wanted to make sure that they’d been properly chilled.

As she approached the swinging door, she heard the group making its way through the main entrance to their dining area.  She was just turning to greet them when strong arms wrapped around her from behind, lifting her from the floor.  Emitting a squeak of surprise, she struggled to get free.  Evil, masculine laughter flooded her ears.

“Grrr!  Put me down, David!”

Among raucous laughter from the rest of the group, he did as she requested and then spun her to face him.  Disappointment clouded his features.  “Hey!  How’d you know it was me?”

She poked him in the chest and said cheekily, “You’re the only one tall AND dumb enough to do it.”

“She’s got you there David,” Lexi told him.  Taking his hand, she pulled him toward one of the tables.  “Why don’t you sit down and behave yourself?”

He dug in his heels and refused to move.  “Wait a minute!  I want to find out how Legs liked her first Jovi concert.  And why she looks like Cinderella,” he said as he noticed the streaks of soot on her clothing.  Leaning in to sniff her hair he added, “And smells like charcoal.”

The others chimed in at that point, also wondering about her appearance.  Before she could respond, the doors to the kitchen swung open and two of the kitchen staff members materialized, ready to begin service.  Close behind was Allegra’s dear new friend Chef Lucy, who promptly took charge.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please be seated, dinner is served.” 

Nine pairs of eyes looked at Allegra questioningly.  She waved her hand carelessly and directed, “Please go ahead and have a seat as Chef Lucy has asked.” 

As they were getting their chairs, she remained standing and offered her explanation,  “The chef has very graciously bailed me out here tonight.  My entrée didn’t quite turn out, and she volunteered her staff to prepare a replacement at the last minute.  I’m very grateful and I know you are too.”  She gave Jon a pointed look, which he interpreted well.

Picking up without hesitation, he said, “Of course we are.  I will admit that I’m curious to find out what happened with Allegra’s entrée, but we all appreciate your efforts Chef.  I’m sure that whatever you’ve come up with will be delicious.  And to show our appreciation, I’d be happy to set aside a couple of tickets to tomorrow night’s show.  That is, if you’re interested.”

Lucy had enough grace to look embarrassed at the attention.  “That would be amazing.  Thank you.  I hope that you’ll find the food to your liking.  We’ve had the pleasure of serving Mr. Sambora here at the hotel on previous visits, so I was comfortable that we could come up with an acceptable substitute.”

Did she just bat her eyes at Richie?  Who bats their eyes? 

Allegra knew she wasn’t mistaken, when David – who was sitting next to Richie – very obviously kicked him under the table, while masking his laughter with a ‘coughing’ fit. 

Maybe Joker and I are going to be even better friends than I first suspected, Allegra thought to herself.

Richie, of course, offered up his compliments.  “The food here is always awesome,” he assured the group.  He winked – winked?? – at Lucy and said, “I’m sure this little lady has fixed something that we’ll all love. “

The kitchen staff had finished dispatching the salads, and they moved back toward the swinging door with a beaming Chef Lucy trailing behind them.

“Rich-ie found a hook-up,”  David sing-songed after the door had swung closed.

Dot smacked David lightly in the back of the head and said, “Grow up.”

“Ow!”  He rubbed the spot and stuck his tongue out.  “ I don’t have to!”

“Allegra, sit down,” Jon invited before David got wound up again.

She shook her head.  “No thank you.  I feel yucky and my clothes are all gross.  There’s no need for me to infect the table with that.  I’ll just grab something from room service.  You all enjoy the meal – and thank Richie.”  She threw him a knowing smile.  “I am way down on the list of that woman’s favorite people, but she became very cooperative once she realized he was one of the dinner party.”

He grinned, pleased at the attention and the possibilities it presented for AFTER dinner.

“But Legs,” David whined.  “You didn’t tell us how you liked the show.  Or what happened to dinner.”

Allegra casually strolled over to where Tico and Alejandra had seated themselves.  Leaning over to give Tico a kiss on the cheek, she placed a hand on Alejandra’s shoulder.  “Oh, were you at the show too?  I was so caught up in the drummer that I must have missed you.  What do you play again?”  A teasing gleam was in her eyes as she smiled innocently at David.

Everyone laughed at his offended look.  “Hmpf!  I’m feeling very Rodney Dangerfield here.  ‘I get no respect!’  I no longer care how you liked the concert, “ he informed her loftily.  “BUT, I do wanna know what happened to dinner.”  There was an eager gleam in his eye as though he knew this would be ammunition for him to use.

“Forget it.  I’m not telling you.   You can ask Lucy if you really want to know, since I’m sure she would love to share the details of my mishap,” she informed them drily.  “You guys enjoy your dinner and I’ll see you tomorrow.”  She addressed everyone but looked directly at Richie when she said, “I’m sleeping in and encourage you all to do the same.” 

Allegra left under a hail of requests to stay and eat, but she simply waved them off with a smile.  A bubble bath and a glass of wine sounded much more appealing at the moment.