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We eat in silence, the afternoon and long evening ahead looming over me.
“Did you see the Europe reports?” I ask. “I haven’t looked at them yet.”
“Yeah,” Hayden says after he finishes chewing. “That’s part of why I thought you’d be in a more cheerful mood. It’s better than we hoped for.”
That surprises me. “What makes you think I’m not in a good mood?”
Another mouthful of egg salad prevents Hayden from answering.
“I’m fine. I’m just frustrated by our lack of progress at the lab.”
After a swig of water, Hayden says, “You said yourself this was different, that the distillation would complicate things.”
I did say that. But still . . .
“It’s frustrating. Yesterday I met with Fred Gulerri.”
Hayden groans. Neither of us is a fan of Fred, but he’s the owner of one of the largest restaurant chains in the U.S. that serves alcohol, which makes him one of our biggest clients.
“He’s pressing me,” I say. “He’s impatient for—”
Hayden cuts me off. “Tell him to fuck off.”
“I didn’t use those words exactly, but we did have”—I clear my throat—“a heated discussion.”
I take a bite of my tuna sandwich.
Hayden gives me a look, and I know what he’s about to say before he says it. Because I know him as well as he knows me.
“Don’t say it,” I groan.
His maddeningly relaxed approach to our business has served us well over the years—a good foil for my own breakneck pace. But sometimes, like right now, I wish he hadn’t been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
“Relax, Enz. We exceeded our goals last year, and this year’s looking even better. So the vodka is a bit behind schedule . . . so what. It’s fine.”
No, it’s not fine. But I don’t say that. Small failures can easily become bigger ones.
“How’s Chari?”
I look at the miniature glass frog sitting on my desk, feeling the corners of my mouth twitch despite my mood.
“Good,” I say, meaning it.
“She coming in this weekend?”
Last weekend was a busy one for both of us, so I haven’t seen her for over a week.
“She’s supposed to.”
I glance back at my screen, doing the mental math about the delays this unexpected trip to the lab will cause.
Shit. There’s just no way I can take enough time off to make the trip worthwhile for her.
“But?”
“I’ll probably have to cancel. No dinner tomorrow either.”
Hayden frowns.
