[A/N: Don't own Twilight.]
…
4. Carlisle
"Carlisle, Jasper Whitlock is on line one," Bella announced over the intercom.
Upon his return to New York, Carlisle had begun an aggressive campaign to recruit Jasper Whitlock as the new chef of the Brooklyn restaurant Edward was still keen on. He'd gone so far as to contact Jasper's mother, Charlotte, to explain what a great opportunity it would be for Jasper, who was graduating in a matter of weeks. He asked for her assistance in enticing Jasper to consider the offer he and Edward were making. He hoped that was why the man was calling.
"Carlisle Cullen," he answered.
"Uh, Mr. Cullen? It's me, Jasper Whitlock from 'Queen's Way Diner'. I'm not sure how you got to my ma, but she's on my ass…I mean, my case to call you about the job. I'm not sure why…" Jasper began.
"Mr. Whitlock, may I take you for dinner to explain our position? We think you'd be perfect for our newest endeavor, and if, after we have dinner you don't agree, we'll leave you alone," Carlisle requested, not thinking about how handsome the man was when he'd seen him come out of the kitchen at that diner. Hell, even his brother had said if he was gay, he'd go after Jasper.
He heard the man sigh and hoped it was in acquiescence. "I don't have any fancy clothes, Mr. Cullen, and I'm pretty sure once you find out about me, you and your brother will run hard and fast in the other direction. Um, there's a sports bar at West 37th and Park South, The Windsor? I can meet you there at four this afternoon. I need to get home to change for my shift at the diner, so I only have a few hours," he explained.
"I'll meet you there," Carlisle told him, glancing at his watch to see it was just before ten in the morning. He had about six hours to come up with a pitch. After he confirmed the time and place, he hung up and went down the hallway to see his brother hard at work.
"Yeah, Tanya, I'll be there after the lunch seating and we'll figure out what's the problem. Don't panic. We'll work it out," Edward told the person on the phone who Carlisle believed to be Tanya Denali, the manager at their Upper East Side Italian restaurant, 'Saluti!'.
He walked in to sit down, seeing Edward holding up his hand for a moment. When he finally hung up, he turned to Carlisle. "Boss, what's up?" he joked. It was then Carlisle remembered Jasper had called him boss the first time they'd met.
"I need to know how sold you really are on Jasper Whitlock. I'm meeting him at The Windsor for drinks at four after he finishes his classes, I'm guessing. What should I offer him?" Carlisle asked.
Edward sat back in his chair, seemingly lost in thought for a few moments. "I get the impression Jasper's not the kind of person who's easily swayed. I don't think money would be much of an incentive because he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who's driven by money. He's just graduating from TCI and I think the opportunity to provide input into everything about the place might be the best selling point. He'd be able to hire his own staff, design his own menu, and have input into the feel of the place. Also, for his first endeavor, we'd start out small so there wouldn't be a lot of pressure. We can offer him the best people in the company to provide guidance if he needs it.
"I'd have Es work with him regarding what it takes to set up a new restaurant, and she can be there holding his hand while I take care of the rest of the places. I can move Bree Tanner from Farmer to sort of guide him as a sous. They can work out the recipes together if Jasper's worried," Edward offered.
"I'll see what I can do," Carlisle told him as he stood to leave.
"Carlisle? The guy is really hot. Don't make it all about work," Edward teased with a wink.
Carlisle laughed. "Remember? I swore off younger guys. I'm thirty-seven and he's in his early twenties. No need for drama, nor sexual harassment charges. I'll talk to you tomorrow," he stated as he left Edward's office, lamenting it was only ten-thirty. He had a lot of hours to get through before he could see Jasper Whitlock again. That was the thing he was looking forward to the most…seeing the hot man with the rockin' body and the most intriguing eyes he'd ever seen in his life.
…
Carlisle was early, and he hated himself for not offering to pick up Jasper from school. It wasn't far to walk, but it would have been a nice gesture. Maybe if he'd picked the guy up, he'd have been calmer. He'd lost the suit coat and the tie in the car. The shirt collar was unbuttoned, and Carlisle was pretty sure his hair was nearly standing on end because he had the same horrible habit as Edward…hands in hair when nerves were unable to be abated.
He ordered a beer, hoping to put Jasper at ease that he was just a regular guy, and he continued to scan the place as he ate some of the warm pretzel bites with a mustard sauce the waitress had given him. When he saw Jasper come in, he nearly choked on the bready bite in his mouth.
The younger man was wearing a white t-shirt under a short-sleeved, black t-shirt with the logo, "I'M NOT GAY, BUT I THINK HE IS," with an arrow pointing south. Carlisle couldn't hide the laugh as the younger man approached his table.
"Sorry I'm a little late. I needed to speak with my instructor." The waitress approached the table and smiled.
"I'll have what he's having, please," Jasper ordered as he placed a messenger bag on the floor under the table.
"I'll have another, please," Carlisle told her as he finished his first beer.
He pushed the now-cooled pretzel bites toward Jasper, who was looking very anxious. "How are classes going? Just a few more weeks, right?" Carlisle asked.
The young man had a worried look on his face which made Carlisle curious. "Problems?"
Jasper let out an exasperated breath. "For my final, I have to hold a pop-up restaurant and have at least fifty positive reviews. I had chosen a place over in Central Park, but my permit was denied because someone got there first. Now, I have nowhere to hold the event. I only have two weeks to plan it, publicize it, and figure out how to pay for it," Jasper explained.
Carlisle was a bit surprised. "The school doesn't give you a stipend to help with food and such?"
"You can't get access to things at school until you have a permit and a location. Upon presentation of those things and a plan for your restaurant, you get access to the school's pantry, freezer, and equipment, but you have to figure out how to move it to the location yourself. Since I don't have a permit or a location, I can't get access to anything else, and if I don't claim my ingredients soon, I'll be left with shit," Jasper further explained.
Carlisle's mind started racing and then it hit upon something. "Can you come with me?" Without waiting for an answer, he tossed a fifty on the table and rose from his seat, extending his hand to Jasper, who seemed frozen in his seat. "Please?"
Jasper hopped up and grabbed his bag, extending his arm for Carlisle to lead the way. They went outside where Carlisle led him to a waiting town car. He opened the door and smiled at the younger man, "Hop in. I think I have the answer to your problems."
Carlisle directed his driver, Newton, to 'Saluti!' where he believed Edward to be. His brother was a wizard at problems like Jasper's, and the young man seemed to need all the help he could get before he possibly had a heart attack.
When they pulled up to the restaurant, Carlisle hurried out of the car and grabbed Jasper's hand, pulling him inside the toney establishment. When the hostess saw the two men, she appeared to nearly send them away until she recognized Carlisle looking far different than when he'd visited previously.
"Is Edward here?" he asked without greeting her.
"He, uh, he and Tanya are in the office. Can I help you?" she offered. Without answering, Carlisle grabbed Jasper's hand and led him through the restaurant which wasn't officially opened so he didn't have to take time to make nice with any patrons.
When he got to the kitchen doors, he heard a disturbance, and he froze. The chef, Caius Gallo, the hot-headed Italian who was the king of the kitchen, was giving his staff hell in a mix of Italian and English. Carlisle didn't want to get involved, so he tried to slip into the kitchen unnoticed, but when Jasper ran into a dish cart being wheeled out to the dining room, everyone in the kitchen stopped to turn to them. "WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY KITCHEN?" the man shouted at them.
Jasper froze, which any normal person would have done, but Carlisle was too pissed off to allow the cranky older man to intimidate him. "You better shut the hell up or I'll turn your goddamn kitchen over to my friend, here, and I'll declare it grilled cheese and macaroni and franks night. We're just cutting through to speak with Tanya and Edward, Caius.
"Continue screaming at the staff until they walk out and leave you with hundreds of pounds of noodles to cook yourself or shove up your ass, whichever you prefer," Carlisle snapped at him as he took Jasper's hand and led him to the back where he saw Edward sitting behind Tanya's desk as she was lying on the leather couch to the side with a cloth over her eyes.
"What the hell is going on?" Carlisle asked as he led Jasper into the office and closed the door.
"We're being skimmed. Meat and seafood orders aren't jiving with the inventory in the freezer. Seems someone's helping themselves to hundreds of pounds of food a week. Tanya just noticed it this morning when she did an impromptu inventory of the freezer prior to the deliveries coming in tomorrow. There should be more than enough left in the walk-in to get us through tonight and tomorrow night while the incoming product is being broken down. We don't have enough to get us through tonight. That's what's wrong with Caius," Edward explained.
Based on the fact Edward wasn't crying or swearing Carlisle believed it was something that could be dealt with easily, so he dismissed it. "Is that all? Hell, call someone and get more meat and seafood from one of the other restaurants. I'll sign off on it," he authorized.
Just then, Tanya Denali shot off the couch with blood in her eyes. "No! My restaurant doesn't come up short on a spot inventory. Someone is stealing from us, and I want to know who it is," she snapped at the two Cullen men.
She then looked at Jasper. "Who the fuck are you?"
Carlisle wasn't about to explain Jasper to her. "He's with me and that's all you need to worry about."
"Do you have an overnight security service, or even security cameras?" Jasper asked quietly, surprising everyone in the room.
Edward snapped his fingers. "That's it. Let's find out our thief and make sure this shit stops, Tanya. Let's cue up the tape," he demanded.
She went to her laptop and pulled up the security cameras which provided views of the front door, the dining rooms, the wait stations, the bar, and the back entrance of the kitchen. There was half of the walk-in door visible.
"We also have security guards who come by to check four times a night, but they don't come inside," Tanya explained.
Carlisle was done with it. "Hire a goddamn private investigator to sift through the fucking tapes. We have better things to do than worry about missing hamburger and fish sticks," he snapped.
He then turned to Edward. "Did the lease go through on the Park Slope property? When will we have possession?"
He saw the look on Edward's face, and he knew he needed to calm down a little. "I'm sorry, but I have something I need the property for, and I only have two weeks," Carlisle began.
"Actually, I only have two weeks, and this isn't your problem, Mr. Cullen. I'm sorry about this, Mr., uh, Other Cullen. I had no idea…" Jasper began.
Carlisle turned to Jasper. "We want you to work for us, and part of your being able to work for us is your graduation and accreditation. All of that rides on our being able to assist you in pulling off your pop-up restaurant before the deadline. If we have the lease, we can expedite our license and loan you the outdoor space for your use. As for the rest of it, I can get Esme to help you with the planning…or do you have to do it yourself? She takes orders very well, as do I," he offered.
Jasper was in total shock, and Tanya was busy reviewing security footage, so Edward cleared his throat, apparently trying to hold back a laugh. "Carlisle, I'll call Emmett and tell him to push the lease and the license. Why does young Jasper need the space? A pop-up restaurant?"
"Yes. In order for him to complete his degree and obtain his certification, he has two weeks to plan and execute a pop-up restaurant. There's a method to the approval process, and in order for Jasper to graduate, he needs a little help. His first location was stolen out from under him, so now he's playing against the clock," Carlisle explained.
"Well, then we'll put the full weight of Cullen Enterprises behind this and make sure it's a booming success," Edward agreed with a mischievous smile. Carlisle wanted to laugh because he knew he was going to be grilled like a rack of lamb, but he didn't really care. All his reasons for staying away from the younger man were flying right out the window on angel's wings.