As Reny toured the room talking to customers and shaking hands, he sensed someone staring at him. When he turned to look, he saw Dumas standing across the room looking at him with a lopsided smile.
When their eyes met, Dumas elbowed his way through the crowd until he stood before him. He looked around, indicating the surroundings. “Nice place you and your partner have here.”
“Partner?” Reny questioned. “I’m not a partner. I haven’t put a penny into this place.”
“With your talent you don’t have to. You, my friend, bring the most important thing to this little venture, and that’s your cooking.”
“You didn’t seem to think so a few months ago. You turned me down when I went there for a job, or have you forgotten?”
“I don’t seem to remember it quite that way.”
“You called it slop, mister!”
