"Persuasion"

 

[Random fact learned today, courtesy of Rick Steves and Fred Plotkin: Giuseppe Verdi was not only a master composer of music but also a skilled butcher. Whenever he wanted to encourage someone to fund or support a project or idea of his, he sent them a bit of prosciutto or some other cured meat as a method of persuasion.]

The young man on the other side of the bar from Drew looked like one more element of the restaurant's decor--dark grey dress shirt, black tie and pants, a face so cold and even that it suggested a slab of marble--which made it all the more surprising for Drew to find out that the man was applying for a job in the kitchen. He held himself with posture that appeared to have been calibrated against the edge of a knife and kept his hands folded on top of the lacquered counter while Drew scanned his neatly typed resume. When the young man said, "I'll cook you," Drew almost answered him with, "That sounds about right."

Instead Drew said, "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I said I'll cook for you," the man replied. "In your kitchen, right now."

"That won't be necessary. Plus, I'm pretty sure our insurance won't cover you."

But the young man shook his head and said once more, "I'll cook for you," and when he turned on his heels and began walking, Drew simply let him lead. As little as Drew liked the idea of a stranger in the kitchen, he liked the idea of this person walking behind him even less.