#MFRWhooks Blog Hop - An Excerpt from TRUTH AND SOLACE - Our New Sous-Chef
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
Hello! In this excerpt from TRUTH AND SOLACE, Maggie and Luke are hiring a new sous-chef for the newly renovated Solace Lake Lodge in Minnesota. They interview Celeste Bishop by video from her home in South Carolina. When Celeste confesses her resume has gaps because she was sexually harassed by the head chef and then fired because she wouldn't give in to him, Maggie decides to hire her because she understands.
TRUTH AND SOLACE is on sale for .99cents at Smashwords until July 31! Enjoy the excerpt!
Excerpt:
“I want to hire her.”
He blinked, totally taken aback. “Are you sure? Don’t you think we should at least check with her last employer to get his side of the story?”
She folded her arms across her chest, her mouth unsmiling. “I can tell you exactly how that conversation would go. We’d ask about Celeste and the head chef would say she was nothing but trouble, and they had to fire her. Or perhaps he’d be more subtle than that. He might say there was a personality conflict in the kitchen and everyone agreed she’d be better off somewhere else. But he’d make sure we understood that Celeste was a bitch, a whiner and a troublemaker, and he was glad to be rid of her. Which is the message I’m sure he’s given to every other prospective employer.”
“This is more than idle speculation, isn’t it? Have you had personal experience with sexual harassment?” The thought made him sick to his stomach.
She closed the lid of the laptop and slid off her stool. “Let’s just say I understand what she’s up against.”
He grabbed her hand before she could run away. “What happened, Maggie?”
Pain and defiance shone in her eyes. “Nothing you want to hear.”
She was scaring him. He gripped her hand a little tighter. “You’re wrong. I want to know. I want to help if I can.”
She tugged on her hand, and he let her go. “There’s nothing you can do. It’s ancient history. Can we drop this, please?”
Luke nodded, disappointed. He couldn’t make her confide in him, and he certainly couldn’t make her trust him. He’d burned those bridges.
Maggie tied her apron around her waist. “Celeste is in difficult position. I think she showed good skills and knowledge in her presentation. She could have made up some kind of story to explain the gap in her resume, but she told the truth. I believe she’s an honest, hard-working woman who, through no fault of her own, fell into an impossible situation. But I don’t want to hire her because I feel sorry for her. I want to hire her because I think she’ll be an asset to our kitchen.”
She stood completely motionless, her back straight, as if she was bracing herself for some kind of push back from him. But even though she expected to be overruled, she’d spoken her opinion bravely and honestly.
He’d never been prouder of her.
Blurb:
The truth could destroy them. Or set them free.
Maggie Lindquist left Solace Lake determined never to return. Circumstances have pulled her back and she’s helping to restore her family’s dilapidated fishing lodge. When she agreed to the plan she didn’t expect to have to work side by side with the man who abandoned her ten years earlier. She didn’t expect to like him, or want him ever again. But can she trust him as she once did?
Luke Carlsson rushes home to tend to his ailing mother. Her lengthy illness means he needs to stay, at least temporarily. And to stay, he needs to work. Solace Lake Lodge offers him a job and an opportunity to work with the woman he’s never stopped loving. But the restoration is unleashing secrets hidden for decades and no one is left unscathed.
Especially not Maggie and Luke, whose love needs to be resilient enough to forgive, and strong enough to build a future together.
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/TruthAndSolace
TRUTH AND SOLACE is on sale for .99cents at Smashwords until July 31!
I’m participating in MFRW Book Hooks—browse the current hop here:
Maggie sounds like a truly sweet woman. I've a little trepidation about what happened to her. I can’t wait to find out what. I bet Luke will explode when he hears.
I love that Maggie defends Celeste. Sounds like Maggie senses the same things happened to Celeste as happened to her in her past.
There's a lot packed into that conversation. Business dealings, their relationship, and a hint about her past. As Lisabet says, some things women have faced men cannot understand.
I think there are some things that men, no matter how sympathetic, just can't understand.
Great except! I love Maggie’s attitude here and empathy for Celeste.