Deadly Tasting Read Free

before.”

 
     
     
     
     
    2
    “Oh no, sir, you’re not too heavy!”
    “Come now, Virgile, don’t flatter me. You don’t need to be polite.”
    “Maybe a little chubby. That’s all.”
    “In any case, I’ve never been svelte. I get that from my grandfather Eugene. All the Frontenac men are built like rugby players. It’s in the genes.”
    “Well, on a frame like yours, the weight is fine. You just have that kind of build.”
    “Yet, on the English side they are all a bit lean and even rather thin. My brother looks like a Cooker, but my father is the best example of that lineage.”
    “I’ve never had the honor of meeting him.”
    “He’s very distinguished and elegant. Elisabeth finds him very classy.”
    “Your wife probably put you on a diet to prevent future health problems.”
    “That’s right. Take her side! Why don’t you just go ahead and say I’m fat. You’ll sound just like her.”
    “I didn’t mean to suggest anything, sir. I’m just trying to imagine what made her prescribe this little diet for you.”
    “You must be kidding, boy. A little diet? I had to cancel an important luncheon appointment today. Instead of having a nice meal with a colleague, I’ll be choking down my nasty ration of cabbage soup, which will supposedly work miracles by the end of the week.”
    “How do you mean?”
    “Elisabeth’s goal is to have me lose ten pounds and no less!”
    “Oh, that’s very doable, sir,” Virgile said.
    Benjamin was getting irritated with Virgile, who was being entirely too cheerful and supportive of this god-awful eating plan. Sometimes it was better to just keep your mouth shut. But Benjamin could see that his annoyance was having an effect on his fiercely loyal assistant, and he immediately regretted his peevishness.
    He got up from his swivel chair and smiled at the young man. “You’re right, my boy. It’s certainly very doable. In any case, I’ve never been able to say no to my wife.” Benjamin sighed. Of course, she had only the best of intentions, and he loved her for wanting to take good care of him. “Come, follow me!”
    They walked to the small place at the end of the hall that served as kitchen, storeroom, and library for Cooker & Co.
    “Look what Jacqueline bought us.”
    “Your secretary has gotten us a microwave?”
    “I suspect Elisabeth had her buy it for us.” The Cooker & Co. office had a certain Second Empire patina that was becoming increasingly hard for Benjamin to maintain. The copy machine, computers, and wireless router were rude intrusions. And now there was a microwave.
    “For us , you say? Do you mean I am involved in this, too?”
    “To tell the truth, Virgile, I don’t know how to work this machine. And I have no intention of polarizing any of my molecules while I’m heating up this damned soup.”
    “It’s not very complicated,” Virgile said, reaching for the plastic container next to the microwave.
    He lifted the lid, stirred the vegetables floating on top of the broth, sniffed the mixture, and turned to his boss with a broad smile.
    “This cabbage soup doesn’t look bad at all! And if you don’t mind, I’d be happy to share it with you.”
    “You’d do that for me, Virgile? You’d share this ordeal with me?”
    “Why not?”
    “In that case, be my guest.”
    They returned to Benjamin’s office with their steaming bowls of soup. And as they sipped, they began organizing the tasting program they needed to finish by the end of the following week. Benjamin was counting on Virgile to help him elaborate on his impressions and confirm his notes so that he could perfect his chapter on Languedoc-Roussillon wines for the next edition of the Cooker Guide . The Fitou, Minervois, Saint-Chinian, Faugères, and Cabardès appellations, as well as all the Quatorze, La Clape, Picpoul de Pinet, Cabrières, Saturnin, Montpeyroux, Saint-Drézéry, Saint-Georges-d’Orques, and Pic-Saint-Loup estates had already been completed, but they