"Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll tell him I forced you to do it and that it has nothing to do with you. If he wants to scold anyone, he can scold me," Shalma Hughes said playfully.
This negotiation dragged on for over an hour. Faye Fordham stood quietly to the side, listening. The more he listened, the more he felt that his boss's wife was truly an outstanding woman—and quite an eccentric piece of work at that.
Finally, under Shalma's relentless persuasion, Mrs. Lewis nodded. She washed and chopped the ingredients, then sorted them into various clean plates.
Shalma stood in the kitchen, a spatula in one hand and a pink apron tied around her waist. Her tightly pursed lips revealed her nervousness. Yes! She was more nervous now than she had ever been in her life.
