Was she in the right place at the right time?

"Care and Feeding: A Memoir by Laurie Woolever" | Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216497043-care-and-feeding

"Cooking professionally meant cooperating with and depending on others, and in culinary school, 'others' included jacked-up 18-year-olds and arrogant middle-aged lawyers who like to brag about their wine collections and their sports cars."

~ Laurie Woolever on Page 22

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216497043-care-and-feeding

"While we all stood waiting for the elevator, a middle-aged woman in a purple velvet tracksuit approached Mario.

'Oh my God, Molto Mario, I'm a huge fan!' she said and his face relaxed into a welcoming smile. 'I'm gonna be at your cooking class later. I have so many questions!'

'Thank you,' said Mario, who then put his arm around me and Jessica and said, 'These are my prostitutes, Dottie and Matilda.' The elevator door slid open and we entered, leaving her cackling with laughter. Jessica and I widened our eyes at each other and said nothing.

'Get settled in your room, and then come down to my room in 30 minutes and I'll order us some lunch, said Mario to us, and to Paolo, he said 'Paolo, I'll see you downstairs at 4.'"

Page 45

~ Laurie Woolever 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216497043-care-and-feeding

In the 8th chapter she writes about fawning over a man who definitely has a lot of issues, including deciding to kill a dog he hates, and then it gets to the point where he's threatening violence against her, so she chooses life for herself by going home and watching "Weird Al Yankovic: Behind the Music" while getting sick multiple times. I guess the dudes she was working with were all about cooking shows, but the "That's another reason why I don't want to deal with the show business people, because even if they weren't like these guys they were making excuses for guys like them" vibes are strong. Will see what happens next.

The 9th chapter reminds me of when I was in the airport, on my way the Netherlands to see the Anne Frank House the November after 9-11.