Chef

by Throsby, Lynda

  I don't say anything. I don't even look at him as I reach for the door handle to pull it open, but he puts his foot in front of the door so I can't open it. “Excuse me, please,” I say nicely but still don't look at him. He doesn't move. I look up because he's a lot taller than me. He sneers at me, then takes another drag of his cigarette and blows the smoke into my face. That smell: smoke and the cologne. It suddenly takes me back to the time I was attacked. I go rigid. I have never smelt that combination since that day. This is stupid. Hundreds of men who smoke will wear that same cologne. He must see me go rigid and the panicked look on my face because the look on his face is pure evil. “Move, Reid, I won't ask you again.” I pull on the door harder, slamming his foot.

  Just then, Louis comes around the corner. He sees what's going on and grabs Reid by the neck and shoves him to the side. Reid stumbles and falls back on his ass, but jumps up quickly, not saying a word, and tries to grab Louis. Louis is too quick for him and knocks him down again. The door opens, and Caspian comes out. “Reid, leave now. If I see your ass here again, I will call the police. If you haven't packed up your shit, then it's tough. I gave you the opportunity — now get off my premises,” he grits out, snarling at Reid. He looks so angry.

  I'm shocked. Does that mean he's fired him? It would explain why he is out here in his normal clothes. I can't help the smile at the thought. No more Reid making me uncomfortable in work. He gets up and still doesn't speak to anyone, just saunters off around the corner. I walk inside with Louis and Caspian close behind me.

  “Hey, Mace, you good? Did he say anything or do anything to you?” Louis asks.

  I shake my head. “No, Louis, as usual, he didn't speak, and he just blocked me from opening the door with his foot until you came around the corner. Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me, Mace, he's an asshole.” With that, he walks off toward the employee room. “Macen, can I see you for a minute in my office?”

  Shit, is it my turn to be fired now? First that scare with Dixon this morning, then this with Reid — could my day get any worse than it already is?

  I follow Caspian into his office. “Sit,” he says abruptly as he walks around his desk. What's his problem with me? I didn't do anything. “As you have probably gathered, I fired Reid today. He’s still insisting that you and he are an item. One of you is bullshitting me.”

  He’s standing up and leaning on his desk, looking me straight in the eye.

  He's so angry. I can feel the tension rolling off him. “And you think I'm lying?” I retort. I start to get up to leave. I’ve had enough bullshit for the day already. I can’t handle this from him as well. “Macen, sit, let me finish.” He shakes his head. “I didn't say I thought you were bullshitting me. I said one of you is bullshitting me. Now, I saw what went on out back just now on the CCTV. I saw that he blocked your way. It doesn't have sound, but from what I saw, he didn't speak to you. Is that correct?”

  I nod my head, yes. “I do…”

  “Let me finish, Macen.” The ass, why is he being so horrible to me? He’s so pissed —why do I think he is hot when he's being an ass? God help me. I hang my head at the thought. He obviously thinks it's because of what he's saying. “Look, Macen, I'm sorry you have encountered this, and I do believe you. Reid's whole demeanor is not right. He has been acting strangely since you started last week. I don't know what his problem is with you if you honestly don’t know him.”

  “I don't know him, Mr. Kade, I thought you said you believed me?”

  He holds his hand up to stop me speaking. “Let me finish, Macen, always interrupting. Reid has a problem with you, for whatever reason, and I don't like it. The last thing I want is to lose you.”

  Wait, what? Did I hear him right? He doesn’t want to lose me. “So, you’re not going to fire me as well?”

  He frowns at me and shakes his head. “Hell, no, I don’t want you to quit, and I think if Reid had stayed, that’s what would have happened.”

  “I was going to see how this week went with the shift changes before I quit. Mr. Kade, thi…" “Caspian,” he says, correcting me.

  “Caspian, I've told you this is my dream job, and I don't want to ruin that. I honestly can't thank you enough for the opportunity, but I couldn’t have continued to work here with Reid’s harassment.” He nods his head. “But I do hate the fact you fired someone because of me, and I'm not sure I can live with that thought, the guilt I already feel is...”

  “ Macen, let me stop you there, it is not just because of the way he has been treating you. There have been several other reasons to give him warnings before you joined us, this was just the icing on the cake.” He smiles at his own joke.

  “I see.”

  “I don't want you feeling guilty about any of this. I believe you when you say you have never met him until working here. That also leads me to another thing. How are you with pastries? Have you had much experience? I'm now short a pastry chef. Do you think you can shadow Tommy tonight and see how you go? I know you can do the sauces with your eyes closed. Louis even admitted you were better than him.” He laughs at me. I have never seen him laugh before, and those dimples make me melt.

  I'm stunned, both at his beauty and at the thought of being the pastry chef. I've done pastries before and to be honest it's one of my favorites, so learning more will be great. I nod enthusiastically. “Yes, I’m good at pastries and baked goods. I would love to do that. Thank you, Mr. K... Caspian. I won't let you down.” He sits in his chair and looks at me. “I know you won't, Macen, which is why I'm asking you to do this. Besides it being a great opportunity for you, it helps me out of a hole.”

  He's right, but I would also still like to get experience at each station to help me when I get my own restaurant.

  I don’t realize I’m sat looking into my lap, thinking this, when Caspian speaks and startles me. “Macen, you okay? You look miles away there, deep in thought. Do you want to do this?”

  I nod enthusiastically at him “Yes, Caspian, of course I do. I was just thinking that I would also like to go back to commis chef at some point. To be able to learn all the different positions in the kitchen and how they operate and how it all comes together as one. Could I take the pastry chef position now as part of my commis chef duties, then rotate as I would have later on if that’s possible, please?”

  He leans forward and rests his arms on his desk. “I think we can arrange that, Macen, yes. I love how you want to learn every part of the kitchen and how it runs. I have no doubt you will have your very own successful restaurant one day.”

  I feel myself blush. He’s looking at me with those amazing eyes, but what I see in them is not the hard, arrogant ass he normally is or the angry boss he was only minutes ago. No, this is a softer side to Caspian that I have never seen. His eyes are smiling at me, not his mouth, but his eyes. He’s making me blush more with the intensity with which he is staring at me. I cough to break the connection we seem to be having. “Will that be all, Caspian? I would like to get to my new station and see what Tommy is doing if that’s okay with you?”

  He continues to gaze at me, and I cough again. “Sorry, yes, Macen.”

  I’m not too sure he knows what he’s saying yes to, but I get up and leave his office. I have a spring in my step as I do. This was a good meeting. Reid has gone for good. Caspian doesn’t want me to leave. I have a new position, and I think my feelings for Caspian are off the charts. I know he would never go for anyone like me, and he’s my boss, but I can’t help how I feel.

  Caspian

  SHE’S BEAUTIFUL. I can’t stop staring at her. I know she’s speaking because I see her sensual mouth moving, but I can’t register what she’s saying. I love those eyes of hers — they’re stunning, but it’s the first time I’ve actually seen them sparkle. The aqua green color of them is so bright they stand out. Her cheekbones are prominent, and she doesn't wear make-up, not that she needs it. She licks her lips innocently— and that's it, I'm rock hard.

  She cou
ghs to get my attention, and I don’t even know what she just said, so I just agree. She’s blushing — her cheeks are red but not just her cheeks. When she blushes, it starts on her chest and rises up her neck to her face. Her freckles are more prominent as well.

  What is she doing to me? She’s getting up from the chair. I don’t want her to go, but she has work to do. I watch her backside and those fucking hips as she leaves my office. I’m fucking screwed. I know it. I can’t fight this. I know I will have her.

  It takes a while for my cock to deflate. It’s agony not being able to do anything about it. I get my whites on and head into the kitchen to check on everything in there. Honestly, it's been a couple of hours since I've seen Macen, a couple of hours too long for my liking, and I need to see her again. I head straight to her station and see her watching Tommy closely. He’d better not get too close to her.

  I examine some lavender Viennese shortbread closely, not sure who did them, but they are perfect in size. I break one, and the texture is perfect, not too moist and not too crispy. “How's it going here, Tommy, Macen?” She hasn't noticed my approach and jumps when I speak. She was too engrossed in watching Tommy pipe passion fruit cream into the mini chocolate cones, they are part of the trio of desserts they make. It's the signature dessert of the month, lavender Viennese shortbreads with damson filling, passion fruit chocolate cones, and rose petal panna cotta. “Hey, chef, just great. Macen is a blessing to work with and doesn't need much tuition.” He winks at her, and she blushes slightly as she looks at me. Fuck, please don't say I screwed up by putting them together?

  “Macen, how's it going for you?”

  “Great, chef. Tommy is showing me some amazing new techniques.”

  “Well, she's also shown me one or two I haven't used before.” He winks again.

  “Who did these shortbreads? They are perfect,” I ask, ignoring him.

  She blushes more and looks down. “Macen did those, chef, and I agree.”

  Wow. She is something else.

  “These desserts are looking really good, keep it up, you two.”

  “Thank you, Chef,” they both say together as I turn and leave.

  The time has flown by today, and there have been quite a few compliments to the chef on the signature desserts, which Macen had a big hand in making. She is very impressive in more ways than one. I had to sort out some more stuff on the L.A restaurant, but it’s all going great guns, and hopefully the opening will be on time. This puts me in a good mood. After the weekend I’ve had, and the nightmares I keep having, nightly now, my mood has not been the best. My life was great until a certain beautiful lady come into it just over a week ago, but now it's gone to shit for many reasons.

  One, I want her so badly, and it’s getting harder and harder – yeah literally – to stay away from her.

  Two, my Poppa suddenly appeared, and I found out about my past and how my life has all really been one lie.

  Three, my name isn’t my birth name and, what are the chances, I named my restaurant after my real birth name.

  Four, I had to fire that dipshit, Reid, but that’s a blessing.

  Five, I really need to get laid, it's been over a week, and it's killing me. If I call up Darcy to meet me at my place in a bit, maybe it will take away my need to bury myself into Macen. I doubt it, but it's worth a try.

  Just then, there's a knock at the door. Most of the staff are finishing up now and leaving. I can hear the chatter outside the office. “Come in,” I shout. I don't look up as the door opens as I'm just shutting down my computer ready to leave.

  “Sorry to disturb you, Mr. K... Caspian.” I look up immediately at the sound of her velvety, shaking voice. She's standing there in front of me in her normal clothes, ready to head home. “Hey, Macen, not a problem. How may I help?”

  I gesture for her to sit in the chair. She closes the door and sits down, putting her bag on the floor next to her. “Erm, sorry to interupt you. I just really wanted to thank you for the opportunities you are giving me. I want you to know I really appreciate it.”

  I hold up my hand to stop her. “ Macen, you don't need to thank me. You are bloody brilliant at your job. I am this close—” I say putting my finger and thumb together with a small space between them “—to agreeing with Mrs. Webster, that you are the best chef she's had at the school, but that would make you even better than me.” I laugh, and she smiles at me. She’s red again from blushing, and she has dimples when she smiles. I don't see her smile too much, and she’s blowing my mind. I wish she were blowing something else. Shit, my cock is rock hard at that thought.

  “Oh, I don't think that's true.” She smiles again.

  “Maybe not the ‘better than me’ part yet, but you are good at what you do, Macen.”

  She has so little self-confidence. She needs to know how good she is. I put on my jackass voice to try to get it across to her. "Macen, look at me," I grit it out harshly because she’s annoying me now by being embarrassed and having such little confidence. She lifts her head and looks me straight in the eyes. "I have no doubt you will make it big in this industry. I have no doubt you will have your own restaurant. You are very talented, Macen. Don't be embarrassed about it. Accept my compliments because let me tell you, I do not give them out lightly. Ask any of the chefs out there. If I compliment anyone, it’s because they made something as good as I did. That doesn’t happen very often. I have complimented you a few times, so that tells you that I think you are good, Macen. This is a very hard business to be in — you have to be strong and to be able to take what’s thrown at you. You have to learn to be harsh and truthful and if it means your employees think you’re a jerk, then so be it because to make it big and to be someone in this industry, that is what you have to do. Do you get what I’m saying, Macen?”

  She suddenly sits up straighter in her chair, still looking me in the eyes, “Yes, thank you Caspian for the compliments,” she says with more confidence than I have seen from her since she walked into my life. That’s my girl. I don’t mean to be harsh with her, but she is a little bit too timid sometimes. I would say she’s a little scared of people in general. I’ve noticed how wary she is. She will have to man up to run a kitchen. Maybe that will be my goal. She can certainly do the job, but she needs more balls. She can have mine. Fuck.

  I don't hear anyone outside the office, so I get up, and she takes this as her cue to leave. “I just need to check if everyone has left and the cleaners have arrived before I leave. Can you just wait for a couple of minutes, and I will walk you to the front to grab a cab? I don't want you going out there on your own at this time of night, especially if everyone else has left?” She nods and sits back in her chair. I go out and check the kitchen, front of house, and the employee room. All the team have gone, there is just one of the two cleaning managers who come in every night to make sure it's all cleaned properly, and lock up for me.

  I head back to my office. Macen is sitting in the chair and has her back to the door I left open. She hasn't heard me approach, so I stand watching her for a few minutes. She's on her phone, and I can just make out a male voice talking. Is she on the phone to someone? I move into the room, “Hey, you ready to leave?” I ask loudly. She jumps at hearing me. When she looks at me, she takes out her ear pods. “Sorry, I didn't hear you there. I was listening to my audiobook.” I’m relieved that was the talking I heard. Good, it put my hackles up.

  I lock up my office, and we head out the back. I hold the door open for her and guide her out with my hand on the base of her spine. She flinches at my touch; shit I shouldn't have touched her, it was just instinct, , so I quickly move my hand. She looks up at me as she passes, and we both stop and just stare at each other. I nearly lean in and kiss her, but I know I can't do that. I want to so fucking badly though. I lick my lips and watch her eyes follow the movement. She licks her lips, mirroring my movements on instinct, I don’t think she realizes she’s done it as I watch her tongue on her lips. I sigh out loud and close my eyes.r />
  She must realize what she’s done, and she moves ahead of me. We round the corner onto W 57th Street and head to 5th Avenue. She stops suddenly and looks around her, scanning the faces of people close by. “What's wrong, Macen?” She looks worried, and that makes me concerned. It reminds me of seeing her in the park on Saturday when she did this exact same thing. She looks up at me and shrugs. “It's nothing. I'm fine.” Well, shit, that tells me she isn't fine. We start to walk again, and we are almost at 5th Avenue when she stops again. “Macen, you want to tell me what's wrong?” I see how pale she's gone — she looks terrified. I gently turn her to look at me. We’re standing on the corner of 57th and 5th, I have hold of both her arms in my hands, and I crouch down to look her in the eye. She drops her head so I can’t see her eyes, but I tilt her chin up with a finger, so she has no choice. “Do you want to tell me what’s got you looking like you’ve seen a ghost? You look petrified, Macen, and I don’t like it.”

  I see a tear fall from one of her eyes. “Macen, please tell me what's wrong?” She sniffs and wipes away the tear then shakes her head. “I'm sorry, Caspian. It’s probably nothing. I feel really stupid.”

  “Bullshit, Macen. This is not nothing. Now, what is it?”

  She shrugs. I still have hold of one of her arms, but she doesn't pull away. To anyone watching, we just look like a normal couple. “I just get these feelings. I feel stupid, and I don't know if it's me being paranoid, but ever since I started working for you, I feel like I'm being watched all the time. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time I feel eyes on me. It freaks me out.”

  I pull back a bit, and I scan the area now as she did. “Have you actually seen anyone watching you?”

  She shakes her head, no. “Not when I look around, no. The only times were when I was getting in a cab after work a couple of nights. I would feel it then, and I would turn and look over the other side of 5th and Reid would be stood leaning against the wall between the shops over there, smoking his cigarette and watching me.” She points to where she'd seen him.