I.N.E.T 4

by Brenda Cothern

  “Here is a menu, try to memorize as much as you can before we open,” Chad suggested. “Tonight’s special is on the sheet inside. Always start by informing the patrons of the special and the recommended wine that complements it.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” Knight commented.

  The man’s tone was casual, but Knight had the impression Agent Maxim was asking if he could pull this off without fucking up.

  “I have a photographic memory which makes me an excellent waiter,” Knight informed just as casually.

  “Excellent,” Chad said with an undertone of relief in his voice. “I’ll let you study the menu then. Your section will be the five tables closest to that door.” Chad nodded toward the door he mentioned.

  Knight was sure that door led to the office of the target of their op. It placed him in the perfect position to not only observe who came and went, but also overhear anything incriminating that might be said by the potential patrons that could be help their op.

  “Okay.” Knight nodded to the FBI agent before the man turned away and went through the door that obviously led to the kitchen.

  Lita knocked on the back door to Midnight’s and was greeted by a small man with spiked blonde hair. A look of disdain morphed what Lita was sure would have been an attractive face into something that was anything but attractive.

  “You’re not Michael.” The guy’s frown deepened.

  For a moment, Lita thought the shorter blonde man was referring to Knight. That moment didn’t last long when he spoke again.

  “If I don’t get the salmon in the next twenty minutes, I’ll have to change the special to a pasta dish,” the guy sighed.

  The greeting threw Lita off, but now he recognized the white double-breasted button up that the guy wore as a chef’s jacket.

  “I’m Larry, your new dishwasher.” Lita held out his hand and the guy looked at it as if he’d catch a disease if he shook. Asshole, Lita thought and dropped his hand.

  The chef looked him over from head to toe and Lita tried to make himself as un-intimidating as possible. Most people were intimidated by his size. It came with the territory when one was six foot six. The chef’s look of disdain didn’t falter and he didn’t seem intimidated even though Lita practically had a foot of height over the guy.

  Lita continued to smile friendly at the chef even though he knew the guy was a pompous ass. He could only hope the dishwashing area was as far away from this prick as possible because he hated having to be nice to assholes. Not like he had a choice in the matter while he was undercover.

  “Matt.”

  Lita looked over the chef’s head at who spoke and was greeted with the sight of a sandy blonde-haired man in a tuxedo. From the case file, Lita recognized the man as FBI Agent Maxim. However, not a twitch of recognition made an appearance on Lita’s face.

  “Is that our new dishwasher?” The agent asked from the doorway across the kitchen even though Lita knew the man already knew the answer.

  “It would appear so,” the chef, Matt, said with a sigh before he turned away.

  Lita stepped through the door and met the FBI agent halfway through the kitchen. Knowing eyes met one another when the agent stuck out his hand.

  “I’m Chad, the host of Midnight’s.”

  “Larry Heights.” Lita shook the agent’s hand.

  “Let me show you where you will be working.”

  The agent turned away and Lita followed. They stopped in front of a huge industrial set up that was the dishwasher area. Lita had a moment of panic because this was nothing like he expected.

  “Shit,” Lita cursed just loud enough for the agent to hear. “I have no idea what to do with this,” Lita admitted without shame.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Chad reassured. “You’ll be trained and I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly enough.” Lita snorted and glanced at the agent before the guy spoke again. “This station is closest to the walk-in cooler where the sous chefs and Matt retrieve what they need for the entrées. It’s also close enough to their workstations to hear them when the machine isn’t running.”

  Lita understood what the agent was telling him. The faster he worked to ensure the dishwashing machine wasn’t making noise, the more he could eavesdrop on the kitchen staff. It was a sound tactic and plan, but looking at the dishwashing contraption in front of him made Lita only hope he could learn it fast or his purpose for being on the op would be for naught.

  “Chad.”

  The agent turned around and Lita watched him smile at the Latino looking man that approached. The guy was short, stocky, and the exact opposite to Lita in every way.

  “Sean, thanks for coming in early. This is Larry, your trainee.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Sean held out a hand.

  “You too,” Lita replied sincerely because he was grateful someone would be training him on the machine he currently stood next to.

  “I’ll let you two get started.” Chad nodded to them both before he disappeared back into the restaurant proper.

  “Let’s get you an apron.” Sean smiled. “They make us dress nice, but without one we’d ruin our clothes within a night. I’ll also get you a head cover since your hair is so long and you are probably going to sweat buckets.”

  Lita snorted his agreement and accepted the apron and beanie-like hat that Sean handed him. The apron he put over his head and secured the strings in front of his waist after crossing them in the back. The white cotton beanie he placed on his head.

  “You’ll want to roll up your sleeves, too,” Sean informed when they returned back to the dishwashing machine.

  Lita did what he was told and paid close attention to the training Sean was giving him. He was sure he would have to learn this job quickly in order to do his real job: gather Intel on the kitchen staff to discover who was part of the money laundering and drug smuggling.

  Five

  Matt was not in a good mood. His night started out like shit. First one of his sous chefs called out, then his salmon delivery didn’t arrive on time, and to top off all of that, there was a new person in his kitchen. A new, very huge Goliath of a person.

  Chad understood how he felt about new people in his kitchen which was likely why he wasn’t told, let alone in on the hiring, of the new guy. Keith assured him the kitchen would be his domain and his say was law. Apparently, that wasn’t the case anymore since he had no say at all over the last three dishwashers that were hired in the last six months. How keeping a dishwasher was so damn difficult, was beyond him. It wasn’t like running the machine required a degree of some sort.

  Midnight’s was always busy so once the orders started flashing on his display screen, he gave no more thought to the behemoth who was now working with Sean. Matt thrived when the restaurant stayed busy. It put him in a cooking zone that was almost Zen-like. Zen-like or not, he still barked out orders that kept his kitchen running like a well-oiled machine.

  It wasn’t until ten thirty that a wrench was thrown into his routine. From time to time, patrons requested to complement the chef. Matt appreciated the complements, but could do without the interruption. Ignoring a patron’s praise wasn’t an option in a restaurant such as Midnight’s. Still, he frowned at his order screen while he wiped his hands on the cloth he removed from his shoulder. With a sigh and a smile plastered on his face, Matt went through the door that led into the restaurant.

  Knight had heard more than seen the head chef all night every time he entered the kitchen to retrieve an order. The man barked out orders like a drill sergeant so Knight wasn’t exactly expecting the small twinkish blonde who approached table eighteen. What he did expect, he didn’t know, but it certainly wasn’t this guy.

  Short spiky blonde hair that Knight had no idea how it held up in the heat of the kitchen covered the chef’s head. It didn’t appear dyed even though it was practically white under the low lights of Midnight’s dining room. The double-breasted chef’s jacket fit the guy like a glove and tapered perfectly from his sh
oulders to his waist. Sadly, the jacket covered his hips just enough that Knight couldn’t see his ass which was sure to be just as fine as the rest of the man.

  Knight tracked the chef as he walked through the dining room toward his table. The man was all smiles as he nodded to the patrons he passed, but Knight had the feeling the smile wasn’t genuine. That feeling likely had everything to do with how Knight heard the chef speaking to his staff in the kitchen.

  Of course, Knight didn’t have any information on the people employed at Midnight’s. He had noted that when he reviewed the case file and was not only unhappy about it, but couldn’t help but wonder if the FBI purposely left those profiles out of the case file. If that was the case, Knight could only assume it would be because the FBI wanted an unbiased opinion on the employees. That didn’t mean Knight liked the tactic without being told about it, though. However, he could admit that he would have formed his own profiles regardless, but not having even the barest basics on his fellow employees would make it take longer to discover the information.

  Watching the chef approach table eighteen from where he stood at the server station made Knight decide the lack of information on the chef and getting to know the guy himself might not be such a bad thing. The twink was sexy, after all, even if Knight didn’t think the guy was gay based on the chef’s behavior in the kitchen.

  No one you work with comes off as gay, either, Knight reminded himself. Only one way to find out.

  Knight needed to get to know the guy. So, with that thought, Knight picked up the pitcher of ice water and approached the table where the chef was speaking to his diners.

  Movement to his side didn’t distract Matt from his forced small talk with the patrons who were seated at table eighteen. However, when the waiter stopped on the opposite side of the table and began refilling the water glasses, Matt almost lost his train of thought describing the dishes the customers were complimenting him on.

  Holy mother of God, Matt thought while his attention shifted from the patrons to the waiter.

  He never stopped talking to the diners even though his eyes took in the man from head to toe. Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t even begin to describe the deliciousness that stood across the table from him. The guy was drop dead gorgeous and easily the sexiest man Matt had seen in years. Hell, possibly ever.

  The waiter had short black hair and a strong brow. Lips that Matt wanted to see spread into a smile, preferably against his bare skin, sat above a chin that Matt desired to lick and nibble. The waiter was focused on filling the water glasses and Matt mentally begged him to look up. He would bet the guy had beautiful brown eyes. That was a bet he would’ve lost the moment the waiter sat down the second refilled water glass, stepped back from the table, and met his gaze. Light blue eyes met his and for a moment Matt’s mind went blank midsentence. All he managed to do was stare.

  Knight’s question about the chef’s sexual orientation was answered by the hungry baby blue-eyed gaze that met his across the table. If that gaze wasn’t enough to confirm Knight’s wish the chef was gay, the man’s sudden stop mid conversation was.

  The almost audible hitch in the chef’s breath when Knight smiled made Knight sure that getting to know this man wouldn’t be hard at all. Still, Knight didn’t let himself dwell on that plan because the patrons at his table shifted their gaze to him and silence settled around them all.

  Knight returned his smile to the diners and cleared his throat. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  The gentleman at the table glanced between them and smiled as if he caught two lovers exchanging longing looks. “No, that will be all,” the man said and placed his credit card on the table for Knight to take.

  The sound of the waiter’s voice was like melted butter on a warm croissant. However, his words snapped Matt out of his daze. Had his words not, the patron’s would have.

  “Thank you both for the wonderful compliments.” Matt shifted his gaze back to where it should have remained all long: on the patrons. “I hope we will see you again at Midnight’s.”

  “I am sure you will,” the beautiful woman who sat at the table assured him.

  “Have a pleasant evening.” Matt nodded to the couple and had to force himself not to look toward the server station where the waiter retreated to complete the couple’s transaction for dinner.

  The entire walk back to the kitchen, the very short walk, Matt berated himself for his unprofessionalism while he tried to push the mental vision of Midnight’s new waiter from his mind.

  Knight tracked the chef across the restaurant until the man went through the door to the kitchen. The guy was just Knight’s type. Well, before he’d met Slade. He didn’t feel bad or guilty for checking out the guy or for planning to seduce him to get more Intel on what the chef knew that could help their op. Both he and Slade understood that sleeping with a potential suspect or informant was part of their job and wouldn’t affect their relationship.

  “I’ll run through closing with you,” Chad informed him when he approached and pulled Knight’s attention back to his undercover job as a waiter.

  “All right,” Knight agreed and for the next twenty minutes learned what waiters at Midnight’s were required to do before they could leave for the night.

  “The chef,” Knight prompted Chad quietly on their walk to the restaurant door.

  “Matt Curo,” Chad provided the man’s name. “We aren’t sure what role he plays, if any.”

  Knight nodded and smiled. “I guess I’ll just have to find out.”

  “Shouldn’t your partner?” Chad began as they reached the door.

  “I’ll have a better chance,” Knight reassured the FBI agent with confidence.

  “Okay,” Chad agreed without argument. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

  “Good night,” Knight bid the agent farewell.

  Lita didn’t get out of Midnight’s until a little after four a.m. Sean assured him that he wouldn’t always be there that late once he got the hang of the job. Lita could only hope so since he was tired as hell after working almost twelve hours at the dishwasher’s station. Twelve hours and that was with the help of Sean.

  Needless to say, he didn’t learn shit for the op on his first night working at Midnight’s. Not that he really expected to since no undercover agent in the history of undercover work would ever be that lucky. Still, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t learn anything at all while on this assignment.

  Well, truth be told, he had learned something already. The little shit of a chef was an even bigger asshole than Lita had first suspected. The small man spat out orders to the rest of his staff as if he were a Delta officer. Lita hadn’t heard that tone since he was enlisted and could admit he didn’t miss it one bit.

  He also learned more about the restaurant’s history if not anything new about the owner. Sean seemed to be a good guy and spoke freely about his time working at Midnight’s. Lita’s gut told him the guy wasn’t involved with the illegal shit that was going down. Still, as reliable as his gut instinct was, Lita would have Hunt check him out. Though he doubted the father of five was involved at all with the money laundering or drug smuggling.

  Matt left Midnight’s as soon as his supervision that his kitchen was spotless was finished. He refused to allow the final cleanup of the night to be relegated to the cleaning crew that took care of the dining room. Matt did just as much cleaning as he required from his sous chefs. He knew they thought he was an asshole to work for, but he wasn’t that much of an asshole to make them do all the cleaning.

  Although he was sure doing his fair share didn’t even put a dent into how they viewed him. He was a perfectionist when it came to the dishes he created and had no doubt that his four sous chefs and two understudies hated him for it. Hate him or not, they wouldn’t quit.

  Matt was one of the top ten chefs to graduate from L'Ecole de Cuisine in Bordeaux, France and they knew it was a privilege to work under him in his kitchen. He’d been approached, and declined, more t
imes than he could count to be on a food network or open his own chain of restaurants. However, Matt had no desire to do either because both would take him away from what he truly loved: cooking and creating new dishes.

  He could be famous, but had no interest in fame. Fame wasn’t where his thoughts currently were, though, as he stepped into the shower. No, his thoughts were on the sexy new waiter at Midnight’s.

  Matt wasn’t surprised that he went through almost an entire shift without noticing the man. When he was in the kitchen, he was focused on the food. Once his dishes were plated perfectly and set out for pickup, Matt paid no mind to who retrieved them in order to deliver his creations to the tables in the dining room. No, Matt’s sole focus centered on the next dish.

  He was curious about the new waiter. Hell, curious wasn’t even the right word. He wanted to know more about the man since he’d never felt such an overwhelming, knee-jerk, reaction to someone. The thought that the new waiter might not even be gay never crossed his mind because Matt recognized the look of appreciation in the man’s light blue eyes when they locked gazes.

  Matt never messed around with coworkers, but that was because he’d never found them attractive. This man was beyond attractive in Matt’s book, so he had no qualms about seeing if the guy was just as interested. He had a feeling the waiter was and that made him smile as he dried off before climbing into bed.

  Knight walked into his apartment and was already unbuttoning his tuxedo shirt before he began speaking to the empty room. If anyone were present to witness his one-sided conversation, he was sure they would think him crazy.

  “Matthew Curo,” Knight said as he headed toward the kitchen to get a bottle of water from out of his fridge. “He’s the head chef at Midnight’s and there isn’t a scrap of information on him in the file.”