Now, here she is, working for me. I’d be lying if I said I'm not aware of her. That I don’t sneak covert glances at her. Enough that I end up directing her far more than I’ve done any other member of my staff.
And when she got pissed off and snapped at me…I was surprised and impressed. I know I have a reputation in the culinary world.
Most of my team defer to me because they want to please me. They rarely contradict me.
She, however, stands up for herself, and that’s refreshing. And bloody captivating. Somehow, the more she loses her cool and is on the verge of cursing me, the more beautiful she appears.
It makes me want to challenge her even more.
"I’m not going to be easy on you."
"No? I’m so shocked.” She widens her gaze. “Not.” She gives me a sweet smile. “Bring it. I like hard things.”
I freeze. Was that innuendo? Nah.
I allow the silence to continue.
I can see the moment she realizes how that sounded, for her cheeks redden. “I…I just mean… I can do hard things.”
I raise my eyebrows.
Her expression turns mortified. She looks like she wants to sink through the floor.
That she can display her vulnerability so openly turns the hunger inside me into something that threatens to consume me. Fucking hell. I need to find a way to control myself better around her.
“I…I mean that—” she begins again, then stops.
I merely look at her inquiringly. I could be gracious and put her out of her misery, but hey, I’m not a gentleman.
“I meant to say that I’m up to the challenge… Boss.” She seems relieved that she got that off her chest.
"Just because you’re Phoenix’s best friend, doesn’t mean I’m going to extend concessions to you.”
“You bet.” She tosses her head. “Next?"
I tilt my head. No one uses that tone of voice with me. But I find, coming from her, I relish the challenge.
"I’ll be constantly testing you. You’re my sous chef; I need someone reliable. Someone who can steer the kitchen in my absence. Someone I can trust with replicating the exact same quality of food when I’m not around."
"That’s my goal. It’s the only way to ensure that when the Michelin inspectors come around on a surprise visit the food delivers.”
I scrutinize her features, take in her sincerity, then jerk my chin.
"Good. Tuesdays are our days off. I expect you to be here at seven a.m. every other day."
"Of course." She rises to her feet and gathers her coat and her purse. "Anything else?"
Clearly, she wants to be gone. For some reason, it makes me want to push her a little more. How much can she take before she breaks?
"I’m revamping the menu. I need you to come up with a draft of a new one with complete concepts. By tomorrow morning.”
I’ve been planning on doing this, which is not a lie. Although I would’ve worked on it for a few days. Doing it overnight is a stretch. But I’m curious about how she’s going to react.
I’m not disappointed.
Her cheeks flush. “It takes weeks, months sometimes, to come up with a new menu. And you want me to do it overnight?”
I adjust my pen on the desk, then touch my fingertips together,thrice. “Is that going to be a problem?” I raise an eyebrow, making sure the challenge is visible in my eyes.
