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“I take your skills seriously,” Chef said, a mysterious smile on his face.
“Then you should think twice about replacing me.” He was well aware that his boss was probably shocked at how he was behaving. He was the always-in-control-and-never-flustered employee. He attempted to never show a moment’s weakness, but he was fighting for his life. Well, not his life, but definitely his job and his passion. “I don’t want to move anywhere. I don’t need to work for a distributor or at some restaurant conglomerate. I believe in the idea behind Top. I believe in employing and training veterans. This isn’t a job. This is a calling.”
Chef sat back, his hands going behind his head. “This is a side of you I’ve never seen.”
It was a side very few people saw. He’d learned at a young age to maintain control in all things. He took a step back and straightened out his suit. It wouldn’t do to continue on. He’d said what he had to say. “I don’t like to make a scene, but I believe in what I’m saying.”
“Why, exactly, do you think I’m firing you?” It sounded like an academic question and not the be-all, end-all of Sebastian’s life.
He thought about lying, but decided not to. He did owe Taggart, even if this was the end. “I know you had a meeting with Dan Jenkins. I know the network filmed it. I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I think it’s a mistake.”
Taggart had recently agreed to allow the Food Network to do a limited-run show about Top and its unique hiring practices. The chef had also agreed to do several personal appearances across the network.
Dan Jenkins was a few years older and miles more attractive. He also had all his limbs. He didn’t have a problem with looking good on television. He would be slick on camera.
Chef sat back up. “I did meet with him. I’ve been asked to cook for a charity dinner benefitting the children’s hospital and Dan is representing the distributor for the wine pairings. I’m not planning on changing soms. I have one who fits in quite nicely and it’s good to know he has no plans to leave any time soon.”
He felt his skin flush. “You’re not firing me.”
“Not even close, buddy. It wasn’t a thought in my brain. You’re perfect for Top and I hope you stay around for a very long time.”
He wasn’t being fired. Thank god. “I thought you might want someone with more on-screen experience.”
There was a knock on the door and Chef sighed. “Come on in.” He shot Sebastian a pointed stare. “I have my master som and don’t think for a second that I don’t understand how cheap I got you in the beginning. You took a chance on this place. I value that. I’m not of any mind to hire someone like Dan. Oh, I know he’s considered the brightest star by the Court of Master Sommeliers, but here and with my partner, there’s another meaning entirely to the word Master.”
“Did you talk to him?” A massive slab of muscle strode in looking like he was ready to murder someone. Ian Taggart, Chef’s older brother and not so silent partner in Top. He was wearing a dark blue swath of fabric across his chest that very likely contained his infant son. As far as Sebastian had heard, Charlotte Taggart had given birth to their son a few weeks before and that apparently meant the big guy became a marsupial with a child in his pouch at most functions. “Because I got real problems. I don’t need to worry about the damn training program. It’s not like I’m getting any right now. Have you ever tried to top a woman who recently had a baby you put up in her? Charlie’s not having any of it. And Seth and I here are still outnumbered because someone neutered Bud and now the dog doesn’t have a dick either. Or balls. Yeah. I think he’s got a dick, but no balls. Isn’t that right, Sean? It’s the same thing. You kept your dick, but they cut off your balls. Dude, I don’t know how you survived. It made the dog cranky so he ate one of my shoes. That made me cranky. God, I’m tired.”
Chef’s eyes had rolled to the back of his head. “I didn’t have my damn balls cut off. I had a vasectomy, you moron.”
“Same difference.” Big Tag sank to the chair Sebastian had occupied. “Bud’s left us for the female majority. He just follows the girls around. I think it’s because the twins are so good at dropping food everywhere. But it’s left me and the little man here on our own testosterone-wise.” He put a hand on the bundle on his chest before looking over at Sebastian. “So you in or out?”
“Why would I be out?” He didn’t understand the complex relationship the Taggart brothers seemed to have. There were four of them including younger twins Case and Theo, and they were ruthlessly sarcastic with each other. It seemed to be how they communicated. It was a completely different language than the one he spoke.
Chef held up a hand. “We haven’t gotten there yet.”
A tiny fist made its way outside the bundle. Big Tag reached out, letting the fingers curl around his forefinger. “What? Why haven’t you gotten there? It’s a simple question. Dude, will you take over the baby Doms for me? There’s a new crop coming in and they need to be sown. Otherwise they’ll all be like ‘brah, let’s go spank some bottoms and drink craft beer’ and then I’ll have to murder them. Seriously. I’ve been told not to murder them. Millennial Doms. Has it really come to this?”
And he was lost. “Millennial Doms?”
Chef put out a hand as though trying to slow things down. “It’s a favor he’s doing for Adam.”
“I lost a bet,” Big Tag said.
Chef shook his head. “Or you’re being a genuinely nice guy helping out a man who worked for you for years.”
“Lost a bet,” Big Tag insisted.
Chef sighed. “Adam and Jake have worked for McKay-Taggart for years, but they’ve got a new company they want to start that will specialize in missing persons. They have a new software program that aids in facial recognition, but there’s a little issue of another company competing for a similar patent. We all know Adam’s process is better, but this company has a shit ton of money and could hold him up for years in court. The company is a tech firm based here in Dallas and owned by a man named Milo Jaye.”
“Ah, the social media magnate.” Jaye was young but seemingly very serious. He wasn’t a Steve Jobs type who enjoyed media attention. “So you’ve worked some kind of deal with him? What could Adam give him that he can’t buy for…” The answer hit him. “Ah, he wants a Sanctum membership.”
Sanctum was the club Ian Taggart ran. A very exclusive BDSM club that had been started by the original members of the security firm McKay-Taggart. It had morphed into a play place for the rich and powerful. And the poor and playful who worked for or aided the Taggart brothers. He’d discovered that it was about half and half on the ridiculously powerful versus people Ian flat out liked.
Taggart had also been known to use the club to his own ends, making friends who could help out the company from time to time. Having the Dallas chief of police as a member guaranteed that McKay-Taggart’s infrequent brushes with the law got handled quietly. In exchange, the company aided in any investigation the police asked of them. DPD often consulted with Eve McKay on profiles of potential criminals.
Big Tag patted the bundle on his chest. “Root around all you like, buddy. Nothing coming out of there.” He looked back at Sebastian. “Yes, Milo Jaye wants a membership and he’s bringing some women with him. I think he’s trying to set up a harem or something. Dude’s a freak, but hey, no one cares when you’re a billionaire.”
“He’ll drop the lawsuit if he gets the required training to gain Master rights at Sanctum,” Chef explained. “I personally think this was his play all along and we could have avoided this entirely if Ian had simply let the man in a training class.”
