AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, Chef,” they said in unison. They glanced at one another and then laughed, earning a sharp look from Gabriel. This only brought on more quiet giggles. Perhaps she wasn’t ready to work for such a serious chef.
Then again, Shane wasn’t the epitome of a happy-go-lucky guy either. She didn’t know if she could work with people who couldn’t lighten up every so often. Besides the pay, the only perks of working here would be the change of scenery and finding a friend in Hannah.
When the last customer had finally ordered their dessert, the kitchen staff closed up shop. Waiters and waitresses worked on wiping down tables and cleaning the restaurant. Eloise followed Hannah toward the lockers. She leaned her shoulder against one of the metal doors, contemplating their conversation. “How long have you been working here?”
Hannah laughed. “Is that a trick question? This restaurant just opened.”
Eloise rolled her eyes. “Well, you weren’t hired yesterday.”
Her new friend glanced at her. “Okay, that’s true.” She tilted her head. “I guess we have all been helping out here and there for the past month or so.”
“And you like working for Mr. Owens?”
“Shane? Oh, yeah. He’s great.” Hannah dug into her locker, focused intently on whatever she was trying to retrieve.
“Really? He seems a little too—”
Someone behind Eloise cleared their throat, and Hannah’s eyes shot to a spot over her shoulder. Eloise’s eyes widened and warmth bloomed in her cheeks. Even without looking, she knew Shane was behind her.
3
Shane
Shane had been on the wrong side of eavesdropping before, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Eloise was going to say about him. After the day he’d had, he didn’t need any more negativity.
Hannah gaped at him, then ducked back into her locker as if the small metal box would hold her. Eloise looked absolutely mortified, which he couldn’t deny gave him a small amount of pleasure.
He had his hands shoved into his pockets and he jutted his chin in the direction of the exit. “I’m available right now for our meeting.”
She nodded. “Just let me gather my things. I think I left my coat in the office.” She moved toward him, then stopped short. “Excuse me.”
Shane stepped back, allowing her to pass him. He shot a quick look in Hannah’s direction. “How was the first night?”
“Oh, it was great. I can’t think of anything that went wrong. Chef Gabriel is amazing to work with.”
He nodded. That was what he needed to hear. Of course, he knew that Gabriel would pull off a miracle. That was the reason he’d hired the guy. It didn’t hurt that they had a history back home. The man was one of the only guys Shane could trust. Gabriel had never lied to him in the entire time they’d known one another.
Hannah shut the locker door and then took a step closer to him. She kept her voice low and her words short. “If you’re looking to hire someone to replace Penelope even temporarily, I’d say Eloise would make a good choice.” She straightened and a wide smile spilled across her face as she turned toward Eloise, who’d emerged from the office. “You have my number, right?”
Eloise nodded. “Yep. We should definitely get together sometime.”
“Definitely.” Hannah met Shane’s eyes once more, then ducked away from them as if she was worried she’d said something to get herself in trouble.
He might have been in a bad mood lately, but he wasn’tscary. At least he didn’t think so.
Shane stretched out his arm toward the exit. “Ladies first.”
Eloise stepped forward and led the way. She appeared to be less confident than she’d been when she’d demanded to know the terms of their arrangement. He’d thrown her off guard. Good. It was healthy for those who worked for him to have a strong sense of respect. He was still the boss, after all. And just because his cousins didn’t know how to treat someone like him didn’t mean others should follow suit.
When they reached his office, he opted to keep the door open in case Gabriel needed him. He walked past Eloise, who chose to remain standing for some reason. Shane pulled open his desk drawer and retrieved a small leather book. He flipped it open and scribbled out her name and the amount of six-hundred dollars.
The check ripped cleanly from the notebook, and he wandered around the edge of the desk before holding it out to her.
She looked down at it and then lifted her eyes to meet his. “That’s too much. I only worked for five and a half hours this evening.”
Shane didn’t move. “You’re correct. However, I’m not going to shortchange you for leaving thirty minutes earlier than expected.”
Her gaze cut to the check, then back up to meet his before she reached to take it from him. “I was wondering something.”
