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What.
“But you said—” Adrian broke off to remember the precise words Kojo had used. Something about a special person?
“I said I didn’t want to make the move without the most important person in my life. Well, other than my family.” The corners of Kojo’s mouth turned up as he nodded his chin at Eric. “So, meet my best mate.”
Mates. They were mates? Oh no, Adrian didn’t buy it. The mates part—okay, yes, maybe. But not the part about how it had been an innocent misunderstanding.
He narrowed his eyes at Kojo, a small burst of irritation swirling in his stomach. “You lied to me.”
“I did not,” Kojo stated, although he looked just a hint guilty. “I merely implied—”
“He was trying to protect me,” Eric cut in. His stance made it clear that he wished himself far, far away, but for the first time, he met Adrian’s eyes without a trace of embarrassment. “We’re kind of in the middle of nowhere here, which—not the most progressive type of environment, generally speaking. I’m bi, and so he wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Adrian took a second to review the words. “Well, I’m gay, so obviously it’s not a problem. My parents wouldn’t tolerate that kind of shit here, and neither would I.”
“But I didn’t know that, now did I?” Kojo’s tone carried enough of an apology that Adrian’s irritation evaporated.
“I guess not. I still don’t appreciate being lied to.”
“Yeah, fair enough. I did mean for you to get the wrong idea, and then I missed the right moment to clear things up.” Kojo pressed hislips together. “It seemed like a good way to test the waters, make sure it wasn’t a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. My old job—they claimed they were pro-diversity, but the reality was a bit different.”
Right, Adrian had wondered why a skilled chef would switch from a Michelin-starred restaurant in London to a hotel kitchen in the mountains—yet he’d been too desperate to question Kojo’s claim that he loved the countryside and was keen to step into a head chef position. There was a lesson in there, clearly. Something about business smarts and asking the right questions.
Adrian would do better next time.
“Sorry to hear that,” he told Kojo. “Anything like that happens around here, you come straight to me and I’ll fire the person. But also”—he fixed Kojo with a serious look—“lie to me again, and I’ll fireyou. I’ll cook myself, if I have to.”
“I can respect that.” Kojo’s smile was genuine as he offered his hand, palm up. Adrian grasped it for a shake, and despite their little hiccup just now, he did actually like this guy. He suspected that he’d like Eric too, once Eric dropped the awkward act. On that note, might be best to delay the introduction to Martin for another couple of hours or so, give Eric a chance to calm down before running into another reason to lose his footing.
Also, huh. So Eric was single, presumably.
Not that it changed how Adrian was essentially his boss.
“All right,” Adrian told Kojo. “Glad we’re on the same page. And in that case, I take it you’d prefer two rooms?”
“That’d be great.” Eric aimed a smile at the side of Adrian’s face. “But we’ve been friends since we were six—more than two decades—so we can also handle sharing a room if that’s easier.”
“Nah, it’s not a problem.” Adrian smiled back. “I’ll ask our housekeepers to prepare the room that belonged to our previous chef.”
“Thanks, mate.” Kojo sounded like he meant it.
“Sure thing. Now…” Adrian looked around the space. “I need to deal with a few things, so why don’t you guys have a look around, familiarise yourselves with the place? Then Kojo can join Monika in the kitchen at three thirty or so, and Eric, I’ll meet you in the dining room at five, give you a quick introduction to how we do things.”
“Sounds good,” Kojo said while Eric nodded quickly, hands in his pockets. Adrian looked forward to nudging him out of his shell, possibly more than he should.
“Welcome to the Gletscherhaus,” he told them with another smile. “We really are glad to have you here.”
“Good to be here.” It was Eric who replied this time, and Adrian welcomed the excuse to study him for a moment. Sue him—he liked looking at pretty things, even if it was innocent browsing without any plans to make a purchase.
There was a spring in his step when he left the room, relief loosening his chest. God, it really would be good to have the extra help because the last couple of weeks had been … a lot.
Hopefully, Kojo and Eric would last a while.
The moment Adrianhad disappeared down the corridor, Kojo turned with a grin that would have done a shark proud. “So.”
Eric could withstand the weight of Kojo’s expectant gaze. Hecould.
Silence.
