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Cocky Chef(22)

By:J.D. Hawkins


"Hey, who's your new girlfriend?" Aaron laughs. "Little young, even for you."

"Quiet please, everyone," Cole says, ignoring the joke. "You remember I told you all about the Young Chefs mentoring program? Well here she is, the most promising cook in Los Angeles County: Chloe Fernandez. Chloe? Welcome. This is my staff."

There are coos and greetings of ‘hey Chloe' from the more interested members of the staff that Chloe returns happily, beaming uncontrollably as she waves back and takes in the group.

"So you wanna be a great chef one day?" Michelle asks between bites of scallop.

"Yeah. I really do."

"Better than Cole?"

Chloe grins. "I'm already better than him. He overthinks everything."

The table erupts into another wave of easy laughter.

"You got that right!" Michelle says.

"Ok wiseass," Cole says to Michelle, pulling out a chair for Chloe at the table. "Let's eat."

The number of people there, and the added interest of having Chloe at the table, means that seeing Cole again isn't half as awkward as I expected it to be. He spends most of his time at the other end of the table doing his best to entertain his young mentee, while I talk with Ryan beside me about his guitar collection. After a half hour, my full stomach and a glass of wine making it easy to smile as I listen to the stories around me, I almost forget that he's even there. Once the plates are empty, the volume starts to fade, and Cole seizes everyone's attention with that voice that makes it unmistakable he's the boss around here.

"Ok everyone," he says, clapping his hands together and putting his elbows on the table, a posture that leaves no doubt he's about to talk business. "Anyone have anything they wanna raise here? Any problems or issues? Kitchen? Waitstaff? Management? I'm all ears."


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Cole looks around at a few of us, and I notice that his eyes don't meet mine. There are a few shrugs and shakes of the head around the table until Leo eventually says, "Did they get back to you about the abalone deliveries?"

"Nope. I'm calling them right after this."

"They've got to move them to Mondays."

"I know. Leave it to me. Anything else?"

"There's some rapper coming in on Thursday," Charlie says fretfully.

"Full entourage?" Cole asks.

"Possibly. Where should we put them?"

Cole tilts his head. "Let's rearrange the seating in the back of the dining room and keep some chairs available in case. Anyone else? No? Nothing? Ok, listen. I'm going to add something new to the specials menu-just for this week. See how it goes, see how the customers like it."

My pulse starts to pound.

"A new dessert?" the pastry chef asks hopefully.

"No. A main. Basque burgers a l'ail et moutarde. I've already shown Willow how to prepare it, so she can show the rest of you." My stomach drops. He showed me how to prepare it? Cole looks at the waiters as I feel my heart thump. "Maybe if you have some down time this shift. You guys can try it, get to know it, then suggest it to diners. And be sure you ask them what they think afterward-I wanna know what they think."

There are nods amongst the waiters, but I'm staring at Cole now, mouth open in astonishment.

"Why are you adding this?" Michelle says. "The menu's perfect as-is. And it's … a burger." I note the disdain in her voice but keep my mouth closed. As much as I want to defend the dish, I'm still too stunned that Cole is taking credit for my idea to be able to speak.

"I was thinking," Cole says, looking up a little like he's genuinely remembering, "our mains are good. Rich, full-but they're pretty similar in texture. I thought this might add something a little drier, something less sauce-based. Without losing that richness of flavor."

There are murmurs of understanding around the table, but it's all I can do to hide the swirling ocean of anger that's building inside of me. Leo frowns and leans forward, looking from me to Cole.

"Hold on," he says. "Willow? You taught the new hire how to cook it? When did you do that?"

Cole glares at Leo in a way that makes the bald-headed saucier almost shiver in front of us.

"We had a little catch-up yesterday, a progress report. I showed her then since I won't have time now. I take it that's not an issue?"

"Well," Leo says, glancing at me dismissively. "I mean she's only been here a few days, and she's already passing on your recipes?"