As it was, it was a good shock absorber for my annoyance.
Tzatkizi sauce appeared in front of me without a word from Alex. He literally dumped the bowl and then left. I didn't care-I just needed the sauce. I was almost certain he'd be fired tomorrow morning. I didn't expect to or need to wait as long as I had for the sauce he'd assured me he'd made a few hours ago.
I hit the buzzer for Vicky to come and grab some food. She came in with three more meal tickets.
It was Monday in Whiskey Key.
What the fuck was going on?
"Raven," I shouted across the kitchen before Vicky could leave. "I need her."
"Sure." Her voice carried over the noise and was followed by the slamming of the door.
I threw tomatoes into the frying pan and added zucchini. I was working on a side dish now I had the tzatkizi I needed, and all I could do was hope that Alex had read the tickets and was working on the others I needed.
"Raven's busy," Vicky said loudly, coming in with dirty dishes. "She asked me what you need."
"I need her ass in here," I replied without turning around.
"I'm not sure she can do that."
"Make her."
I had no time for excuses. I needed her here to talk to me and that was the end of it.
Vicky came and went three times before Raven made her way into the kitchen. When she did, it was in a cloud of anger and a tongue spitting with insults.
"What?" she yelled over the noise of the fans.
"Stop food," I shouted back. "We're too slammed."
"There's less than Friday!"
I turned in time to see her examining the tickets.
"Fuck me sideways," she said. "You had twice the tickets last Friday. What's going on?"
"Stop food," I repeated, tugging down a ticket as I hit the buzzer for Vicky. She pulled the plates with towels and I said, "Table four. Five minutes ago."
Vicky nodded as she turned.
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Don't let your complexes out on her. She just runs your shit."
"Watch your mouth," I warned her, mixing a salad. With a metal spoon, I filled two salad bowls and passed them in Raven's direction with the dressing on the side. "Thanks."
She reached through the divide and hit the divide.
"Table eight," I told Vicky when she grabbed them.
Raven waited until the door shut. "Don't tell me what to do again." Her voice was like ice as it sliced through the air between us.
"You're in my kitchen, hotshot."
"I don't give a fuck. If you think I studied for years to mix drinks only to stand here and take your shit, you're mistaken."
I raised an eyebrow. "You insulting me?"
"No," she said, training her bright eyes on me. "I'm telling you to get the fuck on with it like I am."
"Getting on with it," I told her, pushing two plates under the lamp and hitting the buzzer. "But under more pressure than you."
Vicky appeared instantly. To her credit, Raven didn't say a word until she'd disappeared.
"You knew what you signed up to," she told me, her finger pointing at me. "You literally offered yourself to me for this job. If you're not up to it, get your ass the fuck out of here. Give me a damn good reason why I should tell people they have to wait forty-five minutes for their food per your latest order. Remember who I am, Parker."
The spoon I was holding fell to the counter with an air-slicing shatter. I gripped the edge of the counter and leaned down so that my eyes met hers beneath the shadow of the hot plate.
Parker.
I didn't give a fuck who she was.
In my kitchen, I wasn't Parker.
The door opened.
Vicky froze. Alex stood in the freezer entryway with meat in his hands.
My voice was low and heavy as I spoke, keeping my gaze on Raven's. "In my kitchen, you call me Chef."
Raven's eyes held mine with a devastating intensity. "And while your kitchen is in my building, you call me boss." She rammed the heel of her hand into the edge of the countertop. "Be in my office when you finish at nine-thirty, Mr. Hamilton. We have a few things to discuss."
She didn't even give me the decency of time to respond. She turned and left in a flash of dark hair and floral skirt. The door clicked shut to the swish of her leaving the space.
She did that. She occupied every space with ease, filling it with her vibrant personality and take-no shit attitude.
I was over her attitude. Any awkwardness I'd felt walking in here and seeing her brother knowing I'd kissed her last night was gone. Any guilt had disappeared, too. It'd all been replaced by the stress of the evening's work and the annoyance at her.