Burn (Heat #1)(17)

"It's not my favorite name." She plays with a strand of her hair. "I wouldn't call it crazy though."

"You're not funny, Soph."

"I am."

"He leaves to talk to Darrell and I go to the kitchen to get more water." I roll to my side so I'm facing her. "I send my mom a text to tell her I'm still living and breathing and he walks back in and everything is different."

"How so?"

"He closed up. He started asking me a bunch of questions about why I was in the kitchen and who I was talking to on my phone."

She glances at my smartphone on my desk. "Do you think he thought you were talking to Brendon?"

"There's more," I ignore her question and continue, "his tablet was in the kitchen, on the counter near where I was standing. He has it at the restaurant too sometimes. Maribel told me a few weeks ago that he makes notes on it when he's cooking. All of his recipes are on there."

"Oh shit." She leans forward, her hand jumping to her chin. "He thought you were looking through it? Is that it?"

"It sure as hell seemed like it."

"He's paranoid, Den." She swings her legs over the side of my bed. "You can't change that. A man will trust you or he won't. If he doesn't, I wouldn't waste my time putting any of my trust in him."





CHAPTER 17


"I'm happy to announce that we're going to cook that salmon dish that Maribel created for the morning show next week."

That stings. I was hoping we'd cook a dish I introduced at our staff meeting two days ago. Tyler didn't comment at all when I handed out the sample plates to him and the executive staff. Everyone else complimented me on the depth of flavor and the subtle hints of heat in the dish. Tyler held up his hand to pass when it came time for him to share his thoughts. I based that solely on the fact that mine was the only one he didn't sample.

It wasn't that way when Maribel introduced her dish. He raved about the salmon, telling her that he'd never had a piece that succulent and flavorful. He actually said it was divine. I was happy for her when the head chef and two of the senior chefs had only positive things to share about it too, even if none of them were quite as enthusiastic as Chef Monroe.

Being asked to submit a dish for consideration for the tasting menu, and for preparation on the morning show, was a huge deal. Darrell only asked four of us to participate.

"You're not serious, Tyler?" Maribel claps her hands together. "Will anyone know it's my dish?"

"You better f*cking believe they will." He laughs. "You're going to prepare it with me on the show."

My heart drops. I feel some of the eyes of the other staff darting to my face. I didn't sit down at this table in the middle of the dining room with any warning about what was taking place at this meeting. I thought it was another boring Tuesday morning staff gathering where Darrell talks about what he cooked his wife for dinner on the weekend and we all tell him how sweet he is.

"Isn't that Cadence's gig?" Drea pipes up. "She kills it on there. Is it a threesome now?"

There are muffled laughs in the dining room as Tyler turns to look at her. "It's my gig. I represent Nova. Maribel prepared this dish so it's Maribel who will be cooking it on television."

He doesn't even glance in my direction. I feel like I'm being punished for choosing halibut as a protein instead of salmon. I also feel like I'm being overlooked because I'm the one he's f*cking.

No one in this restaurant can accuse Chef Monroe of giving special perks to his lover. I'll be the first to testify to that.

"I expect you all to get up to speed on the preparation of Maribel's dish." Tyler turns in a circle as he addresses everyone. His chef's jacket pressed to perfection, his dark slacks just as pristine. His hair is trimmed again, and the stubble that was present the last time he ate me to orgasm has been wiped away with the edge of a blade. "The dish debuts on the menu tomorrow."

Tomorrow? That means that I'll spend the rest of today cleaning whole salmons, before I filet them for the real chefs to cook for lunch.

***

I close the cooler for the last time, grateful that my shift has finished for the day. My hands are dry and swollen from working near water the entire day. I thought I'd be put on the fish station since Darrell has told me repeatedly how amazed he is with my knife skills.

That never happened. He gave the job of working with the salmon to Drea and another junior chef who had to show her step-by-step what to do. I picked up the slack left by them which meant peeling potatoes and carrots for hours straight.

Once I was done with that, I helped with dinner service doing garnishes. I'm exhausted and as soon as I'm home, I'm going to bed.

I'm about to leave the kitchen to head to the area where the lockers are. It's a small room, tucked in the corner of the kitchen. Each employee is given a narrow metal locker to store their belongings during their shift. Although each locker comes equipped with a padlock, I'm one of the few who actually make use of it. I lock my purse in it before I start every shift.

I take a step and then I see Tyler round the corner from the dining room. He's rushed, a scowl on his face, perspiration dotting his forehead. Chef Monroe entertained the mayor and his wife tonight at the chef's table.