Stepbrother Bad Boy's Baby Boxed Set(4)

My big break was within my grasp, as I heard the sous chef start making his way towards me from the other end of the kitchen. The head chef, Shannon, who besides having a ego the size of Chicago was actually pretty nice, had gotten a call from the producers of Iron Chef America. She was scheduled to take on one of the Iron Chefs in two months in a special holiday episode, and she wanted to put together her "battle crew."

However, Alinea couldn't close because of filming a TV show, so instead of just taking the top chefs who had worked with her for the longest, she had tasked Horst with selecting a crew that would listen to her directions best and produce for her with minimal guidance. Apparently Horst had a friend who was a sous chef for a contestant who had lost on Iron Chef, and said that it was the most important thing to do.

So that gave me my opportunity. With four of the kitchen crew gone, I had the chance to either take a place in the line, or if I were lucky, to maybe be the most junior member of Shannon's team for Iron Chef. I wasn't sure which I wanted more, honestly. I mean, three days of working the line directly under Horst would give him a clear view of my skills. On the other hand, if I could produce for Shannon in that one hour of television taping, it could be even better. If Shannon lost however, I might be out of a job. She had that kind of ego.

"Show your work, Aksoy."

I stepped aside, and let Horst look at my efforts. He hemmed and hawed as he looked with a hawk eye over my cuts. Finally he stepped back and nodded. "Good work. I'm going to tell Chef Shannon that I think you would be a good member of her battle team."

"Thank you Chef," I said, doing my best not to completely flip out and start doing cartwheels in the kitchen. "I'll work hard."

"I know you will," Horst said. For the first time in the year and a half I'd actually been allowed to speak with him, he smiled. "Don't think I haven't been watching, Aksoy. I have pushed you harder than any of the other young ones who have come in the door precisely because I know who you are. In fact, I apprenticed under your father many years ago, although you probably don't remember. It seems that German DNA and Turkish cooking don't get along well. But he was a kind man, and when you came along looking for a job, I made sure there was something for you."

"Thank you Chef," I repeated, trying to control the tears that threatened to come to my eyes. I tried to think of words to say, and couldn't. "Thank you."

"Good. Now, I saw today you have requested time off next week to go to your mother's wedding. Is that correct?"

"Yes Chef."

"Ja wohl. I remember her, she is a fine woman. Okay then, starting tomorrow you get nine days off, including next weekend. Just remember, when you come back, Shannon will be expecting you to do competition practice as well as your normal duties. So don't relax too much on me."

"I won't Chef."

Horst nodded and patted me on the shoulder. "Now take ten Krystal, and go enjoy the moment. You've made it to the next step."

I smiled and gave him a nod as I walked away, making note that he used my first name.





Chapter 3





Krystal





The Castelbon Manor is immense. Driving up in my rented Honda, I had to pause once I got out just to take it all in. I mean, growing up as Krystal Aksoy, only child of Danyal Aksoy and Sandra Hepburn, and one of only three grandchildren of Maximus Hepburn, I've never had a point in my life like some of my co-workers in Alinea where they didn't know where their next meal was coming from. I went to good schools, got to go on trips overseas when I was on summer vacation, and in general led a very good life. But Mom was a lot like me, in that she never wanted to flaunt her wealth. We lived in a gated community sure, but the house wasn't extravagant. Meanwhile, Castelbon Manor had a servant's quarters larger than the house I lived in when I was in high school.

If Mom hadn't had me meet Johnathan Castelbon before the wedding, I would have taken him for a stuck up man. But to my surprise, he was really a great guy. He and Mom had met while she was taking her once a year vacation to New Hampshire, where Grandpa Max had the Hepburn Estate, which just happened to be nestled among some of the best skiing in New England near Bretton Woods. Mom always was an avid skier, and had met John Castelbon while they were both resting in the lodge during a heavy flurry that took visibility to nothing.

It was love at first sight, according to Mom. I could see why too the first time I met John, after Mom insisted he visit Chicago to see our home. I was in my senior year of college at the time, and he reminded me a lot of Dad, with the same driven yet compassionate personality, and the same open heart. He and Mom are close in age, which I think was part of what allowed John to relax around her. He'd been burned twice in marriages before, both times to younger women, and having Mom around who didn't expect him to be a sugar daddy, allowed him to be himself. For the two years plus that he and Mom dated before he popped the question, I'd really gotten to know the man, and I couldn't have been happier that they were getting married.

Still, I was worried about one thing as I climbed the steps to the front door, my backpack over my shoulder. Supposedly, Julian was coming home for the wedding. The proverbial bad boy, Googling his name gave you more hits than his father's. I know, I'd checked one time. Of course, the results of that search weren't positive either. Drunken escapades in LA nightclubs, being seen with more starlets than I could remember, and being arrested seemed to be his favorite hobbies. The little bit the manor staff had told me, he was the same as a teenager, all of it beginning when Julian's mother and Johnathan parted ways when Julian was only seven.