The CHEF from Burhan & Sons

Chapter 13 - Liam

"Liam... I'm going to miss you, son. You knew how to brighten my day every single time but I understand why you must do this. As much as I love having you here, what happened between you and that girl was sad and I really hope that you will find your way back into each other's arms", Claire said after accepting my resignation letter. I had to make a choice, I had to choose her.

"Thank you, Claire, that means a lot to me", I said pulling her in a hug. I was hoping to leave before anyone knew but I found Mia waiting for me outside Claire's office and when our eyes met, I knew she had answers. She pulled me in a hug and then sniffed, I hugged her tighter. When her sniffing settled, I pulled back and handed her the Dalstrong Vagabond knife roll Brazilian leather bag that had my Dalstrong Gladiator series knives, her eyes went wide with shock.

"I can't take these, these are your favourite knives, I can't", she said making me smile. "They are Mia, and you know why they are", I said making her realise why I was doing it. "Liam, you don't have to", she said in a pleading voice. "I know, but even though I don't know if she will take me back, I want to do it for her, I want to choose her", I said with a smile on my face even though I didn't know where I was going to end up, I still hoped that it would be in Amy's arms.

"You love her that much huh?", she asked, making me nod. "Good, you're the best boss ever. I'll miss you", she said hugging me again making me chuckle. "Hey, I'm not dying. We can still hang out. I'll keep in touch", I said then walked out of the Burhan and Sons building for the last time.

I met with Tate at the restaurant he bought and discussed what I wanted to do with the place. After a very long discussion, we reached an agreement, and he's lending me some money to kick-start the business. Sandy is helping me with the décor and I'm on the kitchen appliances. I wanted a state-of-the-art kitchen and I was grateful that they were able to tolerate me. It was an open kitchen, and I wanted my customers to see the food being prepared it brought some sense of connection and I wanted that. Amy always liked to watch me cook and I think the idea of an open kitchen was inspired by that fact.

I just got home after a long day of employing new staff for the restaurant and logo designing. I've decided to name the restaurant after my Amy, it's called 'Ryllis Eatery' with a red and white Amaryllis flower on the logo. Yes, I'm that crazy, Tate thinks it's an idiot move but Sandy thinks it's romantic. I think it's a reminder of who made me take this step and she deserved the world, this was my way of giving her that.

I woke up super early and went to Tate's house. He had a gym that I was kinda starting to get addicted to. I did some heavy lifting and then an hour of boxing. By the time it was 7 a.m., I was done for the day. They were still not up yet so I left. I liked the privacy of it all.

"This is amazing Ramona thank you", I said after inspecting the fresh vegetables that were delivered to the restaurant. The old lady who owned a vegetable farm smiled at me. "I'm happy you like them, Chef. So how do you want them delivered?", she asked and I knew she needed a schedule because driving a van to and from the farm was a bit challenging considering her farm was out of the city.

"Let's start with once a week then we'll go from there, will that work?", I asked and she nodded. She was about to walk out of the pantry when she stopped abruptly and then turned to me. I looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Is it true?", she asked with a smile. "What?", I asked feeling confused. "About the restaurant being named after a mysterious girl?", she asked teasingly making me chuckle. "What do you think Ramona?", I asked with a matching smile. "I think you kids are capable of doing anything these days. It's hard to trust you", she said making me smile. "You're probably right", i said making her shake her head and then walk away.

A Couple of Weeks Later...

When I started this whole thing I thought that I wouldn't make it. I still remember the first time I opened the restaurant and how nervous I was about people liking my food. It was insane. Two people walked in and then an hour later it was a full house.

People kept taking photos in the logo section giving me free advertisements. I thanked Tate for buying the place and really hoped to pay his money back as soon as possible. Yes, I still hated the feeling of owing someone, even if it was my brother. Sandy is still my number one fan and I appreciate her.

"Hey man, it's time to bounce", Tate said walking into my office. I looked at him with no clue of what bouncing was he talking about. He rolled his eyes at me and then said, "Family dinner". Oh shit! "I totally forgot about that. Let me change real quick", I said then took my uniform off replacing it with a long sleeve dress shirt.

We arrived at Rose's house just in time for dinner. She had expensive taste so everything was over the top. I didn't blame her. Her husband was loaded and so was she. Why not.

We sat and ate, as usual, I was quiet the whole time until Tate decided it was time to tell everyone about Ryllis Eatery. "Congrats little bro. It's good to see you're finally stepping out of the dark", Mark said making me nod. "That name though, it's... different", Rose said looking like she was struggling to figure it out. "It should be if you're naming a business after a woman that's not even related to you", Mum finally doing what I thought she was gonna do.

"Oh come on Marianna. He needs that to create a buzz for marketing. A single Chef with a mysterious love life is a customer magnet, especially the women. They even have a hashtag for him", Dad said surprising me. I didn't know he was checking up on me until now. "I don't buy it. He should have kept it in the family", she said looking pissed. "So any Michelin stars yet?", she asked while sipping her wine. "Not yet", i said and there it was again. The disappointment in both their eyes.

"So Tate, how's the season coming along?", Dad said with pride on his face making me roll my eyes. "It's all good", he said looking at me with a weak smile. You tried buddy.