~Benedict's POV~
I kept to myself all night because I was on edge about seeing Mads tonight. We were still slammed but the good news was that relief was in sight. I interviewed and hired two new members for front of the house and had half a dozen interviews scheduled for kitchen staff.
"Chef?" Kurt calls my attention as I am hyperfocused on cleaning and closing down the kitchen.
"Yes." I reply as I continue scrubbing.
"Given our recent visibility, I think you should be the face representing us at the Taste of the Town on Friday." He speaks freely.
Whitmer recommended that we have a presence at this food and beverage festival as part of my redemption. I couldn't afford to have us shutdown for the weekend so he hired a catering staff to execute our planned dishes. I am nervous letting strangers cook and represent my restaurant so Kurt is supposed to be going to supervise at least the first night.
"They know I'm the face of Grand Finale." I dismiss him.
"I think it would be better if you were there for those who don't." He presses.
A night away from the restaurant while it is open? I don't think I could handle handing over that much control, irregardless of the perks of good press. I shake my head. "You should go. Impersonate me if need be."
"I don't pull off tortured dickhead all that well." Kurt teases with a wink.
"And that's supposed to convince me to come out and play the part?" I cock an eyebrow.
"Yes." He insists. "You know when we get more kitchen staff, you are going to be in that rotation to get a day off every once in awhile."
"To do what? Sit at home and worry about you mucking up my kitchen?" I joke.
"I don't know. Maybe do something fun. Take that counselor out on a real date. I don't know." He nudges back.
"Shhh! She's due to arrive any minute!" I hush him.
"Ah so you haven't told her yet?" Kurt folds his arms and stares me down.
I groan and give up on my task. "Well, it's kind of messy right now actually. We ended up making out last week..."
"Ohhhhh!" He hollers as he grins and starts smacking me with a towel.
"Dude, knock it off." I tell him, looking around because I don't want Mads to catch us gossiping about her.
"So how's it messy?" He asks.
"Can we talk about this later?" I practically beg, glancing at my watch.
Kurt fixes me with a look. Despite my agitation and my nerves, I cave. "The night we started exploring things is the night that shit went down at the tattoo shop. And the next day, as you know, we got slammed. I didn't have a chance to catch up with her and when we finally did, she shut down any chance of us."
"Easy. She's mad you didn't reach out. Time to do something epic to show that you care." He coaches.
"No. She said it's the optical of the whole thing. You know, me being her client or whatever." I shrug.
YOU ARE READING
Yes, Chef
Roman d'amour*** COMPLETED STORY *** Madeline (Mads) Confee is a performance counselor looking to exit her profession and find something new. When she's begged to take on one last client, she doubts she can help the moody chef, especially based on their early in...
