Yes, Chef

Chapter 30: Never Been More Found

Eighteen months later...

~Mads's POV~

"I've got another client for you." Whitmer announces, walking into my office without knocking.

I scoff and call out to my assistant. "Mina, does he have an appointment?"

"No but he said it was about your student loan debt. I'm sorry!" She calls back. I roll my eyes. I don't have student loan debt and he knows it because he more than paid for my education already.

Whitmer wiggles his bushy eyebrows and settles into the loveseat under the window. I stand up from behind my desk, turning off my monitor and slipping on my suit jacket. He can't stand to be ignored so when I start towards the door he intervenes. "You'll like this one. Wants to open a yoga studio."

After much strong arming from Benedict, I returned to school like I said the next semester following my brother's breakdown. After some business management and accounting courses, I decided to try my hand at being a business development consultant. The human interaction piece of it isn't much different than performance coaching. I'm helping people who are just on the cusp of pursuing their dreams and often times it isn't the business piece that is holding them back.

Whitmer was delighted to be a financial partner, bringing capital to the table for underfunded ventures while also sending his own pet projects my way. I can't complain because I finally love what I'm doing again. And I'm developing quite the reputation even though I've only had a handful of clients.

Work and school have been a pleasant distraction from other things in my life, mainly my brother. He was hospitalized for a year following the episode at my condo. He was diagnosed with PTSD and delusional disorder, a form of schizophrenia. The entire story about having an affair with Dr. Agio was just a delusion.

It took a long while to find a drug combination that worked for him and lots of therapy before his care team and I agreed he could be independent again. An unfortunate truth, however, is that many people with these disorders stop taking their medications so he has to be regularly monitored.

Benedict tried to understand and not shun my brother outright but he struggles with not worrying when I visit him alone so I try to take someone with me like Joellen or Garrison. It's saying something that Benedict trusts Garrison. Garrison was also slow to forgive my brother but they managed to connect over bowling again and plan to play as partners if everything remains stable.

Benedict stepped back from the restaurant while his arm healed, and true to his word, he allowed Kurt to take on the head chef role even when Benedict was cleared to come back. As executive chef, Benedict gets to do more menu planning and recipe creation, which he loves, and restaurant management, which he loathes. Win some, lose some.

Kurt, however, just recently became a dad, so Benedict gave him paid paternity leave for up to six months. Kurt swears he'll be back in three weeks but I've seen him with his tiny daughter and his girlfriend. I just don't see him giving up any time with them.

So it's been a struggle adapting to both of us being on the go full time again, even with us now living together. I did go back to my condo after everything was refurbished, but the back and forth became tedious and Benedict offered for me to move in with him permanently. I decided to sublet the condo rather than sell for the time being.

Tonight is a rare opportunity as of late. We're both home for the evening and Benedict suggested a night out. He even planned the whole thing. Which is why I'm not entertaining a meeting with Whitmer right now.