Boss with Benefits

Chapter 6 - Fleeting Raindrops of Everlasting Promises

Stare.

That was what Pierre had been doing for the last two minutes and twenty-seven seconds, staring at the bottle of champagne on the shelf. He stared at it, it stared back at him, challenging him with its persistent silence.

That, as well as the fact that it was placed on a shelf way too high up for his reach.

Pierre had always thought so highly of Vincent, not only as a boss but as an inspiration and, if he dared say it, a beloved teacher. When Pierre moved from his home in a quiet suburban area to chase his dream of one day becoming a chef himself, he knew it wouldn't be an easy journey, from his mom and grandparents' concerns over his decision not being stable enough to be a pursuable career path and trying to convince him to take over their workshop, to the fact that his university of choice was miles away from home and his family wasn't made of money in the first place. But that still wasn't enough to prepare him for the hardship that awaited ahead of him as he struggled to catch up with what the classes entailed, dealing with the occasional moments of regrets and wonders of whether he should've just listened to his family, juggling multiple minimum wage jobs all the while worrying if he would have enough to afford food and accommodation for the following months, and that was where Vincent came in.

Vincent Charbonneau was not a name he was unfamiliar with. In fact, when Vincent began gaining popularity along with his restaurant four years ago, during which time Pierre was a high school freshman, his face and name were plastered all over the newspapers. However, it only truly started when one day, after coming back to his dorm absolutely stressed out from yet another day at a job that barely paid enough for him to cover his rent, he flicked through the newspapers in the hopes of decompressing by letting his mind wander through some mindless reading until his eyes caught something that forced him to turn a few pages back—a hiring section for La Gueule de Saturne with positions for waiters—and something in him told him to go for it, which led him to Vincent's office with nerves running all over inside him. Pierre had applied for many jobs, had been on as many interviews, and the anxiety never left him every time, but the fact that the person conducting the interview was Vincent Charbonneau himself was circling in his mind the entire time, knowing that it was the same Vincent that he had heard so many good words about; the person who embodied his dreams, who represented the future he aimed to have, and the person with the coldest gaze ever with not a single trace of emotions behind those eyes until they perked up at a certain part of his application.

"According to your resume, you're a sophomore in Culinary, correct?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

Pierre fidgeted with his fingers, nervous about where Vincent was planning to take this until all of his anxiety, all of his doubts about how he was holding up in this interview, all of his wonders about what thoughts Vincent was having about him all dissipated from the smile on Vincent's lips. It was a tiny one, only a slight flick of the corners of his lips, but it was there nonetheless and accompanied by the subtle way his eyes softened, as though reminiscing fond memories from years ago when he was still a student himself who also had a big dream to chase, one he had already accomplished.

"I apologize, I just saw that you're studying at the same university I used to go to and couldn't help being reminded of myself." Vincent coughed in his hand before pushing the resume aside and leaning forward with his arms resting on the desk. "If you don't mind me asking as this isn't quite relevant to the position, but what's the specialty you're going for?"

"Oh—Uh—" Not having expected that question, but it was one Pierre was always happy to answer, Pierre averted his gaze for a quick moment before turning back to Vincent with a big smile on his lips. "I'm looking to become a pastry chef, sir!"