"You may now kiss the bride"
The church was filed with cheers, applause and very few dry eyes. Scott put down his tray so he could join in with the celebrations and confetti throwing, but he picked it back up as the congregation started to depart, offering them all a glass of Prosecco as they left the church and headed to the reception venue; a hotel much too fancy for Scotts taste, but a beautiful setting none the less. Eventually the bride and groom exited, taking his last two glassfuls with him.
Scott let the fake grin he'd had plastered in his face drop, massaging his cheeks a little; they were so sore from smiling and congratulating. The restaurant he worked for often got called out to work at this particular venue for weddings, and whilst he loved the pay, being front of house and having to manage his team of 20 waiters and waitresses was no easy task.
"Watch out -I'm behind you." Scott turned to see a familiar face carrying several trays and holding his hand out for Scott's.
"Alex!" Scott plastered the smile back on his face, surprised to see the chef up here. "What are you doing here? And in a suit!" It wasn't often Alex seemed to leave the kitchen; in fact Scott couldn't remember ever seeing Alex anywhere else.
Alex laughed, "who knew being sous-chef came with so many meaningless tasks."
"You're Head Chef here though. That's pretty cool. I'm not used to seeing you in anything other than your Kung Fu outfit" Scott joked, walking outside to head over to the hotel and motioning for Alex to follow.
Except he didn't. He stood shocked for a moment before speed walking to catch up, exclaiming "Kung fu? Kung fu! I'm in shock."
Scott giggled, "come on they're both all white"
"First of all, I just wear the white coat not trousers because I'm either sous or head chef thank you very much" he claimed, raising his eye brows at the blonde "and secondly - as if I could do martial arts in my whites."
"But cooking is a form of art"
Alex rolled his eyes, "nice save" he muttered sarcastically. "But yes I'm wearing a suit at the moment because I have to go and mutter some bullshit to the bride and groom about what they'll be eating tonight."
Scott laughed, "I know what you mean. You would not believe how many times I've said 'well the chef recommends--' and said the first dish I could remember. I hope you're not going to cook in that suit, it looks far too expensive for that"
"Hopefully I'll have time to change. If not I'll just strip, otherwise I will melt."
"Do not. I've heard the birthday suit is not recommended by food safety professionals." They laughed together before bidding their goodbyes, Scott watching Alex walk away. He walked with an air of authority that annoyed Scott to no extent; he seemed arrogant and determined to prove he had the hardest job, as if everything was a competition. "I'd like to see him try my job." He muttered, turning to one of his colleagues who stood with empty glasses in his hands.
"Does he hate me?" Scott asked, looking back at Alex as he rounded the corner and walked away. "Alex, as in." He clarified, waiting for an answer but when his reply was silence he looked at the other man. "Charlie?"
He stood scrunching his face up with thought, gnawing on his bottom lip. "Which one is Alex again?" he asked, chagrined.
"The chef," Scott replied, chuckling, "for a minute I thought you were going to say he obviously despised me"
The small blonde man smiled up at him. Whilst he might technically be inferior to Scott, he was one of his best friends and Scott viewed them more as equals than manager and employee. "I don't really know him that well. Seems nice enough though. Why do you care?"
"Nice enough?! The mans a walking ice cube he's so cold." Charlie just rolled his eyes. "And I care because it's nice to be liked."
His remark earned him an incredulous look, "Since when have you cared about how others view you?"
Scott shook his head , "you're right. Now back to work!"
"You stopped me working you little--"
"La da da da da la da I can't hear you" Scott sung as he walked away, laughing at the curse words tumbling out of Charlie's mouth.
