Last Flight to L.A.

chapter thirteen: dirty dishes, dirty secrets

"It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices."

~Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Kelsey was busy washing dishes when the new Chef Vance slid a mixing bowl into the soapy water.

"I heard you catered a party this weekend," he said.

Kelsey nodded. "I did."

"And I assumed you were just a dishwasher!" He said boisterously, meaning it as a joke that Kelsey didn't find funny.

She offered a tight smile and said, "I guess we both surprised each other."

"But, uh, listen," Chef Vance said, an apology in his tone. He rested his forearms against the metal rim of the sink and said, "I'm not sure we should be doing that anymore."

"Doing what?" Kelsey asked, not liking the way his voice sounded like he was speaking to a toddler.

"Ah, you know," his hands moved back and forth, "we're a professional company here. We can't have unprofessional employees doing side-jobs, if you're tracking what I mean."

Kelsey promptly turned off the water and dried her hands. She rested a fist on her hip and turned to him, giving a thin smile. "I got clearance from Chef Romano, and I didn't receive any of the pay—it all went to the company."

Chef Vance straightened and held his hands out in front of him defensively. "I get it, I get it. But, you know, you're not quite a chef. You've got skill! Don't get me wrong. But maybe just—" He rapped his knuckles on the sink. "—keep doing what you're doing."

"Last time I checked," Kelsey said before he could walk away, "you were the assistant head chef. And my orders came directly from Chef Romano, as well as Chef Ivan. And even though I technically have to do what you say, in the end, you won't be the one to fire me."

Chef Vance snorted, his arrogant smile sliding across his features. "Listen babe, I wouldn't try to cross me."

"I'm not going to," Kelsey replied. "I'll remember my place as long as you remember yours."

She picked up a full-sized baking pan and walked past him to put it away. "And don't ever call me that again," she added over her shoulder.

She heard him give a short laugh, but didn't turn around.

She'd had a long weekend, too much on her mind, and Monday came far too soon. She couldn't stop thinking about Ethan; and not in the cute way she would've liked.

When she got home from the party on Saturday, she had immediately opened her laptop.

She had Althea Stellan's name typed in the search bar.

But then she realized that she didn't want to hear gossip from the celebrity webpages or clickbait articles.

She wanted to hear it from Ethan, if she wanted to hear it at all.

Whatever happened between them didn't end well, she could assume. But what about the past Becca had mentioned?

That was the thing—Kelsey didn't want to find out, but then her mind kept making up all kinds of stories and possibilities.

And there was an anger that kept flaring up in Kelsey like an old mosquito bite she couldn't get rid of.

Becca Lynn was poisonous. She'd pitted Kelsey against Ethan, whom she'd claimed was a friend. Was she jealous? Over-protective? Or maybe she just didn't like Kelsey. Althea Stellan had broken Ethan's heart. Why would Becca take away a chance for it to be mended again?