Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 40- The Eighth Dinner Service

Friday, July 5th, 2013

The blue team arrives back in the kitchens at the same moment that Chef Ramsay emerges from his office and approaches the head of the kitchen.

"Everyone ready for a fantastic service?" he shouts into the kitchens.

"Yes, Chef!" we respond heartily.

"Excellent! Jean-Philippe, please do me the honor of opening Hell's Kitchen."

Jean-Philippe responds with, "Oui, Chef," before heading for the doors and letting in a stream of hungry, well-dressed customers.

We stand at our stations. Today I've been assigned to appetizers with Bella, the ever-persistent pain in my neck. Gina is on fish, Red is on meats, and Taylor is on garnishes.

"First ticket, right? Let's get this off to a good start! Three covers, table thirty-two; two crab cakes and one Caesar salad!"

"Heard!" Bella shouts, drowning out my own 'heard' with her obnoxiously loud response.

I get to work on the crab cakes while Bella prepares the Caesar salad. Since the appetizer station is close to the wall that separates the red kitchen from the blue kitchen, I can see some of what's going on with the blue team while I wait for my crab cakes to crisp up in the deep fryer.

So far everyone is doing a decent job in both kitchens. Bella and I send up the first table's appetizers with no issues and Gordon sends out our food with a polite, "Service, please."

While in the middle of cooking our fifth table of appetizers, I watch Garrett work on his Caesar salads out of the corner of my eye. He's sloppily chopping the lettuce, and his poor knife skills have come back to bite him. He nicks his finger badly. He hisses through his teeth before he shakes his hand and sends blood flying. I watch in what feels like slow motion as a few droplets of blood are flung into the deep fryer. My eyes widen. Surely he'll say something?

Though Garrett had watched his blood contaminate the deep fryer, he doesn't make a peep about it. Gordon is too busy helping someone else on the blue team with how to properly take scallops out of the pan to notice. I watch in horror as Garrett takes out the crab cakes and goes to bring them to the pass. Gordon leaves the blue kitchen's fish station and heads to the pass to plate the crab cakes.

"Stop!" I shout. Gordon turns to me with a concerned look on his face.

"Yes, (Y/N)?" he asks.

I abandon my station leaving it in the hands of Bella and rush up to the pass to stand next to Chef Ramsay. He dips his shoulder to me and I put a hand on his arm so that I can reach his ear.

"Garrett cut himself and I saw the blood land in the deep fryer. He saw it too and didn't say anything. Those crab cakes are cooked in blood," I whisper. I feel Gordon's face begin to emit heat and his skin flushes with a deep crimson color. I draw away from him and take a step back.

"GARRET!!!" Chef Ramsay bellows.

"Y-yeah, Chef?" Garrett looks up from his station, his eyebrows pulled together over his worried brown eyes.

"Get your ASS over here you fucking nasty, sickening cunt," Gordon spits.

Garrett grabs a towel and holds it over his hand as he approaches the pass.

"Did you really get fucking BLOOD in my deep fryer and not tell me about it?" Gordon fumes, crossing his arms over his chest, most likely to prevent himself from lashing out and beating Garrett to a pulp.

Though Garrett is a few inches taller than Ramsay, he looks as small as a mouse as he musters up the courage to respond. "No, Chef, I didn't notice that happen..." he mutters, refusing to make eye contact.