Accepted under the mentorship of your idol and the world's hottest chef Gordon Ramsay, you must prove your skill and determination through competing in Hell's Kitchen- A month long cooking contest versus fifteen other fierce contestants and difficul...
When we get back to Hell's Kitchen, we file upstairs to wait for Chef Ramsay to tally up the student's decision.
Taylor, Red, Shaun and I settle onto the couch together. Gina and Pietro each sit in the comfy chairs across from the sofa while Bella, Dave, and Kalyani sit at the bar stools.
"So, your girl was kind of hoeing around today, wasn't she Dave?" Pietro mentions over his shoulder to Dave.
Bella puffs up angrily, like an irritated cobra. "That's just how I talk! I can't help if you think female attention is flirting! Of course, you're so fat and ugly you probably think me talking to you right now is flirting, don't you?" she spits, her words loaded with venom.
"You may be surprised at what this old Italian can do, Bella. Word gets around with women and I get plenty of attention. Of course, I prefer to stay clean, so I won't be showing you any time soon," Pietro responds coolly.
Dave hops off his barstool and walks over to Pietro, attempting to be intimidating. "Don't talk shit about Bella, alright? I can handle her myself. I don't need your comments."
Pietro doesn't even glance at him before he mutters, "Well, at least her flirting buddy wasn't married."
The infliction on his tone tells me he knows something more than he's letting on... He's probably put some clues together since he almost walked in on Ramsay and I. I feel a familiar lump forming in my throat. My suspicions are confirmed as Pietro glances at me. His eyes fill me with a sense of discomfort far different from the happy-go-lucky aura that he normally exudes.
It's not like I can take him aside and explain to him that Gordon's wife has given both him and me permission to be together. I'm not even sure what exactly he knows, but my stomach drops all the same as I mull over the thousands of potential ways this could blow up in my face. At least he isn't calling me out by name yet. Probably because I'd never tried to insult him as Bella has.
Dave sits back down at his barstool and Bella tries to put her hand out to him. He draws his arm back away from her. She lets her hand drop limply into her lap and her lower lip trembles.
Gina tries to strike up a conversation about what the prize might be, but the happiness and elation seem drained from the room and the conversation quickly falls flat.
We wait in uncomfortable silence for what feels like forever. I find myself feeling tremendously anxious waiting for the phone to ring.
When it finally does, the ringing sound releases a figurative air pressure valve, dispersing some of the tension from the room.
Kalyani picks up the phone with a quick, "Hello?" and then nods before giving a, "Yes, Chef," and turning to us.
"Chef wants us downstairs outside the kitchens pronto," Kalyani says before leading the way.
We line up outside of the kitchens and await Chef Ramsay. He descends from the stairs and stands tall in front of us.
"I tell you what, if you want to have a good laugh, ask a bunch of teenagers for their honest opinion on something. Aside from the plethora of curse words and dick drawings, I did end up getting an answer from the unruly kids. First, let's just get this out of the way. Dave and Bella, you were rated the lowest of every group." Ramsay gives them both a disapproving look.
"Now, our top two pairs. These teams were closely ranked." He pauses for a moment, letting the tension build for the camera audience. "The top two pairs were Taylor and Pietro's team along with Shaun and (Y/N)'s team! Come, step forward!" He claps excitedly.
The four of us step from the rest of the chefs and await the verdict silently.
"Come now, where's the enthusiasm? I promise you, the reward is very, very good, yeah?" his brows furrow and the deep lines in his forehead become even more pronounced as he tries to figure out why we're all in such a somber mood.
"Sorry, Chef. We had a bit of an altercation upstairs, but we're fine now," Dave says from behind me, attempting to help Chef Ramsay understand.
"As long as it doesn't affect your work in the kitchen, I don't want to know about it. Your comments are your own and I won't be bothered with them. I have too fucking much to deal with and that can't include settling your quarrels. Now, are we ready to hear the winners?" Gordon steeples his fingers.
"Yes, Chef!" we respond, trying to show excitement.
"Good, because our winners today are..." he stops and sweeps his eyes across the four of us in front of him before landing on, "Pietro and Taylor! Congrats!"
I clap along with Shaun for Taylor and Pietro, who smile at each other and bump shoulders.
"You two will be headed out to the beautiful Lake Tahoe! You'll have an amazing time at Tahoe Treetop adventure park. Once you've worn yourselves out, you'll get to sleep in your very own, one-million-dollar treehouse overlooking the lake! Go on and get your stuff packed for tonight and meet your personal Ferrari driver out by the front, yeah? Congrats!" He gives a huge smile as he directs the winners to the dorms.
Shaun and I step back into the formation of chefs comprising of the losers.
Gordon takes a step forward. "Tomorrow will not be a service night, so I want you losers to spend today cleaning up the dining room and front of Hell's Kitchen. Please also iron the table cloths and iron press my chef's jackets. Once you've finished, you're welcome to make your dinner and head for an early night's sleep."
Gordon turns his gaze to me. "(Y/N), I'm going to have to get a full report from you on Garrett's mishap in the kitchen tomorrow. For legal purposes, we need to be sure he wasn't intentionally trying to serve people his blood and since you were the only witness that wasn't a camera, we need your point of view. Please come see me in my office tomorrow as soon as you can."
I nod, grateful that Pietro had already gone to the dorms so he couldn't shoot me a knowing look at Gordon's request to talk to me alone.
Chef Ramsay dismisses us and turns back, traveling up the stairs to his office once more.
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