Carly’s eyes narrowed slightly. Not hostile. More like she was adjusting her internal picture.
James kept talking, trying to recover control. “At my level, the brand matters. The public wants confidence. They want certainty. It’s very time consuming so I must delegate. None of my staff complain.”
Jane turned her back on him, mixing a sauce on the stove. The silence was deafening.
James laughed as if Jane had made a joke. “See? Jane worked for me and she does not complain. However, in the city it was polished work. Here is more like rustic confidence when it comes to the food.”
Jane did not react. She was not going to give him the satisfaction.
But I felt it. The pressure. The way James used humor to diminish.
“Jane’s dishes are delicious. I would rather eat here than at any five star restaurant,” I remarked.
Jane’s lips pressed together, almost a smile, then disappeared again as she turned back to the stove.
Carly’s gaze stayed on me for a beat longer than necessary. Then she looked at Jane.
“You seem content,” Carly said, voice gentle.
Jane’s hands stilled for a fraction of a second. She resumed slicing without looking up. “I am busy.”
“That is not the same thing,” Carly replied.
Jane’s knife paused. She set it down carefully, then faced Carly fully.
“I like my life,” Jane said.
Carly nodded, as if that was information she needed. “And you would not want more.”
Jane’s voice stayed calm. “I want stability. I want work that makes sense. I want people around me who treat me well.”
James’s smile faltered for the first time.
Carly’s expression did not change, but I saw the flicker in her eyes. That statement had landed. Not as an accusation. As a line in the sand.
Jane turned back to her station and lifted the list again, scanning. “Erin, can you start the first batch of sauce. Molly, check the vegetables now. I want them chilled before the next prep window.”
“Yes,” Erin said immediately.
Molly nodded. “On it.”
The kitchen shifted back into motion under Jane’s control.
And that was when I understood something I should have realized earlier.
Jane did not need saving. She needed space. She needed people to stop pushing their narratives into her work. She needed someone to hold the line with her instead of hovering nearby and hoping she could handle it alone.
I could do that. I had been doing it in small ways. I just had not done it loudly.
James drifted closer to Carly again, as if he wanted to pull her back into alliance. “She could have all of that and more in the city.”
Jane did not respond.
Carly’s attention stayed on Jane, not James. “You were trained in a professional kitchen.”
“Yes,” Jane replied curtly.
“And you left,” Carly said.
