Panic rises in Eden’s chest, her heart pounding in her ear.
“Please, Eden,” Amanda rasps, grasping her hands. “I just really wanted this job. I didn’t think it would matter!”
“You’re fired, Amanda,” Hector snaps. “Get the hell out of here.”
“That’s not your decision to make,” Eden snaps.
He glares at her. “Fine.Youfire her.”
She blanches. Fire her? Why would she do such a thing? As far as Eden can tell, Amanda’s perfectly adequate at her job. So what if there was a little white lie on her resumé? Eden pities the poor girl. They’re kindred spirits, after all. The thought of firing someone for things she’s done herself doesn’t sit right with her.
I’d be a hypocrite.
Eden snatches the resumé out of Hector’s hands. Just because he’s been here longer doesn’t mean he has authority over her.Shewas chosen to be Alexander’s sous chef, not him. There’s a chain of command here. She better start acting like it.
“I’ll deal with the matter,” she says firmly, not once lowering her gaze.
“There’s nothingtodeal with. She lied to get the job. She needs to be terminated.”
“Is your home life okay?”
“What?”
“Your home life. Are you doing okay, man? Because if the only way to make yourself feel better is to yell at women and get high off the power-trip, might I suggest therapy?”
Hector grinds his teeth. The vein at his temple looks like it’s two seconds away from bursting. “Bitch,” he hisses as he stalks off, bumping Eden’s shoulder harshly.
She can’t say she’s a big fan of his, either. “Dick,” she grumbles as he trudges off.
Amanda sniffles beside her. “Thank you, Eden.”
“You keep this between you and me, alright? As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t see anyth—”
“Didn’t see what?”
Eden nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of Alexander’s voice. One would think that a man of his size would make some noise when he walks.
“Nothing!” she says all too quickly.
Alexander squints his eyes at her, his jaw a hard line. “Monroe, with me.”
Eden’s stomach flips. She decides not to argue.
“W-what about me, Chef?” Amanda asks.
“Get to work. We’ll talk later.”
“Yes, Chef.”
The corner kitchen office is cramped, just barely big enough to fit the two of them. The desk is built into the wall, covered from corner to corner in all sorts of documents—order forms, handwritten book out requests from the staff, a couple of one-star reviews printed off of Yelp to be addressed at a later time. There’s a metal filing cabinet next to the door, several shelves just above Eden’s head containing thick navy blue binders full of things like first aid instructions, OSHA regulations, and various other food safety manuals.
Alexander closes the door. It occurs to her just how close he is.
Reallyclose.
“What happened?” he asks. “And don’t you dare try to tell me it was nothing.”
Eden chews on her bottom lip. She doesn’t miss the way his eyes flit down to follow the movement. She takes a slow, deep breath. “Hector thinks that Amanda lied about her references and training when she got hired. He tried to fire her.”
