“Didn’t realize I had to ask your permission to piss,” Hector snaps, walking away.
“Listen here, you mouthy motherfu—”
Alexander cuts himself off and takes a deep breath in through the nose. He wants to lose it. He wants to erupt. Explode. Eviscerate everything standing in his way.
But then he catches a glimpse of Eden out of the corner of his eye, working twice as hard than usual to help her colleagues. Her sleeves are rolled up to just below her elbow. Her hair’s pulled back into a bun, the sweat from hard work and concentration making the strands framing her face stick to her skin. If he loses control now, she’ll have to work that much harder to make up for the outburst.
People respond well to positive reinforcement, you know.
Eden’s words echo around in his skull. He mentally cringes as he prepares himself for what he’s about to do.
“Nguyen,” he says.
Rina looks up from her station, wide-eyed and probably expecting to be reamed out. “Y- yes, chef?”
Alexander pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Good... Good job on that last order,” he says, the compliment heavy and unnatural on his tongue. He cringes internally.Ugh. “Ease up on the strawberry topping a little, okay?”
Rina’s face turns bright red, mouth dropping open. “Oh, um... Th-thank you so much, chef.”
“Drenton, nice work on those steaks. The table gave their compliments. Focus on the orders for tables seventeen and twenty-one next. Er, please.”
“Sure thing, chef,” Peter replies, just as dumbfounded as Rina.
“Thatch, good pace. A little lighter on the dressing.”
“Yes, chef.”
“Lawrence, the arrangement on the last one was beautiful. Keep that up.”
“Thank you, chef,” Freddie says.
“Monroe?”
“Yes, chef?”
She’s there at his side in an instant. Alexander can tell she’s as tired as he is, but he can sense the determined fire within her.
“Can you take over for a few minutes?” he asks, dipping in to speak softer. There’s less than a foot of space between them. “I’m going to talk to Hector in private. Might be a few. Don’t freak out if there’s yelling.”
“Not a problem,” she says, smiling. She’s pretty when she smiles, but he can see how tight it is. There’s still so much left unsaid between them, but this isn’t the time and place to dwell on their near-kiss experience.
It was a mistake. A moment of weakness.
It can’t happen again.
Eden wastes no time taking up the reins, calling out the next order that prints out. It’s a seamless transition, almost like they’ve practiced a thousand times.
He finds Hector in the staff room, sitting at the small break table on his phone.
Alexander’s blood boils.
“What are you doing?” he growls. “We need you out there. Why are you fucking off?”
“Would you relax? I’m just taking a break.”
“People are working their asses off to make up for your incompetence. Get off your damn phone, or I’ll—”
“Or you’ll what?” Hector hisses, standing up. “What will you do, hm? Pass me over for yet another promotion?”
