“Leave Ainslie alone,” I said. “He’s a good worker. He’s earned the right to be a chef here. I don’t want to have him scared off. We’d have to start again with training someone new.”
“Or we just hire someone who already has experience this time,” Grey shrugged. He brushed past me, knocking againstmy shoulder in the process. “Lighten up, Raf. I was just flirting. Everyone here does it.”
I ground my teeth together, trying to ignore the use of Drake’s nickname for me. It was spreading. “You’re the boss. That makes it different. Anyway, he doesn’t want you flirting with him.”
Grey sighed and turned around to face me in the corridor. He looked me up and down briefly as if to ask who I thought I was to even talk to him. “Do you want to win this little trial we’re doing and keep the Head Chef job?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied immediately. He knew I did. I wanted it more than anything. Ideservedit.
“Then stop questioning me,” he said and carried on walking back through the kitchen and out to the restaurant.
My shoulders slumped. I couldn’t bring myself to go back out there and face Ainslie, not for a moment. I knew I should have said something else, stood up for Ainslie more, and insisted.
But I wasn’t going to.
I loved my job. I loved this restaurant. I loved my team. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Grey, but he was my boss, and who in the world really loved their boss? It wasn’t like he was doing anything illegal. So long as it remained in the category of idle chatter and didn’t cross any harassment lines, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Maybe he wouldn’t proposition Ainslie again now that he’d been told no.
I had to let it go.
That didn’t stop the feeling of failure settling deep into my stomach as I walked back out into the kitchen, avoiding Ainslie’s gaze and ducking my head to the tasks ahead of us.
Drake
“What’s up with Chef?” I asked, using the side of my mouth and nodding in Rafael’s direction as I stood next to Beau. We were on the other side of the kitchen, hopefully far enough away that he wouldn’t actually hear us.
Beau glanced over at Rafael, who was silently brooding as he added seasoning to the soup of the day, and shrugged. “If I had to guess, Grey’s horny.”
I frowned, not seeing the connection. “What’s that got to do with anything? Are they sleeping together?”
Beau shook his head. “Nope. And Rafael hates it when Grey flirts with him. That’s why it’s my guess.”
So, they weren’t sleeping together?
Things started to reconfigure themselves in my head. I’d been assuming that Rafael glared at me when I flirted with Grey because he thought Grey washisman. But if that wasn’t the case…
Why did it rile him up so much?
I glanced across surreptitiously at Ainslie, who was a lot closer to us. He looked like he was picturing someone’s head on the board as he furiously chopped spring onions. I nudged Beau with my elbow and nodded in his direction.
Beau shrugged again. “Jealous? I don’t know. I just keep my head down here.”
I nodded silently. It seemed like a good policy.
Only, I couldn’t stop looking over at Rafael, wondering what had him so introspective and moody.
It wasn’t a bad look on him, really. But I’d seen it once or twice in rare moments, and I knew his smile looked a lot better.
I shook my head and tried to concentrate – although my focus was disrupted pretty quickly when Grey appeared back in the kitchen.
“So, Drake,” he said, smugly curling his mouth around my first name as he leaned against the wall near my station. “You’ve officially got the most pre-orders for your dish tonight.”
I smiled. “It’s all in the name,” I said. “Seared scallops with lemon beurre blanc and vegetable mosaic. It sounds fancy.”
“Are they going to appreciate it enough to consider ordering again if they come back?” Grey asked. There was a sparkle in his eyes as if he was challenging me and getting a great deal of fun out of it.
“Of course,” I snorted. “Even if only for the Instagram appeal alone. They’ll all be taking shots of it and showing off their fine dining experience.”
Grey lowered his voice, cutting his eyes over to the other side of the kitchen. “You don’t think that Rafael’s lobster risotto with truffle butter will win on taste?”
