But I’d seen staff come and go over the years precisely because of Grey’s wandering hand. After we slept together, what then? Maybe I’d get one promotion, but I’d also have to be at his beck and call without even the reward of a relationship. Grey didn’tdorelationships.
And neither did I. I didn’t have the time.
Especially not after I took over the Head Chef role at The Crow, which I was going to do, damn it, and Grey would have to take his stupid new trial chef and shove him somewhere the sun didn’t shine.
I bit my lip and pretended to busy myself with checking over the prep stations, making sure everything was in its right place. I already knew it was, but I had to do something to hide this fluttering feeling in my chest that wouldn’t go away.
The fear that maybe Iwasn’tgoing to get the Head Chef job after all.
Grey hadn’t promoted me last time there’d been a vacancy – he’d brought in Jesse, a baker and not really a chef at all, to run things for six months. At the time, he’d told me I needed more well-rounded training. Okay, I thought. Let me learn how to be a baker so I can add that to the list of hoops I can jump through when Grey clicks his fingers. Fine.
But now Jesse was leaving to open his own bakery, and I still wasn’t a shoo-in for the job.
If Grey wanted me to have it, he could have just given it to me.
But he hadn’t.
Instead…
“Ah!” Grey exclaimed behind me, and all the muscles in my back and neck stiffened. By instinct, I knew.
I just knew.
“Chef Warwick,” Grey went on. “You’re here! Let me introduce you to everyone.”
I plastered the fakest fake smile I could manage onto my mouth and turned around –
Only to have it drop off my face completely when I saw who was standing in the kitchen doorway.
Oh, shit.
Drake
I arrived early for my first day. Way too early.
I wasn’t the type to appear too fucking keen, which meant I had a lot of time to kill.
I ditched my bike in the restaurant’s parking lot and walked out towards the shore, wanting to kill time and get a feel for this new town I’d committed myself to. I had only been here for the brief interview with The Crow’s owner – Grey – and hadn’t had a lot of time to explore back then. I tucked my helmet under my arm, unzipped the padded leather jacket I always wore when I was riding, and strolled across the tarmac.
As I was walking out of the lot, another man was walking across it. I glanced him over and couldn’t help a smirk from making its way onto my mouth. He was hot: tan skin, dark eyes and hair, the kind of stubble that came across as charming – like he’d just fallen out of bed to walk over here. The whole look was topped off with a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses that somehow made him even sexier. Like, sexy nerd chic.
Maybe I wasn’t very familiar with the town yet, but I did know one thing: there were a few businesses that catered to the LGBTQ+ community here, and they were all centered around this one spot. There was The Crow, which was fully gay-staffed; a couple of bars for gay customers, including one that had a sign out front for a regular drag show; and a store right next to it that sold leather gear, sex toys, lingerie for both men and women,and a whole range of rainbow-themed products that probably sold out around Pride Month.
The point was, if a guy was walking acrossthisparticular parking lot, there was a pretty good chance we played for the same team.
I gave him an appreciative look, not shy about letting him know I was watching him. He looked me over in return – a quick glance first and then a double-take when he noticed me noticing him.
“Hey,” I said, coming to a stop a few paces before our paths would have intersected. I lowered my voice and let it come out as a drawl. “Could you tell me how to get to the beach?”
It wasn’t exactly a pick-up line – just a reason to get him to stop and talk to me. But instead of talking, his eyes flicked over me a third time with what seemed like annoyance. “It’s right there,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder.
Okay, so. Maybe my method was a little transparent. You could hear the waves from here, and there were only a couple of rows of buildings before the beachfront itself. The quiet little cove that the town was named after was right on the other side. Any moron could have figured that out for themselves.
“You got a light?” I asked. This was, in fact, the setup for a pick-up line. No matter what he answered, I had something ready for it. This was going to be the thing that made him stop before he passed me. This was my opportunity to hit him with a lopsided smile and shine my honey-brown eyes in his direction and get his number for later tonight.
“I’m on the way to work,” he said, failing to spare me a second glance as he walked right past.
Damn.
