“Of course,” Mr. Klein said after him, before pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing a quick number. “Nolan? Yeah, you won’t be happy. Reggie’s back on the terrace. He’s on his way there right now. Just get it over with. Yes, I expect you to have a fresh fugu ready. You’re welcome to bite my head off later.”
He ended the call before turning back to me. My mouth was dry and I could still feel my heartbeat running rampant, but I kept a straight face.
Mr. Klein had an intimidating presence, as calm as he was. His deep ocean eyes stared at me with an intensity that I’d never felt before. Being tall and broad-shouldered as well, I was sure that he could command any room he walked into. If he wasn’t myboss, and if I wasn’t in deep trouble with him, I could see myself wrapped up in his arms.
“Come,” he said to me, and began to march toward one of the staff doors at the far end of the roof. The word sent a shiver down my spine, and for some reason, there was something about it that made me bite the inside of my lip.
Mr. Klein stayed quiet as we headed to the staff elevator, and I didn’t ask any questions. I couldn’t believe that I’d made such a mess out of my very first morning. I fully expected at least a written warning, but at such a highly rated establishment, it was possible that something like this could get me fired. I hoped that Mr. Klein would have mercy on me, but I wasn’t sure what to expect.
He led me all the way to his office, and by the time the door closed behind me, I felt somewhat faint.
“Listen, I’m sorry,” I said, the words tumbling out of me in a hurry. “I just wanted to be helpful, I thought that I was supposed to make sure he got what he wanted… I mean, I just wanted to do my job right. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Mr. Klein let me babble for a while as he sat behind his desk, but eventually he lifted his eyes to look at me. It felt as if he was studying me a little too closely, like he was thinking about what exactly to say. I wondered how badly he was going to tell me off. If he hadn’t shown up, the morning could have been a disaster. Especially if the other guests found the helicopter they’d booked simply wasn’t there.
“Calm down,” Mr. Klein finally said, and I pulled my lips into a tight line. “It’s your first day.”
“But I’m not supposed to be making mistakes,” I insisted, looking down at my shoes. “I’ll take any punishment that you want to give me.”
There was a flash of Mr. Klein spanking me that ran across my mind for a moment, but I quickly pushed that aside. It wasn’t appropriate to imagine my boss in a position like that. It wasn’t the usual kind of daydream I had, either, but Mr. Klein was just something else.
When I looked up again, he was still watching me with something close to curiosity on his face. “I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding you have that will make your job harder.”
My jaw tightened, but this time, I didn’t look away. I would have to take whatever he threw my way. If he wasn’t going to fire me now, then I’d have to prove myself all over again. And this time, I couldn’t make the same mistakes. But I did want Mr. Klein to trust me, to believe that I could be the best. That his choice to hire me was the right one.
“Let me be clear about something,” Mr. Klein said, before getting up from behind his desk. He moved so that he was standing in front of me, and I had to look up at him. “Your job isn’t to give guests everything they want.”
“It’s not?” I asked, somewhat surprised. I had been pretty convinced that’s what the job description meant. Keep the guests happy and solve any problems they brought to me.
“No,” he insisted. “Your job is to make thembelievethat you’re giving them everything they want. You’re smart. I’m sure you know what I mean by that.”
“I do,” I answered, though a frown was forming on my face. “Easier said than done, though.”
“It comes with experience.” Mr. Klein crossed his arms and leaned back against his desk. “The way I look at it, everybody wins, but I win first. If you can do that, you’ll be just fine.”
“You’re not going to fire me?” I asked, my voice more than laced with surprise.
He let out a short, amused scoff. “Not yet.”
He took a step closer to me, and I felt my cheeks begin to heat up. The tension between us was almost palpable, and it made me freeze.
“But, you know, I do think it would be a good idea to apologize to the chef,” he said softly, though his words did carry a hint of warning. “You really don’t want to get on his bad side. That would be a real nightmare.”
I almost fell over when I took a step back and cleared my throat. “Yes, Sir. I’ll get right on that.”
I hurried for the door to escape the sheer intensity of Mr. Klein’s spell, stepping out into the hallway and nearly slamming the door behind me. I took several deep breaths, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I had this crazy feeling that I just wanted to rip off my uniform and let my boss have his way with my body. Even now, I had the urge to turn back, to lock his office door behind me and to just jump his bones.
“You’re being ridiculous,” I whispered to myself as I tugged at my uniform to make sure everything was still in place. I couldn’t deny that Mr. Klein was beyond handsome, but he was my boss, and I needed to be professional at all times. Having a crush on him would be more than a minor inconvenience.
When I’d managed to get my head back in the game, I made my way down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen. I assumed that Nolan wasn’t going to be quite as calm or forgiving as the big boss had been. Chefs weren’t exactly known for that in the first place, and from what Mr. Klein had told me, I’d really ruined Nolan’s morning with the whole situation.
Still, I did need to apologize. Maybe I could still get our relationship on the right track.
When I made it to the kitchen, I heard the yelling as soon as I walked through the door. Nolan was snapping at someone about herbs, and people were running all over the place. It was as if they were preparing for the apocalypse.
I hesitated, but eventually managed to force myself to walk up to where Nolan now stood, stirring some kind of sauce with an almost violent flair.
“Uhm, Chef,” I muttered, but he clearly didn’t hear me over all of the noise around us. I cleared my throat and spoke louder. “Chef Nolan.”
