Simmer & Stir

Chapter 26

"This is frustrating." With an exasperated breath, Steve plopped beside me after the dinner rush. His face was hidden behind his palm cage, lending it difficult for me to read him.

"Steve," I placed my hand over his bobbing knee. It relaxed under my hold but he still didn't reveal his face. "What happened?"

I wasn't sure which one of the pricking issues was hurting Steve.

He shouldered the restaurant functioning after Marcy's departure. After her husband's accident, Marcy had taken a leave of absence. With no specific time of her return, the restaurant management had no other option but to replace her with Steve.

Although Steve was prepped to take on any day, his lack of focus and the flying plates across the kitchen were those little hints which revealed he needed easing into the job. Right now, he was only thrust with the responsibility. The man needed a breather.

Which wine paired with what, which reductions to use, who were the important clients - every one of those instructions had Marcy's name on it. Without the Marcy named sun's gravitational pull, we were freefalling, unable to understand what we would hit the ground. Or if we would ever.

Steve was bearing the brunt of it all. Worst, he also had a new sword hanging over his head -Linda's dad.

After a little bit of digging, I found news on Linda's father - Gerald Matthews. Some called him GM, which was not an abbreviation of a motor company but a name assigned to him for his 'general madness.'

Steve looked up from his palm walls, his crimson face watched me. There was only sadness in his eyes, the smile he always had vanished long ago. There was not much I could do for him except to support him with whatever he wanted.

Having taken up the offer at the restaurant Glass and Ice, it was only a matter of time till my support extended to him physically. After that, it was upon Steve and Linda to navigate through the nefarious ways of GM's operations.

I was concerned for these new love birds. They hadn't been able to soar across the sky with the wings of their love stretched out. Linda and Steve were in the nascent state of their relationship. Although the honeymoon phase had its charm, I knew well to not expect them to last long.

Linda was habitual of a flight tendency whenever she felt cornered. While being the opposite, Steve wouldn't take anything laying down. Adding to the pressure mix, the father of the girlfriend, more wicked than any James Bond villain - their future could be predicted well in advance.

"GM sent us a list of dishes he would want to taste before we present it on the menu," Steve grabbled, pulling off the buttons of his uniform. With a defeated exhale, he tucked off his shoes and grounded his feet on the tiles, digging his elbows over his knees. With his head resting on his intertwined knuckles, Steve looked over to my side. "And you are leaving the sinking ship."

I could only raise my hands in defense.

The frustration of a chef when the management tried to intervene in the art of cooking would have anyone toss their apron away and cuss. Steve was better. He only tossed his apron and hurled his shoes at the lonesome door at the exit.

"I can't believe, I now have to please someone's ego. God" Piqued with management interference, Steve tossed the steel chair and helped himself on the metal kitchen table. "Maybe I should resign. Or maybe I should put a dash of Carolina Reaper in his meal and let him suffer."

As much as I loved plotting revenge, after talks with my levelheaded boyfriend, I knew better. "You would be booked for grievous hurt. GM is a lawyer. He'll sue you for all eternity till the heat from the hottest chilly leaves his body."