Behind My Sister's Back

Chapter 3: Unfortunate Accidents

-- Ali’s POV --

            “What?” said Gina sharply, who had previously been smiling dreamily at him. “You’re Dennis?”

            “The one and only,” he said, smirking. “And you are?”

            “Gina,” she replied in a clipped voice. “Gina Murphy.”

            “Right, Gina...” Dennis glanced at his list then looked up at us again. “I see you two are my assistant chefs?”

            Anger boiled up inside me. It took all the strength I had not to pounce on my new boss and rip him apart limb by limb.

            “Yes,” I said in a voice that didn’t sound like my own. “But can I just ask something?”

            “Of course you can.”

            I took a deep breath. “Summer told us... you worked... in advertising. So why the hell are you here?”

            “Advertising?” Dennis laughed. He didn’t notice how strained my voice sounded or how rude I had just been.

            “Yes,” Gina confirmed before I could say something. She looked at me from the corner of her eye and sent me a warning look.

            “Summer knew I was going to work here.”

            “W-what?” I asked, dumbfounded. “No... She would’ve told me, Dennis.”

            He raised an eyebrow. “Evidently she hasn’t.”

            “But –”

             “Enough!” Dennis cut across me sharply. “Given what has gone on between us, I feel it would be hard to work together. We could try, but if I hear that your feelings towards me is getting in the way of your job, I will fire you.”

            My jaw dropped in disbelief. He was just a bast –

            “Understood?”

            I swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

            His expression softened the tiniest bit. In a low voice, he said, “You can call me Dennis. I – I don’t mind.”

            “I hardly think you and I should be on a first-name basis, sir,” I answered in a sickly sweet voice and then let Gina tug me away.

            More workers flooded in and Dennis began the whole New Head Chef speech. I didn’t bother to listen, and completely blanked those who were kind to Dennis, which was almost everyone except me and Gina.

            When Dennis was out of earshot, supervising Lisa, who had seemed to gain a crush on him already, I whipped out my phone and quickly sent a text to Summer.

            I am going to kill you when I get home.

            I glared at the phone screen before putting it away.

            “Ali!” screamed Gina.

            I looked up and my eyes bulged out of their sockets. “Shit!” I swore, backing away out of fright as smoke came out of the pan in front of me.

            Dennis was there like a shot, snatching the pan with his oven gloves on and taking it outside. When he came back inside, he was furious. Even Gina got out of the way when he stormed back in and headed straight for me.

            “Why weren’t you paying attention?!” he roared, fists clenched. His blue eyes pierced into mine and shame washed over me. I had been stupid.

            “I – I’m sorry!”

            “I told you what would happen if your feelings got in the way of work!” he reminded me angrily.

            “No!” I said feebly. “It was an accident! I’m sorry! It won’t happen again.”

            He glared at me for another few moments and then sighed, the coldness disappearing from his eyes.

            “We need more food ordered. Go check on what we have and estimate the food needs. Can I trust you to get the adequate supplies?”

            I nodded resentfully and he smiled.

**

            The day had been horrible. After ordering more food, I thought I’d be able to cook again, to show that the accident had just been a one-off. However, Dennis was hesitant on that idea and instead forced me inspect and participate the cleaning of the kitchens.

            I had noticed his snide remarks of my cooking skills and I didn’t like them one bit. He didn’t even give me the chance to prove that the accident was a one-off.

            “You know, I think you might be more worthy of an assistant chef,” he had told Lisa when he knew I was listening.

            After that I sabotaged Lisa’s cooking when he was talking to Gina. She, like me, was thoroughly annoyed at Dennis. He had been criticising her cooking all day. At one point, when she had refused to listen to him, she ended up slicing her finger. Dennis was not pleased and Gina continually sent glares at him all day.

            Gina was only too happy to become a distraction while I added chilli powder to Lisa’s soup. The reaction was priceless.

            “Dennis, will you try my soup?” Lisa had asked softly, batting her eyelashes. It was a known fact that Lisa was a slut, and she only got what she deserved for flirting to my sister’s husband.

            “Of course, Lisa,” he had replied, picking up a spoon and scooping up the soup. He sipped at it and smiled.

            But before Lisa could get excited, the smile faded away. The spoon clattered to the floor as Dennis stared at her, eyes popped wide.

            “Hot, hot, hot!” he had yelled, his face red. Frantically, he fanned his mouth and glanced at me gratefully as I passed him a glass of water.

            After gulping down three glasses, Lisa had been told off quietly. I had edged closer to hear what he said.

            “If you can’t even make soup properly, you won’t become assistant chef after all.”

            It was delightful to see Lisa in tears after he turned away. I didn’t feel sorry for her and neither did Gina. Like I said, she had it coming.