The Chef and His CEO

First Day

Alec woke up Monday morning feeling happy and refreshed. He was happy finally being back in a normal work routine again after being unemployed for the last month. It was nice for a change to have a reason to go to bed at a decent hour. Getting out of bed, Alec made his way to the kitchen to get a pot of coffee started. He wasn't surprised to be the first person awake, as it was five in the morning. Simon didn't usually wake up until six, and Izzy's schedule varied based on the time of her first class for the day. As the coffee was brewing, Alec grabbed some blueberries, coconut milk, and kale out to start making his breakfast smoothie. While blending the ingredients together, Alec reached for three cups so Simon and Izzy could just grab their smoothie's out of the fridge at their leisure.

Since moving in with Izzy and Simon, Alec liked to ensure that his sister and brother-in-law were taken care of. A big part of this was making sure they ate properly. It was the least Alec could do for their generosity. In all fairness, he could have moved into his own place by now since his parents were more than happy to buy him a place. The problem was that Alec would rather be self sufficient than use his parents money. They were disappointed, but they understood where Alec was coming from.

Once Alec finished off his smoothie and washed his cup, he then moved on to the most important part of the morning; coffee. Coffee was essential for Alec to be able to function, and he never went a day without it. He got hooked on the stuff over in France, and hadn't been able to give it up since. As Alec drank his coffee he went through his mental checklist. He had his chefs uniform, his tablet, and charging cables all packed. The only thing he needed to do was take a shower and dress. With that thought in mind he set to work on getting himself ready for the day.

~oOo~

After a fifteen minute subway ride, Alec arrived to the address Cat had given him the day he interviewed. Looking up at the imposing house, then constantly checking the address, he realized that he did indeed have the correct address. Standing before him was a beautiful Victorian Brownstone. The wrought iron gate didn't make a sound as he opened it. The walkway leading up to the house was made of brick with a herringbone pattern leading up to the exterior of the house, which was made of brownish gray stone with matching steps and wrought iron handrails. The entryway was arched with what looked like a thick oak door painted black, and had a copper lion head door knocker in the center. Alec was about to knock when suddenly the door opened revealing Catarina.

"Alec!" She exclaimed excitedly, "Come on in. You're right on time."

Stepping over the threshold, Alec couldn't help looking around in awe. The foyer had black and white checkered marble floors, white walls with dark pine crown and shoe molding. There was a staircase leading to the upper levels of the home with the same pine wood. In the center of the foyer stood a round table in the same stain as the rest of the woodwork, with a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. At the other end of the foyer, there was a door that led to a back yard or garden. Alec was too far away to be able to get a good look out of the window.

Alec let out a low whistled of appreciation at the extravagance of the entryway, "This place is impressive! I'm assuming that most of this woodwork is original?" Alec pointed to the archways at the entrances to all of the rooms off on either side of the foyer.

"Most of it, yes. Mister Bane had a lot of renovating done before he could move in, though he tried to keep the original characteristics of the house in tack." Cat said as they walked further into the house. "Let's start with a tour, shall we?"

Alec followed obediently, still taking in his surroundings. Cat took Alec into the receiving room, which was the first entryway to the right. It was a small room with walls painted a mint green and had hardwood floors. There was a fireplace with a marble mantle, and the furniture looked like it was antique; with a coffee table in the center, a love seat placed in front of a large bay window, and two armchairs on the opposite side of the coffee table, facing the love seat, all with white upholstery.