Hell's Kitchen XX + X

Chapter 15

          "Good job, my darling. I'll see what I can do and meet you at Caesar's at 7?"

          "Bye, dad! Love you!"

          "I love you, too." She hangs up on me and I chuckle to myself. I am such a pushover when it comes to Tilly.

           A couple of minutes after the phone call, Cassandra comes out of the shower, dressed casually in a pink shirt and some sweatpants. "Your daughter is adorable." She smiles, but I can see something's bothering her.

          While I was debating in my head whether to bring it up or not, she had gone down. Probably to fix breakfast. I follow her and sat on the kitchen counter as she whipped up a quick breakfast. I do enjoy watching her work. Every once in a while she would look up at me and smile.

           After everything was plated, she sat opposite me. "Cass, please tell me, what's wrong?"

         "It's nothing, Gordon." She smiles again. It wasn't her genuine smile.

           "I've been dealing with three teenage daughters for God knows how long and believe me, it's never 'nothing'." I held her hand from across the counter and she sighs deeply.

            "Fine. This... thing between us... It's not right... You have a family, Gordon. You have a wife, and four beautiful kids." She can't look at me straight.

            I brought her hand up to my cheek. "If this is wrong, why does it feel so right?"

(X's POV)

           Why indeed? Why did it feel so natural? Having him here, having breakfast with him. I was having one of the best times of my life. So I nodded and tried to change the subject. "So...umm... what's up with Tilly?"

           "Well," I'm glad he took the cue and started digging into his omelette and toast. "Tilly wants to meet up in Vegas. She's bringing her friends."

           "That's great!" I smile and took a sip of my orange juice.

           "And she was wondering if you could come along."

           I almost spat back out my juice, but I choked instead and had to beat my chest to save myself. "W-what?!"

            Gordon had gotten out of his seat, rubbing my back, chuckling. "Her friend is a fan of yours. Come on, I'll show you around Vegas, and Hell's Kitchen in Caesar's Palace. You'll love it."

            I look up at him and sigh. It's hard to resist him when he is excited like this. "Alright. I'll go."

           "Great. Pack an overnight bag and I'll pick you up in an hour, right?" He kisses my cheek. "I love you."

            I was about to take another bite of my food but I stopped midway. That was the first time he ever said that. Hell, it was the first time anyone has ever said that to me.

            He didn't seem to notice as he took his plates to the sink and took his keys from the counter. "I'll be back, my darling. Wear something nice." He didn't wait for a reply and he left me there stunned.

           As I heard his car rumble away, I sighed and finished my breakfast. After clearing the plates, I went back up to my room to pack an overnight bag along with some necessities. My thoughts still wander on meeting Tilly. What would she think? What would I say? Hi, Tilly, I fancy your dad and he fancies me, too, so umm...awkward...

          While I spent my time packing and dreading this meeting, Gordon came back, honking his horn. I came out of the dorm wearing a pink floral sundress. I had my matching floral half-mask in one hand, and my bag in another. "You look fantastic, love."

           I blush as he took my bag and placed it in the back. He opened the door for the passenger seat and I got in. It wasn't my first time in a car as luxurious as this, but wow is an understatement. He handed me a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and I tried it on. Perfect. Gordon decided to drive to Las Vegas. It was a four hour road trip but I kept him busy with my stories of my duration in Spago.

           We were silent for a while until Gordon spoke up. "Cass," he hesitated a bit, I noticed he was gripping the wheel a bit tighter, his knuckles white. "This morning, I saw...scars on your back. I-I didn't mean to, I swear."

            I took off my glasses. "What?!" I was mortified. Fuck my crazy sleeping habits of moving around too much. "Fuck..."

           "It doesn't matter, love. What bothers me is just...Where did you get those?" He was biting his lip.

           Should I tell him? I mean, he's seen it anyway. It took me five minutes before I breathed deeply and sighed. "My parents aren't the most...caring people in the world."

            "Fucking hell..." He reaches over and clasps a hand over mine as he continued driving. "I'm sorry."

            "Why? Did you do it?" I chuckled, my sense of humour getting the best of me. "Just kidding, I um... I ran away from home when I was 18. I left them all behind and went to California. I lived in the streets for a few years. Street fights are a norm." I cringed as I remember a time where I would go days without food and shelter.

           He lifts my hands and kisses it tenderly. "I won't ever let you go through that ever again."

           His promise brings a small smile to my lips and I squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

            We entered the Las Vegas proper after the long drive. Even in the day, Las Vegas is lively with tourists and locals enjoying the sun and the view. Along the way, I donned my mask on. You never know when a camera gets a shot of you, especially with such a high profile person like Gordon Ramsay.

           The car stops in front of the restaurant and the valet approaches us. "Good afternoon, Chef Ramsay, and...umm Miss..?"

          "X." I replied politely as I got out of the car with his help. "Thanks."

         The valet drives the car away and we entered the restaurant. It was pretty much like the restaurant back in L.A but this was fancier. Of course, Las Vegas never disappoints. Even the staged kitchen was there divided between red and blue.

          Ariel Fox, the head chef of Caesar's Palace welcomes us excitedly. "Good afternoon, Chef." She shakes hands with Gordon, then me. "And you must be, X." She smiles. "I am a huge fan of yours!"

            I smile back and shook her hand. "I'm a fan of yours as well. I was rooting for you back in Season 6 and 18!"

             "Ariel, darling" Gordon interrupts. "We just got off a four-hour drive from L.A. Is there any way we can have lunch from the head chef, herself?"

            "Right away, Chef!" She turns around and goes to the kitchen. "Alright, listen up, we have VVVIP guest, Gordon Ramsay. Get prepping and we'll serve lunch."

            The line cooks looked up at us and immediately got to work. Gordon leads me to a corner booth for privacy and I sat down next to him. "The restaurant looks really nice." I commented as I looked around.

           He smiles and takes my hand under the table. "So do you."

           Our lunch comes in, served by Ariel herself. "Here you go, Chef. We have the new special Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad, and then for the entree we have the crispy skin salmon."

            "Thank you." I smiled and look at my plate. The dish is truly worthy of the three Michelin stars. We ate heartily and dessert was served after we finished the main course. We shared a mini chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream.

             We exited Hell's Ktichen and Gordon gave me a tour of Caesar's palace. A couple of people noticed us and asked for photographs which we entertained.

             The meeting with Tilly is but a few hours away and I'm a bit frightened to be honest. Who ever thought that I, would be afraid of a 19 year-old?