Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 113- Double Elimination

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

Bella comes out of the bathroom after at least twenty minutes, clearly having applied fresh makeup. She approaches our group and sits in the armchair across from our couch with a deep sigh.

"I'm fucked, aren't I?" She groans, looking pitiful.

"When you started arguing with Chef, yeah," Taylor affirms, cracking an eyelid to peer at Bella.

"He's so pushy is all, I thought I was supposed to be the Head Chef and then he goes complaining about plates being shaped wrong or whatever."

"You might've been the Head Chef, but Chef Ramsay is both the host of the show and your potential employer–you would rarely be in the position to make demands of him and you'd certainly need longer than a few minutes as Head Chef to even think about bringing up changing his plating style," Abel says.

"Ugh." Bella tosses her head back onto the chair with a defeated sigh, her arms falling to the sides of the chair and dangling toward the floor.

"Hey, at least we won't be apart for long, eh? No matter which of us gets eliminated, we'll all be back together in two days for the finale!" Taylor says, leaning up from my shoulder and smiling toward Bella.

"Yeah, though I doubt anyone would pick me after the shit I've done," Bella mutters.

"You're still an excellent cook, Bella. If you'd work on your attitude, I'm sure anyone would be happy to work with you," Abel says.

"I promise that I'll do my best for whichever one of you gets me on your team, please don't leave me for last pick or I'll cry, OK?" Bella pleads.

Bella may be a bitch sometimes, but I'd rather her outright cattiness to whatever Kalyani might do if she ends up on my team.

I nod. "No problem, Bella."

"Yeah, I won't leave you for last," Taylor affirms.

"If you keep a respectful attitude, I don't see why not," Abel says.

"Thanks, you guys," she responds, sounding sincere.

The phone rings, and nerves have my hand shooting to pick it up before my brain makes the conscious decision.

"Hello?" I ask hesitantly into the receiver.

"Darling, please come down. We're ready for the eliminations," Gordon's voice is sweet and calm on the other end of the line.

"Yes, Chef," I respond, catching Abel's eye as I set the phone down.

"Time to go?" He asks.

"Yeah, let's go," I say. Abel stands from the couch and offers me his hand, which I take gratefully. Taylor takes my arm, and we walk down together with Bella trailing after us, clutching at her jacket.

Gordon stands at the center of the cleared dining room, rubbing his hands as we approach.

"Excited, everyone? Nervous?" He asks.

"Yes, Chef!" We respond, though Bella's response is half-hearted.

"This is the moment that I both look forward to and dread immensely. After this elimination, there will be just two of you left. Every time I have you all line up, I know I hold your futures in the palm of my hand and I don't take that responsibility lightly. I want you four to know, I'm extremely proud of you," he starts.

"Yes, even you Bella. Though you act like a little shit half the time, I can't help but see the culinary genius in you. But darling, you must know that I can't have someone with your attitude running my kitchen, yeah?"