note: an update within 4 days of the last one! I'm on a roll! I just finished this chapter and I was too excited to keep it till this weekend so here it is! The updating schedule will return to once every weekend but when I've managed to stock a sufficient amount of chapters (July nano is coming up whoop whoop!) I'll be updating twice/thrice a week. I'll let you guys know the updating schedule then. For now, it's once every weekend.
Enjoy the chapter and please don't hesitate to drop your thoughts in the comments xx
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London Liang knew she was way in over her head but nothing could deter her confidence that Monday morning.
The feeling that she could conquer the world was at its height. She felt the confidence coursing through her veins, and perhaps that was why she woke up early at Andrew's place, kissed his forehead before picking up her clothes, putting them on and heading back home to put together an outfit that screamed she was the woman in charge.
That morning she strode into work, her outfit classed out, appearing before the head chef with a level head. "Gabby," she began evenly, "Good morning."
Gabriella's eyebrows rose, confusion clearly written on her face. It was not unusual for the staff to dress up but London had never bothered putting much effort into her choice of clothing knowing that she'd have to change into black trousers and put on a white apron that would cover her outfit.
"London," her boss greeted her. "You're early today."
"Yes," she breathed, her confidence beginning to waver under Gabriella's scrutinizing gaze. "I thought I should be more invested in this restaurant if I dreamed of making it to head chef."
Gabriella's eyebrows rose in question, a smile of amusement itching on her thin lips. "Any plans to overthrow me?"
There it was — London's mistake of the day. This was not how she envisioned this talk going. For one, London wanted to pull her boss to a corner to talk about everything but they stood in front of the large counter, the boss buttoning up her chef's jacket. Her intention was never for Gabriella to misunderstand her but that already happened. She needed to pick her words more wisely.
"That's not what I mean. I'd like to be a head chef one day, yes. Not here. That's your place," London said, pausing to try and think of a way she was going to approach this topic. Minutes ago her confidence was on cloud 9, so high up in the skies that she didn't think she'd see the ground so soon and now, minutes later after her confidence boost, she found herself face-first with the ground.
Before London could get another word in, Gabriella was already grabbing an apron from the hanger that was at the entrance of the kitchen and throwing it at London. "Thanks for coming in early. It's a big day today and we're doing something different," her boss said, not sparing a glance at London as she reached forward and clumsily missed catching the apron.
Thankful that her boss' back was to her, she scrambled to pick up the apron from the floor. Gabriella turned around when London scrambled back to her feet, flushed with the embarrassment of almost being caught looking utterly stupid.
"What's the special occasion?" London questioned meekly as she went to the back of the kitchen where the kitchen staff put their bags away. She draped the apron over her neck and tied it firmly around her waist as she re-entered the main kitchen.
Gabriella beamed. "I'll let that be a surprise. Now get to work. I've got up ingredients over the counter. Get them sorted out and tell the others to do the same once they get in."
London wanted to speak up then, wanted to seize the moment but there was no moment to seize. The moment had passed when she had paused and Gabby had dismissed her enthusiasm for working in this restaurant as she tossed her an apron. It made the bitter feelings in London rise up again and though anger was slowly brewing within, there was nothing she could say back to her boss. She wanted to stay in Gabby's good graces, after all, especially if she was vying for that promotion.
The other staff soon arrived and London delegated out jobs on who was to get what sorted. The kitchen was abuzz with the speculation of who this special guest was and what was so special about them that they rented out the entire restaurant and London also too wondered about it, but what dominated her thoughts was that fucking promotion and she had failed to seize the moment.
Gabriella was a good boss, always giving you opportunities to improve but if she didn't like what she saw she would fire you without a second thought. This kitchen was like her baby and if anything were to happen to that baby, she'd lose her shit. It had happened once and London had no intention of ever witnessing such atrocity ever again.
The restaurant had shut down for two days that week and it was the worst two days the employees had ever experienced, having been under intense speculation and investigation.
It did not matter that Gabriella was not the owner of Tollerz. She was the head chef and without the person who ran the kitchen, Tollerz was nothing. Nobody could take her place and London didn't think she'd fit Gabby's shoes anyway — could anybody live up to her legacy? — but London did yearn for more. She wanted to be sous chef, and maybe move onto a different place of work and be head chef there.
She dreamed of running her own kitchen.
Oh, how surreal that would all be.
She sat at the back of the kitchen, gulping down some water and scrolling through her phone. A message from Chris. It was sent the night before but London had missed it, having indulged in rather pleasurable activities back at Andrew's place. She hadn't checked her phone even as she rushed home and got dressed for today.
The message held a surprise.
Her heart accelerated and joy took over her senses when the words of his text finally sank in. There was a job offer and Chris had recommended London and they want her to call in to place her bid on the job. For head chef.
Her heart stopped for a millisecond.
Then it did a double take.
And then she could barely breathe.
It was not like her panic attacks but it held something familiar. The short breaths, the rush beneath her veins so she forced the excitement down to prevent herself from hyperventilating. She tried to regain control of her breathing and when she did, she leaned back on her chair, her heart returning back to its normal pace as a wide grin took over her lips.
Chris: trust me, you want this job. call them!
London reread both of Chris' message. She decided to take his advice and with a deep breath, she called.
The restaurant was all rented out by Christian Devoe, a man who was notoriously famous for the movies he acted in, for the books he wrote, for his almost-marriages. He was a scandalous man but nobody had caught wind of him for the last six months.
"Holy shit, the legend is still alive," breathed one of her coworkers, peeping out through the kitchen. "And he's in our restaurant!"
London Liang understood the appeal to Christian Devoe. He was handsome, as handsome as a white man could get these days anyway, he held a charisma to him that just pulled people in. He was photogenic, his writing was excellent and his acting was brilliant. If there was a thing he was horrible at, the internet had yet to dig it up.
"Why do you think he's resurfaced?"
The chitter-chatter behind the kitchen doors continued but London did not care. Of course, she was stunned when he had walked in with a small team of people, a few she recognised from TV, but now it seemed rather tedious to be intrigued when her mind kept going back to what happened earlier this morning with Gabby.
She was certain that whatever Christian Devoe was up to would leak out eventually, especially if he'd chosen to come to a rented out restaurant — people may not be dining around him but the staff still existed and they thrived on any piece of gossip they could get. It was fun listening on the gossip. London never denied it. But she also felt it useless to be wondering what Christian Devoe was up to — it was only a matter of hours before the news of whatever secret project he was working on would be released.
"Gabby," London said, approaching her boss as she relaxed into her seat.
"London," her boss said, surprise lacing through her voice. "You aren't over there fawning over Christian Devoe?"
"To be frank, he's not my favourite author or actor. He's good but — my point is, I wanted to ask you something." London's heart was beating so fast in her chest but with the prospect of getting another job, she didn't feel all that shy anymore.
"Is this about what you wanted to talk to me about this morning?"
Blunt.
"Er, yes," London laughed, trying to ease any awkward air that managed to leek into the atmosphere around them. "I love working at Tollerz. I haven't only gained experience but I've gained so much knowledge. To be working under you is an honour. I'm not saying this to butter you up. It's the truth. And, I love working here but I want to move up that ladder. I want to make a good cook out of me. I want Ben's position of sous chef."
There, I said it, she thought, relief flooding through her.
Gabriella smiled. Her boss smiled. God, no, that only meant that she was trying to soften the blow when she told London no. "London, took you long enough to ask."
Stunned, London could only stare. "You're... not mad at me for wanting to replace Ben?"
"No, of course not. Plus, Ben wants to move to La Cross. He's got the job, I'm certain of it, though he has yet to hear back from them. I'm about to open applications for sous chef next month," Gabby told her employee, matter-of-factly.
"You haven't mentioned it?" London could not help but feel a little betrayed though she did well to hide it from her voice.
"I didn't want to embarrass Ben in case he didn't get the job and he'll still be with us for a month so that's plenty of time for me to look for the right sous chef," Gabby said, grabbing the plastic water bottle from the counter and taking a gulp of it.
"I'd like to apply for that position," London began, trying to adopt her best business like voice but it just ended up sounding small and uncertain.
"I've got a few candidates in mind before I open up applications" — Gabriella began but before London's smile could fall, her boss rushed in with a reassuring grin — "I'll be emailing those candidates by the end of the week so look out for an email."
London felt her heart leap to her throat.
Sous chef. Her. In Tollerz.
She dreamt of it but now that the opportunity presented itself she found it hard to believe.
"Your break ends in twenty," she said, "I suggest you stop wasting time and go get something to eat. We'll have to open up for diners this evening and you should help prep before you leave."
London nodded, smiling dreamily, as she removed her apron, grabbed her coat and made her way discreetly out of the restaurant to grab a bite from one of the nearby fast food restaurants. She could have gotten something from Tollerz but her wallet could not support a restaurant of that prestige and the leftovers were only given at the end of the day.
As she sat in McDonald's, eating her burger, the happiness she'd felt minutes earlier began to dissipate when her mind went over the events of the entire morning. The start of it did not go well and then she got that offer from Chris, and she'd taken the call. And then, her head chef had just told her that she was one of the candidates that were being considered to replace the sous chef position. Not that it was likely, but what if she got both the jobs? London, who had devoted much of her time and love to Tollerz, knew that she'd drop it if it meant picking being a sous chef at Tollerz or being the head chef someplace else. Would Gabby feel betrayed?
London pushed her guilt to the side. For once, she prayed as she took another bite of her burger, please let things work out.