Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
A lone at the bar, Anna was on high alert. She didn’t have to strain much to catch the raised voices. The atmosphere in the dining room changed in an instant, and a quick glance told her that most of the diners had paused their conversations to listen to the commotion in the kitchen.
Automatically, she hopped off the stool and crossed the room.
If she thought the atmosphere in the dining room was tense, it was nothing compared to the kitchen.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ivy whisper-shouted at Warren, while Liam and a junior chef looked terrified beside them. On the other side of the room, a young waitress picked up pieces of what looked to be a broken plate.
“What’s going on?” Anna asked quietly.
“Warren is causing chaos,” Ivy replied. “That’s what’s going on.”
“It’s fudge cake with hot chocolate sauce,” Warren shouted. “How could you forget the sauce? It’s not that difficult. What else have they screwed up when I wasn’t here?”
“Everything was fine,” Ivy replied .
“Well, it’s not fine now. They’re ruining people’s desserts.” He swung around to the two guys, who both took a subtle step back. “You can get out of the kitchen, the pair of you!” He flicked his hand. “Go home.”
Ivy stepped in front of him. “You can’t just send them home.”
“I can,” he growled at her. “You can leave as well. Apparently, I have desserts to make.” He turned on the two chefs who hadn’t budged. “I said go home. ”
“Wait!” Anna said, raising a hand and gesturing for Liam and his colleague to stop. “You’re not going anywhere. Please make the desserts. Don’t forget the chocolate sauce.” She turned to Warren. “ You need to get out of the kitchen.”
He glared at her. “ Excuse me? ”
“You can’t be in the kitchen when you’re in this mood.” She pointed to the back door. “Get out. Now.”
He opened his mouth, but she cut him off.
“Please, Warren. Just go.”
“She’s right,” Ivy said, touching his arm.
He shrugged her off and strode to the back door, throwing it open so hard that it bounced back on the hinges.
“You take care of the kitchen,” Anna whispered to Ivy. “I’ll deal with him.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me.”
Quietly, Anna closed the back door behind her and descended the handful of steps to the car park where Warren was pacing.
“They’re a bunch of idiots,” he said, jabbing a finger towards the kitchen. “I can’t even leave them alone for one evening without them making a mess of things.”
“They were doing fine,” she said, eyes following him as he walked back and forth.
His whole body radiated anger. “He only had to put two things on the plate! How could he forget one of them? ”
Anna let the silence linger for a moment. “Did you throw a plate?”
“No. She dropped it.”
Things weren’t as bad as they could’ve been then. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“He messed up the order.”
“I know that, but I’m fairly sure it’s not actually the chocolate sauce you’re upset about. You were furious before you even went into the kitchen.”
He clenched and unclenched his hands. “I feel like punching something.”
“There’s a wall over there,” she said, pointing.
Finally, he stopped pacing and stared at her. “You think I should punch the wall?”
“God, no.” She shook her head. “That would hurt. I was thinking you could lie down and put your legs up the wall. According to Carla, it will stop you from wanting to punch things. Or people. Whatever it is, you feel like punching.”
His laughter wasn’t exactly the heartfelt kind, but he seemed to relax a little.
“What’s going on?” Anna asked again.
He pushed his palms into his temples before dragging his hands through his hair. “My dad asked me to go and work for him.”
“I assume you said no.”
“Of course I said no.”
“Then why are you so angry?”
He looked her right in the eyes, and she could practically see the moment the anger left him. His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. “I’m just so sick of being a disappointment. It’s exhausting.”
Her heart squeezed, and the lump in her throat was almost painful.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered .
He threw his hands up, and the vulnerability was gone in an instant. “It doesn’t even matter. They’ll be gone in the morning. I won’t have to see them again for a while.”
Anna wished she had something helpful to say, but the thought of not having her parents’ support was so foreign she could barely fathom it.
“I need to get back in there,” Warren said, gesturing to the kitchen.
“No way.” She stepped into his path when he moved to go around her. “You’re not going back in there. They’ll manage fine without you. Just go home.”
His eyes were fixed on the back door. “It’s the only place I feel useful.”
“You won’t be useful in there now. You’re just going to upset people.”
His gaze stayed on the kitchen door, but eventually he blew out a defeated breath. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll go home.”
“Are you driving?” she asked, looking around for his car.
“Yeah. My car’s at the front. Do you want a lift?”
“Please,” she said, deciding it was a good time to call it a night. “I’ll grab my coat and meet you at the front.”
As she pushed the door and walked into the kitchen, all eyes whipped to her.
“He’s gone home,” she said as she walked through. She caught Liam’s eye and grimaced. “He said to apologise to you all for shouting… and to thank you for doing such a great job while he’s not here.”
“Sure he did,” Liam said, but gave her an appreciative smile all the same.
Ivy had gone back behind the bar and moved over to Anna when she scooped up her coat.
“What just happened?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“He’s in a bad mood. But he’s gone now.”
“That’s not what I meant. ”
“What then?”
“You told him to get out of the kitchen,” Ivy stated.
“Yeah, so?”
She raised an eyebrow. “You told him to get out, and he left.”
“And?” Anna said, aware that Warren was waiting for her.
“Nobody bosses Warren around in the kitchen. And anyone who tries gets booted out of the kitchen themselves.”
With no answer to that, Anna shrugged.
“Are you going?” Ivy asked.
“Yeah.”
“Are you going with Warren?”
“He’s driving me home,” Anna said impatiently.
“Okay.” Ivy held her hands up in a defensive gesture.
“It’s not what you think. We’re just friends.”
Ivy nodded. “Is he okay?”
“I think he had an argument with his dad. I’m sure he’ll be fine once he cools off.”
“I’ll talk to you soon,” Ivy said, moving along the bar to the customer, who was trying to get her attention.
Anna tugged her coat on as she walked through the hotel and put her hat on as she stepped out into the cold.
Warren pulled the car away as soon as she got in, and neither of them spoke until they were outside her place.
“Are you okay?” she asked, unclipping her seatbelt.
“Yeah.” He leaned onto the steering wheel. “Sorry about before.”
“I’m not sure it’s me you owe an apology to.”
“They’re used to me,” he said absently.
“Doesn’t mean it’s okay.”
His gaze slid to her, and he arched a lone eyebrow.
“You can probably hold off on feeling bad about that for this evening,” she said, wincing.
A flicker of amusement crossed his features. “Thanks for dragging me out of there.”
“What are fake girlfriends for?” She smiled softly. “Frannie completely believed you’re my boyfriend, by the way.”
“My parents also think you’re my girlfriend. You even got invited on a family holiday.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, it’s not happening. They really like you, though.”
“I hope that won’t end up being awkward for you. Sorry for kissing you in front of them.”
“I don’t see why it will be awkward. It’s not as though I see much of them.”
“Will you see them tomorrow before they leave?”
He shook his head. “No. They’ll head off straight after breakfast and I’ll be back at work, thank goodness.”
“Maybe you should ask them to call in at the hotel – clear the air if you won’t see them for a while.”
“No.” He looked at her fondly. “We’re not that kind of family. If we argue, nobody cares about clearing the air. We ignore each other, and the next time we see each other, we pretend it never happened.”
“That doesn’t sound like a great system.”
“It works for us.” He shifted in his seat. “What’s the plan for the party next weekend?”
“Are you sure you want to come?”
“I didn’t think I had a choice.”
“You have a choice.” After being worried that he might back out, she was wondering if it was really a good idea to have him there. “I won’t hold you to it if you don’t want to come.”
“Don’t you want me to come?”
“I do. But I also feel bad about lying to my friends.”
“I feel as though I should come, otherwise I will be forever in your debt.”
“Why?” she asked, with a bemused grin.
“Because you helped me out with my parents. ”
“I didn’t really do anything.”
He frowned. “Am I coming on Saturday or not?”
Closing her eyes, she had an image of Hayden flirting with his latest girlfriend and felt slightly nauseous. “Yes, please. Is it okay if you pick me up? If you drive there, you can drive back whenever you feel like it. I’ll stay the night and come home on Sunday.”
“Fine by me. Just let me know what time I should pick you up.”
“I’ll message you.” She smiled before exiting the car.
With a busy week ahead, she hoped to avoid too much overthinking about the party.
And with any luck, with Warren there, she might even enjoy herself.