5. Chapter 5
JAX
Jax pulled up to The Pointe, stunned by how beautiful it was. According to Finn, all of the damage had been fixed, and a glass ceremony room had been added, along with a third event space. But the best part was that the kitchens had gotten an upgrade, and Jax couldn’t wait to check them out.
He should be more nervous, but after scrambling to pack, find a new place, and move in under six weeks, he was more shell-shocked than anything.
As expected, Mae had reacted by calling him a traitorous bitch, but his mother had taken it in stride, saying that she’d touch up his roots at his new apartment.
Finn and Ollie had helped tremendously, borrowing a van and assisting with the move, and they’d unknowingly saved Jax a ton of agony. He’d been extremely careful, so his back had held up, leaving him in peace for his first day on the job.
But this could be the calm before the storm.
Parking, he clicked the barbell in his tongue against the back of his teeth as he walked into the building, grinning when he noticed Finn and Ollie waiting for him.
“First day selfie!” Ollie declared, and the two of them jumped behind Jax. Grateful that Mae had taught him his angles, Jax caught the light and pouted perfectly. Ollie joined him, but Finn smiled like he was on a game show.
Snapping some photos, Ollie quickly looked them over. “Gorgeous!”
“That’s you, Sunshine,” Finn kissed Ollie’s cheek before clapping Jax on the shoulder. “It’s great to have you aboard! Do you want a tour?”
“I should probably meet up with Angelo and the rest of the chefs first.” At Finn’s nod, Jax gave both of them a stiff hug.
He knew they’d noticed how he moved and held his body, but they’d never questioned it, and he appreciated that so much.
Eventually, he’d open up, but for now he wanted to settle in. “Thanks for the welcome, guys!”
Taking a few steps across the foyer, he suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was going and turned back sheepishly. “Um, can you show me where the kitchen is?”
“Of course,” Finn said as Ollie threw his head back and laughed, and they escorted Jax around the back of the foyer and through a large doorway.
Years of training kept Jax from stopping in the entrance, because the main kitchen was top-tier, with shiny, new ovens and a walk-in refrigerator that took up almost an entire wall; plus, there were a ton of interesting appliances in the back, and excitement shot through his veins as he spotted a small blast freezer.
It looked like a lot of people were starting alongside Jax, because several groups milled about, and he headed toward Angelo, who stood with two other chefs.
While Angelo wore white, he’d told Jax that he could choose any color, so Jax had gone with black even though cornstarch and flour stuck to it like glue.
“Hello, Jax!” Angelo graced him with another of his warm expressions, shaking his hand. “Let me introduce you to your fellow sous-chefs. This is Carson, who’s been with us for a while.” He gestured to his left, where a tall man in a beige coat gave a nod. “But Winter is also starting today!”
Handshakes went around, and Winter held Jax’s hand for a beat longer, making sure their eyes met.
“Nice to meet you. By the way, my pronouns are they and them,” they said softly.
“Cool. I got your back.” That seemed to be the right thing to say because Winter gave him a bright smile.
Wearing light blue, the ends of their strawberry-blonde hair had been masterfully dyed to match their coat.
He hoped he could take a photo once they got to know each other better, because his mother would love it.
“Great, now that intros are out of the way, let me give you the lowdown.” Angelo launched into an orientation, Carson adding facts when necessary, along with two women from the other side of the kitchen who turned out to be Emma, The Pointe’s pastry chef, and her assistant Kate.
It seemed like everyone had a good rapport, and while the atmosphere was intense, it had no hostility, which was rare for a place this big.
Once Angelo finished with them, he gathered the rest of the kitchen staff and introduced the sous-chefs before going over the basics. Rarely intimidated, Jax put a pleasant mask on his face, and he got curious stares and several smiles in return.
“And finally,” Angelo finished up a few moments later, “The Pointe officially reopens soon, and there’s some small weddings leading up to Valentine’s Day, when our ma?tre d’ Marci is getting married.”
“I hear it’s the event of the year!” A petite woman with a giant aura strolled into the kitchen, and Jax grinned.
He’d met Marci on the day of the exhibition, when most of The Pointe had shown up to the gallery, supporting not only Mason but his partner Rain, and she’d bewitched him, reminding him of his mom.
According to Finn, she was nearly flawless at her job and could double as security. Ollie liked to joke that she had vampire powers because her speed and strength weren’t normal, and now that Jax had met her, he understood that it wasn’t really a joke.
“Marci!” Jax exclaimed. “How are the wedding plans going?”
“Don’t even ask, you’re still on my nice list,” she winked as some of the servers giggled.
“That’s it for now, everyone,” Angelo dismissed them with a smile, and the staff began to disperse.
“Have you scared the new guy yet, Marci?” Emma asked, wandering over.
“I don’t need to, because he’s amazing,” Marci replied. “A few weeks with me and I can safely leave this place in his hands while I’m on my honeymoon.”
“Wow.” Angelo raised his eyebrows. “He must be good to have impressed you.”
She nodded and then pitched her voice to a stage whisper. “He’s also very easy on the eyes.”
“You’re an engaged woman,” Emma pointed out as Carson gave a hum of agreement. “And he’s Rain’s stepdad!”
“I’m engaged, not dead,” Marci stated, and Jax let out a snort, his mind on Hot Bearded Guy.
“I was going to give Jax and Winter the full tour. Do you want to join us?” Angelo steered them back on task, and Marci nodded.
“I’d love to.”
Following them out into the hall, Jax brought up the rear, glancing around and trying to find any remnants of the fire, but the place was sparkling new, as if it had been built from the ground up, and the glass ceremony room left him speechless.
“Marci’s going to be the first to get married in here,” Angelo said as they all stared up through the ceiling at the bright blue sky.
“Really?” Winter turned in a circle, their eyes wide in awe.
“Perk of the job!” Marci stated before leading them down the hall and across the foyer.
“Now, The Pointe has three floors. The top is offices. This is the main level with our biggest room, and there are two more event spaces downstairs. That’s why we need both of you and another ma?tre d’. And here he is! Hi, Tristan.”
She called out to a tall man by the front doors who had his back to them, and Jax stopped in his tracks, his pulse racing.
Standing just a few feet away, as if Jax had summoned him with his thoughts, was Hot Bearded Guy.
“You!” Jax exclaimed, pointing at him in shock.
After losing his health insurance and his physical therapy visits, Jax had missed Tristan more than he’d expected.
He’d mourned like he’d gone through a small breakup, and he still hadn’t made peace with the fact that he’d never see this man again, especially after moving an hour north.
But here he was, working at The Pointe and looking dashing in his tux. Jax could barely contain himself. Good things had stopped happening to him ages ago, so this job and Hot Bearded Guy hit him like a one-two punch.
“Me!” Just as surprised, Tristan pointed at himself, and as he walked over, Jax noticed that he didn’t limp anymore. Lucky him. “Jax, right? I’m Tristan. ”
He extended his hand, and as soon as they touched, it took every bit of Jax’s restraint not to jolt, because this was his first day and his brand-new coworkers were watching.
But Tristan’s palm had a familiar warmth, as if Jax had found the answer to a question from his soul, and he forced himself to shake Tristan’s hand as normally as he could. “You know my name?”
“I heard you when you were checking in once.” Tristan had been interested enough to listen for that? Or maybe he was just being nice. Jax had to remind himself that no matter how good that hand felt, Tristan was taken.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. You know each other?” Marci interrupted, her sharp gaze all curiosity.
“We were in PT together,” Tristan stated, smoothly introducing himself to the other chefs, which did Jax’s pulse no favors.
“PT?” Winter asked, head tilted.
“Physical therapy.” Jax tried to ignore how Marci studied him, as if she saw everything.
“Why don’t you two catch up, and I’ll show Winter the rest?” she said sweetly as Angelo broke off with a vague statement of forgetting to do something downstairs. It was overt and hilarious, but Jax couldn’t be more grateful as they all scampered away.
Now alone, Jax stared up into Tristan’s gorgeous face for too long. His beard had been trimmed, fitting his face even better, and Jax tried not to purr. Clearing his throat, he put his hands in the pockets of his chef’s coat.
“How’s your knee?”
“Better.” Tristan showed off, pumping it a few times. “How’s your…whatever you were in PT for?”
“It’s kind of a long-term back thing.” Weird, he never talked about his back unless it was absolutely necessary.
When most people learned about his chronic pain, they always made a big deal about getting him a chair but most of them didn’t work.
And sometimes he got an awful chair and advice about what worked for their mom, or their cousin, or their best friend’s brother’s girlfriend.