Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Afine sheen of sweat covered Hope’s back and face as she stood and looked at the dishes in front of her, grinning like a fool.
It felt so damn good to finally spend hours in the kitchen.
This staff worked together horribly, but she’d kept her mouth shut as Katherine put the finishing touches on her dishes.
They did look decent and at least cooked correctly.
Hope bit her lip and stared at them.
The menu had exactly six items on it. And Katherine had made all six items for this little test. Hope had told her to make six of her best dishes, and she’d made the menu.
Hope wasn’t ready to ask the question out loud, but she was seriously doubting whether Katherine knew how to make anything else that wasn’t on the menu.
“Are you ready?” Hope asked, pressing her hands into her hips as she looked Katherine over.
“Yeah.” Katherine gave her a nervous smile.
Hope almost asked then, but she didn’t want to make Katherine feel any worse than she did.
Scratching the back of her neck, she looked around the kitchen.
They’d shut everything down for the day but would open again for the dinner rush.
Everyone else was going back to prep, which Hope was glad to see, but they were silent.
Way too silent.
Kitchens were supposed to be loud, with yelling back and forth in order to communicate effectively, and in this kitchen, not one talked. Except when they were being yelled at and corrected by either Katherine—who hadn’t given clear directions to begin with—or by the owners.
Whom Hope was about to have a sit-down conversation with.
“Great.” Hope pulled a rolling cart over and started to put the dishes onto it.
It’d be a pain in the ass to get it to the small conference room—if it could even be called that—so Hope had insisted they do this taste test in the dining room.
She was pleased when she walked out to find the owners, Mel and Jess, already there.
They were sitting at a table as Hope started to set up another table.
The crash was loud and startled Hope.
She looked over toward the door, finding Angelica rolling her eyes as she cringed. She pushed the wheels of her knee scooter again, harder this time, and another echoing crash resounded through the room. Mel and Jess sat in hushed silence as they stared awkwardly at Angelica.
Hope bit back an angry retort and immediately walked over toward Angelica to lift up the front wheels of her scooter.
“There you go,” Hope whispered.
“Thanks,” Angelica answered with a small wink.
Had she really just done that? Hope’s entire body warmed as Angelica scooted on by her, their shoulders brushing.
It was then that she noticed the camera where Angelica had just left and Rex staring at her with wide eyes that had a sheen of hurt in them.
Hope frowned instantly and turned around to move away from him.
She didn’t want to touch that one with a ten-foot pole.
She moved to stand by Angelica and the owners, wincing when Leanne sidled right on up.
Cadence wiggled her eyebrows in Hope’s direction, which told her that they all knew exactly what Leanne was doing there.
Hope wasn’t going to say a damn thing though.
She was going to let Leanne dig her own grave.
“We have twelve dishes laid out for you, and we want you to do a taste test and let us know which ones you think are the best. The top three.” Hope smiled at everyone. “Mel, why don’t you go first?”
Hope snagged Angelica’s wrist and pulled her a little closer, leaning in so that her lips brushed against Angelica’s ear as she spoke so quietly that Angelica would have to strain to hear her.
“You need to avoid several things, but it’s fairly obvious which ones. They have bright red tomatoes on them.”
Angelica leaned in, her shoulder pressing into Hope’s chest. “Thank you.”
“Of course. We don’t need you poisoned again.
” Hope let go, but as soon as she stepped away, she knew something was missing.
When she turned back, Cadence was staring directly at them.
Hope furrowed her brow in Cadence’s direction and then rolled her shoulders and ignored the sense of unease settling over her.
Mel and Jess made humming sounds as they ate all of the food, and then they talked together quietly while Angelica and Leanne went through each one. Hope shook her head when Angelica reached a plate that she absolutely couldn’t eat, and Angelica skipped it with a smile.
Clapping her hands, Hope stood in front of everyone. “Well, what’s the verdict?”
“We like these three.” Mel pointed to three of Katherine’s dishes.
Hope furrowed her brow, cold rushing through her. But she tried to keep it so that everyone thought she was still happy. She couldn’t have them thinking anything else. But there was Angelica, staring directly at her with that discerning eye she could never escape.
Angelica cast her vote. Two of the dishes being Hope’s and one being Katherine’s.
And then there was Leanne.
“Ange, you didn’t try them all.”
“No, I didn’t.” Angelica frowned so slightly that Hope was sure no one else would even notice it.
“How can you cast a vote if you don’t try everything?” Leanne cut off a piece of the one dish Hope had told Angelica she couldn’t eat.
Angelica flicked her gaze to Hope, her cheeks hollowing and paling slightly.
“Come on, no skipping out just because there’s something you don’t like on the dish.” Leanne’s eyes glinted.
“She doesn’t have to try everything,” Hope stepped in, trying to shut Leanne up and give Angelica an out.
“Stop playing favorites, Hope.” Leanne’s lips quirked up as she handed the small tasting plate over to Angelica. “If she wants to participate and be a leader, then she needs to be a part of everything.”
Angelica again looked directly at Hope. She took the plate.
Hope silently begged Angelica not to do it, not to even test it.
The more she ate the food, the worst her allergy would get, and she didn’t want Angelica to suffer more than necessary.
Especially with everything that she’d already been through this season.
Don’t do it. Do NOT do it.
Hope couldn’t say the words out loud. Angelica was a grown-ass woman, and she could make her own decisions, but seriously, she needed to be better than this. There was nothing wrong with having an allergy. Angelica just needed to admit it.
Angelica paused, looked down at the plate, and then set it on the table. “I know I didn’t try every dish, Leanne.”
The tightness in Hope’s chest released.
“You’re being ridiculous. Just because you don’t like—”
“I’m allergic.” Angelica stared Leanne down. “It’s not that I don’t like it. I’m allergic to the eggplant. See this here—it’s all eggplant.” Angelica pointed to it with her fork. “And that’s only one of the things I’m allergic to, amongst many foods, actually. So no, I’m not going to eat it.”
Angelica crossed her arms and squared her body.
Leanne’s jaw dropped. “You never… I worked for you for years, Ange, and you never said you had food allergies.”
She shrugged slightly. “I guess you didn’t need to know then.
But sometimes, Leanne, observation is the key to learning and it’s the key to management.
” Angelica pointed at the dishes in front of her.
“I noticed that the six dishes Katherine cooked, while the ones I tried were delicious, are all on the menu. Was that the task?” Angelica tossed a look over her shoulder at Hope.
“No,” Hope answered, coming closer and standing shoulder to shoulder with Angelica, two women against the world.
They could tackle anything together, couldn’t they?
She wanted to believe that. Even after everything they’d been through, they still understood each other on such a deep level that they couldn’t escape it.
“What was the challenge?” Angelica asked.
“I told Katherine to cook six of her best dishes.”
“These are my best!” Katherine jumped in.
“Can you cook any others?” Angelica asked, her voice carrying through the room because she was met with silence.
And then even more silence.
Not only had Angelica managed to ask the one question that Hope wanted to know, but there was no response. Katherine didn’t try to defend herself or to explain. She just stared at them, eyes wide, pupils dilated, and lips parted in absolute fear.
She’d just been called out.
“All right,” Hope said, putting her hands together. “So, where did you train?”
Katherine shook her head.
“Nowhere?” Hope furrowed her brow.
“I… I’m self-taught.”
“Wow.” Hope shook her head, tensing. “I mean, wow.” She was honestly speechless. What Katherine had cooked was amazing food and damn good technique for someone who was self-taught. But it also explained the limited menu and why she’d still cooked those same six dishes. “Okay. First, I’m impressed.”
“Are you?” Katherine squeaked out.
“Yes. But also apprehensive. You don’t know how to cook anything else, do you?”
Katherine shook her head.
“All right. I need… a minute.” Hope looked wildly around the room.
“Hang on.” Angelica reached for Hope’s wrist to keep her there, letting go after a second. She faced Mel and Jess. “Were you aware of the lack of training?”
“No,” Jess said, crossing her arms. “Katherine told us she had years of experience.”
“I do!” Katherine’s voice rose in defense.
“You told us you went to culinary school.” Jess gave her a hard look, betrayal in her gaze.
“I… couldn’t ever afford it.” Katherine bit her lip. “Please don’t fire me.”
“I don’t know that we can keep you on. Certainly not for what we pay you, if you don’t have the training.” Jess shook her head as she took a step back. “I’m sorry, but I can’t justify—”
“Don’t make any decisions yet.” Angelica put her hand up to stop everyone from talking.
Hope’s entire focus settled on her, and she stayed right in this moment. This wasn’t what she’d expect from Angelica, ever.