Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Kat
By Saturday, I was a blundering ball of nerves and anxious about the cook-off being only a day away. I’d spent the entire morning reviewing my menu choices, wondering if it was too late to change my mind.
Ambrosia was a bustling mix of workers getting ready for the evening rush as well as preparing for the competition. Clarissa knew how distracted I was already, so she’d asked Jamie to step in as head chef for the night and sent me to go help with the prep work.
Miles was there too—of course, he was—and I found it still hard to focus with him around. Even though I’d hoped I could fuck him out of my system, it felt like he’d gotten even further under my skin, which was a distraction I couldn’t afford right now.
Darryl and Anthony were running the food truck now that Anthony had recovered from his stomach bug, while Miles discussed the setup for tomorrow night and where to set the four judges. Knowing that Luka would be there made me even more nervous than I had been.
I sat at the desk and made a list of the ingredients I needed for tomorrow, knowing that I would work better if I had a checklist for each item. Lists were my thing; they kept me focused and calm. Two things that I desperately needed right now.
“How’s it going?” Clarissa asked, sitting on the corner of the desk and folding her hands in her lap.
I tossed the pen down and leaned back.
“I’m so stressed about tomorrow,” I admitted, catching her eye.
“Don’t be; it’s supposed to be fun. Remember?” She tilted her head and smiled.
“I think we threw the idea of fun out the window once you announced that Luka Fagiolo was going to be a guest judge.”
Clarissa waved her hand as if it were no big deal.
“He’s excited to do it,” she insisted. “Plus, he owes me a favor.”
My eyes bulged, and my jaw dropped.
“What?” I stuttered. “You know Luka Fagiolo?”
She nodded, clearly amused by my reaction.
“The Luka Fagiolo? From The Starling?”
She laughed and nodded again.
“Yes, the Luka Fagiolo. Though I gotta admit, it’s kind of weird to keep hearing him referred to by his full name.”
“How do you know him?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“We grew up together.” She shrugged.
“That’s it?!” I shrieked. “I’ve been working for you for five years, and you’ve never once mentioned that you happen to know THE BIGGEST chef in Seattle.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Clarissa—he has restaurants across the country where people kill themselves just to get a job. He has a culinary school in Paris. He was a celebrity judge on the food show—what’s the name of it?
Oh yeah, A Cut Above. He’s a big deal to most people; I don’t understand how you can be so unaffected by him. ”
I was still trying to process the information that had just landed in my lap when Clarissa got up and smoothed down the front of her skirt.
“Yeah, well, he may be amazing with the culinary stuff, but he was a terrible boyfriend.”
I didn’t think it was possible, but my jaw dropped even further.
“You dated Luka?”
“For a few years.”
“Why would you invite your ex-boyfriend to come be a guest judge for a random cook-off?”
“Because, like you said, he’s a big deal in the culinary world, and I knew it would be good exposure for us.
She walked away and left me an even bigger mess than I was before she came over.