8. The Next Challenge is a Doozy
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE NEXT CHALLENGE IS A DOOZY
DEKE
“ W ait, whoa. Back up and run me over again—I mean, run that by me again,” Kevin ordered, sitting forward in the chair across my desk until I thought he’d slump to the floor.
When we’d arrived at Black Horse, I’d belatedly remembered the books and had dug through the bags to offer them to Aurora since it was going to be a boring as hell day. And then I’d vowed to buy her every book in the world at her squeak of delight. She’d scanned them before grabbing the first one that I’d grabbed from the shelves.
Based on her eagerness, I’d thought she would dive right in, but she’d sat in the office with me to watch as I worked. The clerical shit was the worst part of my job, but she’d seemed fascinated as I’d checked order forms and invoices to see why half the delivery was missing. And then she’d listened while I chewed out our distributor—which meant I was a helluva lot nicer to him than I normally would’ve been for such a colossal fuckup.
Talking to Black Horse’s general manager wasn’t something I could do in front of her without bringing up a million questions I wasn’t ready to answer. Since the restaurant wouldn’t open until late afternoon, I’d set her up in a booth with her book and a hot chocolate.
If her shocked reaction to breakfast earlier hadn’t clued me in, the one she had to the drink did it.
Aurora was not used to people doing shit for her.
Something as simple as mixing a packet of cocoa with steamed milk had made her eyes widen like I’d journeyed across the world to harvest and produce the powder before milking a rare cow—a task I would do if it would make her smile. I enjoyed cooking for her. The happy little noises she made and the way her eyes drifted closed filled the hollowness in me more than the countless number of people who’d visited my restaurants combined.
What I didn’t enjoy was the flood of guilt that filled her eyes or the way she got antsy like she needed to do something in return. And I straight up fucking hated the nervous way she tugged on the ends of her hair.
Her reaction was another item in the long list of mysteries surrounding my mate. One I intended to straighten out soon because I didn’t want my fulfillment to come at the expense of her comfort.
It was a task that would be a lot easier if I wasn’t working twelve or more hours a day, which was why I was talking to Kevin.
I dragged my eyes from the office door to meet his shocked ones as I repeated, “I’m stepping back.”
It was more absolute than my initial plan to just cut my hours, but once the words were out, it felt as right as having Aurora close.
“Why? What happens to Black Horse? What’s going on?” He didn’t give me the chance to answer and kept talking as he roughly rubbed his eyes. “If this is about me calling you in on your day off, my bad, man. But half the damn order was in the wind, and no offense, you’re a scary motherfucker. I knew you’d get the results quicker than I could. And seeing as they’re on their way here with the missing items and some seasonal veg for the inconvenience, I was right. But it’s handled now. You can go. Take tomorrow off. Hell, take a few days off.” He opened his eyes. “I mean, it’s your restaurant, so you can do whatever you want anyway…” Collapsing against the seat, he let out a long-suffering sigh. “Stepping back?”
“I told you from the beginning this would happen.”
Just as I’d told every other manager I’d employed over the years.
Staying in one place for too long was impossible. Eventually, people noticed that as they aged, I continued looking in my mid-thirties. The excuse of good genes and healthy living only got me so far before it was time to move on.
New location.
New name.
New style, new hair, new tattoos.
I still had a while until it reached that point, but Aurora’s arrival changed my timeline.
Changed everything .
“I know,” Kevin said as he rubbed his face again, “but… hell. I hadn’t thought it would happen. That was a problem for future Kevin.”
“It’s not a problem for any?—”
“Does this have anything to do with Aurora? Because I’ve never seen you so much as glance at any of the very willing women who practically throw themselves at you, and now suddenly you’re giving lovey eyes to this mystery woman. Who— no offense again—is way out of your league, so I can’t even fault you. I’d want to spend all my time with her if she was mi?—”
My magicks might not have anything to do with wildlife, but the growl that rumbled out was animalistic enough to cut off Kevin’s words.
Less than a day, and I’m already this bad.
I couldn’t say I was upset by that fact, either.
Kevin recovered and rolled his eyes at me. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
It was my turn to scrub a hand down my face. “To answer your other questions, I’m not boarding up the windows and ditching out. Black Horse will remain open, just without me involved in the day-to-day.”
“How’s that even going to work?”
“The same way millions of other restaurants do it.”
With about a hundred of those being my previous ones that’re still operational.
“Scales Restaurant Group”—also my company—“will handle payroll, taxes, maintenance and upgrades, and whatever other bullshit comes up. They’ll be there if you need them, but so long as everything is running well, they’ll stay out of your way.”
“So menu decisions, staffing?—”
“You’ve been handling most of that with Chris,” I said, tilting my head toward where the head chef was likely cursing in the deep freezer at the lack of ordered items. “Only thing changing is I won’t be here for the final sign-off.”
“Does this mean I can switch our supplier to the one the chains use and just serve cheap frozen food at an inflated price while pocketing the profits?”
Unlike a lot of restaurants, profit and coming in under budget never factored into bonuses. I had more money than I could spend, so we could’ve operated in the red for all I cared—and some of my other places did. It was about filling a need.
Filling stomachs with fresh food that nourished.
I knew Kevin was joking, but horror rippled through me.
My expression must’ve shown it because he burst out laughing. “I’m fucking with you. We’ve got a good thing going. I’m not stupid enough to mess with it.” He laced his fingers behind his head, and despite the casual pose, I could see the anxiety in his expression. “So how long until your new woman and wanderlust drag you away?”
“There’s still time.”
Hopefully.
My gaze went to the door before I continued. “I won’t be in as much. And when I am, I’ll be stuck in paperwork hell, getting my chaos in order. But that’ll give us a safety net window to make sure the transition goes smoothly before I’m gone. And, obviously, this role change for you comes with a raise.”
“I’ll probably regret pointing this out, but you already overpay me and everyone else here compared to industry standards.” He tilted his head. “Or any standards.”
“And look how well the place runs.”
All my staff were paid well and worked reasonable hours. It was part of why we were only open for dinner—there was no reason to take up their days for only a small lunch crowd to trickle in. During the summer, when tourist season hit, we also did a weekend brunch, but those were busy enough to be worth the staff’s time.
And for reservations to book up six months in advance.
My former restaurants ran the same way. Good pay and decent hours so the staff had a work-life balance.
Balance and fulfillment. It was ingrained in me.
It was the base of who I was.
Kevin studied me for a few seconds before seeming to come to a realization. He dropped his hands and leaned forward. “That’s it. It’s going too well, so you’re off to the next challenge.”
No, I’m off because my mate is here after centuries of searching.
And as fucking perfect as that is, it likely also means I’m off to fight dark magicks, dumbass humans, and evil bastards who want to steal souls.
So… yeah, fuck, you’re right. The next challenge.
I lifted my shoulder in a conceding shrug. Before I could say more, fear strangled my heart.
Aurora .
I was up and out of the office before Kevin blinked. Ignoring his calls after me, I stormed through the kitchen and into the front of the house just in time to see Justin place his hands on the table.
He leaned over, using his size and positioning to loom over her. “Are you stupid or just set on me calling the cops? The room for you is through the side door. It’s bad enough he insists on letting garbage in here?—”
“What the fuck?”
Justin whipped around at the boom of my voice, his mouth gaping. I wasn’t sure if it was that I was there or that I’d raised my voice—something I never did even in the middle of our worst dinner services—that shocked him. I also didn’t give a damn.
He recovered quickly, fighting to downplay what I’d seen. “Boss, hey. I thought you were off today.”
“Can tell that. What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
He gestured behind him without looking. “I came in early to prep for the day, and she was sitting in here instead of the side room like the sign says. The FOH staff will be in soon, so I was just trying to help?—”
I almost laughed at the emphasis he put on the word early, like getting there five minutes before his shift would save his ass, but the feeling of terror wafting off Aurora was still like a vise grip.
“Help by insulting her or by threatening to call the cops?” I asked and watched the defeat sink in as his shoulders slumped when he realized how much I’d overheard.
“Boss—”
I closed the distance, taking a small amount of pleasure at the way Justin darted to the side. He began talking to whoever was behind me, but I didn’t pay attention to what excuses he spewed. My focus was on my mate.
At some point after I left her, she must’ve gone out to the truck to get my hoodie because she wore it with the hood pulled up. Dirt smudged the sleeves where she had her arms wrapped around her bent knees, the book shaking in her trembling fingers.
A shielding position she should never have to be in.
Should’ve kept her closer. Protected her better.
Crouching so I was even with her and not looming like an intimidating dickhead, I tugged the hood from her head so I could get a better look at her face. “You okay, baby?”
She dragged her wide gaze from Justin to blink at me.
“ Baby ?” Justin asked before groaning. “I didn’t know. She’s dirty and bruised. I thought?—”
It took all my control to keep my voice even since more yelling wouldn’t help her. “I know what you thought, and it doesn’t make a damn thing better.”
Shortly after opening Black Horse, I’d noticed someone picked through our dumpsters for food waste during the night. Since that was a fucked thing for animals to have to do, much less human beings, I repurposed the side entrance that led into a small storage room. Anyone could come in, cool off or warm up depending on the time of year, get water, and help themselves to the leftovers or sandwiches we stocked with additional nonperishables.
The door into the restaurant had to be locked off, and there was a list of enforced rules to keep everything up to code, but we’d never had a problem. Not once.
If anything, the people who utilized that room appreciated it more than the ones who could afford to eat at Black Horse. They didn’t complain that their order came out without the special requests they forgot to make, that their well-done steak took too long during a slammed Saturday dinner rush, or that we wouldn’t accept a gift card to the restaurant that used to occupy the space.
Feeding them fulfilled me more, too.
If Aurora had been someone who’d ventured into the dining area, that wouldn’t justify the way he’d spoken to her.
“Get the hell out,” I ordered Justin.
Aurora’s lips parted, and she placed her hand on my forearm, shaking her head. I offered her a small smile that died the moment I looked over to see Justin still standing there.
His jaw dropped. “You can’t do that.”
“Just did.”
“I didn’t know,” he repeated. “Why didn’t she just say something?”
I bolted up and got close. He might have been tall, but I was taller. And, like Kevin said, a scary motherfucker. Looming over him to see how he liked it, I roared, “Because she doesn’t owe you jack-shit, asshole. Now get the hell out of here before I’m the one calling the cops.” I took another step closer and lowered my voice. “And that’s if you’re lucky.”
He scurried back, a scared, cowering pussy. His pleading gaze moved to whoever was behind me.
“You heard him,” Chris said.
Shit .
I didn’t regret the decision. Especially when I saw the shame coating Aurora’s red face before she dropped it to stare at her knees. Witnessing that, I was tempted to throw Justin through the damn window we’d paid a fortune to have etched.
Rage or not, though, firing a sous chef without the head chef’s input was bad form.
“You can’t threaten or insult your employees. It’s a hostile work environment,” Justin blustered. “I’ll sue and own this place.”
“Hostile? I didn’t witness anything hostile,” Chris drawled. “Did you, Kevin?”
“Not from Deke. Justin, though?” Kev gave a low whistle. “That’s gonna make it hard to give a good reference.”
“Fuck all of you.” Justin stormed into the back with Kevin following close to make sure he didn’t cause any more problems on his way out.
“Be in to talk with you in a minute,” I told Chris.
“You fix the stock order?” At my chin lift, he said, “Then nothing else we need to talk about.”
I waited until he left before lowering myself next to Aurora again. I touched the dirty sleeve. “You check out the garden?”
Her wet eyes dropped to the smudges before her lids drifted closed, hiding the guilt she clearly felt.
Wrong.
It’s all wrong.
Hiding.
Wrong.
Unease bristled in my gut, but I pushed it down to deal with later. “It’s fine, baby. It’s the same here as at the house. You can go where you want. Touch what you want.”
My food I create with my own two hands.
My garden I grow with my own two hands.
Me.
She gave a little scoff.
I set my cell in front of her so she could type.
I got cold, so I went to grab the hoodie. I shouldn’t have touched your garden, but I couldn’t help it. Sorry.
“Touch all you want. You also wanna pull any weeds that you spot, I won’t complain about that.”
You have a green thumb. I have a poison one.
I chuckled. “You won’t hurt anything.”
I hurt that guy. And maybe the whole business. You shouldn’t have fired him. I should’ve ? —
My hand covered hers to still her typing. “ He’s the one who fucked up. It’s on him, not you. Got it?”
She nodded.
I didn’t need words to know it was a lie.
She picked up her book and pretended to read, and I gave her that space.
For then.
Grabbing a menu and another hot chocolate, I brought both over. “Decide what you want to eat.”
She pushed the menu across the table without glancing away from her book.
“The charcuterie plate is served with the same raspberry habanero jelly I have at home.”
She dragged the menu back, still without looking at it.
I headed into the kitchen to see Chris typing on his phone. “Already got a few replacements in mind. I’ll have them each work a night, see who lasts and who gets voted off the island. That cool?”
Before I could answer, Kev came in. “He’s gone, but he tried to pull a Half Baked and ask if anyone else wanted to go with him.”
“And?” I prompted.
Chris did a jerk-off motion—because upscale or not, all restaurant kitchens were the same. “Like anyone would give up this gig for that douchebag.”
Kevin lifted his chin. “That about sums up their responses.” We started back to the office, and he waited until we were out of earshot to say, “Soooo about you stepping back…”
“I’ll wait till the position is filled.” I thought about how that would delay my plans with Aurora and take time from her.
Un-fucking-fortunately.
And then I thought about the apprehension still sitting heavy in my gut. Memories of Marissa’s fake laughter echoed in my head.
Or maybe not…