Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Lily stared at her father in disbelief, still trying to process the story he’d just told her about how Myles had come to work at the restaurant and then proven himself time and again, so much so that after Dave left he’d been the top choice to take the reins of the kitchen.
It was incomprehensible to her. Still. That the boy she’d loved, the boy who had broken her heart, had somehow wormed his way into her parents' good graces, so much so that they practically beamed when they spoke about him. Her mind reeled in a dozen different directions and all she could come up with was that she’d somehow driven into the upside down.
Because, this… this couldn’t actually be happening.
“He doesn’t even know how to cook.” She argued for what felt like the millionth time since the discussion began.
“I assure you, he does.” Her father sighed. “Do you really think I’d give my kitchen over to someone I didn’t trust to keep The Mont’s legacy intact?”
“I don’t know, Dad.” She threw up her hands “Considering until a little while ago I always assumed that legacy was going to be mine to inherit, I’m not really sure about anything right now.”
“Honey… please.” Her mother tried again. “We told you. We thought you were happy in New Orleans.”
“Even if I was, which I’m not, this is a family business. You always said this place would be mine someday.”
“It still can be.”
“You should have told me you were thinking of stepping down from the day to day duties as head chef. You should have let me decide if I was ready to come home and take over the family business. You could have at least talked to me about it but instead you decided without including me and then you hid it from me.” She bit the inside of her cheek when tears threatened to well behind her eyes.
“The only reason I can come up with that you did all of that is that you didn’t think I was good enough to take over your precious restaurant. ”
“You know that’s not true.”
“Do I?” She huffed. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks an awful lot like you went out of your way to make sure I wasn’t part of the equation.”
“You’re taking this too personally.” Her father frowned and she snorted.
“I’m your daughter. How else am I supposed to take it?
” She held up a finger, “First you refuse to let me come to work for you when I graduated high school. Fine. I went to college just like you insisted. Second, I graduated college and you said you wanted me to experience the world before being tied to a kitchen, and a business, in this small town in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Okay. I went off to Europe for a year, lived it up, explored, learned from masterful chefs along the way and when I came back did you offer me a job here? No. Of course not. You’ve had a reason not to hand this place over to me for years but I never thought you’d go so far as to give it to someone else without even talking to me first.”
“Okay, okay, I know, we should have discussed it…” Her father spoke but she held her hand up again.
“I wasn’t done. Because not only did you not consult me, you hid the truth from me. You lied to me.”
“We didn’t lie.” Her mother spoke up again.
“Didn’t you?” Lily countered. “Every time we spoke and I asked how work was going and you said the restaurant was keeping you busy? That things were the same as always? Every single time I talked to either of you, you had the chance to tell me the truth and you didn’t.
A lie is a lie, even by omission. You taught me that. ”
Her father looked tired but he didn’t say anything.
Lily looked between them. They both looked pained by her accusations but she didn’t let them off the hook.
She couldn’t. Not when it came to the only dream she’d ever had for her life.
Not when she felt absolutely betrayed by the people she’d thought she could trust most in the world.
“Nothing to say now?” She finally prompted when they reached for each other's hands but remained quiet.
“Are you done?” Her father leaned back in his seat. “I just wanted to be sure you were done this time.”
She narrowed her eyes, “I’m really close to being so done I get back in my car and go back to New Orleans. Is that done enough for you, Dad?”
He groaned, “Lily, listen to me. We didn’t plan or plot against you. We thought we were doing you a favor by not putting the pressure of the business on you.”
She started to open her mouth but it was her father who held his hand up this time and she clenched her jaw shut.
“I’ll admit, I made a mistake not talking to you about the changes here at home before now.
You’re right. This is a family business and you should have been involved in those discussions.
Sometimes I forget that you’re a grown woman with a mind and opinion all her own, a woman who doesn’t need me to decide what she can and can’t handle.
So, I’m sorry that we didn’t talk to you about my decision to step back from running the kitchen and I understand why your feelings are hurt over that. ”
Lily’s teeth ground together because she knew her father well enough to know there was a but coming.
“But,” he continued and she tried not to roll her eyes. “It was never my intention to replace you. The kitchen, The Mont, the business, it will still all be yours someday.”
“Someday?” She raised an eyebrow. “Like, when you die?”
“Lily!” Her mother gasped, “Don’t you dare.”
“It’s just a question, Mom.” She shrugged. “I’m trying to figure out what my place is here, or if there even is one. I think it’s a fair question.”
“Well I think it’s a cruel one. And morbid.”
“It’s okay, hon.” Her father patted her mother’s hand. “She’s just being churlish.”
“I am not.” She huffed.
“You are, but I’ll answer the question anyway.
” He met her gaze. “No. You don’t have to wait until I’m in the ground to take over The Mont.
It’s always been yours to inherit when I decide to retire completely, but I’m not there yet and we didn’t think you were ready to come home given your position in New Orleans so I made the executive decision to hand the reins over to my best chef in the interim. "
Lily’s heart gave a painful squeeze but she forced out the words even though she had a sneaking suspicion she already knew the answer, “And if I said I’m ready now? That I want it now? Then what? You get rid of him and I take over the kitchen?”
“No.”
She winced despite knowing that it had been coming, “Why not?”
“Because he’s the best chef we have and even if you decided you wanted to start next week, there is a lot to this business that you need to learn.”
“I’m a trained chef working in a five star and raised by you, please don’t demean me by saying I can learn from him.” She sneered.
“I think you’d be very surprised if you gave him a chance.” Her mother chirped and Lily shot her a pointed look.
“Yeah, he’s great at surprising me, as evidenced by the lemon tart all over my clothes and, oh yeah, the broken heart I carried into college because he decided long-distance wasn’t going to work for him. He’s just full of fun surprises.”
“Oh, Lil.” Her mother softened, “I know you two have a history but that was so long ago and…”
“This isn’t about my history with Myles Calhoun.” She cut her mother off.
“I hope it’s not, because if you want to come home and work here, you’ll have to figure out a way to work with him.
” Her father stated firmly. “He’s not going anywhere, Lil.
He’s a good kid and a hell of a chef. The staff loves him and if he walked out the door I think half of them would follow him.
So if you’re serious about wanting to learn the family business, don’t start off by putting us in a hole we may not be able to dig out of. ”
“Dad, you can’t be serious. You want us to work together?”
“I want you to let go of whatever resentment you have about him being head chef so that he can continue to do his job and I want you to join me in the restaurant and learn the business side of things, learn how we operate, not just in the kitchen but in the office and out of it as well.” He held her gaze, “If you’re serious about this, I’ll bring you in.
You can move home if need be until you find a place of your own or decide if it’s truly what you want… ”
“Of course it’s what I want. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“I don’t want a decision right now. I want you to think about it. Think about what you’ll be giving up and what you’ll be getting in return. There are pros and cons to consider and I want you to really consider them before you decide.”
She wanted to tell him that there was nothing to consider.
She knew what she wanted. She’d known since she was a kid.
This was where she belonged. Even if she had to put up with seeing Myles Calhoun’s stupidly handsome, ridiculously smug face on the daily for a while, she could handle that so long as it meant The Mont was hers.
And once it was, she’d kick him to the curb and be free of him once and for all.
“Okay?” Her father asked and Lily nodded.
“Okay.”
“Good.” His lips curved slightly. “Now, can we finish our meal?”
“Go right ahead. I really did lose my appetite and I don’t think I can handle eating it now knowing Myles cooked it.” She held her hands up innocently when her father made a disgruntled sound, “I’m sure he’s a great cook like you said. Sorry. Knee jerk reaction.”
“Try it, or don’t. That’s up to you.” He shrugged and pulled his plate closer as he picked his utensils back up.