a roulette table…or even playing a simple game of blackjack. Fortuna is supposed to be a place to escape. A fantasy. That’s what I offer.
“Monsieur Miln-air!” Jacques comes bustling out of the kitchen the second I set foot into the restaurant. “Please, please, come in.” He ushers me through the door to the enormous kitchen at the back of the restaurant.
Inside, the room is a flurry of activity. A prep chef is busily chopping vegetables in one corner while another man handles multiple pots and pans on a stove. A third is bent over the enormous grill. There's steam in the air and a constant clanking of cutlery and cooking utensils. A burst of flames goes up from the grill and I can feel the searing heat even from a few feet away.
“Perhaps you would like to give me your jacket, Monsieur?” Jacques suggests.
“Yes, thank you.” I shrug off the jacket. I'm already getting sweaty in the warm kitchen. “Where's the girl?” Jacques nods to a far corner of the room as he takes my jacket in hand. I pass the hustle and bustle of the kitchen staff and walk over to find Lilly bent over and peering into an enormous oven. She’s wearing the same short, light-pink wrap dress she had on this afternoon, except now it’s smudged with cooking grease. So much for the new clothes.
“What’s this all about?” I ask.
Surprised, she lets go of the oven door and it clangs shut. She straightens up to look at me.
“I wanted to cook for you.” She steps forward, a little hesitantly. “As a thank you.”
“What for?”
“For today. For letting Deanna off easy. For letting me choose the punishment.”
“You chose an interesting one. Unexpected.”
“I hope that was okay.”
“Of course,” I say. I’m actually glad she’s staying another night, I realize with sudden surprise. “I still have a lot to teach you.”
“And maybe I have some things I can teach you,” she replies with a shy smile. “Do you cook at all?”
“Me? Nope. I’m a restaurant guy.”
“Well, you have a lovely selection here at Fortuna,” she remarks. “I can’t blame you for that.”
“So what do you have cooking anyway?” I nod towards the oven she’d just been looking at.
“Ah, mademoiselle has a real feast for you, sir!” Jacques comes over, his mustache twitching with his characteristic smile. “She is a real culinary talent! She’s been at work all afternoon, humming around the kitchen like a little bee.” He chucks Lilly under the chin and gives her an approving smile.
“Thank you, Jacques. You’ve been very helpful.” She turns to a pot on a burner and stirs it carefully. “Would you try the hollandaise?”
“Of course, mademoiselle.” He takes a spoon and dips it into the saucepan, taking a taste. “Superb! I could not do it better myself. I rarely say this,” he adds, with a wink to me. “So, you don’t need my help! I leave you in peace.” He turns to me. “Monsieur Miln-air, your usual table is already set for you both.” And with that, he’s off to the other side of the kitchen, peering into pots, barking at his chefs, and inspecting plates before they’re sent out.
“He’s been wonderful,” Lilly remarks with a smile, watching him go. The admiration in her eyes is evident.
“He’s a nice guy,” I nod. “No ego. Rare for a top chef.”
“I was worried about taking over this corner of the kitchen but he was so nice about it.”
“How did this happen anyway?” I ask, genuinely curious. Lilly steps around me, seemingly very much in her element, and sets out two plates.
“Well, I was a bit restless this afternoon and felt like cooking. The thing is, your fridge seems to have mostly just drinks in it.” She gives me a sly look as she slides her tiny hands into two oversized oven mitts.
“Yeah, I don’t keep a lot of food up in the penthouse. I have everything I need down here.”
“Watch out.” She opens the oven, letting out a blast of heat, and reaches in to pull out a pan. I can’t help but check out her ass as she bends over. The dress is short enough that I can just catch a glimpse of the pink panties she’s wearing, their shade matching the dress almost exactly.
“So I called and asked if it was possible to use a kitchen down here or to get groceries delivered,” she goes on. “I mean, I would have gotten them myself of course, but you said not to leave the