Alex set to work prepping for the night ahead witha pleased sigh, setting out the pans and utensils she was most likely to need, and then lining up ingredients she would use. It was Friday, a week since Cale 's arrival in her life, and it had been an awesome week. The man was a blessing, accomplishing more in that time than she could have.
Cale had managed to get all of her paperwork in order, had overseen countless deliveries without a hitch-or at least, if there had been hitches, he'd taken care of them and kept the aggravation from her. The new restaurant was now furnished, including her office, which had also been painted. After the fiasco with the tiles, Alex had intended to leave her office unfinished until she could better afford it; but once Cale had arranged the refund for the tiles, she'd decided to splurge and gone out to buy the paint. She'd bought it Monday andpainted the office Monday night ... much to Cale's chagrin. He'd been upset that she hadn't told him and let him help, but he worked hard enough during the day and she hadn't wanted to bother him on his time off.
Besides, Alex thought it might be best to avoid spending too much time alone with the man. He was just too attractive for her peace of mind. On top of that, he was working for her, which might only be temporary, but that was another problem altogether. She didn't need to fall for the guy when he was leaving in a month or two. She feared he would be easy to fall for.
There was now only one week to go until the opening of the new restaurant, and Alex found she was actually looking forward to it instead of panicking every time she thought of it. This, the old La Bonne Vie, was being shut down for that night so that she and her staff could attend the opening. They'd also be on hand to help if necessary, and it might be since Alex was expecting quite a turnout on opening night. She was looking forward to that too.
"Which reminds me," Alex murmured to herself, and glanced over her shoulder to Bev. The woman was checking a roast duck she'd popped in the oven earlier.
"Bev, will Mark be able to get Friday night off to attend the opening?" Alex asked as the woman eased the oven door closed and straightened. The young woman's boyfriend, Mark, worked at Chez Joie. Friday night was a busy night for most restaurants, and he hadn't been sure he'd be able to get the time off to attend ... especially considering what it was for.
Bev glanced her way and smiled widely. "Yes, muchto my amazement, Jacques didn't even give him a hard time over it."
Alex raised her eyebrows, surprised at such decency from Jacques, or Jack as she'd always known him before he'd started Chez Joie and changed it to Jacques. What was it with men and their need to put on airs, she wondered. She didn't know any women chefs who took on fake French names to make themselves feel or sound more important. But Jack had actually had his name legally changed to sound French ... the pretentious twit, she thought, and then considered that he and Peter/Pierre might be getting along like gangbusters. Both were egocentric weasels. Which was why she was surprised he'd not given Mark a hard time about attending the opening of a competitor's new restaurant.
"That reminds me," Bev said suddenly. "Mark told me this morning that Jacques fired Peter last night." The younger woman wrinkled her nose. "I guess Peter didn't take it well. He-" She stopped suddenly, her face paling as she peered toward the door.
Expecting someone to have entered, Alex turned, but there was no one there. She didn't understand what had caused Bev's reaction until she peered through the window into the restaurant and spotted Peter walking quickly through the tables toward the kitchens.
"Speak of the devil," Alex muttered. It didn't take a genius to figure out why the man was here. He'd been fired and hoped to gain back his old job, she guessed, and sighed unhappily, not really needing this tonight. Fridays were always busy, and she didn't want to start the night in a bad mood ... although to be honest, shedidn't want to start any night in a bad mood and would have been happy to bypass the coming conversation altogether.
Grimacing, she glanced back to Bev, noting the resigned look on the other woman's face as she ducked her head back to her work. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was bothering her. Bev was afraid Alex would actually take Peter back, which meant Bev would be demoted.
Before Alex could reassure the woman, Peter pushed through the door into the kitchens and headed straight for her.
He hesitated briefly, and then-in humble tones she wasn't at all used to from him-said, "Alex, can I have a word with you, please?"
She considered simply saying no and avoiding what she knew was coming, but then feared he would simply say it out here and decided perhaps the office was better.
Sighing, she led him across the kitchen, saying, "I only have a minute, Peter. It's Friday night."
At the door to her office, Alex paused and gestured for him to enter, then followed, leaving the door open. She didn't want him closing the door and trapping her in the room with him, she wasn't stupid. Peter had a hair-trigger temper, and she wanted someone to know if he suddenly tried to throttle her.
"Sit down," she said quietly, moving around behind her desk. Alex settled in her seat, and then waited a touch impatiently as Peter peered down at his hands and swallowed repeatedly. She now just wanted to getthe unpleasantness over with and get on with her life. She was so eager for that she almost blurted that he couldn't have his job back before he asked for it, but he began to speak as she opened her mouth.
"You were right," he announced grimly. "Jacques fired me last night." He raised his head, expression furious, and said, "He was just trying to ruin you by hiring me away from you."
"I did try to warn you," Alex murmured, not bothering to feign surprise.
"He was furious with that five-star review in the paper last week when you had that French guy cooking," Peter went on, his tone rabid. "And he tried to hire away your new head manager when he heard that you'd hired him. When that didn't work, he just lost it."
Alex's eyes narrowed. Cale hadn't mentioned anything about Jacques approaching him.
"He called me into his office and ranted and raved at me like it was my fault," Peter continued with outrage. "He said hiring me was useless and ... and then he fired me."
"I see," Alex murmured.
"Do you know he hadn't even fired his previous head chef?" Peter asked with disgust. "The guy was only on vacation."
She wasn't terribly surprised at this news. Alex also wasn't surprised that Jacques had hired a chef rather than cook himself. He was a horrible cook. The only way he'd managed to get as far as he had in the culinary school they'd both attended was by cheating. He'dbeen tossed out when he was caught and disappeared for a while, only to pop up in Toronto and open Chez Joie shortly after she started La Bonne Vie.
"So I've come to ask for my position back," Peter announced stiffly, reclaiming her attention as he hurried on. "I realize you are head chef again, so I would have to take the sous-chef position once more, but I'm willing to accept that humiliation as punishment for not heeding your warnings and-"
"Peter," Alex interrupted quietly.
"Pierre," he corrected with a flash of the old arrogance she suspected was boiling under the humbler facade he was presenting.
Alex just shook her head, and said, "I'm sorry you've lost your job at Chez Joie. And yes, I did warn you, however-"