T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,25
in there.”
“Thanks. With the way my morning has been going, I need all the luck I can get.”
I didn’t know just how true that statement was until I entered the kitchen. As soon as I walked in, Alexandre Bisset, the most arrogant sous chef I’d ever met, came storming over to me. Sounding like an overbearing drill sergeant from hell, he growled, “If you can’t be on time, then don’t bother coming in at all.”
I knew I wasn’t late but I wasn’t exactly early either, so I just nodded. “Sorry, Chef Bisset. I won’t let it happen again.”
“You best see to it that you don’t.” He motioned his hand towards the crate of potatoes. “They aren’t going to peel themselves.”
I rushed over to the crate and got busy. I knew that I’d have to start at the bottom. It was just the way things worked, so I never complained. I just did the work that was assigned to me the best I could and hoped that in time I’d be able to work my way up the food chain. I spent over an hour peeling all those potatoes, and when I finished, I moved on to the other vegetables, dicing and prepping them for the upcoming lunch crowd. As I worked, I watched in awe as lead chef, Antoine Boucher, and his crew moved through the kitchen. To an outsider, it might’ve looked like utter chaos, but to me, it was simply magical. It was as if they were all dancing to a tune that only they could hear—each of their movements were fluid, precise, and completely in sync with one another.
As the day turned into night, I kept observing, making notes of how things worked, especially where Chef Bisset was concerned. I needed to know what he expected from each member of his team. While it wasn’t easy to keep up with everything going on, I loved every minute of it. Being there, in all the craziness, helped distract me from thinking about Lucas—at least temporarily. When my shift was over and it was time to leave, I started to get anxious, fearing I might see him again. I’d gotten my things together and headed towards the back, but when I reached the door I froze. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make myself step outside and into the dark. The thought of Lucas being out there again terrified me and I couldn’t move.
Thankfully, Jack walked up behind me and asked, “Hey, everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I glanced over at him and noticed that he was carrying two large bags of garbage. “Everything’s fine.”
“You heading out?”
I nodded. “I was about to.”
“You want me to walk you to your car?”
“Would you mind?”
“Not at all.” He pushed the door open with his hip. “Just let me take care of these first.”
I nodded, then followed Jack over to the dumpster. After he’d tossed the garbage inside, we turned and started towards the parking lot. When we reached my car, he waited for me to unlock the doors and get inside. Before I closed the door, I said, “Thank you, Jack.”
“Anytime.” He turned to go back into the restaurant and waved. “See ya tomorrow.”
I started the car and while easing out of the parking lot, I found myself looking for any sign of Lucas. Thankfully, I didn’t see him or anyone who looked remotely like him. Feeling only slightly relieved, I headed home. When I pulled up, Clay was waiting for me in the driveway. Curious to see why he’d come, I got out of my car and walked over to him. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“It’s late, Clay.” I walked past him with a huff and headed up the stairs. “You should be home with Landry.”
“Look, Lyssa. I get it. You’re pissed about last night and the way I handled things, and I’m sorry about blowing up, but—”
“It’s okay.” I unlocked the door, then walked inside. “I know you were upset and I was, too, but I think we’re just gonna have to let it go. Lucas was probably just there to see some friends or something.”
“Well, about that.” I knew my brother well enough that he was about to drop a bomb on me, but I wasn’t expecting him to say, “I looked into Lucas, and it turns out that you were right. He is living here.”
“What?”
“He moved here a year ago.” My stomach twisted into a knot as he continued, “He’s been working with a