Chapter 31
“Okay, I will tell you. Just remember that this does not mean anything, we don’t know what is happening,” Hunter told me. I nodded and braised for impact. “There have been some signs that Sipionis in act with the triad,” Hunter told me. I understood it was bad news because of the way Hunter told me about it. And because he was watching me like a hawk, just waiting for my pant in But I had no idea what a triad was or why that would be bad.
“Oh no?” I tried, making Hunter chuckle.
“You have no idey what the trial in, have you?” he sled
“Not the light. But I get that it’s bad.”
“It’s the Chinese mafia,” he explained.
10h. That does sound bad. I’m no expert, and the little I do know is from watching shows and reading romance now. But aren’t the different kinds of mahas traditionally not the best of friends? So shouldn’t Sumon Try to stay away from the Chinesa?” I asked.
“They are.” Hunter confirmed. “But if Simon is no other way out from under Aksakov, he might make a deal with the Chiness. He might offer information about the Russians that will give him
protection!
“But won’t it cause bigger inues with Aksalov?” Larked.
“If he leami schat Simon is doing, yes. He will then try and plug the leak,” Hunter told me I knew what that meant.
“Will they come after me as well?” I asked, feeling horrible for thinking ab
about myself when Hunder was worried about his so
“I don’t think so, I think Aksako believed you when you said you had notes with Simon any longer.” I nodded and tried to let his condence transfer to me.
“So you don’t think Ambar was some sort of ink?”
Th’s possible. Maybe Aksaky wanted to try and get Simon’s contact information
on from you one last
onest time. It does seem like a good trick that would have a high success rate,” Hunter said,
“And 1 gaw her Mandy’s Information little wick at the thought I had sent the mafi her way. Not that I had any love for her, but I didn’t want to see her end up dead or tortured of something along those linn.
“Don’t worry about her. Also, if this was one of his plans, already knows about her. It’s not a connection Simon has tried to hide. And that husband of hers is wealthy enough themselves safe,” Huster massured me. I nodded and took a deep breath, “Do you want us to skip meeting with Chef today?” he then asked, looking worried.
that they can keep
“No, en. I’m fine, I just need a ment to get everything. If I know you, you have alwady told him to expect us and I don’t want to be made when I’m asking to use his kitchen,” I told him. He
“First of all. It’s not his kitchen, it’s the company’s. Kind of. And don’t worry about being rude to Chef I should warn you; he is the most direct and honest person I know, He will let you know what is going on in his mind and he has no filter, Combine that with a mouth that could make a sailor jealous, and he can be seen as a… Hunter was searching for the right word.
“Dick” Ipated Hunter laughed and rubbed his neck
“Yes,” he admitted. “But please don’t take it personally. That is just how this. He hates everyone.”
“I guess that is one way to promote equality,” I joked. As always, I felt better after talking with Hunter for a while.
“You lock lem pale, should we got going?” he asked me. I nodded and got testy. The ride was spent talking about everyday things and Hunter took me up to the kitchen. I could hear someone working there and despite Hunter telling me Chef wasn’t a threat in any way, I still felt uneasy.
“Chef” Hunter called not at w
“Yes, yes. Don’t get your fucking panties in a bunch, boss.” I ward someone yelling back. İlanter placed his hand on my lower back, and I malised I was tense as a spring. I forced myself to relax. I tamad a smile from him. From the kitchen man came walking, he was almost as tall as Hunter, but he was broader and boked more like a bodybuilder than a chef. From the cap on his head, fire bright red hair was poking out and he had what looked like a permanent from on his face. “You must be the baker, said to me. My first instinct was to say no, anything to avoid being in his focus. But it would just have made me look stupid. There were only the three of us there, it was obvious it was the who was the baker.
“That’s me,” I admitted. He troked me and down as if the could learn everything about me by hat looking
“Chet” Hunter barbell again, the other man’s attention was pulled from me to lanter
“I’m here, aren’t 17” Chef and. “So do you have any experience with working in a commercial kitchen?” he asked me. Time for me to put on my big girl panties and act like I knew what i wan deling. I told him about my lizining and about my practice as a patissier and even offered to give him the number to their regular patissier that I trained under. When I was done, Chef looked a The impressed not a lot, but enough to give me the boot of confidence I needed.
“Well, better than I had feared,” Chefmuttered. “At least I won’t love my standings with the food inspector. But there are rules in my kitchen. I like things to have their own place and I de ret underate things hoing out of planetored in a way that isn’t up to my Handards. To that clear?” he asked.
I think it’s a good policy.” I told him,
Chapter 31
“You do?” he inked, sounding surprised.
“In the kitchen there is always a danger from hot pots and pans, knives, heary tools and so on. It makes sense to limit the danger that you can. I would rather focus on the caramel I’m cooking than having to split my focus because I need to wonder if the cabinet I’m about to open will cause an avalanche of equipment to fall on me.” I told him. Chef was nodding enthusiastically at this point.
“Yes, exactly! That is why It’s so important to keep everything in its place. I need to focus on the food I’m preparing. I don’t want to think about where my knives are or if someone moved the spatulas,” he told me. He held out his hand and invited me to step into his kitchen. At some point I had stopped seeing him as scary and instead I found a kindred spirit. I didn’t hesitate as he guided me around the kitchen, showing me where things were placed and explaining his system. “I was thinking of adding garlic bread to the menu tomorrow. Would you mind helping me make the dough so it can slow rise during the night? I’m about to get started on some pickles so it would help me,” Chef asked as the tour had ended.
“I would love to. Is it okay if I use the stand miser and the workspace over here?” I asked and pointed.
“That works fine. Let me know if you are having issues finding anything,” he said. I nodded as I headed for the pantry to find what I needed. I stopped in my macks as someone cleared his throat. I had forgot that Hunter was there as well. It was a first forma. My fores always seemed to be on him whenever he was close.
“Sorry. I should have asked if you mind waiting.” I told him.
“Forget about hem. He won’t mind, and if he does, I will drive you home,” Chef offered
“The fuck you will,” Hunter told him. “I don’t mind at all, Rama,” he added in a milder tone and gave me a smile. “I was just going to say that I’ll be in the dining hall so just come out and find me when you are done. There is no need to hurry”
“Thank you, Humber. You are sure I’m not keeping you from something important?” I asked.
“He is sore, and he is getting the fuck out of my kitchen before we start preparing food or I will make him wear a haimet on his god damned board, Chef answered in his place. Hunter Just chuckled and left. As chef and I worked in the kitchen I had a lot of fun. It reminded me about working in a real kitchen. I had only been a student learning from the professionals back then. But I kod working in a team. The only reason I had chosen not to pursue working in a kitchen, was because I preferred the pace of the bakery. It could be as hectic as the restaurant kitchen, but in a different way. I did two big batches of my standard bread and set it to proof in the walk–in refrigerator. I talked some with Chef as he finished up. He then inspected my work surface and nodded, “I think I can let you use my kitchen; it almost looks like I was working here, I’ll be happy to have you back when you need it,” he told me.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it. And I will make sure to save some treats for you,” I promised before saying goodbye as 1 hooded to find Hunter.
