Should I have been worried about the fact that Colette was undercover in my restaurant on its busiest day ever? Maybe. But on my list of concerns, a French chef who needed a healthy dose of self-reflection and personal work did not rank very high. Instead, I was far more focused on the pot of gumbo that I swear had a leak in it, as every time I checked, at least half of it was empty.
"The gumbo was supposed to help us with today's rush, not become the main source of our headaches," I complained out loud as I prepared yet another batch of aromatics while mentally keeping track of the short rib currently braising in the oven, "Why did you have to make it so good T?"
"Oh right, this is all my fault," Tiana muttered as she skillfully worked her knife between the bright orange flesh of the salmon fillet and its oily skin, "Do we need to rehash why we're in this predicament to begin with?"
"No need to dwell on the past T, it'll only slowly us down," I replied quickly, deflecting, making Tiana roll her eyes.
"How convenient for you," Tiana muttered back as she picked up the salmon with a pair of tongs and threw it into a skillet that was filled with foaming butter infused with the bundle of herbs swimming on top, "But after this I think we need to have a serious conversation about how it's just the two of us working in this kitchen. I know your magic is doing its thing in the background to keep us afloat, but I get the feeling after today that's not gonna cut it."
"Something we finally agree on," I said with a tense grin, "I was hoping that Colette would end up working alongside us, but I guess we got this instead."
"I'd rather work in this kitchen alone, by myself, than work with that upright, self-centered French asshole," Tiana swore, and while I could tell her feelings were genuine, there was also a healthy dose of general frustration she needed to let out.
It was the reason why we talked to each other so casually and unprofessionally. If we both had tried to keep ourselves restrained while wielding razor-sharp knives and working over burning stoves, I'd imagine that it would be long before an incident happened.
"Understandable, which is why I plan to bring you in whenever I start looking for additional chefs," I replied, validating Tiana's opinion.
"Really?" Tiana asked as she glanced over at me from her station.
"I didn't just name you Sous chef because you're the only other cook besides me," I answered, only for Tiana to give me a look, "Alright, that was partially the reason at first, but now that you've proven yourself, I mean it wholeheartedly. You deserve the position, T, even if Colette were to walk through that door and beg for a job here, I wouldn't give it to her. Though I doubt that's ever gonna happen."
Tiana tensed and glanced at the door suspiciously, but when nothing happened, she let out a sigh of relief before glaring back at me.
"What, don't tell me you're that superstitious," I said defensively.
Tiana raised an eyebrow, "Maybe I wasn't before. But then I got chased out of my hometown by evil spirits, found out my boss was a demon, and just today had a magic power girl point a wand at said boss."
I wisely didn't refute Tiana's words and wisely kept my mouth shut, though I couldn't help but hope that Tiana wasn't right to be worried about my slip otherwise, I had just sealed both of our fates.
---
"And here you are, your Gumbo with Jade Rice. Do you need anything else?"
Colette glared at the shallow bowl that was placed in front of her as the impossibly thick aroma of the steaming stew and rice made her stomach roar with hunger, "If I need anything, I'll ask for it, now allow me to enjoy my food in peace."
'1250, 1250, 1250,' Jackie repeated the number in her head like a mantra as she stiffly turned around and walked away before her hands could act on their own accord.
For a moment, Colette just stared at the dish, analyzing the plating and presentation, which was painfully absent. The rice was packed into a tight ball in the center, cresting above the rich broth speckled with chunks of beef, sausage, and curled-up shrimp.
Picking up her fork, Colette was ashamed to admit that she was fearful. She feared that the dish would taste as good as it smelled, if not better. Regardless, Colette managed to assemble a complete bite, balancing the bright green grains of rice drenched in the rich broth with a chunk of short rib.
Holding up her fork, Colette blew on it softly before parting her lips and taking a bite.
Colette's eyes immediately shot open, and the fork dropped from her hand, 'No… no! It cannot taste this good!'
In a flurry of movement, Colette stood up from her seat, loudly pushing back her chair before throwing her napkin down on the table, "That bastard!"
Spinning around on her heel, Colette began to angrily march down the stairs, her face a mask of fury and indignation, 'There is no way he could have lost that competition unless he did it on purpose!'
"Ma'am is something wrong?" Jackie asked as she looked up to find Colette on a warpath down the stairs.
"Where is he!?" Colette demanded as she brushed past Jackie, who was left stunned by the anger in Colette's voice, "Where is that smug Fils de pute?!"
Even without anyone answering her, Colette stormed to the back of the restaurant, ignoring the warnings shouted after her as she arrived in front of the kitchen door and proceeded to kick it open.
Storming into the kitchen, Colette's eyes immediately landed on Ramon just as he looked over at the commotion, "You!"
"Shit."
"Looks like I might get to use my frying pan after all."
"Tiana."
"What?! We don't have time for this shit, we're in the middle of the dinner rush!" Tiana said defensively as she turned to face Colette, "Get your froggy ass out of this kitchen before I throw you out onto the street in front of all those people!"
"I-I'm sorry I tried to stop her, but I couldn't-" Jackie tried to explain as she looked between Colette and Ramon at a loss, "This wasn't covered in the customer service part of training."
"It's fine, Jackie." Ramon said calmly as he held out his hand to stop her, " Just close the door behind you and make sure that everyone knows there's no need to panic."
"You sure?" Jackie asked one last time, and when Ramon nodded, she slowly backed out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Turning back to Colette, Ramon stared her down, "Alright, now what the hell is this all about? Should you be on some worldwide press tour now?"
"Clearly not," Colette snapped in her thick accent, "I came to try your cuisine after your admittedly impressive run at the cooking competition only to find out that you've been deceiving me!"
"Deceiving you?" Ramon repeated in genuine confusion, "Are you saying I cheated?"
"No, I'm saying that you let me win!" Colette accused as she pointed a finger at Ramon, not helping at all with his confusion, "So let me get this straight, you came here ot try my food, and now you think I purposefully threw the competition? Why would I do that?"
Colette scoffed, "I could not possibly summarize why, but I remember how you kept insisting on talking to me when the judges were deliberating amongst themselves. All your sentimental sentiments about victory and the purpose of cooking! You let me win to prove yourself right!"
Ramon stared at Colette for a long second before glancing over at Tiana, who had managed to find her cast-iron pan. "Did you follow any of that?"
"I'm just imagining the sound her head is gonna make when I throw this pan at it," Tiana muttered.
"You don't know how tempted I am to let you have it, T, but I think I've got to get to the bottom of this," Ramon replied before returning his attention to Colette, "What makes you think I let you win the competition. It's not like you completely swept me."
"Because if the food you served tasted anything like what I've tasted here at your restaurant, then there is no way the judges would have chosen my food over yours," Colette explained in a clipped tone as she glared at Ramon, "I've never tasted such flavorful food before, so just admit it! You are a better chef than me and lost the competition on purpose!"