Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“These dishes all look much simpler than what Theo used to cook.”
Stevie nodded. “That’s the point. If food is too complicated people get bogged down with too much going on and so do the cooks. It becomes pretentious. Food doesn’t have to be complicated or filled with the exact ratio of four dozen ingredients in order to taste good. In fact, I think simpler dishes will help people feel like this is a more comfortable place to eat. All the ingredients here are fresh, high quality, and locally sourced. And I’ve timed all of them—the prep is half that of the dishes we were cooking last night.
“I’m sure you know this already, since you’ve got a decade of restaurant experience behind you, as you were so kind to remind me, but if you can get food to the table faster it not only satisfies the customers but they eat faster, and we can turn tables faster. I did the calculations and using these recipes instead of Theo’s we can turn the tables an extra time each night, get in a whole other rotation, which means more customers and more money in your pocket.”
I set the menu down. “I appreciate the business thought you’ve put into this,” I told her. Hell, I didn’t just appreciate it, I was impressed by it. None of my other head chefs had thought a damn about turning tables and the financial side of things. They just cared about imitating Theo’s dishes, trying to be just like him.
Maybe Stevie had a point about the menu.
But she wasn’t out of the woods just yet.
“None of this is going to matter if the food isn’t good,” I pointed out to her.
Stevie shrugged, smiling wickedly at me like she had the most delicious gossip she was about to share—or a naughty secret. It made a hot thrill shoot down my spine. “Well, the proof’s in the pudding.” She winked at me, grabbing a spoon. “Literally.”
She dipped the spoon into some bread pudding she’d made, and turned back to me, holding the spoon out.
Now, I was not the kind of guy who went in for being… taken care of. I took care of other people. I was the boss, in charge, damn it, and I liked it that way. But this didn’t seem like Stevie was treating me like she was in charge - it was more like she was teasing me, daring me to take a bite.
I realized that I couldn’t resist her with that gleam in her eyes.
I took the bite she was offering me, and the bread pudding melted into my mouth, warm and gooey and perfectly balanced, not too sweet. A surprised noise shot out of me as I tasted it. Holy shit, I hadn’t had something this good in ages.
Stevie pointed to a pork dish she’d made. “I used a mustard sauce glaze for this, my favorite,” she said. “Try it.”
I sliced off a bit and took a bite. Fucking hell, that was cooked to the perfect level of tenderness. All right, so she was starting to win me over, a bit. At the very least, she knew what the hell she was doing with food.
When I turned to tell her so, I found another forkful hovering in front of me, laden with roasted vegetables. I gave it a shot, and another surprised, pleased moan shot out of me as I tasted the zest, the just-spicy-enough zing to them as the flavor exploded on my tongue.
Everything was damn good. I had to admit - as good as Theo’s food.
I was also…well…
I could feel my pants growing tight as she fed me more bites of various dishes. Stevie’s gaze was hot and heavy on me, her pupils blown wide and dark, her lips parted. She looked like it was turning her on to do this to me, and it was sure as hell turning me on, at least. I wanted to shove that pretty skirt up and her underwear down and get a taste of something entirely different - and not stop tasting until she screamed my name.
Oh yeah. I was in deep trouble.
Chapter Six: Stevie
Oh God. I was getting wet listening to Michael’s moans of approval as he tried all my dishes. I knew I shouldn’t be thinking about that. I knew I should be good.
But fuck, it was just so hot to hear him making those noises. I wanted him to make them while I was on my knees, his cock in my mouth, his hands tugging at my hair. I wanted him to make those noises as he licked into me, his tongue curling over my clit. I wanted him to sound like that as he fucked me and I screamed and begged, writhing in delicious torture—
Jesus fucking Christ, I had to focus. Focus!