Page 15 of A Linton Scandal

“Did you hear about Daniel?”Monica, the sou chef from our restaurant, asked suddenly.

“No,” Noah said as he licked his spoon. “Last I heard, he’d married some heiress who’s family is apparently big in the culinary world.”

Monica shot him an annoyed look. “Everyone knows that you don’t have to look that up, we were all invited to his wedding.”

Noah shrugged. “Like I said it was the last time I heard about the guy. He’s not exactly on my favorite people list.”

“Well apparently, his marriage is on the rocks. He tried to move from the kitchen, to actually working for his father-in-law and flubbed big with a huge client. Now it seems his father-in law has basically regulated him to being nothing more than a straw man at work.”

“Straw man?” I repeated completely lost. I’d been working for myself for a while. Any slang in relation to the office worker’s life completely flew over my head.

“A director with no power. He’s basically there to look busy,” Monica explained, as she stood to wash her plate. “The only reason I heard about it, is because his wife was complaining to her dad about it loudly at one of the class A restaurants on the ritzy side of town. Luis, who’s a server there, told me about it.”

“And some people think there is no such thing as Karma, ouch,” Noah shouted.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Sophie pulling her foot back, ignoring them I faced Monica again. “Well, I guess he’s going to have to work hard in the future.” Standing, I went to the sink and set my plate down. “Who wants dessert?”

Immediately everyone raised their hands. I laughed. “I’m not making it, there is some ice cream in the fridge.”

The looks of betrayal they sent me caused me to laugh once more. I had to laugh otherwise, I’d think about Daniel, and I didn’t want to do that.

Taken

Juliette

Iwalked into the kitchen of our restaurant, still thinking over the information I’d found out yesterday. Mihai Linton was more than a rich guy with a wealthy amount of pride. He was the face of Linton Group, a large conglomerate that had its hands in nearly every major industry in the business world.

And while that had shocked me to the core, it was the information I’d found about his personal life that had really thrown me for a spin. He had a son.

A son.

A living breathing child, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

Would he want me to play the role of mother to his kid, or would he want me to keep my distance? The question bugged me as I prepped for theNights of lovers. Usually called thenight of the butterfly, couples would reserve tables and they would pay a flat rate for a four-course dinner with a congratulatory confectionery. This time I was planning on making chocolate bombs, with a sweet cream filling.

I’d decided on it, after I realized I was in the mood for something warm and filling. The fudge that would be poured over it, would be heated inside the many tea pots we had for our Sunday teas.

Checking that I had everything I needed on the table, I picked up a pack of Valrhona chocolate cubes and set them beside the stove as I turned the stove top on under the double boiler.

“You’re here early.”

I turned around to see Hannah, who’d entered the kitchen, she was our pastry chef. She offered me a friendly smile as she walked over to the handwashing station. “I thought you weren’t coming in until later,”

“I figured I’d come in and get a head start on making these hot chocolate bombs. I have an appointment tonight, and the number of reservations is about two hundred. I’d figured coming in earlier would be better to get the dessert prep done. Since I won’t be here tonight to help you plate everything.”

I turned around and grabbed up a rubber spatula. “I’ll temp the chocolate and you can get started on prepping the foundation of snow cake.”

“Got it.”

Pretty soon the only sound aside from my occasional orders, was the sound of dishes moving and the mixer turning on. The plan was to settle a thumb sized chocolate bomb filled with caramel and marshmallows atop a vanilla cake with cheesecake icing. The waitress would pour hot fudge on top of the entire dessert, causing the bomb to melt and cover the smooth white surface of the cake with its decadent toppings.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, once the prep was finished, I would leave the rest of it to Hannah. She would put the piece together during tonight’s dinner service.

As I’d expected, pretty soon time flew by and I headed out. The bright sunlight barely cut through the growing chill of October. I sighed, as I raised my hands up to blow some hot air onto them.

Standing on the corner of the street, I noticed the build board on one of the passing buses and frowned. The nameLintonwas splashed along the side, and immediately I imagined azure eyes and smirking lips.

I should have told him no. That would have been my best option. At least then I wouldn’t have had to feel like something was sitting on my chest, but could I make a choice like that about my child without considering the stigma of not having a father and the possible threat, Mihai mentioned.

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