Page 16 of Slow Simmer

Was there something going on between Edouard and Suzannah? Carlo really couldn’t be sure. They were certainly close, Edouard almost possessive of her attention, and Suzannah didn’t seem uncomfortable with it. Both of them were professional enough to keep any personal relationship outside the restaurant, but Carlo suspected considering they all lived on a literal island, a secret like that couldn’t be kept. Someone would have been seen sneaking about in the night and the gossip would fly.

No, the pair weren’t in an active relationship, he thought… but it wasn’t for lack of Edouard wanting to. The mere thought of the two of them together kept him awake at nights, despite his tiredness. Every time Edouard was in the kitchen at the same time as Suzannah, Carlo’s focus was utterly shot; he couldn’t concentrate on what he was doing, always straining to try and overhear their conversation. When Suzannah laughed at something Edouard said, Carlo ground his teeth.

It was at lunchtime the following day when he finally snapped. The lunch rush had passed, the main kitchen in cleanup mode now and the pastry kitchen sending out the last few desserts. Edouard came in and was leaning on the counter, Suzannah laughing at something he said.

“You should be concentrating on your staff’s performance, not flirting with the sommelier,” Carlo said in rapid-fire French as he set two plates on the counter for one of the wait staff to take out. He knew hardly anyone in the restaurant spoke French well enough to follow what he’d just said.

Suzannah’s cheeks flamed red. Edouard, the coward, retreated back through the doors into the main restaurant as she whirled to face Carlo.

“Whatdid you say?”

“You heard me. It was a shit show in here last night. They can’t function without you cracking the whip over them, which means you’ve fucked up, Chef.” Carlo was spoiling for an argument. He continued speaking French, though, not wanting the rest of the staff to know what he was saying.

“My office,now.” Her eyes flashed emerald fire as she jabbed a finger at the door leading to her shoebox of an office.

Carlo waited only until the door closed behind them before speaking again. “Your tendency to over-control is coming back to bite you in the ass. It’s not that you don’twanttime off, but you can’t have it, isn’t that right? You don’t trust them to maintain your standards without you here, and guess what, your lack of trust is a self-fulfilling prophecy, because now they don’t trustthemselves.”

Suzannah had been about to go off like a rocket, Carlo was pretty sure, but as he finished speaking she paused, arrested by what he’d just told her.

“What? What happened last night?” She looked almost ready to snatch the office door open and barge out into the kitchen again. Carlo reached to put a hand on her sleeve, stop her.

“It wasn’t a disaster, but it was very obvious your staff are used to having you on top of everything, all of the time. Without you there to hold their hands and wipe their noses, they were all over the place.”

A frown settled on Suzannah’s face, her brows drawing together. Reaching up, she pulled off her cap, letting her thick red curls tumble free, and took a step back to perch a hip on the edge of her desk. “Julie’s perfectly capable of managing the menu.”

“She is, but Julie doesn’t have it in her to manage thestaff, not right now. You’ve taught her well as regards her skills with food, and she obviously idolises you, but she doesn’t have your strength of character. She might never have it. You had more command in your little finger at eighteen than she does at what, twenty-five?” He stepped forward, unable to resist getting closer to her, reached out to touch her cheek lightly. “It’s innate, in you. She’ll have to learn it the hard way.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.” Suzannah shook her head. She still looked tired, Carlo thought, as though her day off hadn’t refreshed her much at all. Surprisingly, she wasn’t slapping his hand off her face, though, so he left it there, stroking her cheek very lightly with the back of his finger, savouring the softness of her skin.

“I’d call it charisma. Even as a girl, you had it in spades; the way you spoke, the way you held yourself. You had a complete and total confidence in your abilities I could only envy.”

“You?” She laughed, sounding as though she didn’t believe him. “Come off it. I was the girl from the slums, the one nobody asked to parties or on dates.”

“Nobody asked you anywhere because you intimidated the hell out of them. Believe me, I had no idea about your background until you told me about it yourself, after we started dating.”

“Really?” She looked surprised by that, before shaking her head. “We aren’t talking about me, we’re talking about Julie. I don’t know how to help her, if it’s confidence she has a problem with.”

“Because it’s never been your problem.” Her hair had fallen against his hand as she shook her head, and he tangled his fingers in a couple of long curls now, stroking slowly. “Maybe it’sbecauseof that hardscrabble upbringing. You had to learn to be tough from an early age, and eventually it just became part of who you are. Makes sense that you don’t know how to teach someone else how to do it.”

She put a hand up slowly and her fingers touched his, held on. Startled, Carlo wasn’t about to let go.

“How do I help her, then?”

She was asking for his advice. Carlo blinked a couple of times, genuinely astonished, and Suzannah smiled wryly.

“I’ve done some growing up in the last nine years, Carlo. Enough to learn when I don’t have the skills to do something, it’s time to ask for help. You recognised a problem I didn’t even know I had. Maybe you’ve got some idea how to fix it.”

“I could work with her,” he said slowly. “If you were okay with that. I know she’s your protegée.”

“She is, but I’m not so arrogant as to think she can’t learn useful skills from someone else!” Her fingers tightened on his and she straightened up, looking him straight in the eye. “If you’re willing to help her, I’d very much appreciate it.”

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