Page 85 of Pistols and Plush Toys

Everything about her was well-manicured and intentional. Even if he hadn’t heard so much about her already, he would have known she was someone notable at a glance.

“Okay, sorry about that,” Meredith said as she set her phone down in her lap. “Everything’s been kind of crazy recently.”

“Sorry,” Elliot said, because he felt like he’d contributed to that a lot.

“No, please, it’s not your fault,” Meredith said, waving a hand. “The situation with Mattia Vitale was always going to be a problem, even if you hadn’t been involved. We would’ve had to handle this at some point in some way. Nikolai has a strict code, and he doesn’t want certain things going on in this city. As much as we like to avoid violence, sometimes you do have to get your hands dirty for the greater good.”

Elliot was certainly coming around to the position. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but turning a blind eye, doing nothing, wasn’t going to stop Mattia.

That was clear.

“Still, I’m sorry for my… part in it,” Elliot said. He went to bite his lip and then remembered he wasn’t supposed to. Instead he folded his hands tightly together.

Meredith turned to look at him more directly. Her gaze was shrewd, assessing. “Honestly, your part in it has been the only bright side. I mean, I should be thanking you for the decrease in Nikolai’s late night fast food orders. I was sure that after he fired the last chef he was going to go off the deep end, especially with all this stress.”

“Oh, um,” Heat came to his cheeks. “I mean, Nikolai mentioned you were concerned about his diet, and I can cook, so um, it just made sense? I-I wanted to be helpful.”

Meredith tipped her head in acknowledgment. “You’ve been very helpful, don’t worry about that. And congratulations on the new position by the way. I think it’s a great idea to have you hired officially. The standard salary starts at eighty, with vacation time and benefits included of course. I’ll send all the documentation over to you later to sign, but as far as today, I’ll put the purchases on my card, and when we get your direct deposit all set up, I can just deduct that. Does that sound fair?”

Elliot’s thoughts ground to a halt. Eighty? As in eighty thousanddollars?

There were plenty of people in the culinary world that made salaries around there or higher, but he’d never even made close to that having just finished school and–and he’d still been learning, making his way up the ladder.

“O-oh,” He said, overwhelmed. “That’s… a lot of money.”

Meredith shrugged, “For a live-in I’m technically underpaying you. Plus, at this point, I’m desperate to get someone Nikolai actuallylikes,so I can stop having to interview chefs.” She smiled at him. “You’re actually doing me a huge favor.”

That—Elliot didn’t know what to do with that. “I hope I can keep making him things he likes,” he stammered.

But now that Elliot thought about it, hadn’t every other chef been fired?

Meredith hummed, as if she could read his mind. “I know you’ve heard about his difficulty keeping chefs, but no matter how the job works out, I want you to know that Nikolai is not going to kick you out, okay? You have all of our support through this mess. Nikolai takes care of his people, I promise you.”

Nikolai had said as much, but it was nice to hear it from Meredith too.

“Nikolai is stubborn, but he has a good heart,” Meredith continued. “I think part of why he doesn’t want a chef is because he has trouble giving up control of what he eats. But from how it sounds, it makes him happy to have you cook for him. And he’s enjoying what you make. It only makes sense to put you in charge of the kitchen and pay you for your time.”

Elliot felt himself flush further. Nikolai talked to Meredith about his cooking?

“It’s nice,” he managed. “Getting to cook again.”

“I’m glad,” Meredith replied easily. “Between you and me, I think he’s been purposefully obstinate about the chefs. More than a few would’ve been serviceable if he’d given them the chance.” She blew out an annoyed breath.

“He doesn’t really seem… picky,” Elliot said. He thought back, but couldn’t recall a single time Nikolai had turned his nose up at anything Elliot had made.

Meredith’s mouth quirked. “Not with you.”

Elliot wasn’t… sure what that meant.

“But I’m glad we have you for now,” Meredith continued. “I saw in your background check that you graduated the Culinary Institute in Bakersfield, and from your employment history you’re very qualified for this position. So I’m happy to give it to you.”

“Background check?” Elliot asked, taken aback.

Meredith, for the first time, looked wrong-footed. “We had an extensive background check done on you, once you, ah, cameto be living with Nikolai for a more extended stay. I’m sorry, I know a lot more about you than you know about me, which might be uncomfortable.”

“No I-I understand.” Elliot hadn’t thought about the research that had gone into him, but it made sense. Why should Meredith or Nikolai trust a random stranger to live in Nikolai’s house with him?

Especially once he was no longer under lock and key.

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