She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat as if preparing to stay awhile. Her eyes were focused on me.
I glanced down at her resume again. Impressive as hell. She had a fire in her belly, clearly. She had passion and drive, combined with the skill.
“Fine,” I conceded. “You can start tomorrow, part-time. You can work days to begin.”
Putting her on days meant I’d be less likely to run into her. I rarely ever came into the restaurant during the day because I had to arrive before sunrise and spend all fucking day cooped up in this office or in the back, which never put me in the best of moods. Sometimes it was necessary, but I tried to keep it to a minimum. It made me grumpy and prone to rash decisions, like the one I’d just made.
Kara’s eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. “I promise you won’t regret this, Mr. Bordeaux.”
I didn’t bother to correct her. She was practically jumping for joy, filled with raw energy I hadn’t subjected myself to in a while. I had to admit, it was refreshing for a moment.
I stood and escorted the young lady out of my office, back down the hall and into the kitchen. Suzy was prepping for today’s lunch menu.
“I won’t be here in the morning when you arrive,” I said, stopping near Suzy. “Suzy will show you the ropes.”
Suzy nodded but didn’t look up from measuring the ingredients we’d be using for today’s special. “Welcome to La Myrtille, kid.”
Kara lifted an eyebrow. “I’m twenty-two and a graduate of one of the top culinary schools in this country. I’ve worked alongside—”
I held up a hand to stop her.
Suzy stopped what she was doing and chuckled. “Sorry, but to the two of us, you’re a kid. I mean no offense by it, but you’re just starting out. Things are about to get real.”
Suzy was a bit of a hardass, but she was also one of the best chefs I’d ever had the luxury of working for me. I knew Kara would give her a run for the money with the mouthiness though. I prayed the two of them could find a way to work together, because I couldn’t have Kara working while I was there in the evenings. Suzy was her only option if she wanted to work for me.
Her feisty spirit only added to her resemblance of Isabelle, however, and I admired it in her. Her passion was the reason she got the job, and also the reason I regretted giving it to her.
Kara’s blue eyes absorbed everything and everyone in the room, watching some of the other cooks as they sliced and diced. She walked over to our pastry chef and spoke softly to her, admiring her work. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, even though it hurt everything inside me to look at her. I never knew my heart could ache so much until I lost Isabelle, and it had taken damn near a century for those wounds to heal. And now, I was living it all over again.
My gaze moved over Kara’s figure, savoring the way her skirt hugged her hips and showed off the perfect hourglass figure. There was a tightness in my groin which caused me to shift uncomfortably.
“I have more work to do,” I told Suzy, trying my hardest not to look at Kara. “Can you see her out?”
“Of course, boss,” Suzy said with a nod, continuing her measuring.
I hurried out of the kitchen and back into the safety of my office before anyone had an opportunity to notice the bulge in my slacks. I fell into my leather chair with a sigh. My eyes landed on my desk, on the other piece of paper laying there. Another part of my past coming back to me.
It had my name written in my brother’s familiar script. Inside was all the information for Sebastian’s latest scheme. Or as he called it, a business plan. Knowing my brother, it would likely be some sort of scam. Nothing Sebastian ever did was within the confines of the law. He’d been a rogue when we were kids, and I doubted he would ever change.
“Why didn’t you just stay away, Bash,” I mumbled to myself, rubbing my temples. After more than a century apart, his appearance in my life was both surprising and unwelcome. Wherever my brother went, trouble wasn’t far behind. We’d had to uproot our lives so many times because of him, and I’d finally built a life for myself in New Orleans. I didn’t want him to ruin it.
Kara
“To dreams coming true!” Julia toasted, clinking her glass against mine.
I still couldn’t believe it. I got the job. This was the next step to one day owning my own restaurant like La Myrtille. Julia and I went out later that evening to celebrate in a small Bourbon Street bar filled with way too many tourists. It wasn’t even close to Mardi Gras yet, but Halloween was approaching, which brought out all the people interested in the darker side of New Orleans.
I lifted my glass to my lips and took a sip of the mint julep. We were young and I was still fairly broke until I started bringing in an income, but Julia insisted that tonight was a night to live large and to spoil ourselves. I’d never had a mint julep before. I rarely drank since I’d turned twenty-one, focusing so much on school. Sure, there was wine or champagne tastings in some of my cooking classes and at my internship, but I’d never been much of a partier.
But Julia was right - tonight was a night to celebrate.
“You need to tell me all about Xavier and what I can expect working for him.”
Julia cocked an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair. The music was so loud coming from the dueling pianos nearby, and I feared I might not hear her. But I read her lips from across the table.
“There’s not much to tell, really.”
“Come on, Julia. Don’t hold out on me like this,” I cackled, leaning closer to hear her better and to encourage her to keep talking.
She sighed. “Honestly, Kara, I rarely see Xavier. He works closely with Suzy and some of the chefs in the back, but mostly in the evenings when I’m not there. And when he is there, well, he’s just strange.”
“Strange how?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “He just keeps to himself. He’s not very social. And I’ve never seen him eat or drink anything, even at the events he holds for staff where we’re encouraged to eat and drink. He just stands off to the side and watches.”
I leaned forward to ask another question, but we were interrupted. Two fairly attractive men stumbled over to our table, one of them pulling a seat from another nearby table and setting it down next to me. He was blonde, fairly buff, and wearing a button-up shirt. He looked like a prep school kid with a trust fund. The other guy stood near Julia. She and I shared a look, and I rolled my eyes where only she could see.
“Hey there, beautiful,” the blonde next to me slurred.
“My name’s not beautiful,” I retorted, not bothering to glance at him.
“I meant that as a compliment.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not interested.”
Julia grinned at me as the other guy - a brunette dressed pretty much identically to his friend - flirted with her. She seemed a little keener to talk to him. They weren’t bad looking men, but I wasn’t interested in either of them.
The blonde leaned closer, his breath reeking of whisky. He reached out his hand, which I didn’t take. He dropped it with a frown. “I’m Max.”
“Max, like I said, I’m not interested. I’m here to spend time with my friend, not be picked up by some frat boys in New Orleans to party.”