Page 45 of Hidden Empire

Shit, one chance is a bit harsh. Too bad I’ve already decided I’m going to do it. Nothing would bring me more satisfaction than making this challenge my bitch.

My stubborn nature has been able to flourish since meeting my family. No one punishes me for it, and I’m safe to let that part of my personality shine. It seems stubbornness is a heavily genetic trait because each and every one of my brothers can be even worse than me when they’ve got their minds set on something.

“Easy enough,” I say, shrugging. “I’ll do it.”

A few whispers break out, I think someone even gasps.

“Perhaps you’d like to consult one of your brothers first,” she offers, attempting to sound caring. “We wouldn’t want you to get in over your head with something you don’t quite understand.”

It seems like that’s exactly what you want, actually.

“No, thank you,” I reply, brushing her off. “My brothers don’t control my education. I’m sure they’d agree I’m more than up to the task.”

“Cocky,” she comments to the class. “She’s a Moretti, after all.”

Oh, yes, I sure am. I know my limits, and this challenge is about to lose its ten-year winning streak. I know just who I’m going to ask to try my food, and it’s going to be the best damn thing he’s had in months, mark my words.

I have no desire to become some top chef, but a first-year cooking class will not be my downfall. Winning this challenge is going to be the thing that lets people know I belong here. A new girl, yes. A mafia princess in the making? Also yes.

“And as a Moretti,” I say, tightly clenching my jaw, thinking of her earlier statement. “I’m not a good cook, for my future husband’s sake. I don’t need homemaker skills to fetch a good one. I just need to be alive.”

“And with nine brothers, that’s not hard to do,” Ana chimes, fueling her own amusement. Thank you, Ana Knight, for your bold tongue. You rock, sister.

Lorna clears her throat, clearly frazzled. “All we have for today is going over the syllabus and a kitchen tour. You’ll need to study the safety rules before our next meeting so we can get to work. If you hurt yourself cooking, it’s your own fault, and Empire Academy will not be held responsible for stupidity.”

The remaining time is used to go over the plan for the semester and a rushed tour of the kitchen. It’s a big commercial kitchen with four identical sections to work in, all of them decked out with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. The course is set up so that students work in teams in order to facilitate better learning.

We do a tour of the equipment stock, labeling cabinets, and drawers with sticky notes. Cutting boards, knives, spoons, plates, pots, pans, and more. There’s a huge food stock as well, and Ana forces Lorna to admit that people participating in the cooking challenge are not limited to what we have here. We’re allowed to take raw ingredients from the cafeteria as well. This bit of helpful information gives me a lot more options to work with.

When forty minutes have gone by, it’s decided that we’re done for the day.

“Class is dismissed, don’t bother me until our next one,” Lorna sneers, exiting the room before any of the students.

“I don’t know why Empire pays her when we could learn to cook with YouTube tutorials,” I hear a student mutter.

Yeah, what she said!

Well, I’m not contributing to her salary any more than I have to. I’m getting this done soon. I follow the crowd out of the classroom and decide to go find Armani. My next class isn’t until after lunch, and I need to ask if he knows about Lorna. But first, I want to thank Ana. What she did was really nice, whether she did it for me or not.

We make it outside before I have the nerve to jog and catch up with her.

“Hey, wait,” I call out, falling in step behind her.

The beautiful girl turns on her heels, finding me approaching.

“Ana, right?” I ask nervously, holding out my hand for a shake.

She eyes my outstretched arm before accepting the greeting. We share a quick clasp of hands before letting go of each other.

“I just wanted to say it was cool of you to let everyone know about the challenge. I don’t think Lorna was banking on me having all of the information.”

She dips her head, agreeing. “No big deal.”

“I also wanted to say that if you wanted out of the class, I could ask Matteo to try your food. He’d never throw it at you, and?—”

“No,” she interrupts. “No, thank you.”

“Oh, er, that’s okay?—”

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