Page 156 of That First Flight

I smile at his response before I pocket my phone.

“They can sit there and wait all night if they want.” I shrug, finally responding to them and getting back to work. “They will never get what they want from me.”

“That’s my girl,” Jan chants.

“Man, I’m going to miss working with you,” Kevin says with the shake of his head.

“I’m not going anywhere. No matter how much they want to push me.” I laugh.

“No. I mean when you become the most badass head chef at the new restaurant,” Kevin says matter-of-factly.

I stare at him with my mouth wide open. He can’t mean what I think he means.

“I need you to explain,” I tell him.

“Frank wanted me to be the one to tell you,” he starts before his mouth turns into a shit eating grin. “But you’re going to be the new head chef at their second location.”

His words stop me in my tracks. For a second, I forget that I’m standing behind the kitchen line and making someone's dinner.

What was I just making? Did he just say I am going to be the next head chef?

“I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

“You heard him just fine, girl.” Jan laughs.

“The menu will be mostly the same since it’s a sister location, but Frank and Mollie also want it to be unique. They don’t want people to choose one or the other. They want people to visit both places for different reasons. They want you to put your own spin on the menu if you choose to,” Kevin explains.

“That’s…” I can’t seem to think of the words I have for this news. “Wow. I love their idea to make it its own place.”

Holy. Shit.

This was never a part of the dream when I said I wanted to be a chef in the city. Where I’m standing right now is enough for me. It’s not that I’m settling, it’s just that this is what has made me so insanely happy. Doing what I love and working beside one of the best chef’s I’ve ever met.

How in the world could I ever be anywhere as good as Kevin?

“I don’t know. This is a lot to take in. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. Being a head chef? Like you?” I say to Kevin. “There’s no way I’m qualified enough for this. I didn’t even go to college.”

He scoffs. “And you think I did?”

Wait. What?

“I’m convinced all of that is a waste of time. Believe it or not, I started the same way you did. You and I are a lot alike.”

“You mean you’re a dad who got pregnant young and was forced to give up your life and put your own dreams aside?” I joke.

“Something like that. Minusmebeing the one to get pregnant, of course,” he tosses the joke back at me.

Since my first day working here, I’ve looked up to Kevin in more ways than one. The way he moves effortlessly around the kitchen and his concentration to make every single dish he sends out absolutely perfect. This place runs as smooth as it doesbecauseof him.

“I don’t understand.”

“My wife got pregnant when she was eighteen. Obviously, we weren’t married then. I know you were a little younger than that, but both of us were forced to grow up. We both gave up on our dreams to go to college despite having each other. It was just impossible.” He shakes his head at the memory. “I got a job as a busboy in the city. I washed dishes for three years and when I wasn’t taking care of our son, I was reading books about cooking at all hours of the night to sharpen my knowledge. I kept telling myself that when Scotty got older I’d finally make a life for the three of us.”

“We really are a lot alike.” I nod. “I did the same thing but took a job as a bartender.”

“See? We both had similar ideas to get us into the industry. With the kind of drive you have, you deserve to have a head chef role. You remind me of myself a decade ago.”

I can’t help but shake my head. “This is so much to take in. I don’t know.”

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