Page 108 of One Sweet Lie

“Thank you, Chef.”

“Now, Chef Watson?” He spoke to the chef next to me. “What the foookkk is that? WHAT. IS.THAT?”

I held back a sigh.

It was only a matter of time before my ‘newbie darling’ status wore off, so I didn’t plan to stay here for much longer.

Pulling amber caramel sauce from the stove, I poured it over a heart shaped-pie.

“Sir, you can’t be in here!” Chef Grant bellowed. “Sir, sir, sir!”

I looked up to see who was drawing his ire.

Pierce?

He stopped walking when his eyes met mine.

Dressed in the same three-piece suit he wore on the day we first met, he commanded everyone’s attention.

“Is this intruder a royal or something?” Chef Grant yelled. “Get back to work while we get security to haul him out of here.”

I swallowed as Pierce strolled straight toward me. The pain in his eyes mirrored mine.

“Harlow,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“I believe you have me confused with someone else, sir,” I said. “I don’t know who you are.”

“Why are you here?”

“No, why areyouhere?” Chef Grant screamed from across the room. “You’re not one of my chefs!”

Ignoring him, Pierce cupped my face in his hands. “You’re supposed to be working in your own kitchen. You have a bakery.”

“No, Ihadone…You took it back and banned me from the property.”

“That wasn’t my doing.” He caressed my cheek, and suddenly we were the only two people in the kitchen. “I would never take back something I gave you. You have to know that.”

“You took away my nanny job.”

“Minus that.” His lips curved into a smile. “Can you come outside with me for a moment?”

“I have a soufflé in the oven.”

“And I have some very important things to say to you.”

“I bet you do.” I refused to let my heart take the lead on this. “You’re no longer my employer, so I’m not obligated to give you my time. Please go away.”

He clenched his jaw. “Harlow?—”

“You hurt me.” I blurted. “You didn’t even let me say goodbye to Olivia and the twins, so how dare you come here and demand that I listen to a single word you say?”

The conversations and shouted orders came to an abrupt halt. The only sounds left were the mixing tools and hissing ranges.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said, pulling away from him. “I have work to do.”

I turned around peered through the top oven’s glass.

“I guess you’ve forgotten how I operate,” Pierce spoke behind me. “I don’t care who’s watching or listening to me, Harlow, so I highly suggest that you join me outside for this…”

---