Page 6 of Blade

This can’t be happening. I don’t know what her relationship is to him, but I can’t let her know about my girls.

Why does this have to be my luck? I’ve avoided that man for four years, as requested, just to end up getting a job at his family’s restaurant. Everyone starts clapping and I realize I didn’t hear a single word she said. I hope it wasn’t anything too important.

“Bianca, Henry, and Finn, come join me in my office,” Cara says and walks away.

Dammit. I hope she didn’t notice I wasn’t listening. Does she know who I am? My nerves have me panicking and I feel like I’m going to throw up. I can’t afford to quit. I need this job. We follow Cara to the back and she and Sara take a seat behind the desk.

“Okay, you three need to get acquainted with one another. All three of you are head cooks. You’ll be working at different times, but you all are responsible for the dinner menu and making sure things in the kitchen run smoothly. This isn’t going to be a power struggle between the three of you. Make your choicestogether. If at any time you have a problem, call me, Sara, or Mark, the manager. Sara and I already have the menu set for today, but after today, it’s on you three. Does anyone have any questions?”

We all shake our heads and Cara dismisses us.

“Hi, I’m Henry.” One of the guys offers me his hand, and I take it. Looking him over, I notice he’s about five foot ten, very short blond hair and has brown eyes.

The other cook, Finn, doesn’t look like a cook. He’s easily six foot three with muscles, tan skin, and red hair. “Hello, beautiful. I’m Finn,” he says with a thick Irish accent. Taking my hand, he kisses the back of it.

I don’t know what he’s selling, but I ain’t buying. I have three little girls depending on me and I don’t have time for any kind of relationship. Plus, I just might very well be working in their father's family restaurant.

God, I can’t catch a break.

Taking my hand back, I give a small smile. We go over the menu for tomorrow and exchange numbers so we can easily get in touch with each other if needed. I make it clear to Finn not to contact me unless it’s about the restaurant.

After Finn and Henry leave, I fall into my role easily. I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I graduated four years ago. My day goes by pretty quickly. It’s super busy but my line cooks are speedy yet efficient. I take my time to talk to them here and there. I want them to be comfortable around me. Having a healthy work relationship helps the day go by smoothly. When Finn walks into the kitchen to take over, I give everyone a quick goodbye before hanging up my apron.

As I’m clocking out, Cara and Sara are leaving their office. I’m trying to keep my head down, looking at my phone, pretending I don’t see them.

“Bianca!” Cara calls.

Turning around, I put on my fakest smile. “Yes?” I ask. Cara and Sara walk over to me. I’m pretending everything is okay. I don’t think I’m in trouble, but Cara’s face is void of any emotion. At least Sara is smiling at me, so that’s good, right?

“How was your first day?” Cara asks.

“It was great. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I graduated.”

“All the other cooks were singing your praises today. Most of them wanted to be scheduled when you work, so keep up the good work,” Cara says, finally smiling and then walking away. Sara gives me a thumbs-up with a cheeky grin and leaves.

I’m left standing in the hall feeling emotional. I’m going to keep this job. I don’t care how the girl’s father will feel about it. I’ll just make sure to avoid him if he ever comes here and I’ll make sure my daughters stay far away from here. That should be easy enough, right?

ChapterFour

BIANCA

The past three weeks have been great. My first check was enough to catch up on a few past due bills plus, get my girls some much-needed clothes. I took them to a pizzeria with Mom. They played and ate till their eyes were drooping with sleep. I even started paying Miss Josie for keeping the girls.

Cameron has been on my mind a lot lately. I hope he doesn’t catch me working at the restaurant. I don’t want any problems. I just want to take care of the three little girls he helped create.

Every time I look at Cara, it’s borderline creepy how much my daughters look like her. It’s not just the gold eyes. It’s everything. I bet if someone showed me a picture of Cara as a toddler, she would look just like my girls.

Today has been a smooth day in the kitchen so far. The restaurant is busy all the time, but the crew and I have a system that works perfectly for us. In the middle of the rush, Mark walks into the kitchen, looking uneasy. “Bianca, Cara would like to speak with you in her office.”

Everyone looks at me with wide eyes. There is no way Cara would pull me from the kitchen at a time like this for something minor. My heart sinks to my stomach. Somewhere, deep inside of me, I know I’ve been caught. I don’t know why I thought I could keep my situation a secret. Walking out of the kitchen, I grab my purse, prepare to leave, and not speak to her at all. Just as I’m making my way down the hall, a man who is well over six feet tall with gray eyes and tan skin steps in front of me.

He has on the same vest Cameron had on the night I met him and now my nerves turn to fear. Are they going to hurt me? I knew I should have just quit, but I was desperate. “The office is this way,” he says, gesturing down the hall.

“Look, I don’t want any problems. I’ll just leave.”

He looks down at me with confusion and shakes his head. “Nobody is going to harm you. Cara just wants to talk.” I look him in the eyes, trying to see if there’s any kind of deceit in them. I find none, so I follow him to the office. When I walk into the office, the man follows behind me and shuts the door. Cara is at the desk with her elbows propped on top, her face buried in her hands. I turn to the man, and he gesture his hand, telling me to take a seat. I take my seat and wait.

“Why didn’t you tell my brother he had kids?” Cara whispers.

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