"Give yourself no choice but to succeed. Let the consequences of failure become so dire and so unthinkable that you'll have no choice but to do whatever it takes to succeed."

~The Wolf of Wall Street

"What were you doing in here?!" Chef Romano bellowed.

Kelsey didn't even flinch at her harsh voice. Her body was exhausted and her eyes would barely stay open. She and Ethan had stayed at the kitchen all night, trying to soak up the water, clean out the cupboards, and get rid of the lettuce sticking everywhere.

Needless to say, they hadn't gotten far before Kelsey had to shoo Ethan away before anyone saw him.

"I was cleaning up the dishes I used," Kelsey replied. "And the pipe underneath the sink burst."

Chef Romano waddled over to the sink and craned her neck down to look. When she straightened again, she paused. "What is this?"

Kelsey took a step forward to see, but Chef Romano spun around, holding two ramekins.

"Dessert for two?" She sneered.

Kelsey's eyes grew wide. "I—"

"Oh, do not even try the excuses!" She tossed the ramekins into the sink and Kelsey thought she heard one of them crack. "You come here, we give you a job! We let you stay and cook! And you bring strangers here!"

"Chef Romano, please—"

"No! It will not happen again," she fumed. "Because from now on, this kitchen is closed after five o'clock, as far as you're concerned. I would fire you in an instant, but unfortunately we still need a dish washer."

Kelsey's lips parted in shock. "No," she whispered, "I—I swear I'll never let anyone come in again, I didn't know it was against the rules. Please, I need a place to cook!"

"You wasted the chance," Chef Romano replied loftily, waving her hand in the air. "You should be grateful you still have a position."

Kelsey swallowed past the lump in her throat and nodded. "Yes ma'am."

She walked over to her station and began her daily routine—folding utensils, washing dishes, and serving lunch with a heart almost too heavy to carry around.

When she entered the dining room, she swept the tables to look for Ethan, but he wasn't there.

The hours dwindled by and soon it was time for everyone to go home.

Once the other chefs had filed out, Chef Romano hung back and searched Kelsey up and down.

"I'm giving you an hour-and-a-half here to clean. Once you're done, you go home. Do you understand?"

Kelsey cast her gaze to the floor. "Yes."

Chef Romano gave one more hard stare before leaving.

As Kelsey scrubbed dried egg yolk off the counter, she realized she wouldn't have wanted to stay tonight anyway. It had been more than 24 hours since she'd gotten any sleep and she felt ready to pass out.

~~~~~

The days lulled by, and Kelsey began to feel increasingly lonely. Sandy was always busy doing something; going to the beach for a photoshoot, or Pilates class, or out with Alex, or blogging.

Kelsey hadn't seen Ethan since the night the water pipe broke, and her brother was too caught up with finals to be disturbed.

Kelsey was sweeping up flour, carrot slices, and mud from the floor one afternoon, when Chef Romano came bulldozing into the kitchen.

Kelsey immediately shrunk back, but was relieved when Chef Romano's anger wasn't directed at her.

"We cannot cater a party, Ivan! We have this set," she stated, counting on her fingers. "We have the C Building set in the mornings, and all weekends booked until August!"

The target of her rage was a short, pasty man, with a clean grey beard and sharp blue eyes. She'd seen him several times in the kitchen and knew he was the head assistant chef, but had never spoken to him. "I know Antonya, I know," he wagered, with a strong Polish accent, "I told her we could not do it, but she was insistent! She said she just needed to feed one-hundred people, so I thought I'd simply mention it. Plus, there will be some good business there, you know."

"Well I do not have time," Chef Romano spat. "We could always use publicity, but not at the expense of my sanity!"

Kelsey watched silently until her mouth spoke faster than her brain could function. "I'll do it."

Panic immediately fled through her. No! What are you thinking?!

Chef Romano's eyes found her and they narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

The attention of the other chefs in the kitchen was now on her.

There was no going back now.

Kelsey straightened. "I'll cook for that party. It's just a hundred people, I could do it."

Chef Romano snorted and turned away, but the chef she'd been talking to—Ivan—tapped her arm.

"Ah, Antonya, hear her out," he prompted.

Feeling a boost of confidence, Kelsey went on. "You don't even have to pay me overtime, I'll do it for free. You'll get your advertising without messing up the schedule."

Chef Romano stepped closer to Kelsey, smelling of sweat and garlic. "Why would you do it?"

Kelsey lifted her chin. "To prove that I can cook. I don't care if you have me wrapping up silverware for the rest of my job, but I just need to do what I came here for. One time."

"Prove it now."

"What?" Kelsey blinked.

Chef Romano stepped aside and gestured towards the kitchen. "Cook something here and we will decide if you are good enough to cook for the party. You have one hour to impress me."

Kelsey glanced between her and Ivan, who seemed equally shocked. There was dead silence from all the other chefs in the kitchen, but she noticed a couple of them slowly moving to the side to allow her room to work.

Kelsey hesitantly stepped forward, cheeks burning. She pulled down a pan, not having a clue what she was going to make, but figuring she had to look like she was doing something.

She pulled out a package of scallops and started melting some butter.

Finally, everyone began continuing their tasks and not paying much attention. That was when Kelsey felt she could actually think.

She grabbed a bottle of white wine, rice, and parmesan cheese and placed them next to the stove. She sautéed garlic together with the butter before adding the rice.

Once she had a nice, fragrant stir going, she began searing the scallops in olive oil while simultaneously tossing spinach in another pan.

Sweat collected on her brow and her hands moved faster than she was thinking. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she couldn't prove herself?

Soon, Kelsey was looking down at a plate of brown butter scallops with parmesan risotto.

"It's been an hour, intern," Chef Romano said from across the kitchen.

"I'm done," Kelsey replied, hating the way her voice sounded so weak. She stepped away as Chef Romano came up to the counter, followed by Ivan.

She gave Kelsey one of her signature stare-downs before picking up a fork. She gathered an entire scallop and a large portion of rice on the comparatively small tines before somehow fitting it all in her mouth.

Kelsey and everyone else in the kitchen watched her chew with bated breath.

Kelsey closed her eyes against her nerves.

Chef Romano swallowed. "Not bad, considering I hate scallops."

Kelsey licked her lips.

Ivan stepped forward and picked up another fork. He took a quick bite and nodded. "Do not let her fool you, miss. This is superb!"

Kelsey gave a short exhale and laughed. "R-really?"

Chef Romano rolled her eyes, but Ivan winked.

"It will do," Chef Romano corrected. "The party is in two weeks."

"So I can cater it?" Kelsey asked.

Chef Romano chewed on her lip. "Yes. But don't expect any extra credit—all I want is the advertising, not you to go the extra mile. I will give you exact recipes for what I want, so don't try anything new. And when you come back after that weekend, you will be serving lunch and washing dishes as usual. Understand?"

Kelsey nodded. "Yeah. Absolutely. Understood."

Chef Romano moved past her and shouted at everyone to get back to work.

Ivan tapped the side of his nose. "Not many can stand up to Her Majesty...besides, perhaps, myself."

"Why'd you stick up for me?" Kelsey asked.

Ivan glanced sideways, an almost mischievous expression on his wrinkled face. "Because I see the language of food in your eyes. You see it in the passion behind the cooking. Many people have the title of chef, but not the heart of one. It is a rare gift; I have it, even Antonya has it, though you might not think it. We love the food, not the status." He gestured casually towards the other chefs that were busy cooking. "Them? They do not have it."

He gave a light pat on her shoulder and turned to leave. "Miss Lynn will be very happy to have you cater her party."

It took a moment for Kelsey to register what he said. "Miss Lynn... as in Becca Lynn?"

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