Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Now I’m scared.
As if sensing my thoughts, Kerim’s eyes cut into the dark restaurant seating area and find me, standing, my bag over one shoulder, no doubt trembling. His eyes narrow and he says something else to the Executive Chef before coming out to greet me through a set of large, grey double doors that say exit on them. A smaller door on the other side of the wall gap has the word, ‘entrance’ printed on it.
“You.” Kerim barks striding towards me. He has at least five inches of towering height over me. “What are you doing here?”
“I…” I take a step back as he continues coming for me. “I’m Guinevere.”
“Guinevere?” His lips, shadowed by a narrow, well-trimmed goatee, curl with confusion.
“I start training today.”
“And you came in through the front door?”
My mouth falls open. I’m unsure why I’m suddenly a target. “Was I not supposed to?”
“What the…” His almost black eyes widen with surprise, the contrast making his dark caramel coloured skin seem darker. “Seriously? What chef takes the front door?”
I want to go home now.
“You come through the kitchen, through the back or you don’t come at all.” He shouts, his Turkish accent light though noticeable. My eyes follow his arm which waves towards the kitchen area. “I’m assuming you’ve parked using the customer car park too?”
At this point I feel as though silence is best.
“And Nathan assured me you were smart…next joke. Move your fucking car and come in the appropriate entrance or fuck off. And bring your brain with you.” With that, he turns on his heel and storms back to the kitchen.
I think I might cry.
“Fucking arsehole,” I mutter under my breath instead of sobbing like I want to. I stalk from the restaurant, back the way I came. I’ve dealt with worse than him. I refuse to crumble, especially on my first day. “I’ve got this.”
It takes me a while but when I finally find the secret entrance for employee vehicles, I park in a spot I hope isn’t reserved and head to the large, metal double doors. One of them is propped open with a fire extinguisher. It leads to a small, white tiled area and another set of double doors.
The door on the right opens and the executive chef, whose name escapes me, storms past, throwing his hat on the floor as he goes. He stops at the stone steps leading down towards the parking area and screams to the heavens.
“Don’t worry about him; they are always like this,” the female states and motions for me to enter the kitchen.
“You’re seven minutes late,” Kerim bellows, dipping his finger into a white coloured sauce in a pan on the stove before sucking it into his mouth. “Better, Umut.”
“Fuck you!” The Executive chef yells and Kerim rolls his eyes.
“You’re Gwen?” He asks, knowing full well that I am Gwen.
I nod.
“Good. Patience!” He barks and at first I think he’s telling me to have patience, but then the woman who greeted me moments ago appears by my side. “Take her to change. Show her around the kitchen.” He steps into my space and narrows his slanted black eyes. “If you need telling twice, you’re not right for this kitchen.”
“No pressure then,” I mutter and his nostrils flare.
“This, my dear girl,” his tone is heavy with disdain, “is the kitchen of the damned. It is one of the busiest restaurants and most expensive restaurants in the whole of the United Kingdom. The pressure is unbelievable, but your boyfriend…”
“Fiancé,” I correct unnecessarily.
“Assured me you could handle it,” he spits, clearly annoyed at the fact I’ve opened my mouth to speak without his permission. I can’t help it; it’s an illness.
Before I can answer, Patience, the thirty something female with gorgeous sandy blonde hair peeking from beneath her white hat, pulls me towards a door on the far left.
“This is the staff quarters where we get to just take a moment if we have time to take a moment.” The room is cosy; it has a couch, a day bed and two doors leading to female and male toilets. I notice a secondary fire exit too and the windows allow a lot of light, even though the blinds are drawn. “We rarely get time to take a moment though, so don’t be surprised if the only time you see this room is to hang your things up on arrival.”
I place my things in the designated area and wave goodbye to my phone.
“You’ll start with Delphine,” Patience tells me. “She handles the pantry. Today you’ll be learning how we work together as a team and where things go. I suggest you study the pantry now because if you screw up, there will be no second chances.”
“Exactly,” Umut puts in, giving me an apologetic smile. “It’s nothing personal. We all suffered this way in the beginning.”