Chapter 5 - The New Contract
The grand kitchen of Bellavere smelled of burnt sugar, vanilla extract, and fresh cream. Maya Vance sat on the edge of the large stainless steel prep table, her small sneakers kicking against the metal legs as she watched Emily carefully light five small pink candles stuck into the top of the white strawberry cake.
The executive chef, a burly Frenchman named Jean-Luc who usually screamed at his sous-chefs until his face turned purple, was currently standing by the dish-pit, holding a tiny plastic tea cup and looking completely terrified of dropping it.
"Make a wish, Maya," Emily said, her face glowing in the soft light of the candles.
Maya closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and blew them out with a sharp whoosh, scattering a few white flakes of powdered sugar across the table. The entire kitchen staff—three dishwashers, four line cooks, and Jean-Luc—broke into an enthusiastic, scattered round of applause.
Julian walked into the kitchen, his expression softening completely as he watched his daughter laugh. He walked over to the table, lifting her down into his arms. "Time to go home, sweetie. The car is waiting outside."
"Can Emily come to the house too?" Maya asked, her small hand reaching out to grab Emily’s faded cotton sleeve. "She knows how to make the candles stay up."
Julian looked at Emily, his amber eyes steady and evaluating. "Emily has some work to finish here first, Maya. But we’ll see her very soon."
He set the little girl down with Jean-Luc for a moment, then stepped over to the corner where Emily was cleaning the cake crumbs from the prep table.
"Arthur has the paperwork downstairs," Julian said, his voice low. "The management company needs a new director of residential operations for the Chicago block. The salary is ninety-five thousand a year, full health insurance, and a corporate apartment three blocks north of here that includes central heating."
Emily stopped wiping the table. She looked at him, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disbelief. "Mr. Vance... I appreciate the offer, I really do. But I’m just a waitress. I’ve been clearing tables for three years. I don't have a business degree."
"Vanessa Cole had a business degree," Julian said smoothly. "And she spent her time turning my restaurant into a hostile environment for anyone she didn't deem worthy. I don't need a degree, Emily. I need someone who remembers what it feels like to be cold. I need someone who looks at an empty table and sees an opportunity to be kind."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, gold-embossed business card, sliding it onto the clean stainless steel table.
May you like
"The apartment keys are with the concierge at the Vance Tower," he told her. "Take the rest of the week off to move your things. Report to the main dining room on Monday morning at nine. Your first task will be to hire a new hosting staff that knows how to say 'welcome' instead of 'no.'"
As Julian walked out of the kitchen, holding Maya on his broad shoulder, Emily picked up the gold card. She looked through the high kitchen windows at the snow falling over the city, and for the first time in eighteen years, the cold didn't feel like a punishment anymore.
