Page 5

And yet the man did not so much as stand.

“Like I said before, you seem to have misunderstood. I’m not here for coffee and cake.”

For the first time, it was Gemma’s turn to feel confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean... exactly that. I’m Kent Parker.”

“Is that meant to mean something to me?” Gemma frowned.

“I’m Kent Parker. I’ll be taking over. Working in the kitchen. Does that ring any bells?”

CHAPTER 6

It wasn’t the start Kent had expected, that was for sure. Being yelled at wasn’t new to him, but for someone to take such umbrage to him so quickly was something. My god, she had fire. It was mesmerising. The way she stood up to him like that was incredibly admirable, even though she was completely in the wrong. And it wasn’t like she was on her own. The other customers glowered at him with such venom he suspected they would physically remove him from the cafe if that’s what she asked them to do. In some ways, he supposed it was understandable that she would feel a little resentment to him, given the job he had come in to do. She had the customers’ respect, that was without doubt, and it probably came from the way she knew them all personally. Unfortunately, personal relationships could be detrimental to business, and that was what he cared about. He was there to do what needed to be done. There was no chance the cafe would keep running and be profitable if they gave free cakes to every person who had the slightest tumble. Of course, before he made any substantial changes, he needed to get a proper understanding of how the place worked, and that meant observation.

“I’ll merely be observing this week,” he said after Gemma had furiously agreed to have a conversation with him in the kitchen, away from the prying ears of the customers. Her response was immediate.

“Observing? I don’t think so. You’ll be in the way.”

“I assure you I won’t. And it will be the best way to make the transition as smooth as possible. You know, give me an idea of how everything works without having to constantly bombard you with loads of questions.”

Gemma’s eyes were still black, and although he had seen her smile at every customer who even glanced in her direction, she had not so much as offered a flicker of warmth towards him. The fact that she was still bearing a grudge for how he had spoken to her didn’t bode well.

“Bombard away,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “It’s George you’ll need to ask your questions to. You’re taking over his position, remember? You are the new chef, right? That’s what you said. You’re working in the kitchen.”

Kent opened his mouth and contemplated what words should leave it next. He had worked in hostile environments before, and it never lasted long. One way or another, the situation would be resolved. Right now, she had a room full of people who wanted serving, and he was delaying that from happening. A fact that was probably making her hate him even more. The best thing would be to wait for a more convenient time to inform her of the changes that would take place.

“I need to see all aspects of the business, including the front of house,” he said. “Just so I have a better overview of how you work here. I can assure you I won’t get in your way. If it gets busy and there’s not a table, then I’ll remove myself into the kitchen. And it’ll only be for a few days.”

He picked his words carefully, but still, he felt his breath tighten in his lungs as he waited to hear her response.

“And Oscar knows all this?” she said finally.

He waited. This wasn’t the right moment to bring up the situation. Not at all. Not with customers there. He’d probably lose every local possible if he humiliated her like that. Deciding he would wait before disclosing the details of the arrangement with Oscar, he smiled politely.

“He does, and he’s entirely on board.”

Her lips twisted as if she was physically chewing over the words before she spoke again.

“Fine, just stay out of my way,” she said before turning away from him and marching out of the kitchen.

As the door swung shut behind her, Kent let out a long sigh. It was going to be an interesting few weeks. That was for sure.

CHAPTER 7

“He’s been in every day this week,” Sophie said as she poured Gemma a glass of wine.

Of course, Gemma didn’t need telling this fact about the cafe’s new chef, but the other book club girls did. Book club met without fail every other Thursday, although they sometimes added some emergency meetings at other times too. Those emergencies had nothing to do with books and usually involved some massive love-life catastrophe, but it was the same group of friends, whatever the situation. This was the place where they could let go of all their frustrations and rant without judgement. And that was exactly what Gemma needed.

“Gemma hasn’t said a word to him,” Sophie continued. “Not one.”

“Really?” Marie raised an eyebrow.

It was true. Gemma had somehow got through the last three days without saying a single word to the dastardly Kent Parker, despite the fact he had been in the Waterfront Cafe for several hours a day. Every time he came within a two-metre radius of her, she skirted around him, suddenly finding a table that needed to be cleaned or a customer that needed to be checked on. At least he had spent all of Thursday in the kitchen. That hadmade it easier, although even when George had clocked off at 2 pm, Kent had hung around making notes on his tablet.

“I have nothing to say to a man like that,” Gemma said simply. “If you ignore how rude he was to me, he was also the only person in the entire coffee shop who didn’t jump up to help Mr Jordan. Or at least ask how he was afterwards. I think that says all you need to know about the person, don’t you?”