Page 27 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

Warren disliked the guy already. “So you’re cool with me pretending to be her boyfriend?”

“Yes.” Lewis chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know.”

A smile pulled at Lewis’s lips. “There’s a rumour going around this place, by the way…”

“What now?” Warren said, rolling his eyes.

“I heard you came storming into the kitchen on Saturday night and caused chaos. And Anna marched you out of there and sent you home.”

Warren winced. “There may be a grain of truth in that somewhere.”

“All true then?” Lewis asked.

“Yep.”

“What happened? You weren’t even supposed to work on Saturday.”

“I got into an argument with my dad and took it out on Liam and Sam.”

Lewis sucked in a breath and had that look he got when he was trying to find a tactful way of making a point.

Warren moved from the couch to sit in the chair opposite Lewis. “Just say it.”

“What?” Lewis asked.

“Whatever you want to say as my boss, but don’t feel comfortable saying because we’re friends. I’m now just your employee.”

Lewis only hesitated for a moment. “You know I think you’re a brilliant chef. The food coming out of that kitchen is top-notch… but the kitchen could be run better.”

Resisting the urge to defend himself, Warren gave a curt nod of acknowledgement.

“You need to trust the rest of the staff to manage the kitchen when you’re not there. If they can’t, it’s a problem. I also don’t think them being terrified of you makes them better at their jobs…”

Warren opened his mouth to cut in, but closed it again quickly.

“They can respect you without being scared of you.”

Again, Warren nodded while he fought the urge to fidget. It felt like getting into trouble at school. He swallowed hard. “My parents’ visit has stressed me out…”

“I realise that,” Lewis said. “But your personal life shouldn’t impact the kitchen. Especially considering you weren’t even supposed to be at work on Saturday. And your attitude in the kitchen isn’t exactly a new thing.”

“Yeah,” Warren agreed weakly. He really couldn’t argue that point – he was only thankful Anna had been around to de-escalate things on Saturday.

“It’d be good if the atmosphere in the kitchen was more harmonious,” Lewis added. “I think you’ve got a good team in there. You should work on bringing the best out of them instead of crushing their spirits.”

Warren tapped on the arm of the chair. “I’ll work on it,” he said quietly.

“Thanks.” Lewis let out a heavy breath. “I hate being the boss sometimes.”

“It’s fine,” Warren said, but the atmosphere was far too tense for him to hang around. “I should get back to work.” He stood and headed for the door.

“Thanks for lunch,” Lewis said.

Warren managed a tight smile, but felt as though he only breathed properly again once he’d closed the office door behind him.

The mental chatter was fairly incessant as he walked back to the kitchen. He didn’t make eye contact with anyone, but went straight to the back door and stepped outside into the freezing air. Standing at the top of the steps, he leaned on the rail and released a long exhale, which fogged in front of his face.