Free Into the Fire by Amanda Usen Page B

would rise to heights unknown if she had this whisk. Surrounded by so many fun toys, it was hard to remember she wasn’t here to enjoy the facilities. She had three weeks to fix the menu and discover Jack’s Achilles heel, starting now.
    She hung the whisk back on its hook and turned to Emily, hoping the pastry chef might be able to give her the scoop. “So…have you known Jack long?”
    The older woman nodded. “Long enough to know he’d make a great boss. My husband and I worked together at Breeze, Drew Calabrese’s flagship restaurant. He’s still there, but I was thrilled to follow Jack to Inferno. Jack used to come into the Breeze bakeshop all the time to hide from his father—not that he ever said that. He would have said it was for the cookies.”
    “But you knew better?”
    “Honey, everyone knows better. Those two fight like cats and dogs. Well, Drew fights. Jack walls up and turns his fury into food. He’s a tornado on the line. I don’t think he even needs the rest of the guys. When he gets going, he could probably work every station himself. But cover your head and batten down the hatches if you see his father in the kitchen. One of these days, Jack’s going to blow. That’s why I keep the bakeshop well stocked with cookies.” The other woman’s grin turned sly. “Maybe you should give him a different kind of cookie.”
    She looked so hopeful, Lila couldn’t help but laugh. Only in my dreams. The thought caught her by surprise, and she realized she was feeling sorry for Jack. He didn’t deserve sympathy for his family problems. She turned her thoughts away from the memory of his vulnerable expression when he had confided in her six months ago. Knowing Jack, it had been a ploy to gain her sympathy so she would throw the competition.
    She thought of her bank balance and the stack of bills lined up on the counter and her sympathy for Jack disappeared. “No cookies for Jack. Not from me.” But she couldn’t wait to meet his father. “What are you working on today?”
    “Special desserts. I’m thinking of a chocolate pots de crème for starters.”
    Lila opened her mouth to speak, thinking of all the chocolate already on the menu, then shut it. She wasn’t sure how Emily would take criticism from someone she had just met.
    Emily gave her a direct look. “Spit it out. If Jack listens to you, then I will too. I can tell you have a suggestion.”
    Lila decided to take a chance. “There’s a lot of chocolate already. I happen to love it, but you might think about creating special desserts for the crazy people who don’t like it. Or are allergic.”
    Emily gave her a rueful grin. “It’s a constant struggle to resist my go-to ingredient. I’m working on that. Still too much chocolate?”
    “Maybe something with nuts?” Lila suggested, relieved she hadn’t just made an enemy.
    Emily made a note on the clipboard. “I’m all over it.”
    Someone walked past the alcove then doubled back to peer in at them.
    “Yo, Em! How the hell did you rate an assistant?” A small man with a meticulously-waxed handlebar mustache gave Emily an offended look.
    “She’s not my assistant, Chef Boyardee. She’s your new boss. You better start sucking up.”
    “No way. Did Chef sell the restaurant?”
    Emily shook her head. “Let Jack explain, which I’m sure he would be doing already if you weren’t late, as usual. Get your ass up to the line.” He gave Lila one last wary look before he dropped his hoodie on a hook and shot back up toward the line.
    A few seconds later, Jack bellowed her name.
    Nervousness buzzed inside her, and she took a deep breath, trying not to show it.
    “See you later.” She nodded at Emily and went to meet the rest of the staff.

Chapter Seven
    Jack looked at his crew and wondered what Lila was going to think of them. They were a ragtag bunch, but they were fast, clean, and consistent. They had their faults, of course. Luis, his garde manger cook, was consistently late, but