all I see are several Nova employees in the kitchen. "What's wrong? Why are we stopping?"
He pivots so he's facing me. All the color has drained from his face. His jaw has tightened. He looks nothing like the man who just greeted all his employees in the dining room.
"Tyler?" I step closer to him. "What is it?"
He raises my hand to his chest and I instantly feel how strongly his heart is beating. "I love you, Cadence. I only love you."
I lean forward and brush my lips over his. "I know you do, Chef. I know."
His gaze is dark and intense. "Don't leave my side. You need to see this. I want you to hear every word of it."
I nod even though I have no idea what he's talking about.
He closes his eyes, turns back to the kitchen and that's when I hear his voice. It's deep and the authoritative bite to it stops everyone in place. "Maribel in my office now and bring Neela with you."
***
"There's nothing to discuss." He looks over her head so his eyes are locked on mine. "I told you to get out, Neela. No one here was authorized to offer you a job. You'll be paid for whatever time you put in today, but you're not welcome here."
She stomps her foot against the floor. "I can help you, Ty. You know that I can. You need to recover from that accident. Let me at least stay on until you're back to full speed."
His eyes never leave mine as he continues talking to her. "Gather your things and leave the restaurant. You're not working here another second. You need to go now."
She finally acquiesces, her fingers deftly open the front of the chef's jacket she's wearing before she tosses it at Tyler. He doesn't flinch as the jacket falls to the floor at his feet.
She brushes past me, stopping before she reaches the door. "I came here to help you, Tyler. I thought you'd at least appreciate it."
He turns his gaze to her. "I made it clear months ago that we'd never work together or be together again. It's not happening. It'll never happen."
She looks at me. I see resignation in her eyes. "I'll leave you alone if that's what you want."
"He doesn't know what he wants," Maribel says from the corner of the room. "He's been confused since you left, Neela. You can't just walk out."
Tyler turns back to look at her. "I know exactly what I want, Maribel. I want Cadence. I want the people I handpick to work at Nova. I want Neela to move on and build a life for herself."
"You two were meant to be." Maribel circles her finger in the air. "It's fate. You work together so well. You love each other. If you'd give Neela a chance to work here, she'd show you how good you two can be."
Neela apparently doesn’t agree. She curses under her breath before she opens the door of the office and walks out.
CHAPTER 16
"I'd like to talk alone, Chef." Maribel raises her elbow in my direction. "Can you ask Cadence to leave?"
"No," he says calmly. "Cadence is staying. If you want to keep your job, you need to explain yourself to me. Let's start with why Neela was here."
"You said you wanted to hire an executive chef," she mutters under her breath. "She's perfect for the job. I was only trying to help."
"Who authorized it?" He leans his elbows on the desk. "Who signed her employment contract? I need to know who gave you the go-ahead."
"I'm a senior chef now," she says as she lifts her chin. "I take that seriously, Chef. I know it means I have more responsibility but it also means that I'm part of the team that runs this place. You said you needed some names for possible executive chefs. No one was stepping up with names so I took it a step further and found an executive chef and gave her a trial run so she could prove that she's the right person for the job."
He scratches his ear as he studies her face. "Did you hear any of what you just said, Maribel? All of it is wrong. A two person team runs this place. If I'm not making the decisions, Hunter is. You're not in a position to offer anything to anyone."
She scowls. "You know that I'm not
He pivots so he's facing me. All the color has drained from his face. His jaw has tightened. He looks nothing like the man who just greeted all his employees in the dining room.
"Tyler?" I step closer to him. "What is it?"
He raises my hand to his chest and I instantly feel how strongly his heart is beating. "I love you, Cadence. I only love you."
I lean forward and brush my lips over his. "I know you do, Chef. I know."
His gaze is dark and intense. "Don't leave my side. You need to see this. I want you to hear every word of it."
I nod even though I have no idea what he's talking about.
He closes his eyes, turns back to the kitchen and that's when I hear his voice. It's deep and the authoritative bite to it stops everyone in place. "Maribel in my office now and bring Neela with you."
***
"There's nothing to discuss." He looks over her head so his eyes are locked on mine. "I told you to get out, Neela. No one here was authorized to offer you a job. You'll be paid for whatever time you put in today, but you're not welcome here."
She stomps her foot against the floor. "I can help you, Ty. You know that I can. You need to recover from that accident. Let me at least stay on until you're back to full speed."
His eyes never leave mine as he continues talking to her. "Gather your things and leave the restaurant. You're not working here another second. You need to go now."
She finally acquiesces, her fingers deftly open the front of the chef's jacket she's wearing before she tosses it at Tyler. He doesn't flinch as the jacket falls to the floor at his feet.
She brushes past me, stopping before she reaches the door. "I came here to help you, Tyler. I thought you'd at least appreciate it."
He turns his gaze to her. "I made it clear months ago that we'd never work together or be together again. It's not happening. It'll never happen."
She looks at me. I see resignation in her eyes. "I'll leave you alone if that's what you want."
"He doesn't know what he wants," Maribel says from the corner of the room. "He's been confused since you left, Neela. You can't just walk out."
Tyler turns back to look at her. "I know exactly what I want, Maribel. I want Cadence. I want the people I handpick to work at Nova. I want Neela to move on and build a life for herself."
"You two were meant to be." Maribel circles her finger in the air. "It's fate. You work together so well. You love each other. If you'd give Neela a chance to work here, she'd show you how good you two can be."
Neela apparently doesn’t agree. She curses under her breath before she opens the door of the office and walks out.
CHAPTER 16
"I'd like to talk alone, Chef." Maribel raises her elbow in my direction. "Can you ask Cadence to leave?"
"No," he says calmly. "Cadence is staying. If you want to keep your job, you need to explain yourself to me. Let's start with why Neela was here."
"You said you wanted to hire an executive chef," she mutters under her breath. "She's perfect for the job. I was only trying to help."
"Who authorized it?" He leans his elbows on the desk. "Who signed her employment contract? I need to know who gave you the go-ahead."
"I'm a senior chef now," she says as she lifts her chin. "I take that seriously, Chef. I know it means I have more responsibility but it also means that I'm part of the team that runs this place. You said you needed some names for possible executive chefs. No one was stepping up with names so I took it a step further and found an executive chef and gave her a trial run so she could prove that she's the right person for the job."
He scratches his ear as he studies her face. "Did you hear any of what you just said, Maribel? All of it is wrong. A two person team runs this place. If I'm not making the decisions, Hunter is. You're not in a position to offer anything to anyone."
She scowls. "You know that I'm not
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