need to speak to Hunter, Maribel. Stay here until I come back. Don't set a foot in my kitchen. Understood?"
She nods. "I understand."
CHAPTER 17
I wait until Tyler has exited the office before I close the door behind him. The soft click of the door handle catching draws Maribel's attention to me.
"You know that this has nothing to do with your personally, Den." She sits back down in the chair that's facing Tyler's desk. "You weren't working at Nova when Neela was. She and Tyler were the best team. The restaurant had so much potential back then."
I pull on the back of the chair that's next to her. I smooth my hands over the legs of my jeans before I sit down facing her. "I'm sure they were a great team. Tyler only hires the best."
She heaves a sigh as a smile pulls on the corner of her lips. "When Tyler said that he was looking for an executive chef, I knew that Neela was the person for the job. She lost her job recently. It made sense to me to bring her back to Nova."
"You talk to Neela often, don’t you?"
She crosses her legs before she uncrosses them again. "We've kept in touch since she left Nova."
"It's more than that." I cross my legs and lean back in the chair I'm in. "You're close."
"It's not a crime to be friends with someone you used to work with," she scowls.
I tilt my head as I study her face. "It's more than that."
She laughs but it's laced with anxiety. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You tell me, Maribel." I shrug. "You were fine with the two of us dating in the beginning and then something obviously changed. I don't think it was a coincidence that Neela came back to Nova shortly after you found out that Tyler is in love with me."
"That was a coincidence." She chuckles. "I don't think Chef knows what love is. You two didn't meet that long ago. I think he has lust confused with love."
"No." I shake my head. "He knows what love is. He's in love with me."
"Do you think it will last?" She asks with a cock of her head. "I saw the way he was with Neela. He's nothing like that with you."
"I'm glad," I spit back. "What we have is better."
"You're no judge of that." She smirks. "He lost her and you're the latest replacement. Don't get too comfortable, Cadence. You won't last. None of the women he's been with since Neela left have."
"You're too invested in the two of them, Maribel," I point out as I sigh. "You get that it isn't normal for a co-worker to be this obsessed over a relationship her boss had with some random, right?"
"Neela is not a random," she seethes. "You don't know what you're talking about."
I lean forward. "I know exactly what I'm talking about. She used to wear a ring her mother gave her on her left hand so people would think he proposed to her. How fucked up is that?"
"Her mother didn't give her that ring." She shakes her head as she lowers her voice.
"She did." I raise my hand to rub the back of my neck. "It's the ring that hangs on a chain around her neck. Her mom gave it to her when she was a teenager. It's a family heirloom or something."
"That's not her family." Her fist hits the top of the desk with such force that a pen that was sitting on top of it tumbles to the floor. "I'm her mother. I'm the only mother she needs."
I push back into my chair from the sheer force of the words, their meaning washing over me. "What? You're her mother?"
Her hands are shaking as she reaches for my forearms. "I gave her up, Cadence. I gave her up for adoption. Neela is my baby."
***
"Maribel will start at Axel next week." Tyler rubs his fingers over my forehead pushing my hair to the side. "Hunter needs a senior chef there. I told him I'd prefer to let her go completely, but ultimately Axel is his call."
I nod. "You heard what I said about her being Neela's birth mother, right?"
He glances toward the open door of his office with the same blank expression that's been on his face since I told him that Maribel confessed to me that she'd been
She nods. "I understand."
CHAPTER 17
I wait until Tyler has exited the office before I close the door behind him. The soft click of the door handle catching draws Maribel's attention to me.
"You know that this has nothing to do with your personally, Den." She sits back down in the chair that's facing Tyler's desk. "You weren't working at Nova when Neela was. She and Tyler were the best team. The restaurant had so much potential back then."
I pull on the back of the chair that's next to her. I smooth my hands over the legs of my jeans before I sit down facing her. "I'm sure they were a great team. Tyler only hires the best."
She heaves a sigh as a smile pulls on the corner of her lips. "When Tyler said that he was looking for an executive chef, I knew that Neela was the person for the job. She lost her job recently. It made sense to me to bring her back to Nova."
"You talk to Neela often, don’t you?"
She crosses her legs before she uncrosses them again. "We've kept in touch since she left Nova."
"It's more than that." I cross my legs and lean back in the chair I'm in. "You're close."
"It's not a crime to be friends with someone you used to work with," she scowls.
I tilt my head as I study her face. "It's more than that."
She laughs but it's laced with anxiety. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You tell me, Maribel." I shrug. "You were fine with the two of us dating in the beginning and then something obviously changed. I don't think it was a coincidence that Neela came back to Nova shortly after you found out that Tyler is in love with me."
"That was a coincidence." She chuckles. "I don't think Chef knows what love is. You two didn't meet that long ago. I think he has lust confused with love."
"No." I shake my head. "He knows what love is. He's in love with me."
"Do you think it will last?" She asks with a cock of her head. "I saw the way he was with Neela. He's nothing like that with you."
"I'm glad," I spit back. "What we have is better."
"You're no judge of that." She smirks. "He lost her and you're the latest replacement. Don't get too comfortable, Cadence. You won't last. None of the women he's been with since Neela left have."
"You're too invested in the two of them, Maribel," I point out as I sigh. "You get that it isn't normal for a co-worker to be this obsessed over a relationship her boss had with some random, right?"
"Neela is not a random," she seethes. "You don't know what you're talking about."
I lean forward. "I know exactly what I'm talking about. She used to wear a ring her mother gave her on her left hand so people would think he proposed to her. How fucked up is that?"
"Her mother didn't give her that ring." She shakes her head as she lowers her voice.
"She did." I raise my hand to rub the back of my neck. "It's the ring that hangs on a chain around her neck. Her mom gave it to her when she was a teenager. It's a family heirloom or something."
"That's not her family." Her fist hits the top of the desk with such force that a pen that was sitting on top of it tumbles to the floor. "I'm her mother. I'm the only mother she needs."
I push back into my chair from the sheer force of the words, their meaning washing over me. "What? You're her mother?"
Her hands are shaking as she reaches for my forearms. "I gave her up, Cadence. I gave her up for adoption. Neela is my baby."
***
"Maribel will start at Axel next week." Tyler rubs his fingers over my forehead pushing my hair to the side. "Hunter needs a senior chef there. I told him I'd prefer to let her go completely, but ultimately Axel is his call."
I nod. "You heard what I said about her being Neela's birth mother, right?"
He glances toward the open door of his office with the same blank expression that's been on his face since I told him that Maribel confessed to me that she'd been
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