Page 14 of Mariah

He looked up with a smile. Her fluffy curls were falling from her hairnet, her collar was askew, and there was flour dusted across her apron. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were droopy from exhaustion. She’d worked hard today.

“Why don’t you just sit a minute? I think we can take a break now and give people time to eat. Hopefully, we can finish the night off without any more crises.”

“Chef! Chefchefchef! Chef!” Luna barreled into the kitchen at warp speed, dressed to impress in a fancy but simple blue velvet frock. She was a guest tonight, not a worker, which made her presence even more unnerving. “Chef! Miss Lamont’s face is swelling up! It’s all puffy and she can barely breathe!”

The Wellington. Mushrooms. After all his careful preparation, she hadn’t gotten the right dish. “Call 911,” he said to Luna as the blood drained from his face.

He glanced at Mariah, not even bothering to hide his anger as she sat there on the stool with her eyes wide and her mouth open. She was already crying, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. Rushing to the office, which was more a glorified coat closet with a desk in it, he rummaged through his drawer, found the first aid kit, and grabbed the EpiPen he kept for emergencies.

Rushing out to the dining room, he ran over to Miss Lamont, who indeed was looking very puffy and jabbed her with the EpiPen. “I take it she didn’t get the one with the eggplant,” he said to the room at large.

“I think I did.” Baze spoke up from the next table, looking a little puffy and green around the gills himself.

“Don’t tell me. You’re allergic to eggplant.”

“It’s a mild allergy. I think I’ll be okay. I just need some Benadryl.”

Thankfully, he had some Benadryl tablets in his first aid kit as well. “I’ll be right back,” he told his boss.

As he stormed through the kitchen on the way to the office, Mariah was bent over his creme brulees, about to hit them with the butane torch. “Stop!” he commanded. “Sit down and don’t touch anything.”

He had more to say but no time to say it as he rushed the medicine out to Baze who accepted it with a grateful nod and swallowed two pills. “This should help,” he said, assessing the gravity of the situation. His boss was practically sweating through his suit and his face and neck were covered in hives.

Graham bit back a groan. This whole night had been a disaster of epic proportions. Forget about promoting Mariah to sous chef, he’d be lucky if he even still had a job after this.

“The ambulance is here!” Jade called out, running toward them, followed by two uniformed paramedics carrying a stretcher. Yep, he was totally fired.

He walked them over to Miss Lamont and was glad to see she was already looking less swollen. “I used an EpiPen I keep in my office. She looks a little better than she did before,” he explained as they took her vitals.

“She got lucky,” the paramedic said. “We’ll take her in for observation and administer some more meds, but I think she’ll be okay, thanks to your quick thinking.”

He had not been expecting to be praised nor did he deserve it. With a slight nod of his head, he motioned at Baze. “He also had an allergic reaction but it was milder. I gave him some Benadryl to get rid of the hives.”

They were already starting to disappear. The second paramedic hurried over and began to check out Graham’s boss.

“He’s gonna be fine,” he said. “No need to visit a hospital. Good job, Chef. Allergic reactions are nothing to mess around with, but thanks to your preparedness, tonight will end without crisis.”

Around him, men in suits began to clap. He stepped backward, waving his hands in front of him. “No, no, no. No thanks. No applause. I did the very minimum that could be done, and it was my fault the dishes got switched in the first place.” It was actually Mariah’s fault, but a good chef took responsibility for everything that came out of his kitchen. In public anyway. When he got Mariah alone, that would be a very different story.

He turned back to head into the kitchen and get out of the way, but Baze stopped him. “Chef Graham?”

He halted in his tracks. This was it. He was getting fired. In front of a room full of people no less. He didn’t blame Baze for that at all. Tonight had been very important and the man had to save face.

“Yes, sir?” He did an about face, turned toward Baze and kept his expression blank.

“I think in light of everything that’s happened, we should call the night to a close, and skip dessert. Although, I’m sure everyone would much appreciate another shot of whiskey.”

His announcement was met with a round of hearty agreement from his guests and unbridled shock from Graham, who stumbled over his words. He’d been prepared to endure a very public firing and have his ass handed to him and instead he was being asked to play bartender? It was a bit beneath him, but his granny had taught him to never look a gift horse in the mouth, so he got behind the bar with Andreas and helped pour and deliver a round of whiskey to everyone but Luna, who didn’t drink, and Baze, who couldn’t drink thanks to the Benadryl.

When he was done, he found himself standing in front of Baze once more. “Anything else, sir?”

Baze shook his head. “I think that will be everything, Chef. And good job tonight. The food was exquisite. I only wish I’d gotten to enjoy more of it.”

“I… uh… I’ll make it for you some other time, sir.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Graham was almost too shocked to move, but he forced himself back to the kitchen.