Kitchen Boss

I pause, waiting for her answer as well.

Cathy sighs. “Well, I do need a job.”

I smile triumphantly. I’d throw my fist into the air if I wasn’t holding the bottle of pepper. As it is, I sprinkle just a bit more into the pot and stir.

“Did you hear that, Jackson?” Ken asks me.

“Yup.” I bring the spoon to my lips once more.

Perfect.

“Great!” Ken clasps her hands together. “Another intern.”

“Hurray!” Maisie cheers as well.

I turn off the stove, cover the pot and walk towards her.

“Thank goodness we’ve got a lucky charm,” I say as I lift her in my arms.

She squeals.

“She is charming,” Cathy tells me.

“Hmm.” I touch my chin. “I wonder where she gets it from.”

Ken snorts. “Well, you go get that charmer to tumbling class. Cathy and I have business to discuss.”

“As you wish,” I answer.

As the owner of the restaurant, I’m supposed to be the one giving orders, and yet I somehow always find myself unable to disobey Ken’s. She’s just that good at managing people.

I look into Cathy’s eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Maisie echoes.

“See you,” Cathy replies as she waves her hand.

As I carry Maisie to the door, Ken whisks Cathy away. I sure hope she doesn’t give Cathy a hard time.

I shake my head as I withdraw the thought. Why am I so worried about her? She’s not my little sister.

“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Maisie asks.

I meet her questioning gaze. Even at four, she can be so perceptive.

Just like her mother.

“Nothing,” I answer before planting a kiss on her soft cheek. “How was your day, hmm? Did you have fun playing with your toys?”

She pouts. “I want Ella.”

I frown at the mention of the nanny I fired for having sex with a cook. Well, technically, for having sex with a cook in the bathroom while Maisie was just a few feet away, sitting on the bed and watching TV all alone. And to think I was paying her three times the going rate. I thought she was good. I thought I could count on her to take care of the person who matters more to me than anything else in the world. Yet it seemed that she didn’t care for Maisie at all. Who knows how long she’d been leaving Maisie alone to do God knows what? What if Maisie had seen her? Or worse, what if something had happened to Maisie while she was… busy? I still have to stop myself from cringing whenever I think of it.

“Ella isn’t coming back, sweetheart,” I tell my daughter as we leave the house.

She sticks out her lower lip and gives me a face that looks ready to burst with tears. “But I want someone to play with.”

I stroke her back and press my lips to the top of her head. “I’ll find someone, I promise. Soon.”

Right now, with the new restaurant set to open in a few weeks, I just don’t have the time to look for a nanny. I’m well aware it’s not an easy procedure, and I have to do it myself. The last time I had a nanny sent by an agency, things didn’t end well.

“What about Cathy?” Maisie asks. “She’s nice.”

I smile. I should have known Maisie would take to her. Maisie has always liked beautiful women, maybe because they look like dolls. Or maybe she’s just looking for a mother.

“Cathy is nice, isn’t she?” I agree.

All those times that I saw her come over to the house, I never heard her pick a fight with Trisha or say a single mean thing to her. And God knows Trisha could be a pain to deal with sometimes.

“Unfortunately, she’ll be busy.”

“Like you?” Maisie asks me.

I feel a pang in my heart.

“Hey.” I touch the tip of her nose. “I’m never too busy for you.”

It’s true, sort of. If ever Maisie’s life was in danger, I just know I’d drop everything. Unfortunately, unless that’s the case, I can’t just walk away from the empire I’m building. It’s for her, too.

“Then maybe Cathy isn’t too busy,” Maisie says.

I shrug. “Maybe you can ask her if she can play with you when she doesn’t have too much to do.”

That brings a sparkle to Maisie’s eyes. Ah, how simple things can make a child so happy.

I squeeze her tight.

And whatever makes her happy makes me happy.

“Daddy,” Maisie complains as she wriggles against my chest.

“Sorry.” I loosen my arms. “I got carried away. And you know why?”

Her ponytail sways to and fro as she shakes her head.

“Because you’re so cute.”

I pinch her cheek and then tickle her neck. She lets out an explosion of squeals and laughter.

“Dad…dy!”

I stop after she gives a particularly loud squeal. I may have been able to secure a permit to put up a restaurant in this neighborhood, but it’s still a residential area, and I don’t want any parents thinking I’m trying to hurt a kid, or any old couples scolding us for being too noisy. Best be on their good side, at least until the restaurant opens.