Chapter 87. Chef’s Kiss: pt. 4

It had been exactly two weeks since I started working as Elliot’s private chef, and without hesitation, I could say the experience had been nothing short of wonderful. The kitchen no longer felt like a battlefield; it felt like breathing. I woke up every morning excited to experiment, to plate something beautiful, to hear the quiet hum of appreciation when he took the first bite. I’d even managed to visit my mother last weekend, arms full of gifts—freshly baked financiers, a bottle of her favorite rosé, and the diploma I’d finally collected from Étoile Culinary Academy that very morning.

The original results had landed in my inbox three days earlier: 87%. Eighty-seven. I’d stared at the screen until my eyes burned, the number blurring into something almost unreal. Mr. Charles had deducted forty-three points from what should have been a near-perfect score. All because his wife had died years ago and the world had apparently stopped spinning for him. He wasn’t the first person t