Recipe for Love

Chapter 1

Anna

"Anna, can I talk to you?" the boss of the restaurant where I had been working for several months called me. "Sure, what's up James?" I smiled at him and wiped the flour from my hands on my apron. He gestured for me to close the door behind me and I got a little confused. I sat down on a chair in front of his massive desk and impatiently waited to see what would happen. "I got another complaint about you from Hannah. We've talked about it so many times. Do you really have to keep provoking her?" he sighed and looked at me with a look full of disappointment. "Oh, James. It's not my fault that she behaves terribly and her recipes are just not good. After all, I'm not going to cook something gross just because Hannah thinks she's the best in the world," I admitted truthfully, crossing my arms over my chest. I learned a long time ago that I have to stand up for myself, I won't let myself be swept away anymore. "Hannah has been working here for 15 years," James continued.
"And she's been cooking the same way for 15 years," I grumbled.
"I appreciate your work and I think you are a great cook. But I can't let my team fall apart. I don't think you're a good team player, Anna. Maybe you could start your own restaurant?" he suggested and I chuckled sarcastically.
"And where would I get the money for it, James?"
"You can ask your dad for help," he offered and I gave him a murderous look.

My biological father was a taboo subject in my life and James knew it very well. He found out by accident when my father came here unexpectedly for dinner, as did countless other celebrities. I have nothing to do with him at all except the big dark brown eyes and some DNA. As long as my mom was alive, he didn't have the slightest interest in me, and I was perfectly happy with just one parent. But when she died in a car accident when I was twelve, her brother, my uncle William, took custody of me, and that's when my father also started trying to establish a relationship. Sir Lewis Hamilton. Of all the guys running around the world, my mom had to choose him to be my father.

"I wish you the best of luck, Anna," Hannah faked a smile as she shook my hand. I smiled back and squeezed her hand as hard as I could. Maybe James was right. I'm not a team player. The only person I used to make a good team with was my mom, but those days were long gone. I've learned to stand up for myself, blaze my own path, and create an independent unit because I'm the only one I can rely on. "I'm going to miss you, Annie," Daisy whispered, hugging me. Daisy was the only one who could call herself my friend. She was the exact opposite of me, always cheerful, funny, dressed in bright colors and everyone liked her. I, on the other hand, spewed out one sarcastic remark after another, when I tried to make a joke, I mostly offended people, my favorite color was black and even my own father didn't like me. But I didn't like him either, so it doesn't really matter.

"You got fired again?" Aunt Ada asked when I arrived at their place for dinner that evening. "Why again? I was there for eight months. That's pretty good for me," I grinned and cut into the soy sausage that landed on my plate. I put a bite in my mouth and chewed on it so I could immediately spit it back into the napkin. "How can you eat that," I grinned. "Maybe you should find your own place to live and stop criticizing everything," Ada slammed her fist on the table and I winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean it," I looked at her apologetically, but Will shook his head. "Ada's right, Annie. You are twenty-two. I think it's time for you to stand on your own two feet. Until you take responsibility for yourself, you will never last in any job. You need to start earning, take responsibility for your actions, and stop being so careless. That's not how life works. Sometimes you have to grit your teeth and get over disagreeing with something."
"But I..."
"We give you a month. Find a job and an apartment. We'll help you with everything, but it can't go on like this," Will sighed and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"We're sorry, but we can't hire you based on your references. Unfortunately, due to staffing, we cannot offer you any position. Sorry, but our company is not interested in you," I read to Daisy on the phone a week later all the responses to my CVs. "That's alright, Annie. Don't give up. How about you try a change of scenery? England is not exactly a culinary powerhouse anyway. What about France? Or Italy?" Daisy suggested. "Do you think they're waiting for me in Paris, wondering where the hell Anna is? Our restaurant cannot do without her. I'm not naive, Daisy," I smirked, even though she couldn't see me. "How about trying your dad, maybe he'd be happy to help you."
"No way. That's the very last option. I'd rather have Will and Ada kick me out on the street than beg him for help," I grumbled.
"Anyway, I'm going to figure out one day who he is and what happened between you," threatened Daisy and I smirked again. "You will never succeed."