A Culinary Master Piece (Gordon Ramsay)

Season Five

Annabelle's P.O.V.

"Annabelle, can you help plate?"

"Of course, Chef."

Gordon nodded once at me to thank me before he turned to face the cluster of chefs standing in front of us. He ordered one to go and shave his beard and told the rest to get ready at their stations.

"We'll be opening in five minutes!" He yelled.

The two teams of chefs dispersed, and not even two minutes into prep, there was an argument on the red team.

"Get over here and help me with these soufflés. You've had all day to fucking get these soufflés started." One of the girls said to another.

I bit my lip and waited for the arguing to stop. I was going to stop Gordon from walking through the red kitchen, but he moved to fast. He dealt with the two women calmly, and I could see the anxiety and anger boiling in his eyes when he walked back up to the Pass. He yelled for the doors to be opened, and he gave me a soft smile when he looked at me.

~

"This is turning into a cluster fuck."

The lights had gone out, and I had given up on getting anything out of the kitchen. I had especially lost my hope when the entire building had lost its power. Gordon had ordered Jean-Philippe to keep the customers happy.

"Annabelle, can I speak to you for a minute?" Gordon asked.

I followed Gordon to the back room that he took his contestants to when he was going to yell at them. He closed the door and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He used the flashlight that was on it so we could see each other.

"Don't cry." He whispered.

I had gotten overwhelmed with anxiety and fear that tears streamed down my face. Gordon carefully brushed away my tears with his thumbs.

"Relax. This is only a minor set back. They'll fix the generators, and the lights will come back on."

"I'm sorry. I must look like a mess." I croaked as I wiped away whatever tears were left.

"You look gorgeous, Darling."

He took a step toward me and very gently pressed his lips to my forehead. I froze out if surprise and stared at him when he stepped away from me.

~

The competition went by in the blink of an eye. Before I knew it a winner was declared, which meant I would be going back to my restaurant.

"Here you go, Darling." Gordon walked up to me a few hours after the finale of the competition.

In his hand was a white envelope. I raised an eyebrow as I took it from him.

"But you've already paid me for the time that I'd be here." I said.

"I know. This is for you personally, not for your employees. You had some emotional breaks because of what I've put you through."

"I don't want this money if it's because you think I'm a nutcase."

"I don't think that about you, Darling. You went through hell while you were working for me, and it was all for your employees. I'm giving you this money because you earned it for yourself."

Sorry it's rushed! There are a lot of seasons to go through!