Hell's Kitchen XX + X

Chapter 21

A/N: Am I the only weirded out by these photos? 

(X's POV)

          Producer Cathy, the scriptwriter whose name I forgot, and I drove to Fox Television Center which was a satellite office of the Fox Broadcasting Company based in Los Angeles. Cathy was seated up front, browsing through her iPad, while the scriptwriter was busy scribbling notes in a notepad.

          "Ummm... Miss Cathy, why are we going to the office? Did I do something wrong?"

          She glanced at me through the rear view mirror. "No no no, not at all deary. It's just an emergency meeting for the next episode. Nothing to worry about."

          I suddenly felt something cold and wet touch my arm. The scriptwriter handed me a slim can. "Red Bull? I got five of them in my bag."

          "Thanks...uh..."

          "Pat."

          "Miss Pat." I smile and gladly accepted the energy drink, almost downing it in one go. It was just after dinner service and elimination and my body is trying to catch up on much needed rest. God bless Miss Pat and her Red Bull.

           After half an hour drive, we reached the satellite office and I was told to wait in the conference room. Still dressed in my chef's jacket, the strong smell of steak still lingered. I couldn't decided whether I was hungry or not, but my stomach is full of piranhas instead of butterflies. Why the sudden emergency meeting?

           As I was pondering all the possible reasons, Tony, Brad, and Sharon, the directors of Hell's kitchen came in. I stood up from my chair and I shook hands with them.

           "Good evening, Miss X. I'm sorry we pulled you into the meeting on such short notice." Brad smiled as he shook my hand.

           "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

           "Not at all!" He laughs and we sat down around the conference table. "If anything you are absolutely phenomenal! Our ratings are higher than ever! Look at this—" He looked through the file and showed me a paper with various graphs. I absolutely had no idea what they meant. "With your addition to the show, our ratings doubled from Season 19!"

          "And look at this—"Tony showed her another file. "The pilot and succeeding episodes garnered an average of 20 million viewers per episode! And that's just on the live telecast alone. You should see the Youtube clips! Millions upon millions of views!"

          I smiled as I perused the files. I never thought the reception of a new character would be this good.

         "Yes, yes, that's good and all, let's get to the point gentlemen." Sharon chastised her co-directors and she opened the projector. "Yes, it is a fact that with the addition of X in the show, we had garnered more viewers and good responses. However, there are people who now comment on your... how do I put this? Invulnerability?"

         She tapped her iPad and she showed a multitude of online comments from Youtube, Facebook and Reddit. Some of them stood out to me.

         JrOeHiNn09

         I love love love the show! I've been following Hell's Kitchen for more than a decade now, and this new twist with Chef X is absolutely awesome! She's so awesome and I would love to see her go head to head with Chef Ramsay oppa. <3 The only thing I'm concerned about is, she's winning all the challenges, and it's very predictable that she's gonna win this season...so the Red and Blue Team kinda feel like they are nothing but pawns...

        There was more to that comment but Sharon moved on to the next.

       ChefZuko88

       Love X~ she's awesome and really talented. There's no doubt she's gonna win Season 20. Hopefully she reveals her lovely face in the finale. Poor everyone else though...they don't stand a chance against my X.

       And the last comment was just harrowing.

       Mrs.SebastianMichaelisForever

        Seeing as how X wins every challenge and every dinner service, what's the point of the whole show? They should just cut it and announce her as the winner! And seriously, no one can run a kitchen alone like that. You'd have to be a monster—

         I looked down at my lap, biting my lower lip to stop me from spiralling completely. Is that what the audience really thought? Sam was right. I was a big curveball hurled at them. I was this huge obstacle in the way of more deserving candidates. The thought of Angela and Ben's families...Of Sam and his dreams... Of Kaito and his restaurant...

          "You see X. As much as people love you, there are always gonna be people who will question you and your position. We have received numerous letters from fans concerning this situation." Sharon said as she turned off the projector and opened the lights.

          "W-what do I do? I mean... I'm not doing anything wrong...I'm just doing my best. That's what you all told me to do..." I looked at Brad, then Tony, then Sharon, but no one would meet my eyes.

          Cathy was the first to speak up. "Well, we do have a proposition... In three days, we are going to be filming the Fusion Cuisine Challenge..."

           There was utter silence until Pat sighed and spoke up, looking up from her notepad.

          "X, we need you to lose in this challenge."

(Gordon's POV)

          I was looking for Cassandra after taping, hoping I could invite her to a late dinner or a midnight snack but she was nowhere to be found. I asked around and found out from Jean Philippe that Cathy had taken her to the satellite office. Why whould they take her there? And if it turned out to be a corporate meeting, why wasn't I informed?

           Sighing, I bid the crew goodnight as I got out of the restaurant. I decided to go for a coffee run and headed for Starbucks. I got my usual order and took a seat in a far corner of the cafe. I tried contacting Cathy but her phone must be switched off for the meeting.

          I let my mind wander and thought about Cassandra instead. She was phenomenal in the kitchen and out of it. I am so happy that the gods, and sure, Wolfgang Puck, decided to put her in my path.

          I pulled out my phone again and checked the internet for white flowers. Maybe I can get her a nice bouquet after that great dinner service from her. Camellias, Amaryllis... Ooh, those Gardenias look nice...

           So here I am at half-past 11 in the evening, sipping coffee, looking at flowers for my...girlfriend. I smile at the thought. My girlfriend...

           I ordered the flowers online and arranged to have them delivered tomorrow at her address. I'm sure that will make her smile.

          After a while Cathy finally responded with a text.

Hi! We just had a short meeting with the higher-ups, nothing serious! Don't worry. --CB

          The higher-ups? Now that's not nothing. That's something. And it doesn't feel like a good something. I hit back reply.

What was the meeting all about? I should be informed because aside from the fact that I'm the host, I'm also one of the executive producers of the show. I was also told that X came along with you. –GR

           Of all the years I've known her, Cathy is a very tight-lipped woman. If there really was something going on, she would be the last person to blab about it.

           It's nothing, Gordon. Trust me, OK?—CB

          Even with her reassuring words, I feel unsettled. 

A/N Part 2: Hehehehehehe.