"Service," she says, sliding the plates to the pass.
Jenny takes them with a grin. "You two are killing it tonight. Table after table sending back compliments."
After she leaves, Maya starts breaking down her station, and I should do the same, should focus on closing tasks and tomorrow's prep.
Instead, I say, "The spaetzle was perfect. Your instinct was right."
She looks up, surprise flickering across her face. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. Lighter was the right call. It balanced the dish exactly how it needed to."
That smile again. The one that makes my chest tight and my resolve weaken.
"Thank you for trusting me," she says quietly.
"Thank you for pushing back last night." The words come out rougher than intended. "I needed to hear it."
We stand there in the kitchen, the ventilation system humming, the sounds of the dining room fading as the last customers leave. I turn away and start my own closing tasks, putting distance between us before I forget all the reasons this can't happen.
But as I work, I can't shake the feeling that something changed tonight.
And I'm not sure if that terrifies me or gives me hope.
Chapter 4 - Maya
Something changed tonight.
I can feel it in the way Levi moves around the kitchen during cleanup, in the way he's stopped shooting down every word before it leaves my mouth. The coq au vin was a success. I heard the compliments coming back through Jenny all night, saw the way Levi's shoulders relaxed incrementally with each positive response.
He trusted me. Not just with execution, but with creativity, with adjusting his vision to make it better.
And God, it feels incredible.
I'm wiping down my station for the third time, making sure every surface is spotless, when I hear the back door close. The two dishwashers: Tommy and his younger brother Marcus, calling out their goodnights as they leave. Their voices fade into the parking lot, and then it's just the hum of the ventilation system and the sound of Levi moving around his station.
Just the two of us.
I've spent two weeks trying not to notice how attractive my boss is, trying to focus on work and learning and proving myself. But nights like tonight, when he actually talks to me like a colleague instead of just an employee, when he listens to my ideas and acknowledges when I'm right...
It's getting harder to ignore the way my pulse jumps when he's close. The way I catch myself watching his hands. The way I lie awake at night thinking about what it would feel like if he ever looked at me as something other than his kitchen helper.
"Maya."
His voice cuts through my thoughts and I jump slightly, nearly dropping the sanitizer bottle.
"Yeah?" I turn to find him leaning against his station, arms crossed, watching me with that intense focus that makes me feel like I'm under a spotlight.
"You did good work tonight."
"Thanks." The word comes out steadier than I feel. "The spaetzle adjustment really worked."
"It did." He's quiet for a moment, something working behind his eyes. "How much do you know about pastry?"
The question catches me off guard. "Um. The basics? I can make pie dough, biscuits, and some simple cakes. I'm better with savory than sweet. Why?"
"Because Juniper's needs a dessert program." He pushes off the counter and walks to the industrial fridge, pulling out containers. Butter, eggs, cream. "Right now we're buying pies from the bakery on Main Street. They're fine, but fine isn't good enough. If we're going to do this right, everything needs to be house-made."
My heart starts beating faster. "You want to add desserts to the menu?"