The Wolf’s Fake Mate by Layla Silver
Chapter 3 – Silas
I couldn’t get Hailey Morran out of my mind. Not only was she the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, but by conversing with her I’d realized how intelligent she was too. She was also extremely sincere; otherwise, she wouldn’t have confessed her work-related crush on me. So I was her favorite chef. I knew I was famous in the Boston chef circle, but rarely did anyone praise me with such sincerity in their eyes. Sure, I heard compliments about my looks and my cooking all the time, but usually it was from people who wanted to suck up to me. Hailey was different. I saw that she genuinely believed me to be talented, and truth to be told, I cared about her opinion more than I ought to have. After all, she should be a nobody to me, shouldn’t she? We were strangers: the only thing connecting us was the same pack, and we hadn’t had the opportunity yet to build a relationship based on that common ground. When Hailey was younger, I was not part of the community, and when I joined she had already left. I’d only met the woman during the ski resort opening, only talked to her for the first time yesterday, and still I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Hailey was strong-willed; that much was evident to me from the way she behaved during the interview. But when I called her on the phone and must have woken her up, her sleepy voice was adorable. I was sure if I got her comfortable enough around me, I would be able to see the woman underneath the facade of professionalism. And I was curious to find out if she was as soft and passionate as I hoped she was.
However, these thoughts came with a problem. I barely knew this woman, yet I was already hopeful about getting to know her better. I didn’t want to hire someone who I found to be this attractive. So far, Hailey Morran had answered all the questions for the job interview flawlessly, and the Alpha had requested that I hire her. Sure, her credentials came from low-class eateries, but I sensed her potential from how she spoke about food. As another shifter, I could drop my guard around her. If I ever needed to discuss pack matters with someone, I would have her on-site. All of these qualities made Hailey a fantastic candidate for the position of Assistant Chief, and I wasn’t so petty that I’d refuse her the job even if she passed today’s test just because I had personal feelings about her. To me, the restaurant always came first. Sun and Moon deserved the best staff I could hire. If I had to work alongside a woman whom I would date with pleasure if the opportunity arose, so be it. She had approached me to get a job, not to start a fling with me. The boss/employee relationship was what Hailey wanted from me. So I would give her that professional distance. It would put a lid on my attraction for her, as I didn’t want to get involved with someone in the workplace.
This decision was the right thing to do, so why did I feel so sad about it? Calm down, Silas.
***
After making a disastrous souffle that exploded all over the kitchen counter, floor, and wall—as well as herself—the young, redheaded, human female job candidate ran out of the room crying. I was left with the tremendous task of cleaning up the dessert remains before the following candidate would arrive. Thankfully the kitchen was designed with materials that could quickly be cleaned with some water. I had requested from Caelum that even the ceiling be covered with tiles. The kitchen was often a battlefield, and I preferred it looking like a hygienic laboratory instead of a fancier design that would need areas renovated or replaced each month. At least this way, the kitchen could always be clean.
I’d scrubbed the dark green tile-covered floor and the dark brown counter, making the wooden imitation patterns visible again. I was in the middle of wiping the white wall when I heard someone clear their throat from the direction of the entrance. I looked up to see Hailey Morran standing there, wearing a black t-shirt as well as dark jeans fitting her so snugly that all her small but shapely curves were on display.
“Hello,” she greeted me. “Need a hand?”
I considered refusing, but she was here to work, so there was nothing wrong with asking her to wipe the wall while I went to the office to grab the survey I wanted to fill out based on her cooking performance. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”
A hidden test for a chef was how clean they could keep their workspace. Even if someone else messed up, the kitchen staff was a team, so hygiene was expected to be maintained. When I returned from my office, the document in hand, the area was cleaned up nicely. One point for Hailey Morran—I checked off the corresponding box on my paper.
“The souffle disaster is under control,” the woman saluted me with a smile. So she knew what had happened here, huh. If she was familiar with the souffle’s explosive nature when prepared in the wrong way, I had to test her with another task.
“Thank you, Miss Morran,” I put on an official facade, and Hailey dropped her smile, straightening up. Good, she knew when it was time for jokes and when it was time for seriousness. “Let’s begin your test with something simple. On the right, you will find some vegetables. Please cut them according to my instructions.”
I told Hailey Morran what size and shape I expected everything to be, then leaned on the counter next to her. She washed her hands and got to work. Her knife work was expert-level, showing years of experience. She was quick and efficient and cut the carrots, paprika pods, potatoes, and onions evenly. I took note of her performance on my survey. I waited until she rewashed her hands, then gave her the next task.
“Now, you will cook a basic dish—a soft poached egg on toast.” I instructed her on the location of the ingredients. Hailey nodded and started preparing the requested food. Eggs weren’t hard to make, but it was an easy way to determine if a chef knew the basics of cooking. More importantly, it let one see if they could present their food beautifully to make the customer’s mouth water. A poached egg could easily look like an unappetizing mess.
Hailey had a concentrated expression and never lost focus as I watched her work. She didn’t look away at me or the surroundings, lost in her own world. In the end, I received the perfect result—a beautiful-looking poached egg on toast, which tasted soft and yummy. It was easily a ten-out-of-ten job, making her the ideal chef for this restaurant.
However, this simple dish was not enough to determine whether she could manage with more complicated menu items. Therefore I gave Hailey the next task: “Now you will prepare your own main dish from the ingredients I have here. Be creative. Good luck.” As I took the basket of ingredients out of the fridge, I watched the wolf shifter momentarily flinch before she controlled her reaction. Yes, what I was doing was somewhat evil. I gave her fish to cook. Roasting fish would be difficult to get right, and eateries like those where she had worked didn’t demand the perfect moisture or the best texture. They only served fish cooked enough to pass as something a human could eat. I didn’t expect Hailey to get an excellent result here. The test was simply to see how she would work under pressure.
I took a seat on a stool and made a bored-looking expression while I watched Hailey decide what to prepare with the utmost concentration.
Sometime later, Hailey called me over to see the result of her work. It was a fish salad, I noted—a good choice for someone good at working with a knife. It looked very appetizing, nicely arranged on the plate. Mentally, I praised her for not trying to do something unnecessarily elaborate to impress me. There was a lot of charm in a simple dish well-done.
“Lemon-roasted salmon with escarole, asparagus, and potatoes,” Hailey described the creation. It was a Greek-inspired salad, served warm. I knew the recipe. It wasn’t overly complicated, but as with any dish with fish, you had to get the salmon right for the whole combination to work.
I heard Hailey hold her breath as I slowly picked up a bit of the salad and put it in my mouth. Looking her in the eye, I chewed: she stared back. I was just eating salad, for fuck’s sake, yet the moment felt intimate. Feeding each other was part of shifter courting, I noted stupidly as if I forgot that she was only doing it for work-related reasons. I chastised myself for having such weird thoughts.
The salmon tasted really good. It was not a gourmet-class dish, “the flavor could be a bit stronger, and it could be slightly softer,” I commented out loud after chewing and swallowing. Hailey’s brows twitched, but she didn’t let her disappointment show on her face. “But, the dish is beautifully presented. It was a good choice. With a bit of practice, you will be an excellent chef when it comes to fish.”
Hailey smiled, still a bit unsure where I was going with my commentary, but relieved that I praised her work. “Thank you.”
I noted it all down on my document. “Clean up, then come to my office. We need to sign the contract. I will hire you as an Assistant Chef at Sun and Moon. Congratulations.”
Hailey Morran took a deep breath then smiled at me brightly. “Thank you, oh, thank you!” she exclaimed. She looked like she wanted to hug me but controlled herself. “I won’t disappoint you!”
“I’m sure you won’t,” I replied, nodding at her and taking my leave.
I was screwed. I had no reason not to hire Hailey Morran. Just as I had predicted, she was excellent in her work. She would make a fine addition to the staff of Sun and Moon. Yet, having her this close didn’t make things easy. Would I be able to hide behind the facade of professionalism?
