#chefrry

“What did you just say about my girlfriend?!” He had shouted, and everyone fell silent.

“Chef…I didn’t know you two were-“

“It shouldn’t matter! If I hear any of you talking about the fucking manager of this restaurant again, I’ll report you for harassment, do you understand?”

Everyone agreed and got back to work. No one said anything to Harry about Ariel, not even Garrett. But when Ariel came in around eleven to start her day, she couldn’t help but feel like everyone was looking at her. She brushed it off and got on with her morning. She makes her way through the kitchen after she’s done her initial paperwork, and goes to Harry’s office to discuss a potential new dessert item.

“My dad found this old recipe book of my grandmother’s.” Ariel shows Harry a few pictures on her phone. “There’s a recipe for this French custard tart sort of thing. I thought it might be nice for a summer dessert. We could top it with fresh berries and stuff.”

“Email me the direct recipe and I’ll take a look.” He tells her. He takes one of her hands and rubs his thumb along her knuckles. “Anything else, mon amour?”

“No.” She smiles softly. “That was all I had. I’ll email it to you. Maybe we could look through the recipes together later tonight.”

“I’d like that.”

Before Ariel can say anything else, Garrett comes into the office and looks at the two of them. Harry takes his hand away from Ariel’s but, Garrett just smirks.

“It’s a little late to pretend, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean?” Harry asks him.

“You let the cat out of the bag earlier this morning when you were scolding the cooks.”

“What’s he talking about, Harry?” Ariel asks him.

“What did I say?” He ignores his girlfriend in favor of getting more information from his sous chef.

“You referred to Ariel as your girlfriend. Congrats, by the way. I knew something was going on between you, but I didn’t want to say anything until you did.” Garrett sits down in his chair and gets on his computer.

“Harry…we agreed not to make things public yet.” Ariel frowns.

“It was an accident.” Garrett says without looking at either of them. “One of the prep cooks was saying something lewd about you, and Harry let it slip.”

“What were they saying?” She asks Harry.

“Something about wanting to see what you look like with a cock in your mouth. I got upset. I didn’t mean to-“

Ariel leaves his office and immediately goes to where the cooks are prepping the food. She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. This catches their attention.

“Who said it?” She asks them. “Don’t make me ask again.” They all stay silent as they look at her. “I won’t hesitate to terminate this entire staff. This is a respectable establishment. There are other women that work here. If you’re saying stuff like that about me, you could be saying it about them too, and I won’t have that. Tell me who said it.”

“It was Paul.” One of the female prep cooks speaks up. “Paul said it.”

Ariel looks at Paul and glares at him.

“So, you’re the one that wants to know what it looks like when a clock is in my mouth?”

“Ari, it was just locker room talk. I didn’t mean anything seriously by it. Besides, your boyfriend made it clear to us-“

“You’re on probation. If I hear of any more inappropriate talk from you, you’re done. This isn’t a locker room, it’s a kitchen. Grow up.”

Ariel looks around at everyone, and goes back to her own office. Harry sighs heavily and buried his face in his hands. Garrett closes the office door, and rests a hand on his shoulder.

“She’s really sensitive about that stuff.” Harry tells Garrett.

“Who wouldn’t be? I wouldn’t want someone talking about me like that.”

“No, I mean about…about giving blow jobs.” Harry whispers. “She had a really bad experience years ago, so she doesn’t do it anymore.”

“So…she’s never…?”

“Only hand jobs, which is perfectly fine. I get to fuck her, I don’t need her mouth necessarily.” He continues to whisper. “But that’s why I got more defensive than usual this morning. She went through something traumatic, and they were joking around. It pissed me off.”

“Understandable.” Garrett nods. “Do you think she’s mad they know about you two?”

“I’m not sure.” Harry sighs. “I’m gonna give her some time to herself. I’ll talk to her about it later. Just do me a favor, and help me make sure there’s minimal gossip. We like keeping our private life private.”

“You got it.”

Ariel is quiet for most of the day. She stays in the dining room for the majority of the evening, which isn’t like her. She’s normally in and out of the kitchen running meals, or helping plate up desserts. But she just didn’t feel like being around anyone in there at the moment. She loves Harry, and she knows he didn’t do anything on purpose. She’s not upset with him in the slightest. She’s just more so embarrassed and annoyed that some members of the kitchen staff literally have no respect for her.

Harry comes out to the dining room around 8PM to check on a few things. He normally tries to leave around 8:30 when he’s been there since the early morning. He talks with a few tables, making sure they enjoyed their meals. He goes over to the host podium and grabs a mint to suck on.

“Evening, Chef.” The hostess smile as him.

“Evening, Claudia, how are you?”

“I’m good. The food was excellent tonight. That’s what we’re hearing anyways. I can’t wait to make a box up for myself later.”

“That’s always great to hear.”

“You headed out of here soon?”

“Mhm.” He nods.

“Do you ever, um…sometimes a few of us go out after our shift…like, we go to a bar to blow off some steam. You could join us, if you want.”

“That’s nice of you to offer, but I have plans tonight.” He stands up straight and looks around. “Have you seen Ariel?”

“She said she was gonna use the bathroom quick, then go to her office to start in on tonight’s receipts.”

Harry nods again and makes his way back into the kitchen. He goes into Ariel’s office and closes the door behind him.

“Hey, I’m gonna get going soon…unless you want me to wait for you.”

“No, you can go.” She tells him.

“I’m sorry if you’re upset with me-“

“I’m not upset with you.” She tells him. “I’m upset with your staff.”

“I tell them all the time not to talk like that. They just don’t seem to listen.”

“Well, get a better command over it. I threatened to terminate them earlier, all of them. I put Paul on probation. You should probably have a chat with him about that. It shouldn’t be on me to make sure your staff is respectful, Harry.”

“Okay, I feel like you’re taking this out on me, and that’s not fair.”

“When I first started working here, you told me you wanted to be in charge of the kitchen, and you alone. I’ve been trying to let you be more in charge, and look at where it’s gotten me. I have prep cooks thinking they can talk about me derogatorily. Paul thought a good excuse was saying it was locker room talk. Can you imagine how uncomfortable the other women might feel? Or even the other men who feel forced to agree?”

“The previous GM treated this place like a boy’s club. It takes time to break old habits. But don’t look at me like I haven’t been actively trying to change things. Even when I literally couldn’t stand to within ten feet of you, I backed you up.” Harry shakes his head and sits down in one of the free chairs. “I know…I know this is a really sensitive subject for you-“

“Stop.” She puts her hand up. “I don’t want to get into that again. I only told you about it because I didn’t want you thinking I was rejecting you in that way.”

“You forgot the part where we’re also madly in love and in a committed relationship.” He says coyly, making her crack a smile.

“Don’t try to make me laugh right now.” She sighs. “Madly in love, huh? Since when?”

“Since always.” He gently places his hand on the back of her neck, and leans in to kiss her. “I’ll go to yours tonight, whip up something yummy.”

“Harry, you cook all day. Just bring me something from here, yeah? I won’t be too much longer. I’ll probably be home around 9:30.”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do for you.” Harry scoffs as he stands. “I don’t want anything I’ve made here today. I’ll make something fresh us, and I don’t want to hear another thing about it.”

“Fine.” She nods. “By the way, I picked up some cream for Luna. It’s in the fridge.”

“You did something for Luna?” Harry grins.

“She’s been at my place enough, I wanted to have a treat there for her.”

Harry leans down and kisses Ariel’s forehead before leaving her office. A few of the cooks look at him in shock.

“What? Did you think I was lying this morning?” He asks the lot of them. “That’s my girlfriend in there, and your boss. If she has to reprimand any of you again, you’re gone, understand?” He looks at all of them. “I will not have a toxic work environment.”

//

Ariel gets home around 9:15, and the smell of something absolutely delicious hits her. She smiles when she comes into her kitchen to see Harry making Angel hair pasta with an assortment of vegetables.

“Hi.” He smiles, and hands her a glass of white wine. “Feeling any better?”

“Much, thank you.” She pecks his lips. “This looks so good.” She takes a sip of wine and sets the glass down before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Would you be mad if we didn’t eat right away?”

“That depends, what did you have in mind?” He lifts her up to sit on one of the kitchen counters. He kisses on her neck, making her bite her bottom lip. “Tell me, Ariel.”

“I want you to fuck me.” She opens her legs wider for him. “It was such a long day, I need you to…” She gasps when his teeth sink into her tender skin. “Need you to help me clear my head like only you can.”

Harry smiles into her neck, and gets a good grip on her hair to yank her head back. He leans in to kiss her, but stops as soon as her lips chase his. He loves to tease her like this. He loves getting her worked up until she’s begging him for something, anything.

He grips the hem of her shirt and lifts it up overhead. Then he reaches behind her to unhook her bra. He tosses both garments aside, and licks down her chest until he’s sucking one of her breasts into his mouth. She leans back on her palms, her head rolling back as well at the feeling of his warm tongue licking over her nipple.

Harry licks over to her other breast before sucking on it. Her skin is so soft and supple and plushy, he can’t help but moan against her. His fingers work quickly to undo her pants, and he slips his hand inside to start running around her folds.

“Yes.” She whispers, putting her hand on his head to keep him close to her chest. “Feels so good.”

“Say it in French.” He tells her.

“Ça fait du bien.” She ghosts her lips over his.

“Tell me to fuck you in French.”

“Baise moi.”

Harry helps Ariel to the floor so she can stand while he tugs her pants and underwear down. He strips himself of his joggers, and moves to lift Ariel up again, pushing her up against the closest wall. He lines himself up with her entrance, and thrusts inside.

“Oh, fuck!” Ariel gasps. She locks her legs around Harry’s waist and holds on for dear life. “It shouldn’t turn me on, but it was so sexy earlier when you told the staff to respect me.”

“You deserve nothing less than their respect.” He grunts. “The only person allowed to disrespect you is me.” He brings one of her hands up to her throat how she likes. “And I do it in a very particular way, don’t I?”

“Yes.” She nods to the best of her ability. Her heels dig into his bum, and her pussy tightens around his cock.

“Open your mouth.” He tells her, and she listens. He places two fingers into her mouth for her to suck on. He takes them away once they’re coated, and brings them down to her clit. “Like it when I fuck you like this, mon amour?” He says into her ear.

“Yes, so much.” She mewls.

Ariel cries out as she comes around Harry’s cock, and he spills inside her shortly after. He sets her down carefully, and the two giggle as they come down from their highs. They end up sitting naked on the kitchen floor as they eat the food Harry made earlier. Luna enjoys a saucer of cream. Life is good.

//

“Harry…I’m not typically one to be jealous, but who’s Lisa?” Ariel asks Harry one evening a few months later. “You get texts from her, like, every night.”

“Shit, I didn’t think you noticed.” He sighs and grabs his phone. “Lisa’s my realtor.”

“Oh! Are you selling your apartment?”

“I’d like to, yeah.” He nods, and pauses the TV. “I was kind of thinking…I’d like to buy us a house.”

“Are you serious?” Her jaw drops.

“We’re together every night, I’d like to move in together.”

“Don’t you think we should just move in together, like, here, before buying a house?”

“No.” He says bluntly. “I’m ready to buy a house, and I’m ready to live with you.”

“Were you going to buy a house without telling me?”

“No, I just wanted to find the perfect one before we went to look at it. Lisa’s been sending me listings.”

“Why is everything on your terms?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you were ready, but what about me?”

“Ariel, we’ve been together for nine months, you don’t want to live with me?”

“I didn’t say that…”

“I told you early on that I want it all with you. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want to marry you and be your husband. I…I don’t want that with anyone else. You’re my person, you’re my other half.”

“You’re saying all of this like it’s been obvious.” She wipes away a few stray tears. “We don’t exactly talk about these sorts of things.”

“You and I have never been good at talking.” He runs a hand through his hair. “But you’re the only woman that I can fuck hard, balls deep until it’s in your gut one minute, and then the next minute we’re cuddled up and I can lay my head on your chest and you run your fingers through my hair. I’ve never felt comfortable with someone like this before.”

“That’s true.” She smiles softly. “You…you were going to buy a house on your own?”

“I’ve got the money.” He shrugs. “I want you to be happy, amoureuse.”

“I love how much French you’ve learned.”

“Well, if we’re going to go to France at some point, I want to have a clue.”

“You’re so…why couldn’t you have been this sweet when we first met?”

“Same reason you weren’t so agreeable when we first met.” He rolls his eyes.

“I know, I was a real bitch, wasn’t I?” She moves to straddle him.

“A pain in my ass.” He gives her hips a squeeze. “You still are. Do you know how much those truffles cost?”

“People have been going nuts for the flatbread pizza we use with them, though.” She smirks. “It’s a nice summer meal.”

“Whatever.” He rolls his eyes again.

“You’re just annoyed because you didn’t come up with the idea yourself.”

“Damn.” He moves her, and pins her down on the couch, hovering over her. “You’ve found me out.”