"One of these nights...one of these crazy old nights...okay swordfish, softshell crabs...check, check...ooo in between the dark and the light," Paige sang, swaying her hips to the music as she ran through her mental checklist aloud. Not breaking stride, she lay out her knives, and one at a time, ran them along her sharpening stone.
"Roasted carrot bisque; carrots, dill, brown sugar, garlic…" she continued, reciting her recipe to the beat of the music, tuning out the world as she always did to get in the zone for the Friday lunch rush.
Fridays at Dontana's were the reason Paige had gone to culinary school in the first place. She loved the chaos; the hustle bustle of her kitchen staff, the rush of completing perfect plate after perfect plate, cranking them out of the kitchen like a machine. She loved the noise, too. The searing sound of a beef tenderloin hitting a scalding hot pan, the rushed pitter-patter of a knife tearing through a bunch of parsley. The yelling, the cursing, and then inevitably, the celebratory calm that fell over the kitchen as lunch rush ended, and Paige had time for a quick breather out on the loading dock, usually blowing off steam with push ups while the rest of her staff chain smoked their menthol cigarettes and bitched about their,snobby, know-it-all customers, before it was time to jump back in the trenches and tend to the dinner crowd. It was frantic, rushed insanity...and Paige was hopelessly addicted.
"Ooo...comin right behind you, swear I'm gonna find you one of these nights…" she wailed.
"Mmm...promise?" a sultry voice entered behind her, causing Paige to jump as the intruder's arms wrapped around her waist from behind.
"Jesus, babe. I told you a million times not to sneak up on me when I'm sharpening my knives," Paige exhaled, sliding her knives to the side and switching off the radio before turning in the girl's arms.
"I tried calling your name from the door. It's not my fault you keep the music so damn loud. Then you start shaking your stuff and I just can't help myself," the girl grinned, sneaking a quick kiss from the chef as she rolled her eyes.
Kelsey was the restaurant's longest tenured waitress, an attractive blonde with a foul mouth and cocky attitude who had taken a liking to Paige immediately. She was drawn to the chef's calm demeanor under such intense pressure; a skill she definitely lacked herself. Paige seemed to find confidence in the background; to exist among everyone else's cockiness and drama, and let her food do the talking. It was such a turn on to her, to see someone with such power and talent also possess an almost valiant humility. She had seen a lot of chefs come through the Dontana's kitchen, all of whom ruled with an iron fist and let the job take its toll on them until they burned out. Paige was somehow the opposite; dancing while she prepped and embracing the chaos with a smile on her face, putting a little piece of her heart and soul on every plate. It was incredibly sexy, and had her completely smitten after only a few days of working in a Paige McCullers kitchen.
"You snuck out again this morning," she continued with a pout, playing with the buttons on Paige's chef coat.
"Big day, babe. We're booked solid, Chrissy's gonna be here today, pissing and moaning and getting in my damn way, and I've got that new waitress starting. I wanted to get here early and go over my menu," Paige explained, rolling her eyes at the thought of her boss.
"New waitress?" she winced.
"Yes...Hanna's friend, Emily something or other. I need you with her today,"
"What? Come on babe don't stick me with the new girl…let Hanna watch her. I can help you back here," the girl whined.
"Hanna's hosting, I need her there. I don't need you back here, I need you with the new girl so I don't have to babysit. Please, Kels. Everyone needs to be at their best today, and nobody knows my kitchen like you. I'll make it up to you, I promise," Paige pleaded, rolling the sleeves up meticulously on her jacket.
"Fine. I'm holding you to that, though," she grumbled, stealing another kiss.
"I'm a woman of my word. Can you go make sure everything is good out front? I need to start my soup, and you are a distraction," Paige smiled, pulling a green, folded bandanna out of her coat pocket and tying it around her head securely.
"Yes, Chef," the girl winked, planting a firm smack on Paige's backside before exiting the kitchen.
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"So this is where you put the orders in. Have you ever seen one of these before?" Kelsey brought Emily to the bussing station as they got ready for their shift. Emily tilted her head to the side in contemplation, watching the girl tap buttons on the touch screen quickly.
"Uh...nope, I usually just would write orders down on my pad, and bring it back to the kitchen," Emily chuckled nervously.
"Ah, old school. Where did you work before this?"
Emily couldn't help but pick up a little cockiness in the girl's voice, feeling almost like she didn't believe she was good enough, classy enough to work in such a nice restaurant. Emily wondered briefly if that could be the case. She was used to being an underdog though, growing up as the only one of her group of friends to not come from money, fighting her tail off to get scholarships to the University of North Carolina, and having to work for everything she had. After a successful first year as a business and finance major she had come home to Philadelphia for summer break. Low on cash and looking to save up for her next semester's books, she had pleaded with everyone she knew in town for a summer job. Luckily her best friend Hanna, a hostess at Dontana's since graduation, who could sweet talk with the best of them tugged at Paige's heartstrings and got her an interview with the owner. Now, here she was on her first day, being talked to like every bit the poor, modest college student she felt. Hoping she was just paranoid, and definitely not wanting to make waves on her first day, she chalked the girl's saltiness up to maybe not being thrilled about having to train a new waitress on a busy Friday, and smiled back.
"A coffee shop when I was in high school...and a pizza place near campus at college," she explained.
"Okay well, we do it a little different here. You enter the orders on the screen here, pretty self explanatory, and the tickets print for Paige back in the kitchen. Paige is the head chef,"
"Yeah, we spoke on the phone," Emily nodded in understanding.
"She hired you over the phone?" Kelsey asked, somewhat surprised.
"Oh...no, not really. I came in and had an interview with Christina, the owner. But after she hired me she told me to deal with Paige from here on out. Said she's out of town a lot," Emily shrugged as they made their way across the dining room.
"Yeah that's an understatement. She's pretty much a figurehead, owns 12 restaurants on the east coast and spends about 1 day a month at each one. The rest of the time she...I don't know, swings by down in hell to check on Satan, make sure he's doing things to her liking…" she shrugged.
"Yikes...I take it she's tough to work for," Emily surmised, slightly amused now by Kelsey's all around cranky demeanor.
"She's literally the worst. But you'll see! Paige tells me she'll be visiting us today. Let's check out the kitchen," she suggested, pushing the swinging door open and allowing Emily inside.
"Uh…" Emily froze, watching Paige tending to a pan of sauteed onions at the stove, a little awestruck at the eye candy that was Dontana's head chef. She was a tall drink of water, and Emily pondered briefly how much she resembled one of the love struck cartoons, with thumping hearts popping out of her eye sockets and jaw hitting the floor like an anvil, she had seen countless times as a child. She wasn't sure the last time she had found someone so attractive, mostly concentrating on her studies and trying to make some money to keep her going through the semester. The girls at UNC never seemed to catch her eye, a fact that bothered her at first, until she made the decision to allow herself a year to settle in before actively trying to date. It was lonely, sure, but at the moment she couldn't help but be thankful to be single, nothing back in North Carolina tying her down on the off chance that this magnificent creature initiated a spontaneous make out session in the dry goods storage closet.
"Hi, uh...Emily right?" Paige greeted, wiping a hand on her jacket before extending it for a handshake.
"Yeah...hi, I'm Emily," she replied, accepting the handshake nervously, snapping out of her fantasy, hoping the heat rising to her cheeks wasn't visible.
"Hi Emily. I'm Paige, we spoke on the phone. You getting settled in okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Definitely, settling in. Yes," she rambled.
"So that's Paige, and back there are all the sou chefs, you'll get to know them too. This counter here is where you pick up orders, and all the way in the back is where you bring the dishes. Easy enough?" Kelsey questioned. Emily glanced around quickly, her eyes falling back to Paige, who had turned her attention back to the stove.
"Yeah. Yeah, makes sense," Emily agreed with a smile, watching the way the chef's perfectly sculpted forearms flexed as she shimmied the pan back and forth over the flame.
"Well great, how about you go help Hanna out front for a while? We don't open for another half hour or so," Kelsey suggested.
"Uh, sure...if that's okay with you Paige?" she replied.
"Go for it. I'll be out in a bit to go over the specials," she smiled back, flipping her pan of onions a few times.
"Cool. I...uh...bye," Emily squawked out, exiting the kitchen hastily, sighing deeply when she was out of Paige's sight.
"Hey buddy!" Hanna yelled from across the dining room. Emily smiled and made her way over, grabbing a stack of napkins and helping Hanna fold.
"So how come you didn't tell me Paige was so…"
"Hot right? I thought about it, I mean the girl is totally your type but...I knew if I gave you a heads up you'd act like a total dork, and besides...she's dating Kelsey,"
"Oh. Really?" Emily replied, a little shocked at how disappointed she was. She had just met the girl, after all.
"Yeah, like for a year now. Keep it on the DL though, cause if Chrissy finds out she'll probably fire Kelsey... by the way, I know she can be bitchy but she's cool once you get to know her. She'll totally get your back if a customer gives you shit, and she buys all us underage-rs beer,"
"I...okay…"
"Chill, Em. If you're that into a summer fling we'll find you someone. It's Friday. The whole gang goes out, gets some drinks, it's fun," Hanna explained.
"Does Paige go?" she asked, arching an eyebrow hopefully, excited at the prospect of seeing Paige outside of work. Even though she knew she'd be dreaming of Paige and that chef jacket all day, she couldn't help but wonder what was underneath it, too.
"Yes, dork, Paige goes. With Kelsey, her girlfriend I just mentioned?" Hanna rolled her eyes, although amused at Emily's inability to handle her attraction, after only a few minutes.
"Alright, alright. Got it, she's taken," Emily laughed, raising her hands in defeat.
As if on cue, Paige came barreling through the swinging kitchen doors, Kelsey hot on her heels. She shot Emily a quick smile as she stood at attention in the back of the dining room, and the waitstaff, bartenders and other staff gathered around, waiting to hear her speak. Emily was in awe, the respect Paige seemed to command just simply walking into a room was one of the sexiest things she'd ever seen.
"Han?" Emily whispered.
"What?" she bit back in a harsher whisper, trying to convey to Emily that now was quiet time. Now was Paige's time.
"Alright everybody listen up! You know the drill, it's Friday so let's do what we do okay? Push the soup, alright? Push it hard, it is my absolute best and I don't want a drop leftover. It's a crowd pleaser and we aim to please, am I right?"
"Yes Chef!" the staff yelled in unison, startling Emily a bit. Paige set into a pace, gliding back and forth in front of her staff, a pride and excitement shining from her piercing green eyes as she spoke. Emily was entranced.
"We're going with the swordfish today, as the main special. It's beautiful, it's fresh as hell and I will be searing it to perfection with a balsamic brown butter sauce. Push it, it is gold. We also have our softshell crabs today, I picked them up myself from down at the docks this morning. They will be lightly fried and served in a hand-pressed blue corn tortilla with a chili-lime pico de gallo and queso fresco. We also have our stand bys, the tenderloin, duck confit, portobello ravioli and of course, our lemon chicken risotto. For dessert, as always, our triple chocolate raspberry tart or banana ice cream. Any questions?"
"No Chef!"
"Let's get to work people. Make me proud," she winked, before making her way back to the kitchen among the rousing applause of the staff.
"I'm in trouble, Han," Emily mumbled, still staring at the kitchen door Paige had just crashed through.
"Pull it together, Em. You're a mess," Hanna demanded, heading off to her station.
"Let's go, new girl. We're on in 10," Kelsey grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to the bus station to grab aprons for their shift. Emily tried to shake thoughts of Paige from her mind as she was manhandled and forced to shadow her girlfriend around on her first day.
"Kels, can you open up the front door for me? Chrissy will be pissed if it's still locked when she gets here," Paige hollered from the kitchen door, again meeting Emily's eyes and flashing her a grin...that grin... and Emily knew all she needed to know in that moment.
"I'm screwed…" she sighed to herself, following quickly behind Kelsey, knowing in certainty that grin, those eyes, those forearms...may very well be the death of her this summer.
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First off, I will say obviously, I own nothing. Credits for the song Paige is singing in the beginning go to the greatest band of all time, the Eagles. (RIP Glenn Frey, one of my heroes)
Title is a wonderful Blue Oyster Cult song.
I've been out of the fan fiction game for a few years, so be gentle. That being said, I appreciate any comments, questions or critiques you may have. I'm just a Paily fan in withdrawal (self diagnosed) ever since Lindsey left the show. I started PLL for Shay, stayed for Lindsey and have been hopelessly reading so many great Paily fics here while nursing my broken Paily heart (self diagnosed) on the sideline and finally decided to give it a shot myself.
Thanks for reading, and I appreciate your reviews in advance :)