Here we are! Chapter eighty of "Culinary Rivals"! And still alive. But I've gotten lazy and been doing other stuff, and lo and behold, we're back to monthly updates even though I have nothing to do!
So as of just three weeks ago, I have unofficially completed my undergraduate studies! In my small online DG club group the past couple weeks, I shared this story with them, and Alyssa apparently was more entertained by my author's notes than the actual story. But I promised my DG to given honourable mention to anyone. So we have Alyssa, Olivia, Rachel-Claire, and maybe Taylor who gave it a chance (and maybe Jason or Brendan too, but I don't know)
For DaX0315, darkwolf0909, the honoured Guest, Ou7X, Phsycres Wolf-Brother, and leo (hats off to you for reading the whole thing in one day), please have some curry pasta and Salac berry ice cream! You'll have to take it to go in a box, though (coronavirus reasons). I'm glad you all found the previous chapter to be warm and bubbly!
Chapter eighty: Fate of Vue sur la Lune
Today was Sunday, but Martine Grenadine had to leave home for work. She hadn't bothered with breakfast and decided that she would eat out.
As a long-time employee of the Stone Restaurant and Bistro, she was entitled to discounts. But Martine wanted to see how Cynthia was doing too, so it surely couldn't hurt to check up on her, right? Then again, she had to remind herself that Cynthia didn't own Vue sur la Lune anymore. But nevertheless, both the coffee and dessert shops were doing good business. That also reminded Martine, she didn't have a clue as to where Cynthia was right now. Only Steven would know that.
The sun from the east had just risen over the cliffs that overlooked Cyllage City and had started to brighten up the city. Getting the heartwarming feeling of a new day, Martine walked on the waterfront toward the two restaurants. Once in a while, she would run into either Laurent or Sophie on the way, and sometimes both of them together, and they would walk to work. But on this particular morning, when Martine was heading for breakfast, she saw the two receptionists together. To Martine's amusement, they were being tailed by Wallace and Lisia.
He just can't let them go, can he? Martine thought. Wallace was certainly a romanticist. Now that the issue with Steven and Cynthia was done and, frankly, over with for him, Wallace needed new victims. In Martine's opinion, dealing with Sophie and Laurent was much easier than Steven and Cynthia. The way Sophie reacted every time to Wallace was priceless. Then there was Lisia who was supportive of the relationship efforts Wallace pressed.
So Martine went to get the receptionists' attention. "Bon matin!" she greeted, smiling.
"Bon matin," Laurent replied and returned the smile. Beside him, Sophie had buried her head into his shoulder. She wasn't crying, no, but she was silent. Laurent glanced at Sophie briefly before looking back to Martine. "If you're wondering what just happened, Wallace and Lisia had just tormented Sophie with about a fifty love questions and none for me. I think they're having too much fun with her."
"Be quiet, Laurent," Sophie said in a muffled voice.
Lisia waved at Martine. "You know, Sophie's face has become red. That shows that she needs to express her feelings and love more!"
Wallace nodded eagerly. "And soon enough, they'll have a love that surpasses that of Steven's! By then, she'll talk about it no problem!"
"This is the first chapter of your love story, Sophie!" Lisia said. She wrenched Sophie away from Laurent to look at Sophie's very, very, very red face. "Hmm… Let's call it, "The Shallow End of my Heart". Do you like that, Sophie? This is just the start!"
Sophie looked like she was about to cry. "Non! There's no need! I'm not Cynthia!"
Martine laughed. "Come on, Sophie. Let's have breakfast together. You and Laurent aren't on a date, right? And we're not too far from the bakery…"
So that was how it turned out. The trio ended up at Le Café Sinnoh and had ordered drinks to start off their day. The sunshine was lighting the mood in the café, despite it never actually faced the sunrise. Still, as Martine and Sophie got a table, Laurent went to the Stone Bakery across the street to get breakfast. Surely Cynthia wouldn't mind delicious bread being brought into her café, right?
To Sophie's annoyance, Wallace and Lisia sat not too far from them.
"They seriously don't want to let me go! I feel like I'm a victim here," Sophie said, sighing. She could tell Wallace and Lisia were taking too much pleasure in torturing her.
"It's fine, Sophie! It might be for the better. I mean, look how their actions worked on Steven!" Martine replied. "At least it worked! But anyways… Que souhaites-tu?"
"What? But I…" Sophie's eyes wandered to the table across from them. There was a tasty-looking waffle that looked extremely delicious, like a mix of cheesecake and waffle. Then it hit her. It was the waffle Cynthia had made once during the cook-off. Only Cynthia knew that recipe, so Sophie guessed that Cynthia had to bring it here. Martine recognised it too.
Quietly, Henri Matin, practically the manager of Le Café Sinnoh now, delivered a coffee and two smoothies for Martine. "Who is the coffee for?" he asked.
"Moi," said Sophie, and the coffee was given to her immediately.
As Henri went back to his workspace, Martine could have sworn that Henri was sneaking glances at Sophie. Giggling, she looked at Lisia, who nodded in approval and they both went back to their respective conversations. Minutes later, Laurent arrived at the café with hot buns filled with molten LaBrie cheese. The aroma was tempting. Before he could even start on his smoothie, he was rudely interrupted by Wallace (who didn't care about rude or not).
"Laurent! You should start taking care of Sophie!" he said. "You're going to have competition soon!"
"What…?" Laurent said.
"That barista…" Wallace looked to Henri and waved, and Henri waved back. "Now, I don't know his name, but he might have eyes for Sophie. That is, eyes serious enough to match hers. If you don't take the initiative, you might lose Sophie!"
Lisia, on the other hand (quite literally), snuck beside Sophie. She looked right into her eyes. "Sophie! Your love story will progress rapidly at this pace! Even faster than Steven's! Let's call it chapter two: "The love heats up!" Yeah… I like that."
"S-stop! You don't know what you're talking about!" Sophie cried. What did she do to deserve this? If anything it was because of Steven, probably. Otherwise, how else could have Wallace and Lisia interfered with her life?!
To help get her mind off things, Sophie took a bite of her Labrie bun.
Soon enough, Wallace waved for Henri's attention ("Nononononono!" Sophie whispered urgently. "Why would you do that?!") and Henri came back to their table. Fortunately for Sophie, the worst never came. Wallace had a different question in mind. "Mon ami, where is Cynthia? Has she returned?"
Henri shook his head. "I haven't seen Cynthia around. Still, why do you ask?"
"I recognised that waffle over there." Wallace eyed the cheesecake waffle before looking to Sophie. "And she would like one. I'm buying, of course, but you could take the order for her, right? So Cynthia has come back?" At that, Laurent stared at Wallace. It was like Wallace was trying to get him and this barista into a fistfight over Sophie. Lisia looked excited and hoped something would happen.
But Henri smiled and stayed on topic. "Cynthia gave us that recipe this morning. She trained us within an hour how to prepare it, and there it is." That response was much to Lisia's disappointment and Laurent sighed in relief. The way Henri had replied did not involve Sophie at all. "So it turns out that Cynthia will run Vue sur la Lune again. If you didn't know, Cynthia tells me there is this sketchy plan to merge Vue sur la Lune with the Stone Bistro."
"WHAT?!" Now everyone's heads had jolted. Never mind Wallace's fruitless attempts to test Sophie's romantic life. This was more important.
"Oui, I was surprised too, but the both of them broke the news to me this morning…" Henri replied. He hadn't expected this reaction and was thankful that the café wasn't busy, so he had time to explain. "Man… Can you believe how thick Steven's feelings are for Cynthia?"
Martine said, "We can. We've been looking out for Steven's love life for a while. Tell us more!"
Henri figured it was better to sit down to explain. "A week ago, I gave him a free coffee every time he stopped by, because he really wanted to look for Cynthia. Next thing I hear, today, the restaurants will operate under one owner."
"So Cynthia will actually return and run the restaurant again? Are you serious?" Sophie asked.
"Very," Henri replied. "I didn't believe it either, but everyone at Vue sur la Lune would love to see her back. I want to see her again too. She brought this place to life."
There were so many things that everyone wanted to ask Henri, but in the face of that, Henri digressed. He maintained that he didn't know the answers and that it was better off to ask Steven and Cynthia themselves. Everyone hazarded a guess that they were in the restaurant across the street, and didn't bother checking it in the first place!
Wallace and Lisia, though, frowned at the thought of failing to bring Sophie and Laurent closer. But then again, their relationship was very close already. For now, what was important was the state of Steven and Cynthia.
"I knew he wanted to help her, but he never mentioned a merger," Wallace said.
"Then," Lisia said to Henri, "where is she now?"
As it happened, Cynthia was in the kitchen of the Stone Bistro as Steven insisted on having breakfast there. This was her first time in these kitchens, she thought. The fact that Steven invited her to breakfast here that morning gave her a sense of relief. She had expected to have breakfast with him, but she wasn't expecting that they would be having it here. Since it was an invitation, she had gladly accepted it. Besides, she guessed she would talk business with him over breakfast, since there was work to do, moving forward.
The morning had been long and a very odd one. No sooner had Cynthia woken up that morning did she realise she and Steven were in each other's arms. Rather than try getting out of bed, Cynthia had waited until Steven had woken up, and thankfully he only woke up minutes after her. While Cynthia had wanted to make breakfast at his villa, Steven insisted having breakfast at the Stone Bistro instead.
Omelette. Steven was making omelette. Cynthia could tell just from how Steven started by beating four eggs separated into two bowls each. First, he separated the egg whites and beat them with a whisk until the egg whites became soft and very, very, fluffy! He repeated this process with the yolks and then added them to the whites, plus cream. Next he added seasoning, using sea salt, pepper, and thyme, and then poured them onto two pans like they were paste, and then covered them with lids.
Then he turned to look at her. "Que veux-tu dans ton omelette?" he asked.
"Moi?" Cynthia replied. "Plain will do." Watching Steven cook was starting to become something like entertainment for her. Then again, while she was here, she might as well join him in cooking. "Actually, I can think of something. Can I help?"
Steven smiled. "Go ahead. Feel free to use whatever."
Satisfied with that answer, Cynthia went to take a handful of Qualot berries from the back and set about getting a pan ready. Steven didn't know it, but Cynthia had a liking for these berries in preparing her dishes. She used it in fish salad often. But for this morning, she would make a sauce out of these. Cynthia peeled the hard skin off before placing them in the pan, frying them, and adding water, salt, sugar, and garlic. What Cynthia hoped to achieve from this was to compliment Steven's omelette.
Eventually as Steven was about to remove the lids to get the eggs out, the Qualot berries Cynthia had been cooking had molten into the water. The salt and sugar had also loosened the berries to get its flavour into the water and also thicken the water too. Qualot berries were known to absorb more water than other berries, and soon enough the water had thickened into a sauce. Afterwards, Steven had brought out two servings of the omelette onto plates and brought them over to Cynthia. Cynthia smiled. Always the professional, wasn't he?
What caught her eye was that Steven had prepared soufflé omelettes! Just looking at them made Cynthia curious. She hadn't had these before, and wasn't surprised that Steven knew how to make them either. By the time they were placed, Cynthia immediately poured hearty servings of Qualot berry sauce onto them as a finishing touch. The mix of sour, spicy, and sweet should be more than enough to make the soufflé omelettes taste nothing short of delicious.
There weren't any customers coming in for breakfast at the moment, so Cynthia and Steven took the chance to sit together near the window. Steven offered to fix Cynthia some coffee, but Cynthia insisted on water instead. Still, the plates of hot and bubbly soufflé omelette with Qualot berry sauce were just waiting to be eaten. They also looked like they showed a glimpse of what two rivalling chefs (but also lovers) could do when they were together.
"Bon appétit," Steven and Cynthia said together, before starting to eat. But they couldn't resist poking the jiggly texture of the soufflé before scooping up a bite of it. They ate at the same time and a feeling of overwhelming satisfaction swept their heads.
It felt like bubbles in their mouths and had that extra but much needed kick from the Qualot berry sauce to be complete. Simply delicious was an understatement. The flavours of the sauce melted right into the bubbly feeling and taste of the omelette, enough to make their mouths water again. But like the chefs they were, they showed restraint.
That didn't mean they didn't stop eating though.
"It's so…" Steven started, before scooping another bite. "It's so good."
"Yeah…" Cynthia even made sure that no drop of Qualot berry sauce was left behind. It occurred to her that Steven was eating in a manner similar to her. A bit of omelette was scooped and used to wipe any remaining sauce. Even with a little sauce, the omelette was very tasty.
Breakfast was halfway done in silence and that was when the inevitable came. That is, business. Steven had to bring it up.
"Yesterday morning I talked with my sous over how we might move forward, with our businesses in this state," Steven explained. "I want to give you back Vue sur la Lune, but obviously both our restaurants are working under one entity. The idea is that we'll be trying to outcompete each other, just like old times."
In other words, Cynthia and Steven both knew, the restaurants may be under one ownership in the Stone Bistro. But other than that, Cynthia's restaurant would be granted a high level of autonomy.
Cynthia had to suppress a chuckle. Like old times? It was like Steven was longing for the old days already (when, relatively, that wasn't too long ago). But he did confess that he enjoyed it, and if Cynthia was brutally honest, she longed for them too.
"That competition really did bring out the best in us, didn't it?" Cynthia said. "Creating recipes and dishes like never before, as if to completely decimate us from the world. Isn't there a saying that in competition, individual ambition serves the common good? That worked for us."
Steven nodded.
"You get it," he said. "But here's the thing. I'm thinking that if one side starts to fall behind, the other side has to help it catch up to its level. It's like running a race together, if you know what I mean?"
Cynthia understood and nodded back, finding it unnecessary to say anything more.
"And if it helps, I'll let you know that last Friday was payday." Steven said, and from his tone of voice it sounded like he had something important to say. Cynthia hoped it did and nodded for him to continue. "After writing all the paycheques, this restaurant made some sizeable profits too. As I promised earlier at Café Pokémon-Amie, I used all of it to pay off some of your debts."
That caught her attention and her eyes widened.
"Steven…" she whispered.
"And I used a small part of my paycheque to top that off," Steven said. "Remember the day I came back to Cyllage City? When you called me after I just talked with Astrid? I had the bank wire funds to pay off your debts at that time."
The mere mention of Astrid's name already sent Cynthia's blood on edge, but Cynthia had not expected the latter part of Steven's words. Even after all that talk about Astrid, he still thought of Cynthia, cared for her wellbeing, and helped her financially too! Well, she definitely thought of Steven wrong, Cynthia thought.
"Aw… Did you really? That's… wow!" Wow. So that was the first thing that came in her head. But after the shock had settled, Cynthia quickly added. "Steven, that's a little overboard, don't you think? You need income too!"
"But it's not like I'm in a hurry to spend on things. I only have time for limited luxuries," Steven replied. "Besides. For now, you're the most important thing I can focus on. Whatever you're going through, you don't have to go at it alone. I can lend you an ear."
That was touching, and more than enough to make Cynthia sigh in relief. In other words, Steven really cared for her that much. In the next moment, a though struck her mind, and then suddenly Cynthia started to giggle. Steven, in turn, raised an eyebrow.
"So… Does that make you and your restaurant a not-for-profit?" she said.
"You have to admit, it is charitable!" Steven said. His lips also broke into a smile. "For now."
They continued eating the remainder of their breakfast, where there wasn't much sauce left and the soufflé omelettes had definitely cooled by then. For the next while, they talked about the cultures their restaurants had and discussed whether they were compatible. Was there anything in common? Lots. Cynthia and Steven agreed their businesses were legally small businesses with each restaurant employing under a hundred people each. That included accounting, serving, the museum, bakery, bar, coffee shop, and chocolatier. And the kitchens of course. Despite Vue sur la Lune being taller than the Stone Restaurant and Bistro, they had roughly the same number of servers.
Also, there was the natural truth Cynthia and Steven had to admit was that Vue sur la Lune excelled at desserts, while the Stone Bistro's reputation for entrées was sterling. There was no debate over this. Now, how were they supposed to reconcile this?
"What about… discounts?" Steven suggested. "If customers dined at the Stone Bistro, I can reward customers with a ten-percent discount for dessert at Vur sur la Lune if they went there the same day or night. That will bring business to you too."
"Pourquoi pas? I'll think about it, but that's not a bad idea…"
Then they talked about culture too. In light that they were small businesses, Cynthia shared that her culture was designed to be friendly, informal, and thrived on creativity from her staff. It was why her desserts were known for innovation. Meanwhile, Steven admitted that his culture was performance-oriented and probably was more formal than Cynthia's, with emphasis on continuous improvement and some innovation. But as Cynthia pointed out midway through explaining, that didn't stop Martine, Sophie, and Laurent from focusing on romantic lives. Steven's culture may have been less formal than he thought, Cynthia said. She cited his being dragged out of his restaurant to visit hers for the first time, as well as the beach episode.
That was what Steven had added in his explanation afterward. Everyone mutually trusted each other, and mistakes were met with the right level of discipline and forgiveness. As an aside, the blooming relationship between his receptionists Sophie and Laurent happened under his nose, with some unsung 'help' from Martine and Wallace. Steven's culture was probably informal enough for such.
"Workplace romance?!" Cynthia could stop herself from laughing. "Really, Steven? I didn't think you would approve that!"
"I…" Steven scratched his head. "I didn't. But they are a good match. They're even members of the same fan club and once pleaded with me for time off to go to it. Would you believe that I fell for Sophie's eyes to do that?"
Cynthia chuckled. "She does have beautiful eyes. Serious eyes, but beautiful."
As they finished breakfast and had taken their last bites, Steven said, "Now that we're together on the business side, I just thought of an idea of improving your side's culture. Our cultures will always be distinct, of course, and bringing them together will be a recipe for disaster. But still, you said you thrived on innovation, right? What would you think of… an in-store retreat where your cooks compete for the best innovative dessert? That might reinforce your creative culture."
He was met with silence, which was what he not hoped for.
"Désolé," he said quickly. "You don't already have such a thing, do you?"
"Oh, non, non!" Cynthia sat up straight. "It's just that I hadn't thought of that before! Go on. I mean, do you have more ideas on how to reinforce my informal culture?"
Steven decided to build on his suggestion. "It's more like us, you know. We tried beating each other and seeing who had the best dish. Now look where that got us. As you said, we created stuff like never before. How much more will your staff be creative? It sounds like a good idea."
He had a point, Cynthia thought.
"Regarding your informal culture, well… I figured your coffee shop, Le Café Sinnoh, could use some music when I went in there. It's like implementing occasional live performances, like an open mic!"
"You want to bring a live band?"
"Something like that. Does it not match your interests?"
"It has to be jazz or easy listening."
"Sure."
They eventually discussed more of the issue in Steven's office. As it happened, Cynthia also had the opportunity to see the actual documents and how the payout system would work. To her mild relief, Steven showed her proof of the restaurants' combined profits, and that the profits funded Cynthia's debts. That did leave a burning question in her mind though.
"How did you find my contacts?" she asked.
Steven became sheepish. "You don't want to know. It was a lot of work, but you should know at least that things worked out."
"Come on…" Cynthia pouted for a second before returning to her usual demeanor. "How bad could it be? You do know that's like an invasion of privacy, right? How could you possibly know who my debtors are?"
Steven sighed. Cynthia probably deserved to know what had happened.
"Good news, Steven!" a flamboyant Wallace said while bursting into the Stone Restaurant and Bistro. Wallace must have seen him through the doors of the entrance, since Steven was in plain sight and talking with Sophie and Laurent. "I've discovered who Cynthia's contacts are!"
Sophie and Laurent gave Wallace weird looks.
"Wallace. How could you possibly know that?" Steven asked.
"I called in many favours, including some from Diantha, but I got into the secrets of Vue sur la Lune. You know that? I got into that restaurant's payroll records and trade secrets, and Lisia helped too! And you get the idea…"
Steven was afraid to ask, but had to know. "So what happened?"
"I was really easy! I simply broke into Vue sur la Lune and that was that. I had to call in some contacts, mind, but it worked out in the end!"
As Steven was just about to reprimand Wallace for a break-and-enter, Wallace slapped a file folder onto the desk in front of Steven and then turned around. Sighing, Steven was just as afraid to look into what was confidential information.
After reading it which included the details of Cynthia's debtors, Steven attempted to call them. But what Steven hadn't counted on was how difficult it was to reach them. When he tried calling in the first of the contacts through phone, he was sent straight to voicemail.
"I am not available, ever, because I am sick or travelling. I don't check emails or return phone calls. You would think yelling at a rock would yield better results. Despair is your only option."
Every other phone call had pretty much the same message. Almost defeated, Steven had to call in almost everyone he knew for help. Wallace, Diantha, his old colleagues at the Elite Four, and the Kalos Gym Leaders including Viola, Grant, and Korrina. While they all helped, it came at the heavy price of exposing his secret desire to help Cynthia. He was surprised Viola and Alexa hadn't published this in the magazine the next day.
Finally, Steven got in touch with one of the contacts' secretaries, but was told the very same contact was about to leave Kalos for vacation and wouldn't be back for a month. In sheer panic, Steven begged the secretary for just two minutes, in which the secretary complied. Quickly as he could, Steven made what was essentially a one-minute elevator pitch to convince the contact to accept Steven's terms. That is, to let Steven cover for Cynthia's debts.
The contact merely replied, "I'll think about it," which set a sinking feeling in Steven's stomach.
Cynthia couldn't help smiling. "Wallace did all that for you, huh?"
"He could have used more legitimate means, if you ask me!" Steven couldn't help keeping his annoyance from entering his voice. "What lengths will he go to interfere with pretty much anyone's life? He had fun messing with Sophie, you know." He took out many more files and papers out of his desk but only to put the files in order. As he did that, Cynthia noticed something in the stack and pulled it out before Steven could say anything.
It was an old copy of the popular Kalos magazine, with the 'Apples and Oranges' article.
"… Really, Steven? I didn't think you would."
"It's not what it looks like," Steven said calmly.
But Cynthia could hear some panic in his voice. Did he always lose his cool when flustered? Allowing a smile to escape her lips, she then chuckled. "Really, Steven?" Cynthia repeated. "Let's think of all the possible reasons why you might have an old copy of that magazine around the time we first met. Hmm… Is it because you had a crush on me? You know you're not the type for gossip, so you must have other reasons…"
Steven's face started to show the slightest hint of pink and he looked away from her. Cynthia meanwhile looked at the magazine and kept smiling. "You really shouldn't be thick with your feelings like that, especially when it's so obvious you have feelings."
"I…" Steven's breathing became short.
Cynthia grinned. She couldn't believe how thick his emotions were.
With a review, you can have a serving of that soufflé omelette with Qualot berry sauce! Boxed, of course.