I was caught off guard for multiple reasons, primarily because my kitchen door had been kicked in by a complete stranger, and also because of the thick accent accompanying the demanding voice and the fact that the owner of said voice happened to be a rather stunning woman.
There was a fire in her stark blue eyes, set on either side of a pronounced nose, suiting her angular face and sharp bob that just barely passed the lobes of her ears.
I stepped forward after putting down my knife and immediately found myself the target of her fierce look, "I'm the chef and owner of this fine establishment that you've so rudely barrage in to. How can I help you?"
The woman lifted her nose into the air and spoke in her thick French accent, "I am Colette Tatou. I have worked at some of the finest restaurants in Paris, and now I'm here to challenge you to a duel!"
"A duel," I repeated dubiously as I grabbed a towel from the pocket of my apron to wipe off my hands, "You want to fight me?"
Colette scoffed, "Of course not, I mean to test your cooking, not your fists. Are American men always so eager to beat up on women?"
"Do French women always go around kicking in doors and demanding things of people?" I countered with a small smirk, making Colette narrow her eyes at me, "You mock me."
I nodded shamelessly, "Yes, because this is my kitchen, and my restaurant. I could call the police on you right now."
"Bah, a true Chef would be more concerned about defending their skills, unless you are afraid of losing," Colette goaded me with a cocky smirk.
"Alright, that's enough out of you," Tiana spoke up, stepping forward with a disapproving glare, "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but we got a dinner to get ready for. So if you would please march your arrogant ass back out the door, that would be greatly appreciated."
"Hmm, I don't remember anyone talking to you, Chef Hand. The professionals are talking," Colette snapped, and I watched as Tiana's face flushed with rage, rightfully so, "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
She took a step forward, but I held out a hand, stopping her, "Please don't talk to my staff that way. Being prideful is one thing, but if you continue to be disrespectful and rude, I will throw your ass out myself."
Despite the threat, Colette grinned as if she was happy, "Good, you do have some spine in you after all. This might be a worthy challenge yet."
"Except for the fact that I haven't agreed to your challenge nor do I have any reason to," I replied, stating the obvious.
"Well, if you accept my challenge and win, I will agree to work in your kitchen for free, an offer you would be stupid to refuse," Colette replied confidently as she crossed her arms.
"You really think you're hot shit, don't you?" Tiana snapped, still glaring at Colette from behind her arm, not that I could blame her.
"Hmph, I am just confident in my skills as any chef should be; make sure to take notes." Colette shot back, and I let out a sigh, "Last warning about the manners."
"Well, if you would just give me an answer, I wouldn't have to stand around trading insults with your sous chef," Colette replied with a frivolous wave of her hand.
"He doesn't owe you anything, besides a firm kick in the-"
"Fine, I'll do it," I interrupted Tiana while meeting Colette's gaze, who grinned from ear to ear, "Excelent the challenge will be next weekend, each of us will serve three dishes to a panel of randomly selected judges using whatever ingredients we wish."
"Sounds straightforward enough, now leave my restaurant and next time knock before you come in, kicking stuff down." I waved Colette off with my hand, and the French chef finally turned around to leave, but not before sending a final smirk in Tiana's direction, who now looked just as angry with me as she did Colette."
"Why the hell did you accept her offer? She's nothing but a distraction," Tiana questioned as I moved back over to my station.
"Well, for all her arrogance and pride, she was right about one thing," I muttered while picking up my knife, "As a Chef, you should take pride in your cooking; besides, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of competition," I answered with a grin.
Tiana huffed and crossed her arms, "Well, I still think you should have let me kick her ass."
"Yeah, but I want the satisfaction of beating her at her own game." I looked over my shoulder and shot Tiana a smile that made her angry facade break, "Oh, so you were just being selfish."
"Hmmhn," I hummed in the confirmative, "Now enough talk about her, we are now officially behind schedule, so it's time to get some shit done!"
I turned back around to focus on my work, though not before taking a final glance at the screen that had popped up when Colette had come bursting into the kitchen.
[SimQuest: One Chef to Rule Them All]
Objective(s): You have been challenged to a cook-off by the Colette Tatou. Defend the quality of your cooking and prove you deserve to call yourself a Chef.
Beat Colette at her own game and win the cooking competition
Reward(s):
+2 Perk Points
+5 Skill Points
Colette Tatou will join your cooking staff
'Nice, a quest I can actually complete in the short term, I know exactly where those skill points are going as well.'
With a thought, I dismissed the screen and turned my full attention back to the nearly two hundred pounds of lobster that I needed to butcher and boil within a few hours, 'Just another task in my perfect paradise.'
--[Day 27-29 Report]--
Simlife
Revenue: +$934,873
Cost: -$639,983
Profit: $294,890
Modifiers: Fortune III [+15%], Satisfaction [0%]
Income: +$339,123
Total: $451,489
DateLife
Energy Spent: 0
Energy Gained: 9
Tantric Reserves: 5/5
Lust: +15
Total: 65/100
Suprisngly looking at the six digit figure under my revenue of the last three days of hard work did not help my mood, 'Well nothing to do but rip the band-aid off.'
I let out a final sigh before getting out of my car and walking up the dirt driveway to Ashe's house. Before I could even reach the porch the front door swung open and Ashe stepped out staring at me with a mixture of hope and trepidation.
"You hesitating isn't giving me a whole lot of confidence, come to break some bad news?" Ashe called out her jaw working as she chewed over something aggressively, "I've been thinking about this damn proposal of yours all week."
"No not bad news, I just not sure how you're going to react once we get this stuff started," I warned while stepping up onto the porch very aware of the look Ashe was sending my way.
Ashe frowned and I could see the muscles of her jaw feather,"Just what the hell do you have in store for me Ramon, all this skirting around the topic isn't helping my fucking nerves."
"Well that's because there's not way to explain it without me sounding batshit crazy, so I'm waiting until I show you some physical proof to go into detail," I explained meeting Ashe's gaze with what I hoped was an honest look.
"And to do that you need a legal stake in the farm?" Ashe clarified and after a nodded she let out a grunt, "Alright then, let's get this shit over with, either you save my ass or plant a dagger in it and either way it's better than me walking around on fucking eggshells."
I couldn't help but shake my head at Ashe's attitude as she turned around and walked back inside where I followed her into the kitchen and saw a very extensive looking legal document on the table with an pen already waiting nearby.
"There you go, that'll grant you a fifty percent share in Ode Farm," Ashe gestured with her chin as she leaned against the wall.
"I promise you won't regret this, Ashe," I muttered before I walked over and picked up the pen.
"I know I won't, but damn if it isn't hard for me to admit that," Ashe muttered her voice cracking a bit and I looked over to see that her eyes were tinged red, "I'm so fucking scared Ramon, feels like I've been hanging on by a thread and now here you are offering to pull me up but I'm so damn stuborn and afraid of trusting anyone that my first thought is just to let go."
I sat with Ashe's words for a moment before putting down the pen and walking over to her. The moment I was close enough, I reached out my hand, cupping Ashe's face and tilting her head up as I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers.
I felt the farm girl tense, but only for a split second, before her hands reached out as well, grabbing onto my shirt and pulling me against her in a hungry and demanding embrace.