Chapter Text
“Oh my god, it’s just an interview, ” Maggie whispered to herself as she huffed up the subway steps. Maggie prided herself in being a calm person, generally speaking. Now though, despite her fruitless attempts to ease her rising nervousness, she was anything but.
Maggie followed the surrounding crowd out to a sharp Toronto chill. She picked up her pace as she popped the collar of her coat, wrapping the material tightly around her. She wanted this job. She needed this job. Her final years of school had left her with a pile of student loans and a steadily shrinking bank account. She had less than a month to find a better paying position, at least if she wanted to keep feeding herself. So, even though she hated the idea, she had pulled a favor off of her best friend and a few calls later, she'd landed an interview. She just hoped it would be her skills, not her friend, that earned her the position in the end. Her mind reeled on this as she walked the next several blocks to her destination.
As she rounded the corner, Maggie saw it. A modern wooden signboard hung between the entrance and front windows, engraved with the restaurant’s name. Maggie stopped in front of the door and took in a short, steadying breath. She ignored the “Closed” sign and pushed the door open, mildly cheered by the wave of warmth that hit her. The restaurant was dimly lit, the light mostly supplied by hanging bar lamps and a few partially curtained windows. More lights were on near the back, illuminating a large table, where it appeared some of the staff had recently eaten. The familiar sounds of food prep leaked from the open double doors of the kitchen.
A woman looked up from where she was pouring over some papers at the bar.
“Hello,” she almost smiled. “Can I help you?” She was wearing a chef’s coat, but was clearly too young to be anything more than a line cook.
“Yes, I’m looking for the chef? I’m here for an interview.”
The woman turned her body slowly, fixing her eyes on Maggie. Was she angry? Maggie couldn’t tell. The woman adjusted her glasses and tucked an errant strand of ginger hair behind her ear with a light sigh. “I am the chef.”
“The head chef?” Maggie asked, thrown off guard.
“The head chef.”
Maggie froze. “Oh, I’m sorry. You just seemed--”
“Young?” The small chef pursed her lips, but nodded. “I get that a lot. And you must be--” she referenced one of the papers on the bar, “Maggie Lin.”
“That’s me,” Maggie said with a forced smile, trying to lighten up her mistake.
“You’re late.”
“Am I?” Maggie flinched inwardly and immediately consulted her watch. Sure enough. Damnit. “Sorry.”
Her short apology seemed to placate the chef somewhat. “Great, well, I’m Sydney Katz,” she stepped closer to Maggie, offering her hand, which Maggie took. “If you’ll just have a seat, I’ll be right with you,” she said, motioning vaguely to the array of nearby tables.
Maggie nodded an “Okay,” and did as told, stripping her coat to hang on the back of the chair. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, willing her nerves to subside. It didn’t work.
Chef Katz disappeared behind the kitchen doors as Maggie pulled a copy of her resume from her bag. A few moments later, Chef Katz returned, trailing behind a tall woman with blonde hair who, wearing a sleek black blazer and elegant necklace, was clearly not a chef.
“Maggie,” the blonde woman said, smiling faintly as she approached Maggie, who had stood up again. “We spoke on the phone yesterday. I’m Dawn, the one of the co-owners here. Let’s get started, shall we?” She motioned to the table where Maggie had previously been sitting and Maggie sat back down, Dawn and the chef taking seats opposite her. Sydney pulled Maggie’s resume across the table.
“We’ve been impressed with your resume,” Dawn said, “particularly your references. They all spoke very highly of you when we called. You’ve done well for a chef so recently out of school.”
“Thank you,” Maggie replied with a grin. Maybe she hadn’t messed things up too bad.
“The head chef at the restaurant you work at now,” Chef Katz cut in, “is Jason Kalfas, right?”
Maggie found herself once again caught off-guard by this unfamiliar, fiery chef. She hesitated a few milliseconds before affirming. Jason had earned himself a less-than-shining reputation in the restaurant business. He was a good chef, but maybe not the most ethical one around.
“Yes.”
Again, the chef pursed her lips. “Have you slept with him?” she asked bluntly.
Maggie was taken aback. “No?”
Dawn cleared her throat, eyebrows raised at the table. Though clearly unsurprised by Chef Katz’ harsh mannerisms, she seemed a little annoyed. Dawn continued on. “Regarding the position you applied for--”
“We’re not really looking for a sous chef right now,” Katz cut in, again. God, this woman was unpleasant. “And in any case, we’d like you to have a little more experience before giving you that sort of responsibility.”
Dawn nodded and Maggie swallowed. As unpleasant as Chef Katz was, she really couldn’t afford to be turned away from this opportunity. Looking down in disappointment, he focused her eyes on a particularly dark swirl in the table wood. So much for being impressed with my resume, she thought. Stupid Kalfas.
Sydney continued, “Instead, we’d like to hire you as an apprentice sous chef.”
Maggie lifted her head. “What?”
Dawn took over, “It’s not a very common position in most restaurants, but we’ve got a big kitchen, so it’s not so out-of-place here. There will be a trial period, of course, for about two weeks. Assuming you perform well, we’d like to have you on our team.”
A bit breathless, Maggie stuttered clumsily through her acceptance, and Dawn and the chef smiled.
“Are you able to start tomorrow?” Dawn asked.
“Yes, absolutely.” Jason would hate her, forever, but she needed this.
“Wonderful! Be here at three.”
A few handshakes and thank you’s later, Maggie was stepping back in the cold air, thoroughly satisfied with herself. She had worked hard for this position. It had only been three years since she graduated from cooking school, but she had spent those years doing absolutely everything she could to better herself in every area of her profession.
She was so tickled, she completely missed the figure in front of her until she’d run it right over. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry--” Maggie began, turning to help the poor person back up.
“Maggie?” Maggie’s best friend, Alex, lay on the ground at her feet.
“Alex?” Maggie squeaked. “Oh my god!”
“Yeah whatever, just help me get up.” Maggie reached out both hands and pulled her friend to her feet. “Thanks,” Alex breathed, brushing ice and dirt from her knees. “That was rude, by the way. You should watch where you’re going, I could have torn my slacks!”
Maggie was about to apologize again, but Alex waved her off.
“So,” Alex clutched Maggie’s arm with excitement. “How’d it go?”
“Amazing,” Maggie replied. “They’re hiring me as an apprentice sous chef!”
Alex looked both thrilled and puzzled. “That exists?”
“Sometimes,” Maggie nodded, smiling. “It’s not much more than being a line cook, but it’s a raise, at least. Thank you again,” she said, placing her hand over Alex's on her arm.
“It was all you! I just passed your resume along. When do you start?”
“Tomorrow,” Maggie replied, already formulating her resignation to Jason in her mind. “By the way, aren’t you late?” she asked Alex, checking her watch.
“I’m just a server, they’ll be fine,” Alex said with a wave of her hand.
“Head server.”
Alex rolled her eyes at Maggie. “Doesn’t mean anything with that vulture around. And don’t mother me.” The ‘vulture’ Alex was referring to was Dawn. Dawn had been amicable with Maggie, but Maggie had been friends with Alex forever. She'd heard story after story of Dawn’s egotistical way of managing Zed. Maggie had to admit, if the things Alex said about her were true, she wasn’t overly thrilled at the prospect of working with her new boss. Either of them.
Maggie smiled at Alex’s joke but pushed her friend’s shoulder lightly, turning her down the street in the direction of the restaurant. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They waved their goodbyes and Maggie resumed her walk to the underground. She would have to go straight to the cafe where she would deal with a probably high, probably whiny Jason. But not for long.
My last day as a line cook, Maggie thought. She smiled quietly to herself all the way there, a smile that was wiped from her face the second she walked in the door.
“You look nice.” It was Gavin, her ex-boyfriend of two months, and her alternative motivation for finding a new job as quickly as possible. “And you’re late.”
Maggie rolled her eyes internally at him. “I don’t really care.” She didn’t hold any ill will towards Gavin, not really. But he was just a regular server, and not in any position to be lecturing her. She pushed past him where he was standing in front of the host’s counter and made her way behind it, clocking in.
Gavin shrugged. “It’s just that you’re not usually late. I was a little worried.”
Oh, Gav. Always looking to get her to talk about things she’d rather not get into with him. “I had a job interview.” She turned her back to him and headed for the bathroom.
“Well,” he wasn’t going to let her get away with such a short conversation, “did you get it?”
Maggie turned again, now walking backwards. She shot him a smug grin. “I did.”