Chapter 3

On the afternoon of the third day, the work group chat suddenly came alive.

Jade posted a supplier quote.

"Got the seafood vendor locked in."

"Same specs, eighteen percent cheaper than before."

Someone in the kitchen replied right away.

"Nice work, Jade."

"Hubert hasn't budged on price in years. You got it down that much on your first try?"

Jade sent a face-palm emoji.

"Guess I just got lucky."

A moment later she added, "Honestly, the new place only does twelve covers a night. No need to lock everything down as tight as we used to."

Joseph replied with a single "Yeah."

Below that, someone chimed in:

"Vivien was always too fussy about that stuff."

"She'd practically fill out two pages just for a delivery check."

I finished reading and muted the group.

Not long after, Joseph messaged me privately.

A purchasing contract.

"Take a look for Jade."

I didn't open it.

"Get a lawyer."

The call came through instantly.

"It's just a few pages."

"You always used to handle this kind of thing."

"That used to be my job."

"It's Jade's first time on purchasing."

There was already an edge of impatience in his voice.

"Would it kill you to walk her through it?"

I laughed.

"Isn't she the head of the place?"

Joseph paused.

"The head runs the food."

"She doesn't know contracts and all that."

I said nothing.

So not knowing contracts was perfectly acceptable, but not knowing how to cook meant you were nothing more than an employee.

"If that's all, I'm hanging up."

"Vivien."

He stopped me.

"You really plan to stay out of everything from now on?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

His voice went cold too.

"Then don't come crying later."

That night, the new restaurant held its first internal tasting. All twelve seats were full.

I didn't go.

But the old operations manager sent me a photo of the menu.

"Vivien, did you see the last dish?"

I scrolled down.

The last dish was called "First Encounter."

My finger stopped.

Ten years ago, the day before the first restaurant opened.

Joseph had run through seven versions of the appetizer and wasn't happy with any of them. When the last one came out, he asked me, "What do we call it?"

I said, "First Encounter."

"Why?"

"If the people trying it for the first time remember it, they'll come back for a second."

That dish went on to be the longest-running item on the menu.

The menu changed four times.

It stayed. And now, under "First Encounter," there was a new line.

Head Jade Fox, a fresh reinterpretation.

The next day, Jade posted the tasting feedback in the group.

Twelve guests, eleven raves.

She even added a photo of herself holding a plate of "First Encounter."

"The most popular dish last night."

Someone asked:

"New dish of yours, Jade?"

She replied:

"Call it half a new one."

"Joseph had an old base for it. I reworked the sauce and the plating."

Joseph liked the post right away.

I closed the chat.

Ten minutes later, the brand agency called.

"Ms. Pruitt, the new restaurant is applying to keep using the original brand identity."

"We need you to confirm on your end."

Back when we registered the trademark, Joseph never even looked at the paperwork.

He said the kitchen was busy and told me to decide.

I ran around for months and ended up registering the trademark under my own name.

Now the old restaurant had already been shut down by his own announcement.

I asked, "In the new restaurant's application, is my name on it?"

They checked.

"No."

"Then no licensing is needed."

"But Mr. James said..."

"Tell him to make a new one."

I hung up.

Less than five minutes.

Joseph's name lit up.

I declined it outright.