Steamed

makeup and touched up my hair. I grabbed a handful of hot cookies for the car ride, none of which I was going to give to Josh, since I knew better than to try to impress a chef with my cooking. I hoped I never had to make him dinner.
     

EIGHTEEN
     
    IT was almost ten when I walked into Magellan, which was packed. Madeline stood by the bar talking to one of the wait-staff. I wasn’t comfortable enough to charge back into the kitchen and claim my man, so I headed in her direction in the hope that she’d shove me into Josh’s arms and tell us both to get out of the restaurant and enjoy some quality time together.
    Madeline’s greeting surprised me. “Chloe, thank God you’re here!” Although she was, as always, beautifully dressed, a few wisps of hair had come loose from her sleek bun. I wondered what was going on.
    “Hi, Madeline. I thought I’d just sit at the bar until Josh gets off, if that’s okay.”
    “Of course. Maybe you can help calm Josh down. He’s in a horrible mood tonight,” she informed me, shaking her head.
    Pleased that I was now considered to have influence with her chef, I nodded. “Sure. I’ll try. What happened?”
    She tossed her hands up. In an undertone, she said, “The damn health inspector showed up today for a surprise visit and found some things he didn’t like. It’s not a big deal. Every restaurant usually has a couple of violations, but it’s never happened here. Josh Driscoll keeps a very clean kitchen, and he’s out of his mind about this. He won’t even talk to me about it.”
    “What did they find?” I asked.
    Madeline sighed. “Oh, a few dead mice downstairs, incorrect temperature settings on some of the coolers, a couple of other things. Some expired meat that should have been thrown out.” She looked at my disgusted face. “Yeah, I know. Mice are gross, but the truth is, every restaurant has them now and then. It’s almost impossible not to. It’s just not a big deal. The main problem is, someone must’ve called the health inspector and complained about something. We just had an inspection last month, and everything was fine, so there was no reason for them to come back.”
    “So it’s not that bad, really? Right?”
    “The mice aren’t actually a big deal. But the temperature problems and the expired food are considered ‘critical’ violations. The only reason we’re still open is that the inspector who came by knows Josh and knows that he wouldn’t typically have a kitchen with these kinds of problems. Anyhow, Josh is taking care of everything, but he’s completely pissed off right now. Do you think you could talk to him? I’ve tried to reassure him, but it hasn’t worked.”
    So much for seeing Josh when he was relaxed and happy. I was definitely not going to tell him about the Phil incident or my talk with Veronica.
    Madeline turned to the bartender behind her. “Jim, can you bring Chloe a glass of white, please? She might need it. Oh, and show Josh this. Maybe it’ll help.” Madeline handed me a folded printout from her pocket. “It’s a review from the Boston Globe.“ She smiled at me and went off in search of her angry chef.
    I sipped my wine and read the article, a laudatory review of Magellan that emphasized the elegance of many of Josh’s dishes. The reviewer even referred to Josh as “one of Boston’s hot new chefs.” I smiled to myself. This ought to cheer him up.
    A few moments later, Josh sidled up beside me. “Hi, sweetie! What are you doing here?” he said, kissing me on the cheek.
    “I missed you, so I thought I’d just come in and hang around.”
    His chef’s coat was unbuttoned at the top, he was sweaty from cooking, and his hair was messed up. Yum. And he didn’t seem to be in a rotten mood.
    “Excellent. I’m glad you’re here.” Josh rubbed my back and kissed me again, this time on the mouth. Yum, again.
    “I heard you had a rough day,” I offered.
    “Yeah,” Josh answered, his face changing. “I don’t know what the hell happened. I keep a goddamn spotless kitchen. I cannot figure out why the temps were off or why there was old food in the walk-in. I clean it out every day, and I always check the food temperature. Brian’s been cleaning and recleaning the kitchen all day trying to do something to make me feel better.”
    “How could this have happened?”
    “I’m not sure. Brian’s been interrogating the other kitchen guys. He thinks one of them is fed up with working twelve-hour days