Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Chapter 103
Abby

My office is silent as I scroll through the new emails that have landed in my inbox. My fingers drum on

the desk, anticipating the one email that I’ve been waiting for the most—the details of the upcoming

cooking competition.

And then, there it is, bolded and marked with high importance: Cook-Off Competition Details.

Taking a deep breath, I click on it.

The email is concise but packed with information. Attached to it is a long list, detailing every possible

dish that might come up during the competition.

My heart rate quickens as I scan the list. Some dishes I recognize, ones I’ve made a thousand times

over in my career, but others are unfamiliar, exotic even, presenting challenges I’ve never faced before.

I won’t know which three dishes I’ll be asked to prepare on the spot. Which means only one thing: I

have to practice all of them. Every single one.

Grabbing a notepad, I jot down a list of ingredients I’ll need for the more exotic dishes, then turn my

attention to the restaurant’s supplier portal, adding item after item to the shopping list. The ingredients

range from the ordinary to the obscure. Each addition of expensive truffles, caviar, and fresh scallops

makes my anxiety spi ke.

How can I perfect so many dishes in such a short time?

Once the orders are placed, I stretch and push back from the desk, glancing at the clock on the wall.

It’s getting late, but there’s no time to waste. Without a second thought, I pull my hair into a messy bun

and prepare to head to the kitchen to get started.

Before I can leave, however, a sudden page over the intercom draws me from my task.

“Abby, can you come up front for a moment? I need help with the register.” It’s Chloe, her voice

strained.

my laptop with a sigh, I head to the bar where

fiddles with the register. “Hey, what’s going on?” I

she mutters, her fingers hovering over the register keys. “It’s been

evening.”

start navigating through the system. A few prodded buttons and

whirrs back to life, responding as it should. Chloe releases a

been holding.

Abby. I thought I’d have to do

I reply, giving her a reassuring smile. “Anything else I can help

“No, that’s it. But…” She hesitates, her eyes

the other night… I shouldn’t have snapped

against the counter, crossing my

her eyes earnest. “I’m your

get hurt again, fall into another toxic

words sting, echoing the fears I keep buried deep down, but

remember? Learned my lesson the hard way. It’s not

to happen again.”

you deserve

him hurting you again.”

squeezing her hand. “I appreciate your concern,

make my own decisions, and I don’t need to be

of emotions swirling in her eyes, before

reluctant nod. “I understand.”

say, my voice soft,

Chloe’s words reverberate in my head. A part of

her concern, but another part is frustrated.

between concern and independence,

friendship with Chloe. Our bond means

to trust

the same Abby who fell for Karl’s charms all those

self-worth and got my heart broken. I’ve

Why does it feel as though all of my friends just see me as a fool who

that’s bad

I sink back down into my office chair, though, a thought comes to

taste of his

spoken about.

mistake. A wonderful, horrible, delicious

…

fallen quiet, with the last employees heading home for the night. I’m