Abby

Vanessa walks up to me, her heels clicking softly on the tile floor. The room

slowly begins to pick up its volume again, but I feel lost in a giant void.

“Are you okay, Abby?” Vanessa asks, her voice pulling me back to the present.

“I-I’m fine,” I murmur, although the words feel like a complete and utter lie. “I’m

sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a scene.” I glance at Karl, who’s standing a few

feet away, watching intently.

Vanessa smiles, a soft, empathetic curve of her lips that immediately puts me at

ease. “Don’t be sorry. The culinary world isn’t exactly a bed of roses for women,

you know? We’re already at a disadvantage just by being female chefs.”

Enter title…

I find myself

should be

mine with a

sometimes the world doesn’t operate the way

as though

a decision. “Let me tell you a

leans against a nearby table, crossing her arms

my way up

Mark—who couldn’t stand me.

in the kitchen, mind you, but

a black woman

sinking at

discrimination.

but that’s not even the beginning of it,” Vanessa says, her voice

grim tone.

review from a food critic, Mark

fresh herbs I’d prepped with ones

dish. The critic got sick. It was

“Did he get

time, nobody

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