In Satbury, Austin was sitting in the kitchen and reading the news on his phone after serving all his dishes.He was waiting for the outcome. He had been busy for the entire evening. To be precise, he had been preparing for dinner since early morning. Isabella was finally back when evening rolled around. After a moment’s wait, the food Austin made was served one after another. He did not need to head out. Isabella would only call for him if she was satisfied with all the dishes and wanted to meet him. In the meantime, Austin was to wait in the kitchen and only leave after all the members of the O’Connor family retired for the day. He was confident in his cooking, but Isabella did not ask to meet him even after the sky had turned dark. Although he was still reading the news calmly, he was also feeling a little nervous. Austin did not want to do the interview three times as Mr. Abbot did. Mr. Abbot was unable to achieve a satisfactory result even after so many years.
Louis’s face broke into a wide grin. “Do you think the food tonight was tasty, Louis?” Isabella asked. “Yes. It’s very delicious.”Philip agreed. “It was really good. Can I come to your house to eat every day, Isa?”Isabella smiled. “You can come over whenever you want, but you and Louis must focus on eating instead of playing.”The two rascals were like chaotic monkeys whenever they were together. As they were the only two boys of their generation, they were the apples of everyone’s eye. They could be real troublemakers when their sisters were not at home. The adults had no way of controlling them. If the boys wanted to climb onto the roof, the adults might even hold a ladder for them. “Okay. Louis and I will be good.”“That’s great. You two can go out to play now. Wear a jacket because it’s cold outside.”The two boys ran off happily, hand in hand. Once they were gone, Isabella told Dominic, “I want to meet Austin York.”Dominic replied respectfully, “I’ll call hi
Dominic smiled. “Based on my experience, you’ve definitely passed.“Go and meet Ms. O’Connor. Don’t be nervous. Although she’s stern, she’s a nice person.”“Thanks, Dominic. I’ll go to her now.”Austin was not afraid of stern people. No matter how scary Isabella was, she could never top Zachary. Austin was immune to stern people after having seen Zachary’s face all the time. He followed Dominic out of the kitchen. Based on Dominic’s observation, Austin did not look around and was not shocked by the extravagance of the house after stepping out of the kitchen. He was unlike other candidates, who were always surprised by the lavishness of the house and could not help gawking. Dominic thought, ‘Austin must be a sophisticated person.’Otherwise, he must be good at maintaining his composure.Anyway, Dominic had a good impression of Austin. They would most likely become colleagues tomorrow. Dominic brought Austin to a spot a few yards away from Isabella’s chair and stoppe
Instead of expanding his business or enjoying life, he chose to be a chef in a city far away from home. Isabella wanted to know the reason. Austin answered honestly, “Because it’s challenging. I’ve liked to cook since I was young and even learned from professionals. I’ve been studying various cuisines and have gained lots of knowledge and skills. Despite the success of my business, I believe there are always better chefs out there.“I want to polish myself continuously. To achieve that, I have to rely on my customers’ mouths.”As a chef, his customers’ feedback would reflect his cooking skills. If he made some changes according to their opinions, he could definitely improve. Getting comments from a customer as picky as Isabella would motivate him even more. Isabella knew that Austin must have applied to be the O’Connor family’s chef because of its challenging nature. After a moment, she said, “Being an employer and an employee is very different. Have you thought this thro
Austin said, “I’ll let my performance speak for itself.”Tati raised an eyebrow and laughed. “You’re brimming with confidence.”Isabella gave Tati a look and asked Austin, “When can you start?”“I came precisely for this position. I can start anytime.”Isabella smiled. “You can officially start tomorrow, then. Dominic must have already arranged your accommodations. Your salary will be counted starting tomorrow and you’ll be on probation for a month, during which your salary will be prorated. We won’t make you work for free.”Every employee got the same treatment.“Dominic had arranged my lodging yesterday. I’m fine with the salary. I came for the challenge, after all, not the pay.” He was short of a wife, not money.“Alright. You can head back and rest now. Dominic will let you know what time we have our meals. Apart from breakfast, they are the same every day.”Everyone woke up at different hours, so breakfast time was flexible.Austin replied, “Sure, I’ll ask Dominic.”He n
Isabella said, “If you really like him, he’s successful enough that your parents would have no objections. The only thing is that he’s a Wiltspoonian. They might not be able to bear letting you move so far away from us.”“Isa!” Tati said exasperatedly. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like him like that? In fact, I think he’s a good match for you. You’re the oldest of the seven of us so you have to get married first, anyway. I can’t cut in line.”Unsure if it was just an illusion, she felt Austin look at Isabella with a different sparkle in his eyes. He had definitely come for Isabella.Or rather he had come for Isabella’s picky mouth, to be exact. His customers would definitely be satisfied if he could satisfy Isabella. Tati did not think there were many people out there as picky as Isabella was.Isabella lightly pinched Tati’s cheek as she could not help but laugh. “We’re not far apart in age and we’re just cousins. It doesn’t matter if you get married before
Isabella laughed when she saw Tati’s speechless expression. “Alright, you might not like him now, but you can’t say for sure in the future.“You can come over and eat at my place every day. Spend some time with him and get to know him. If he’s really a sincere, nice guy, it’s fine if he’s from a bit further away. I’m sure Uncle Harold and Aunt Margaret will approve, albeit reluctantly. Or we can get him to settle here.”Tati was well and truly speechless now. Since Isabella put it like that, she did not dare to freeload meals off her anymore, lest she was misunderstood for fancying Austin.All the little misunderstandings between his future wife and sister-in-law were unbeknownst to Austin as he followed Dominic back to his quarters.Dominic congratulated him with a smile. “We’ll be colleagues from now on, Austin. I hope we can work together for a long time.”All the O’Connors lived on the same estate but in different buildings with their own families.The turnover rate for chefs
“I’ll adjust my cooking to Ms. Isabella’s preferences. That way, I can improve. Once she’s satisfied with every dish I make, I’ll be ready to graduate.”Dominic laughed. “Ms. Isabella probably can’t do without you at that point.”Austin wanted to say he would be happy to cook for Isabella for the rest of his life, but he held back because it would easily give the wrong impression. Even if his secondary objective was to woo Isabella, he could not reveal any such inclination.Isabella was managing her family company and was obviously a sharp and capable woman. An iron lady like her was not easy to woo.It was evident from Kevin taking such a long time to finally win Hayden over despite taking a shortcut with Serenity’s help.Dominic belatedly realized his statement could easily give someone the wrong impression and hurriedly changed the subject.“Austin, you were busy the whole afternoon, so you should turn in early today. Tomorrow, you have to wake up early to prepare breakfast fo
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us