CHEF LEON CORDON

Chapter 4

Aria couldn’t sleep throughout the night, thinking about how to approach her mentor and convince him to actually mentor her. She had asked Celeste why the academy kept assigning students to Leon Cordon if he had no interest, and Celeste explained that Leon’s family were founding members of the academy and assigning him a mentee every year was academy’s tradition.

Early in the morning, Aria was already dressed with no clear plan in mind. She sat on a chair,staring into space.

“Just how many times have you sighed since yesterday?” Maureen asked, placing her hands on Aria’s shoulders, giving her a small massage. That surprisingly lowered her tension.

“I’m just worried.” Aria said, “After all the hardwork I put in… I get a mentor that doesn’t want to mentor anyone. And since he’s a founding member, they can’t remove him. Why me?”

Maureen bent down in front of her with a warm smile. “Hey, I’m in no position to comfort you because I literally got the mentor I wanted, I just want to say I believe you can bring Leon Cordon back. I mean, you spent the whole night reading the files Celeste gave you on him. You should know a little bit about him now, at least enough to draw him back. I heard Cordon is the most passionate person when it comes to cooking, maybe show him how passionate you are too and he’ll come back.”

Aria nodded. “Right, I should show him how much I want this. If he truly is passionate, he’ll come back. I can do this. Thanks, Purple”

Aria stood, grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

“You’re not having breakfast?” Maureen asked, following her to the doorstep.

“No. It’s almost time for his morning drive. I’ll be back.”

As she stepped out of the dormitory, she bumped into someone and fell.

“Are you okay?” a calm voice asked. A hand extended toward her.

She took the it and apologized. “I’m so sorry.”

“You’re Aria Beaumont, right?”

Aria blinked, wondering how he knew her name.

“I’m Matteo. I’m in mentorship program too. Nice to meet you.” He smiled warmly

“Same here. I’m kind of in a hurry now. Excuse me.” Aria said, about to leave hurriedly.

“Be careful with your words around Chef Leon. I was a student here before and I know how strict he is. He left after the loss of his fiance so keep that in mind. Good luck.”

Aria looked at Matteo, wondering how he knew where she was going

She nodded. “Thank you.”

She took a taxi and arrived at the Cordon Building. Unfortunately, she was late.

“Shit, I’ll have to wait now.”

She sat by the gate, determined to meet him, no matter how long it took.

…….

Leon had just finished his morning routine. Drive around, visit the places he used to go to with his fiance and then return home and stay in the whole day. As he drove near the gate, he saw a woman sitting by the gate, her messy auburn hair covering her face.

His heart stopped.

The resemblance was too much. Her hair, her stature were the exact same. For a while, he thought maybe she was back from the dead. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t dead and she had come back to him.

He shook away immediately. “What am I thinking? Marina is gone. Now, who is this sitting by my gate?”

He parked his car and stepped out. Seeing that she still didn’t move, she was either asleep or dead. He could only hope it was the former.

“Hey, excuse me.” He tapped her shoulder gently.

Aria jumped awake, startling him. But the real shock hit him when she lifted her face.

It was her.

That woman. That night. The one night he let someone close. The night he broke his rules and let another woman into the hotel room he once shared with his fiancee.

The woman who awakened him after a long time. The woman he made love too.

She was the same woman standing at the gate.

Leon frowned, angry. All that was on his mind was that she had come because of that night. After kissing him and pushing him to do what he hadn’t done with another woman ever since his fiance’s death.

Aria didn’t sleep the whole night and ended up sleeping off by the gate. She was so embarrassed but she had to act quickly.

“Mr Cordon. Please allow me to have a little talk with you. Please.” Aria said, adjusting her messy hair.

Leon frowned. How did she get information about him and what was she doing there when she was the one that asked for help that night.

“You…. How did you find me? Why are you here?” Leon asked, staring at her intently.

“Madam Celeste gave your address. I’m your assigned mentee and I’m here to take you back to the academy.” Aria said boldly, even though he intimidated her.

He was taller she expected, with a muscular build that showed that the time he spent away from kitchen was used in the gym. He had intimidating grey eyes that were unreadable and made her tense. He was older than her and she felt small in his presence. But something about him felt familiar to her, his scent that filled her nose or his towering build.

Leon grunted. “You’re here because of the academy? Only that?”

Aria nodded quickly. She felt like she was making progress already.

Leon turned back and started walking towards his car. She obviously doesn’t remember that night and it somehow offended him.

“Mr Cordon, where are you going? Let’s talk.” Aria said following him closely.

He turned sharply and she stumbled right into his arms.

“Listen…. Whoever you are.” Leon said coldly, steadying her but letting her go immediately. “Tell Celeste I’m not interested. So don’t even think about coming back here. The sooner you give up, the better.”

“What? But I came all the way here to personally ask. Please help me. I will do anything you say. I’ll be a good mentee.” Aria said.

“Do you think people that came before you planned to be bad mentees? Even if I decide to come back, it will not be during your time. I don’t want to mentor you or see you. Get off my property.” Leon said harshly, got into his car and turned on the engine.

Aria ran in front of the car, stopping him from moving. He lowered the window and stuck his head out.

“Do you have a death wish? Get off my property before I run you over or report you for trespassing.”

Aria gulped. This man’s stubbornness was on another level.

“Fine, I’ll leave but I’ll come back. I don’t know why you don’t want to mentor me but I’ll make sure to get you to do it. I won’t let you ruin my dream just because you don’t want to cook anymore. I heard you’re very passionate about cooking and I know how hard it is to leave your passion, because I’ve tried to leave this industry so many times but I keep coming back. Don’t use the loss of a loved one as an excuse. If everyone did that, I won’t be here even after my mum died because she spent all her time being a chef.”

Leon froze. He was shocked at her level of confidence.

“You’ll come back, Chef Leon.” She said firmly. “I’ll make sure of that.”

And she walked away.