Chapter Text
Carmy started that day like he started pretty much every day: waking up from a nightmare. He could only remember bits and pieces.
In the dream he was back working at Empire, hunched over an immaculate white plate, placing sauce on it with shaky hands. Chef Fields was towering over him, standing so close Carmy could smell the tobacco on his breath.
"Why do you hire idiots? Do you like working with fucking idiots?" he hissed.
The young chef didn't know how to respond. He tried to ignore him and focus on plating, but it never worked.
"You are nothing, you are worthless and untalented," Fields whispered to him, his putrid breath filling his nostrils, "you should be dead."
And then he'd woken up, flushed with relief at the realization that it had all been just a nightmare. He checked his phone to see two new messages: one from Claire and one from Sydney.
Claire's message was sweet and encouraging: Good morning! With a red heart emoji.
Sydney's message instantly filled him with dread: Come to the restaurant right now.
He pressed his fingers against his eyes, taking momentary relief in the kaleidoscopic pattern of shapes the pressure created. He then got up and decided to just go and face it, whatever it was.
***
Carmy entered the restaurant through the back door, partially because the front door was still sticky and covered in newspaper, partially because he wanted to avoid Sydney and her rage as much as possible. He knew she'd be mad at him for flaking on her at Kasama. He just didn't know what else she could be mad about but figured there was probably something else. There was always another shoe.
"There you are, finally," a familiar voice said behind him. Carmy turned around to see an exasperated Sydney standing near the far wall of the kitchen, or rather, what would become the kitchen once they finished remodelling. Sydney looked pissed off. Her usual gentle expression was gone and her brow was furrowed in a deep scowl. She looked like an angry Little Red Riding Hood with her dark green puffer headscarf covering her ears. Carmy couldn't help but think about how pretty she looked even when she was angry.
"Come with me," she ordered, gesturing with her hand for him to follow her. Carmy trailed after her like a dog with its tail between its legs.
Sydney directed him to the dining area, or rather what remained of it. She pointed at the exposed beams, "So, you wanna tell me what happened here?"
"What? Oh, uh, yeah..." he was so relieved she wasn't mad about Kasama, it threw him off, "there was a bunch of mold and uh, raccoons in the walls and stuff so we had to tear them down."
"Oh, so you just went ahead and knocked everything down?" she asked, indignant.
"Yeah... sorry, you would have preferred that I-"
"Call me?" she filled in the gap for him, like it was obvious.
"Call you and tell you what? That the walls are rotting and there's nothing we can do?" Carmy demanded, starting to get irritated himself.
"Yes, Carm, you have to call me. This is our restaurant, you can't just do things without telling me first," she replied firmly.
"Okay.... I'll let you know," he said softly, circling a closed fist over his chest to sign 'I'm sorry.'
Sydney returned the sign, circling a closed fist over her own chest.
She was about to say something else when there was a knock on the front door, making them both snap their heads in the direction of the noise. She walked over and opened the front door to a tall man with a mischievous grin.
Carmy instantly felt his heart sink to his stomach.
No, please God, no.
And yet it was him. Chef David Fields, one of the most decorated chefs on the planet and his own personal tormentor. Aside from the inclusion of a goatee, he hadn't really changed. He was still the same terrifyingly tall man, with angular features and black framed glasses resting over his nose. He still sported the same haircut, the top swept to the right with the sides shaved, a cut typical of the Nazis. Carmy now wondered if that's what had inspired him to style his hair like that.
"Hey baby," Chef Fields said to Sydney, leaning down to kiss her forehead, "you forgot these," he said, pulling a small black box out of his jacket pocket.
"Oh, right," Sydney said, taking the box and opening it to see a pair of earrings, "right, sorry. You know you didn't have to come all the way over here, you could've just called me."
"What? No way! I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see the new restaurant!" he said, his devilish eyes darting around the room, "it's exactly how I pictured it."
His eyes landed on Carmen, seemingly staring into his soul, "Morning, Bergatzo. Long time no see."
Carmy gulped, "yeah, I-I guess so."
Sydney looked confused for a second, then chuckled, "oh, right, you guys already know each other. Yeah, I met Dave at this really fancy bar my friend dragged me to, Jesus, what was it called?"
Dave? Did she just call him Dave? Carmy wondered in horror.
"The Lion's Den, sweetheart," Chef Fields said, never taking his eyes off Carmy.
"Right! Yeah so we started talking and we really hit it off. Dave even said he'd be willing to invest in The Bear."
Carmy almost exploded at the sound of that, "what? He-he said that?"
"Well, of course, I love investing in up and coming places, it's a passion of mine, really," he said, his smile reaching Grinch-like proportions, "and if you want to keep your ownership intact I'd be happy to give you a loan instead. Anything to help a fellow chef in need."
Carmy could almost hear sinister music playing in the background while he talked.
"Oh my God, really? That'd be awesome!" Sydney said, clearly unaware of Chef David's true nature, "we still have to pay back Carmy's uncle, though."
"I'm sorry, his uncle?" David chuckled, "you had your uncle pay for your restaurant?"
"No, he loaned us some money so we could fix it," Carmen replied defiantly, "and we can pay him back no problem."
"Well, I don't know if I'd say that," Sydney argued.
Carmy was about to lose his shit when Richie made his way towards them, holding a broom, "yo cousin, have you seen my-? Oh shit, who's this?"
"Hi, Chef David Fields, Carmy's former boss," the devil introduced himself, putting forth a hand.
"Richard Jerimovich, head of operations," Richie said, shaking his outstretched hand.
"You're not head of operations, Richie," Carmy said exasperatedly.
"Well, what does he do here then?" David inquired, taking his hand away.
"He uh... he..."
"I manage the staff and I'm running on point on the renovations here," Richie filled in for him.
"What does 'running point' mean?" Fak asked, walking in with a light on his head.
"And who might this be?" David asked, clearly amused.
"He's no one, look, we have a lot of work to do so if you could just," Carmy said, gesturing towards the door.
"Carmen! Don't be rude!" Sydney chastised him.
Carmy didn't get angry at Syd very often but at that moment he wanted to yell at her.
"It's alright, babe, I get it, you guys are busy," Fields conceded, placing his hands behind his back, "we're still on for tonight, right?"
"Oh, yeah, for sure," Sydney answered happily, "he's taking me to Ever, I've never been."
"I wanted to take her to Empire, of course, but this one refuses to take the PJ," David said with a chuckle, "that stands for 'private jet,' Bergatzo."
"Yeah, I know what it stands for," Carmy countered, finally finding the strength to speak, "and it's Ber- za -to, not Bergatzo."
David was about to counter when Syd interrupted him, "yeah well I'm not gonna punch a hole in the ozone layer just for dinner, I mean, who am I? Taylor Swift?" she quipped with an awkward chuckle, "anyway, see you tonight babe."
Carmen felt like someone had shot him through the chest. Babe?
"See you tonight, darling," David said, planting a kiss on her lips, "wear that little black dress I like."
Sydney smiled as she watched Chef Fields walk out the front door.
She turned back to see Carmy and Richie staring at her like she'd grown horns.
"I know, I know, he's older ," she said, taking off her headscarf, "but he's just so... eloquent. And we have so much in common, we have all the same interests, I mean I've never been able to really talk about food on a date before, you know?"
"Y-you went on a date with him?" Carmy asked, horrified.
"Yeah he went to Kasama and kept me company after you ditched me," Sydney replied, clearly still angry, "anyway, I'm gonna go check some of the books in the office."
Carmy watched in stunned disbelief as she walked away.
"Yo, cousin, is it just me or was that guy evil?" Richie asked, "like supervillain evil?"
"Yeah," Carmy sighed, "bit of an understatement, actually."