Chasing His Kickass Luna Back novel Chapter 207

He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Frederick. Pleasure.”

“Same to you,” I respond with a smile.

Frederick pauses, then licks his lips and speaks. “It’s making some waves, you know. Your reputation about your staff. You should consider yourself fortunate if it doesn’t affect your ratings.”

My fingers curl around the armrests of the chair. “If it comes to that, I’ll deal with it. But honestly, I’m not worried.”

Daniel arches an eyebrow. “You must be quite brazen, then, to not worry about such things.”

I grind my teeth, forcing a smile on my face. “And what about you, Daniel? Where’s your restaurant?”

Suddenly, the older man who has been silent all along speaks up, still not looking my way. “Daniel owns a two-star restaurant. I’m Bryan, by the way.”

Daniel smirks, and I feel a twinge of envy. In the culinary world, there are three star ratings: one being a basic restaurant, two being an Alpha hotspot, and three? Well, those are reserved for the best of the best.

La Belle Vie Bistro’s reputation has been slowly climbing lately, but we’re still one star. Becoming a two-star restaurant feelings like a distant dream right now, and it’s something that only one woman chef has ever accomplished in this country. I have faith that it will come eventually, but not for a while. Star ratings aren’t handed out like candy.

However, I manage to shake my envy off quickly. After all, stars aren’t everything. Daniel’s attitude, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired.

I guess I expected rivalry in this competition, but not like this. I feel the intense need to prove him wrong—to show him that I deserve to be here as much as anyone else, if not more.

The makeup artist gestures for me to come over, and I willingly oblige, giving myself a chance to be separated from Daniel and his needling comments. As I walk away, I feel Daniel’s gaze on me, as if he’s sizing up his competition.

Well, let him look. Let him underestimate me.