Chapter 19

Timothy pressed the palm of his hand self-consciously against his stomach. He almost felt as if he was in a dream. He could see Derek’s lips moving but the words never quite reached his ears. It sounded as if they were coming from a long way off.

Still, his eyes were focused on the pregnancy test that Derek had laid on the coffee table in front of him. Those two little red lines that signaled a positive result stared up at him mockingly. He was pregnant. The test result, coupled with the nausea, left little doubt in his mind.

He was vaguely aware of Luke and Derek talking about blood tests and more concrete evidence. They seemed to be implying that there was still a possibility he might not actually be pregnant.

Timothy took a deep breath and let his eyes fall closed as he leaned back against the sofa. One thing was certain, this didn’t change his immediate priority.

“Look, you guys can debate this all you want. The thing is, it doesn’t really matter right now.” Timothy stood up and crossed the living room towards the kitchen. “There are still plenty of things that I need to do. This, whatever it is, can wait until that’s over.”

“Are you really still set on going to work?” Derek seemed exasperated by the suggestion. “You need to rest. You’re sick.”

“And that doesn’t change the fact that today is an important day. I’m not gonna let all the work we’ve done over the last several weeks go to waste just because I’m feeling sick.” Timothy knew that Derek was just trying to take care of him, but he couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed by the alpha’s insistence. The last thing Timothy wanted to do was sit around at home. He needed to be out, working, doing something to keep his mind off of the massive change that was about to take place in his life.

Timothy continued into the kitchen. He rifled through the food that Luke had brought him. His stomach was still queasy, but somehow he felt a little better now that he knew the reason behind it. Selecting a box of crackers, he opened it and began to snack on the contents.

“I just want to make sure that you’re okay.” Derek approached the kitchen and hovered just inside the entrance. “I know this is probably pretty overwhelming. I don’t want you to think you have to deal with it on your own.”

“Don’t worry,” Timothy said as he looked back at his alpha. “I know I’ve got you by my side. That pregnancy test doesn’t change the fact that I have other obligations right now. I can’t afford to stop and think about this. I promise we’ll talk more later.”

“You know I love you, right?” Derek stepped towards him and gently caressed Timothy’s cheek with one hand.

The warmth of Derek’s touch was reassuring. Timothy held the alpha’s hand steady and nuzzled against his palm. “I know. I love you too.”

***

Le Bleu had been transformed. It had taken a lot of time and effort but they finally managed to put together a much more welcoming environment. The interior had been completely redecorated. Much of the expensive, high-end, extravagant decor had been sold off and pared down. They had gone for a less stuffy, more modern look, with sleek lines and clean, minimalistic accents.

Andrew had been very much against the changes. It had taken a lot of convincing for him to finally agree to go along with Timothy’s vision. The alterations to the dining room, however, were only the tip of the iceberg.

Timothy had also completely gutted and rebuilt the kitchen from scratch. A lot of the non-essential equipment had either been re-tasked to the other two restaurants or sold. The kitchen staff had been cut down to only what was necessary. This had opened up the budget significantly and had allowed them to hire an actual French chef that had studied in Paris. The chef had been delighted with the opportunity and had worked with Andrew to create a new menu.

The sheer number of arguments that had erupted between Timothy and Andrew over the last several weeks was staggering. However, Timothy had felt as if he was winning this war of attrition. His only hope was that at the end of it all he would be able to regain Andrew’s friendship.

“Where have you been?” Andrew asked in an accusatory tone as Timothy entered the dining room. “For weeks you’ve been tearing apart and rebuilding this place. You’ve done all of this and completely destroyed my original vision. Now you’re late on the most important day of the entire project?”

“I’m sorry,” said Timothy shaking his head in apology. He shrugged off his coat and draped it over his arm. “I’ve been sick all morning. Nerves probably.”

“Honestly, you don’t have anything to be worried about.” Andrew’s voice had become surprisingly kind. He turned and looked around the room. The serving staff were busily dressing the tables in preparation for the evening. There were still several hours before opening, but the smell of food had already begun to waft from the kitchen.

“That doesn’t make it any less nerve-racking.” Timothy chuckled. He slowly approached Andrew and stood beside him. Despite their arguments, there had been plenty of moments like this. Moments where he could almost forget that they had been at each other’s throats. Moments were their friendship was almost rekindled.

“I know,” Andrew sighed. “Let’s just hope that Derek’s marketing voodoo does its job. If this place isn’t packed I’m going to be frustrated. We are running out of time and it’s not like we’re going to be able to do another ‘grand reopening’ before the end of the year.”

“We’ve kind of put all our hopes and dreams on this one shot,” agreed Timothy. His stomach still felt a little nauseous but the crackers he’d eaten seemed to be staying down. He silently hoped that they would get him through the rest of the day.

“Well, this is no time to be sitting around like this. There’s a lot of work to do.” Andrew turned away and headed towards the kitchen. “I expect you to sort out what happened with our vegetable order. We need that shipment before we open tonight.”

“Don’t worry, I’m on it.” Timothy knew Andrew was just as nervous as he was. Despite the changes, this was still Le Bleu. It was still his restaurant and if they failed tonight it would probably be the end of it. Their father had given them until the end of the year to make the restaurant profitable, but if they failed to turn a profit tonight it was highly unlikely they would be able to realize that goal.

Timothy made his way to the small office near the back of the restaurant. It was his job to make sure that things ran smoothly in the background. Andrew was the head chef, the one that acted as the face of the restaurant. He relied on Timothy’s ability to keep the books balanced and the shipments coming in on time.

When Timothy had taken over this part of the restaurant, the office had been a disaster area. Shipment manifests going back years lay in piles around the room. There had been a single book where Andrew kept track of income and expenses and it was wildly inaccurate. Thankfully, most of the numbers were tracked by Peter’s department so Timothy had a spreadsheet to start from. He knew, however, that it was important to get things situated on their end as well.

Now, the office was organized and everything had been digitized. The room had become Timothy’s sanctuary. Within its walls, he was able to exercise all of his abilities as one of the heads of the restaurant department.

He spent the rest of the afternoon tracking down the missing shipment of vegetables and making sure that all of the orders and order forms were up-to-date. It sounded like a simple task but in reality, it required him to make multiple phone calls and get transferred to multiple managers, assistant managers, and supervisors. By the time he finally located the person responsible for shipping their vegetables there were only a few hours left until opening. Nowhere near enough time for the shipment to reach them.

Timothy was forced to call the local grocery store in town and throw together an emergency order. It wasn’t cheap. In fact, it was significantly more expensive than they would’ve paid for the shipment they had been expecting. This unforeseen hiccup would cut significantly into their margins for the evening.

He briefly considered alerting Andrew to the situation but, in the end, decided against it. Timothy knew from experience that this sort of complication would only send his brother into a nervous breakdown. It would be the start of another argument and he couldn’t afford to have Andrew distracted right now. This was the kind of thing that he needed to handle on his own in the background. As long as the vegetables arrived on time Andrew would be happy. As long as Andrew was happy they could move forward with their plan.

“Why does everything have to be so difficult?” Timothy muttered to himself as he leaned back in his chair. The new order of vegetables was on its way and all he could do now was wait. Wait, and hope that Derek’s marketing would make up the difference.

He rose from the chair and paced towards the large window at the front of the office. He parted the blinds and peered out at the busy kitchen. The majority of the kitchen staff was now on-site. They bustled around and prepared for the evening’s meals.

He let the blinds snap closed and turned his back on the window. His momentary lull in the busyness of the day gave his mind a chance to wander back to the other complication in his life. His hand drifted to his stomach. Things were about to change for him and Derek. There was no escaping that fact.

The door to the office opened and Andrew entered unceremoniously.

Timothy let his hands fall to his sides as he made his way back to the chair behind his desk.

“Did you manage to get the shipment?” The nervousness on Andrew’s face was clear now. He looked pale and more than a little distracted.

“Yes, it’s on its way.” Timothy tried his best to exude confidence as he spoke. The nauseous feeling in his stomach had begun to return. This time, however, he sensed it was likely due to hunger.

“Good, that’s good.” Andrew looked relieved. “I know, I’ve been really difficult lately. I’m sorry. I just wanted to say that before things get hectic. However this goes down tonight, I appreciate the work you’ve put in. I was being an ass before and I should’ve just let you help me from the start.”

“Yeah, you should have. But, I realize I wasn’t exactly being the most diplomatic. Yelling at you, arguing with you, weren’t exactly the best ways to approach the situation.” Timothy admitted.

“Whatever happens, I think I’d like to try and pick up where we left off. With our friendship I mean. I know it’s my fault that things went wrong. You held up your end of the deal, and having you here in the office working out all these details behind the scenes has been a load off my mind. I should never have pushed you away.” Andrew rubbed the back of his head and looked away. There was the slight blush on his cheeks and Timothy realized that his brother was embarrassed.

“Well, at least you’re a big enough man to admit your mistakes. Of course, we’ll move on. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Timothy smiled. He glanced at the clock the wall and took a deep breath. Two hours before opening. There wasn’t much left for him to do and, judging by the fact that Andrew was here instead of in the kitchen, there likely wasn’t much for him to do either.

“Why don’t we get something to eat?” Timothy suggested. “We’re not gonna get much chance later.”

“Yeah,” agreed Andrew, “that sounds a good idea.”

***

The vegetables arrived just in time. Less than thirty minutes later the first patrons arrived. The waitstaff soon found themselves buried under a tide of guests. Far more than either Timothy or Andrew had expected. They flooded into the dining room and formed a line that trailed out into the hall and down the stairs to the first floor of the building.

The kitchen was a picture of efficiency. The chef, the cooks, the waitstaff all coordinated their motions like a well-oiled machine. Orders came in, orders went out, and Timothy was in the back room crunching the numbers. Every time another table closed their bill Timothy was already punching it into his spreadsheet. The numbers were encouraging but they were barely breaking even. It would take a lot more to get them through and into the black.

The evening advanced at a rapid pace. Timothy’s queasiness from the morning had returned with a vengeance and he found himself hugging the trashcan in his office while trying to keep up with the tide of orders being closed out. Every time one of the waitstaff took payment in the front room it updated the software on Timothy’s computer. At that point, it was just a matter of him moving things around a little.

Yet, even that was difficult when he felt like all he wanted to do was sleep and vomit. He felt like a miserable, boneless, blob that barely managed to stay upright in his office chair.

After not sleeping nearly all night he could barely keep his eyes open. At one point he began to nod off and it wasn’t until his office door opened that he straightened and blinked away the sleep that had begun to descend over him.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked as he advanced into the office.

“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Timothy frowned and tried to pretend as if he had been busily working the entire time.

“Well, the restaurant just finished up for the day. Andrew came in to check on you and he saw that you were asleep so he texted me.” Derek approached him and gently ran his hand across Timothy’s forehead.

“I wasn’t asleep. I was just resting my eyes.” He glared up at the clock on the wall in confusion. “Did you say the restaurant is closed?”

“Yeah, they did. They even had to turn people away.” Derek chuckled. “So, how did you do?”

“Why did Andrew text you?” Timothy ignored Derek’s question as he tried to re-orient himself with the world.

“Because I guess our relationship wasn’t as much of a secret as we thought it was.” Derek laughed. “So what was the verdict?”

The thoughts crowding together in Timothy’s head were a confusing mash. He blinked his eyes blearily and looked at the computer screen. It took him a few moments to arrange the numbers. As he worked the office door opened once more and Andrew joined them.

“Good to see you’re awake, Sleeping Beauty.” Andrew laughed as if he had just made a hilarious joke. “Le Bleu has never been this busy before. Please, please tell me we made a profit.”

“Just give me a second,” said Timothy as he adjusted his spreadsheet. There were a lot more transactions than he had expected. Maybe he really had fallen asleep. After a moment he felt his chest bubble with pride.

He looked up at Derek and Andrew and smiled. “Well, gentlemen, we did it. We saved Le Bleu.”