Read Sizzling in Singapore (A Carnal Cuisine Novel) for Free Online Page B

and turns. Hotel menus tend to be predictable for a reason. Guests arriving from far afield want to have some choices that don't challenge their tastes too terribly much. At the same time, they want to 'experience' the whole foreign thing. It takes a rather delicate balance to provide both.
    Nick approached his little kitchen colonel yellow pad in hand, prepared for a real ice-goddess treatment. "Good morning, Chef Mae." He smiled a tad too brightly.
    He was surprised that she seemed more relaxed than he had expected. " Pull up a chair, Chef Nick, and let's see what you've got for me. And you don't have to stand on ceremony out of earshot of the troops, by the way. Mae will do fine. When the show's on, we try to stick to protocol, but other than that, we're all friends here."
    "Then I can hope that we can also be 'friends' while I'm here?"
    "Look, I'm sorry about the snippiness yesterday. Let's just forget about it and make the best of an awkward situation. Jumping into this kitchen on such short notice can't be easy for you and I don't want to make it harder. I love this place and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our standards." Mae's brow furrowed. "I am very worried about Kurt. I consider him a very dear friend as well as the best exec anyone could hope to work under."
    As uncomfortable as Nick was with the subterfuge, he could do nothing to allay Mae's fears. He had sworn not to tell anyone what he knew about Kurt's whereabouts, which was precious little anyway. "I understand that chef Kurt is one of the best," he said blandly.
    "I promise to do everything I can not to sully his reputation. So consider me an ally in your effort to keep this place running as if he were still here." Mae indicated that he should take the other chair opposite her so they could get started.
    Nick pulled up the rickety kitchen chair next to Mae and straddled it backwards as he flipped a couple pages into his notes. In the back of his mind he hoped that somehow that very masculine posture would jiggle the hell out of the composure Mae seemed to have so easily summoned up. It would be a great deal harder than he thought to concentrate on the specials he was proposing sitting within inches of her. Perhaps his body language would even the score.
    Nick tapped his pad with his pencil "Look, I know Kurt's lamb shank special was a popular one. Hell, how can you go wrong with apples, rosemary and lamb? But, I was thinking that since this is Singapore, maybe we try a different take...how about braised with mango, lemon grass and a hint of curry?" He looked up at her and chewed on the eraser.
    "Green mangoes would hold up better in a braise, but you might need something to cut the tartness if you go with green." She was thinking hard and it showed on her face. Nick saw the lines of concentration snake across her smooth forehead.
    "A little brown sugar?" he suggested.
    "Palm sugar would be a more local flavor"
    Nick was pleasantly impressed. As he went through his list of dishes that Mae was able to give him thoughtful and really quite creative feedback. Not only did she know her ingredients, but she seemed a lot less combative than others might be under the circumstances. Most chefs he knew would be stubborn on principle alone if a new guy walked in and started messing with a kitchen's traditions. He had to admire her loyalty to Uncle Kurt as well as her professional approach to her job. It made it all the more difficult to dismiss their shared passion in the pool as just a meaningless romp with a stranger. It just didn't jive with the person she revealed herself to be on the job.
    Then, just as he had begun to feel that perhaps things could move forward for them in more than just a professionally courteous way, she jolted him with an abrupt dismissal.
    "If you're finished with the briefing, Nick, I think it's time for me to source a few ingredients and get the staff working on the changes. You can see Maribel in the front office and she'll run you