Chapter 4 — The 12th-Floor Kitchen Contract

The next morning, when Diem Tram woke up in an unfamiliar apartment, it took her a few seconds to refocus on where she was before remembering everything that had happened in the past week. She walked out to the living room and saw Khang already sitting at the dining table, looking through work documents with a cup of black coffee next to her.

"You woke up so early?" Khang asked, without looking up from the documents.

"I'm used to waking up early to prepare dough for the bakery," Diem Tram replied, sitting down across from him. "By the way, I still need to go to the shop today, there's an order to deliver at noon."

Khang nodded, then suddenly put down the documents and looked at her with thoughtful eyes. “I have another suggestion,” he said. "Cam Luong Restaurant is in need of a complete overhaul of its dessert menu. If you agree, I would like to invite you to work as a part-time pastry consultant for the restaurant, in addition to your work at the shop. This will also help strengthen the image of us as a close working couple in front of my family."

Diem Tram considered for a moment. This is clearly a rare opportunity to learn more about the industry at a more professional level, and is also a reasonable way to strengthen their contract cover. "I agree," she replied. "But I need to be paid fairly, completely separate from the money in the marriage contract."

"Of course," Khang replied, somewhat surprised by the decisiveness of her request. "I will let the human resources department prepare a separate labor contract for you today."

***

In the afternoon, Diem Tram entered the kitchen of Cam Luong restaurant for the first time as an official employee, even though only part-time. The atmosphere here is completely different from her small bakery — everything is operated with almost absolute precision, from the arrangement of tools to the process of preparing each dish.

"This is Ngo Diem Tram, the restaurant's new pastry consultant," Khang introduced her to the entire kitchen team gathered to listen to instructions on the day's work. "Everyone will coordinate with her to develop a new dessert menu in the near future."

Dang Trung Kien, standing in the front row, observed Diem Tram with curious eyes mixed with scrutiny. As the person closest to Khang, he couldn't help but be surprised at the speed at which everything happened — from his cold chef suddenly having a fiancee, to that person immediately being put to work at the restaurant.

"Hello," Kien said when the meeting ended, approaching to talk to Diem Tram while Khang was busy handling a business call. "I'm Trung Kien, sous chef here. Nice to work with you."

"Nice to meet you," Diem Tram replied, feeling the sincere friendliness from this new colleague, completely different from Khang's usual seriousness.

***

During her first working hours, Diem Tram spent time carefully observing the restaurant's culinary style, jotting down ideas that could combine the traditional baking techniques she learned from her mother with the modern dessert trends that this high-end restaurant is pursuing.

"Do you think we could do something with that passion fruit tart you brought over that day?" Khang asked, suddenly appearing next to her desk, making Diem Tram a bit startled.

"I'm thinking of turning it into a layered dessert, combining passion fruit mousse and a layer of orange gelée to add depth of flavor," Diem Tram replied, pointing to the sketches she had just drawn on paper. "But still keep the characteristic crispy shell as a highlight."

Khang bent down to examine the sketch, the distance between the two suddenly became closer, making Diem Tram feel a slight confusion creeping into her heart. "This idea is very interesting," he commented, his eyes lighting up with a rare excitement she had never seen before. "Try making a sample version, I want to taste it today."

***

At the end of the afternoon, when Diem Tram completed the first test version of the new dessert, the whole kitchen team gathered to taste and give feedback. Khang was the first to taste it, and in the moment of silence waiting for his assessment, Diem Tram felt her heart beat inexplicably faster than usual.

"Excellent," Khang said finally, putting down the spoon with a rare slight smile on his lips. "This is exactly what our menu needs. I want to put this on the official menu next week."

The entire kitchen team applauded, and Diem Tram felt a genuine pride rising in her heart, completely different from the stress and pressure she thought she would have to endure when entering into this contract. She glanced at Khang and saw that he was also looking at her with a look that she couldn't completely decipher — a look that went beyond the relationship of mere colleagues or contractual partners.

That evening, when the two cleaned the kitchen together after work, the atmosphere between them became much more natural than the awkwardness of the first few days. "Thank you, miss, for today's dessert," Khang said, his voice a bit more sincere than usual. "You truly have admirable talent."

"Thank you, for trusting me with this opportunity," Diem Tram replied, feeling an unexpected warmth in her chest at that sincere compliment. They both stood there for a moment, neither of them said anything else, but the atmosphere between them seemed to have begun to change in a direction that neither of them was ready to admit.

***

On the way back to the apartment, Kien accidentally saw Khang standing alone in the parking lot, his eyes still held something different from usual. "Chef, are you okay?" Kien asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

"I'm fine," Khang replied, but his voice was a bit more uncertain than usual. "It's just been a long day."

"Miss Diem Tram seems like an interesting person," Kien commented, discreetly observing the chef's reaction. "How did you meet her? Everything happened so fast, I didn't even have time to understand it all."

Khang was silent for a moment, considering whether or not to reveal the truth to his closest associate. "It's a long story," he finally replied, avoiding the direct question. "I'll tell you another day."

Kien nodded, without asking further questions, but some doubts began to arise in his heart about the unusual speed of this relationship, especially when he remembered that Khang had never mentioned any woman in his private life before.

***

When Diem Tram returned to the apartment that night, she called Hoai Thu to update the situation, her voice could not hide the excitement mixed with confusion at what happened on the first day of work at Cam Luong restaurant.

"Your voice sounds much happier than usual," Hoai Thu commented over the phone, her voice full of meaning. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Diem Tram quickly replied, although she couldn't deny the emotional change that she herself had difficulty explaining clearly. "It's just that working at the restaurant is quite interesting, there are many new things to learn."

"Are you sure that's all?" Hoai Thu asked again, her voice filled with friendly suspicion. "There's nothing special about that cold chef, right?"

Diem Tram laughed at her friend's observance, but quickly shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts that had just appeared in her heart. "Don't think nonsense," she replied. "This is just a work contract, don't forget that."

But even after saying those words, Diem Tram could not completely convince herself, as the image of Khang's eyes shining with excitement when she tasted the new dessert was still clearly left in her mind, making her heart flutter in an unusual way.

After hanging up the phone, Diem Tram sat quietly by the apartment window, watching the sparkling city lights below, wondering if she was entering a dangerous land that the contract had never anticipated - where the boundary between the role and real emotions is gradually becoming more difficult to define than ever.

She looked down at the simple ring that Khang had given her to wear temporarily to increase her persuasiveness in front of his family, gently twirling it around her finger. Just a few days ago, it was an inanimate prop in the play they were performing together. But now, every time her eyes accidentally touched it, a strange, warm feeling gently crept into her heart, making her confused by her own emotions.