***
Later that day, during recreational period, Ambrose and Garth searched the lawn for Levi and spotted him throwing a football to Malakye and Derek.
Unreal. Ambrose thought as he strolled over to the three guys, followed by Garfield. “Yo Levi!” He called out in a friendly manner and waved his hand enthusiastically.
Levi caught the football, turned towards Ambrose, and his eyes widened when he recognized him. “You!”
Ambrose threw his arm around Levi’s shoulders. “How you doing, man? I was so worried about you that I had myself arrested!”
Levi brushed Ambrose’s arm off his shoulders and shot the man a suspicious look. “What the…? Are you crazy? You got yourself arrested to check on me? You don’t even know me.”
A hurt look flashed across Ambrose’s face. “So cruel. Is this how you treat the man who rescued you from being vivisected?”
Levi crossed his arms over his broad chest. “What do you want, Ambrose?”
Ambrose pouted. “I’m just visiting my friend.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “We’re not friends. Why are you really here, Ambrose?”
Ambrose’s eyes flashed. “I’m protecting my investment. You owe me one, Levi. I saved your life.”
Levi sighed and nodded. “I know. Come to collect already?”
“No, not yet…but one day. So…” Ambrose rubbed his hands together. “Let’s start planning our escape.”
“Escape?” Levi frowned.
“You can’t really be planning on staying in here?” Ambrose scoffed and waved his hand around the prison yard. “Besides, orange is so not your color.”
Derek smoothly moved next to Levi. “Levi, it would be highly unwise to break out of prison. Your fingerprints are already on file. Escaping would make you an escaped convict and make it incredibly hard for you to start a new life among the humans.”
“Well, you heard the man, Ambrose. No escaping.” Levi said firmly.
Ambrose’s attention zeroed in on Derek and his eyes narrowed. “And who the hell does this smart aleck guy think he is? Your new best friend?”
“He doesn’t think he’s my friend. Derek is my friend.” Levi announced.
Ambrose looked strangely hurt by Levi’s words. “I see…this is ridiculous. What do you even plan to do when you’re let out of here? You have no skills.”
“Derek, Malakye and I have already been discussing this issue. We’ve decided to open some sort of business together.” Levi revealed.
“And where do you expect to get the money for that kind of venture, huh?” Ambrose demanded.
“The ocean floor is filled with gold from human shipwrecks.” Levi smirked as he thought about all of the shipwrecks he’d encountered during his lifetime. He also had a very good memory and knew exactly where they were. “And I know where to find it.”
“Ah, guys…” Malakye shyly spoke up. “I had an idea about that actually. One of the guards told me that there’s a chef who is going to start giving cooking lessons here at the prison. His name is Chef Burns. We should sign up for the classes. We could become certified chefs.”
“Learn how to cook?” Derek stroked his chin in thought, “Sounds like a good idea.”
Levi nodded in agreement. “I would be interested in learning as well.”
“You guys can’t be serious.” Ambrose shook his head. “You want to learn how to make money the hard way? With your superhuman strength and special abilities…. I could find you guys mercenary work. Easy money. Under the table money.” He rubbed his index finger and thumb together at them.
“Is that what you are? A mercenary?” Levi asked with raised eyebrows.
Ambrose nodded stiffly.
Levi’s expression darkened. “Don’t tell me you’re working for Agent Darkhart?”
“Not by choice.” Ambrose muttered darkly to himself and shook his head of such dour thoughts. “I mean…that’s really none of your business. I make my money - how I make my money. How else do you expect a demon like me to live among humans?” He hissed angrily.
“You learn to blend in, man.” Derek piped up. “But you have to make the effort first.”
“You guys should take the class with us.” Malakye said amiably to Ambrose and Garfield.
Garfield frowned as he considered the offer. “I would but I can’t control my strength.”
Levi reached out and squeezed G’s shoulder. “I’ll help you learn control.”
Garfield shot Levi a grateful look. “Thanks, man.”
“Chef Burns will also teach baking.” Malakye told Ambrose.
“Baking?” Ambrose scoffed. “Like I’d learn to do something so sissy.”
Afterwards, Levi, Malakye, Derek, Garfield and Ambrose signed up to take cooking and baking lessons from Chef Burns. For the rest of their prison sentence they worked hard on perfecting their cooking and baking skills. Levi became a certified chef, as did Malakye and Derek. Garfield and Ambrose both became certified bakers and confectioners.
After their two-year sentence had passed, Levi, Derek, Malakye and Garfield had decided to open a seafood restaurant together. During their grand opening, Ambrose returned Levi’s trident, which Dr. Sasha Robinovitch had been keeping safe for him. Levi thanked Ambrose by giving him the money to buy his own truck so that he could open up a mobile bakery. In this manner, Patissier Prince, Ambrose Rune had been born.
END OF FLASHBACK
The sound of the door to Poseidon’s Trident opening roused Levi from his recollections of the past. He was not ashamed of his time in prison. He’d learned a lot from Chef Burns, and had been given the rare opportunity for a fresh start.
Tristan Savant entered the restaurant and sauntered over to the chefs and Maia. “Hey guys. Maia. What’s with all the long faces?”
Levi and the chefs quickly explained to Tristan what had happened, and how Levi’s reputation was currently down the tubes.
Tristan nodded solemnly in understanding. “Well, that sucks. And let me guess, you want me to help with damage control. Am I right? Good thing I have friends in high places a.k.a Rachel Diamond CEO of Epic Taste Magazine and Power Blogger and Writer, Becca Thorn. Let me talk to the girls, and see what they can do to help fix your image, Levi.”
Levi gave Tristan a thankful look, and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Thanks, Tristan, I wouldn’t even care about my reputation if it weren’t for…” He swallowed as the name became lodged in his throat.
“Vivien.” Tristan filled in the obvious blank. “Don’t worry, my man. I feel you. We’ll fix this. Together.” He reached out to squeeze Levi’s shoulder in return.
Tristan called Rachel and then Becca, and told both girls about what had happened to Levi. Both girls had dined at Poseidon’s Trident in the past, and Levi had made a good impression on both of them. They immediately offered to help Levi in any way they could.
Levi, Tristan and the rest sat at one of the tables and just waited. An hour later, Rachel called Tristan back. “Hey Rach. Let me put you on speaker.” Tristan tapped a button on his phone. “Okay, shoot. You come up with any ideas?”
“Better than. I spoke to my friend, Chef Ramsay. He’s getting ready to film the last episode of this season of Hell’s Kitchen. I told him all about Levi, and Chef Ramsay admitted that he’s been to eat at Levi’s restaurant before and that he was truly impressed by Levi’s skills. He’s also aware of how Levi was cast to play the merprince, and feels bad that Levi’s past was brought up in such a negative way.
“Chef Ramsay wants to invite Levi to participate in the last episode of Hell’s Kitchen as a special guest. It will be a great twist. Levi will participate in the competition and cook against the two final chefs. Hell’s Kitchen will be split into not two but three different restaurants. Since Levi already has his own restaurant…the two chefs will be competing against Levi for the best customer response. And the prize of getting to be Chef Ramsay’s next Head Chef will still g
o to one of the other chefs.
“To make things even more interesting, Chef Ramsay wants to have Levi create his dishes from the ‘leftover ingredients’ of the other chefs. Apparently, there was something Levi told Chef Ramsay that really made an impression on him - something about how no part of the fish should be wasted. Do you think Levi would be up for the challenge?” Rachel asked.
“Who the hell is Chef Ramsay and what’s Hell’s Kitchen?” Levi asked in a low voice that Rachel couldn’t hear.
Levi’s comment was met with laughter. The merman really needed to start watching TV. “It’s a cooking competition television show. Chef Gordon Ramsay is pretty famous, Levi. If you manage to get a positive response on the show you’d probably also get the chance to tell your story - your way.” Derek explained.
Levi nodded in understanding. “I’ll do it.” He spoke loudly enough for Rachel to hear his response.
“Excellent.” Rachel said happily.
“What about the handicap? Using the leftovers of the other chefs to create your impromptu menu.” Tristan asked concernedly. “Will you really be able to do that?”
A confident smirk formed on Levi’s face. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Not for me. You’d be surprised by just how wasteful humans tend to be when they’re cooking and how much actual food is left over. The ingredients they think of as rubbish…can be transformed into exquisite dishes.”
Tristan nodded in understanding. “Alright then. Good luck.”