My Boss Is Secretly A Softie - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: A cooking fiasco
“Why don’t we have a cook-off?” Elara quipped excitedly beside Terrence who sat languidly on the couch with his left arm encircling her.

After her mischievous spree, everything went back to normal, and the duo had fun doing whatever they wanted. Mostly playing sports, chess, reading books, exploring the forest, watching shows, and whatever the heck they wanted to do.

Today while watching a cooking show, Elara found out that Terrence had taken a bunch of cooking programs and was quite an impressive cook. Or so he claimed.

Naturally, with the duo’s competitive nature, it soon turned to a banter of who was better, with Elara exerting that her years of experience, including learning from the talented cooks in her house, was far better than Terrence’s.

Thus it became a question of who was better, a homemade cook or an educated one? There was only one way to find out—a cook-off!

***

The air was filled with tension as the two participants, Elara and Terrence, stood staring at each other with a smile. Merlin felt a sweat run down his face as he gulped uneasily, despite the duo being all smiles, an underlying feeling of apprehension seemed to saturate the space.

Thompson and his aunt, Emma, had also been summoned and unlike the latter, the former was very nervous. He wondered how the hell he’d be able to judge with anxiety numbing his appetite and possibly his taste buds.

They were to make a perfect steak, any type as long as it tasted great, under ten minutes.

The clock started ticking, and immediately, the duo sprang into action. Elara sprinkled some salt and ground black pepper, patting it into the red slab of meat for good measure. Sprinkling in a little amount of oil she scooped in the meat, a satisfying sizzle echoed through the kitchen in rhythm with her opponent’s.

After searing all sides of the steak, Elara skillfully diced in a clove of garlic and some thyme, making sure to flip over her steak every minute to even out the heat.

Glancing at Terrence, who had taken out his steak and added a slab of butter, garlic, and thyme, she hummed with interest before continuing cooking.

“Five minutes remaining!” Merlin called out to the duo with Terrence already moving on to his sauce while Elara was mostly done.

Using the same pan he used to prepare his steak, Terrence poured on some red wine and beef stock, letting it boil a bit before adding in vinegar, stripped thyme, black pepper, and lastly, a bit of unsalted butter to complete the sauce.

Meanwhile, Elara lightly whisked together the creamy, yellowish-looking, yet incomplete sauce. After sprinkling in some parsley, chives, thyme, salt, and pepper, she stirred it lightly once more, and her cowboy butter sauce was done.

Pouring the sauce into his neatly diced steak, Terrence added in some diced tomatoes, minced garlic, and fresh thyme leaves, concluding his cooking before the ten-minute mark.

In retrospect, Elara was yet to conclude. She scooped her sauce into a medium cup, placing it before her sliced steak, which was garnished with stir-fried onion, and immediately she was done with placing everything together; ten minutes was up.

The food was served, and the three judges each took a bite from the dishes as an unnerving quietness filled the kitchen.

Emma was the first to speak; she praised Terrence’s dish for its presentation; while Elara’s simple presentation was impressive, Terrence’s had a certain aesthetics to them, with its perfect arrangement being more pleasing to the eyes. However, she gave taste to Elara; not only did she prefer the well-done steak, she couldn’t help but marvel at the deliciousness of the simple-looking yet surprisingly tasteful sauce. Lastly, for the creativity, she gave it to Terrence; while Elara’s combination was good, Terrence’s was much more innovative to her.

Thompson gave the win to Elara, impressed not only by the taste of her sauce but also by how a well-done steak had managed to taste excellent.

The last judge, Merlin, chose Terrence, finding his presentation and style, along with the mix of vegetables, more endearing than Elara’s simple yet tasteful one.

The cook-off was over, and Terrence won, gaining the right to have Elara do one thing, per agreed.

***

“Do I have to do this?” Elara questioned dissatisfactorily with a frown as she approached the grinning male sitting at the table.

Per the agreement, Terrence had made his wish, and now Elara was forced to put on a rather skimpy maid outfit that hugged her figure firmly, effortlessly showing off her well-defined curves. The squirrel tails behind her flickered slightly as she slowly walked up to the male.

“Come on, don’t be shy. You look very nice,” Terrence whistled teasingly leaving Elara even more flustered.

“I didn’t know you were into this sort of thing,” Elara bemoaned as she sat on the male’s leg shyly, curiously probing her squirrel ears lightly before stopping.

She also had on a white pantyhose that stopped above her knees and a pair of beautiful flat black shoes that matched the outfit.

Terrence’s hands snaked around the lady’s slim waist causing her to tense up. Grinning widely he leaned into her ear before ambiguously whispering, “Feed me.”

“Isn’t that three requests now? I cooked another steak for you, dressed up in this embarrassing outfit, and now to feed you? You’re pushing it, angel,” Elara chastised with a huff.

Watching the adorable female huff and puff like a triggered squirrel, Terrence had to suppress the growing urge to tease her more to avoid annoying her to death.

Putting on a pleading face, he coquettishly whined, “Please??”

“…..”

Elara felt her defenses crumbling to pieces watching the man act cute which despite his age seemed to fit him perfectly. Must be that baby face of his.

‘He’s so cute! How can one resist such… Such… Ahh! Not fair! You sneaky thing!’

Screaming at herself to exercise control and reject the male by all means, Elara made the mistake of looking into his puppy eyes and was thoroughly defeated.

“Is it good?” Elara questioned as she gently fed the male who ate obediently.

“Perfect, especially when you feed me personally. We should do this more often,” Terrence suggested shamelessly earning him a menacing glare from the female.

“… Sometimes?”

“No!”

Terrence: Why so mean TnT

Elara: Hmph! I’m not falling for that again! ≧_≦

Terrence: (╥_╥)

Elara:…. Fine. Maybe sometimes.

Terrence: Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

Elara:…. Why is he so cute though, I can’t resist (╥_╥)