Alec stepped up to Magnus' home expecting either Magnus or Catarina to meet him at the door and tell him that he was no longer needed. It wouldn't surprise Alec after the way he spoke to Magnus last night. Even if they don't fire him, Alec still felt like he should resign. He doesn't like Magnus, and if he had known he was going to be working for that narcissistic ass in the first place, Alec would have never accepted the job. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the Brownstone. Alec gingerly moved through the mudroom, and into the kitchen. Noticing there was no one around, he decided to go back to the washroom and quickly changed his clothes.

Alec wasted no time at all getting to work. He decided to slice up the different cheeses for the the cheese dish, then placed them in zip lock bags and put them back in the refrigerator until they were needed. He then moved on to chopping the different vegetables that he would need for all of his recipes, and split them up into the different serving sizes he would need. Then he set to work making the mixtures for the stuffed mushrooms and the crust for the mini quiches.

"Ah, Alexander! I'm glad you're here." Magnus' voice caused Alec to stiffen his posture as he set the salmon down on the counter. "I know you're busy, but may I have a word?"

Clearing his throat, Alec turned to face the man, folding his arms across his chest. "Sure."

"First, I just want to tell you just how truly sorry I am." Magnus said, sighing as he added. "I do remember that day from high school. I know I was a jerk, and I let Imasu bring out the worst in me. I never should have allowed him to speak to you the way he did. And I never should have outed you."

"No, you shouldn't have. It was humiliating to have my biggest secret spilled in front of the entire school. But," Alec sighed in resignation, "Even though the choice was taken away from me, you did me a huge favor."

"What do you mean?" Magnus sounded surprised. Alec couldn't blame Magnus, because he had after all, completely blown up on him last night.

"You outing me caused me to come out to my family. I wish I didn't feel like I had to do it on my fifteenth birthday, but all of my fears were dissolved that day." Alec said, dropping his gaze. Thinking back on his behavior from the night before, Alec was having a hard time justifying his attitude towards the older man.

"Oh?" Magnus questioned. "What do you mean?"

"My parents were always very conservative. I was terrified of how they would react to my coming out. I did a lot of research, joined a few forums and chat groups, and I heard some kids talking about how much their lives changed after they came out to their friends and loved ones." Alec looked up at Magnus. "Some were fine, but others... their entire worlds were turned upside down just for being who they were. I was almost certain that my parents would disown me when I eventually came out to them, but it was the opposite. They told me that they were proud of me. They said they always knew, but never brought it up because they wanted me to come to terms with it myself. They support me and love me regardless of who I love, as long as that person treats me with kindness and the respect I deserve."

Alec cleared his throat, already feeling his blush forming. "I think I was more angry with you for taking away my choice."

"Again, I am truly sorry for that." Alec could clearly see that Magnus was being honest with his statement.

"And I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you last night. Seeing you again just brought out a flood of emotions, and I didn't handle it in a professional manor," Alec confessed.

"No harm done. Cat tells me all the time that I need someone to put me in my place." Magnus chuckled, "And as of last night, you managed to do just that."

Alec nodded but paused, still unsure of his current employment, "I understand if you want to find a new chef. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way."

"Nonsense Alexander! The only way I'm getting rid of you is if you tell me that you're finally going to open that restaurant you're saving up for," Magnus said, dismissing Alec's statement with a wave of his hand.

"H-how did you know about that?" Alec stuttered, clearly stunned that Magnus knew about his dream.

"Cat told me. She always gives me the details of who she hires under my employment," Magnus said, "Now, is there a way that we can start over? I want to prove to you that I'm not that same 'narcissistic ass' as you so kindly described me."

Alec huffed out a laugh, ducking his head again from the blush rising up his neck, "Sure, but I really do need to get started on all of this prep work."

"Can you talk while you work?" Magnus asked as he sat down at the kitchen island.

"I can. Uh... what do you want to talk about?" Alec suddenly felt nervous having all of Magnus' attention on him.

"Tell me about your family," Magnus said as he leaned further on the counter, placing his chin in his hand.

"Hm, okay. My parents own a marketing firm here in Brooklyn. Even though they built the business from the ground up, they didn't pressure any of us to follow in their own footsteps like we've seen with a lot of our friends. They wanted all of us to follow our own dreams and aspirations. My brother is an actor. He's living between here and LA. His girlfriend, who's like a sister to me, is a web designer. She works for a company based here in New York, but works from home so she can be in California with my brother. My actual sister is in her third year of medical school and she wants to become a pathologist. My brother-in-law, Simon, is an aerospace engineer, and my baby brother is in his third year of high school. Max has such a creative mind, and he wants to work for my parents once he's finished with college." Alec said, feeling lighter as he spoke of his family.

"That sounds lovely. I unfortunately was one of those kids that didn't have a choice. My father was hell bent on me taking over the company when he retired. I was forced to take over well before I was ready to," Magnus said with so much venom in voice.

"May I ask what happened?" Alec tenitavely asked. He wasn't privy to the circumstances of Magnus replacing his father, but didn't want to pry if Magnus didn't want to answer.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Not many people know what happened and I'd rather keep it that way." The anger Alec saw moments ago vanished as Magnus spoke.

"Understandable." Alec didn't really know what else to say to that.

"What are you making?" Magnus asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Smoked salmon pâté. I didn't have enough time to smoke the salmon myself - as it generally takes over twenty-four hours to smoke - but I was able to find a market that already carried it," Alec said, giving Magnus a pointed look about the short notice of this ridiculous dinner party.

Magnus gave Alec a sheepish look, but Alec chuckled and continued making the pâté.

Once all of the ingredients were blended together, Alec scooped it out, placing it in a container. Then he let it sit in the refrigerator until it was ready to serve. He also pulled the roast out and sprinkled it with salt and pepper, leaving the roast aside to rest while he heated up the pan.

"Now what are you doing?"

Alec glanced up away from his work and saw that Magnus was genuinely curious as to what he was doing.

"I'm heating up this pan to brown the roast before putting it in that dutch oven." Alec pointed over to the pot that he placed on the stove earlier that morning, "I'm also going to be using the broth from the roast to make my soup."

"And what's that going to be?" Magnus asked, his posture perking up even more.

"Consommé." Alec simply stated.

"Consume what?" Magnus asked.

"Consommé. It's a concentrated beef broth. Due to lack of time, it's the best I could come up with on such short notice," Alec explained, giving Magnus yet another pointed look.

"Sorry," Magnus muttered. "I know that most chefs would be insulted by the short notice in which I gave you to put something this extravagant together."

"It's not ideal, but luckily for you I'm not most chefs. I would have preferred to have more time to be able to properly plan a menu and prepare for the dinner party, but it's not the end of the world," Alec said, feeling bad for giving Magnus such a hard time.

"I'll remember that for next time." Magnus chuckled, causing Alec's eyes to widen the size of saucers.

"You're planning on having another dinner party and serving a ten course meal?" Alec asked incredulously.

"Maybe not this extreme, but I do plan a few dinner parties for guests, and up and coming artists on occasion," Magnus informed him.

"Good to know," Alec said, shaking his head as he remembered Cat telling him about that once before.

"So what exactly are we having tonight?" Magnus asked, clearly interested.

"Do you really want me to name everything I'm making for tonight?" Alec replied, observing that Magnus had an inquisitive mind.

"Why not? Humor me. I didn't brag about my new chef to everyone I know for nothing."

Alec turned to face the stove, hoping to play off his blush as being from the heat of the stove and not from the compliment Magnus just handed out like it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Huh, okay. For the hors d'oeuvres I'm preparing bacon wrapped scallops, stuffed mushrooms, and mini quiches. I've already told you how I'm making the soup, and you already know the fish course I'm making is the Salmon Pâté served on a multigrain bread. For the poultry course I'm serving Bourbon glazed chicken over mashed red potatoes and grilled asparagus. Then the lime sorbet - bought from a gourmet shop - since I wasn't given enough time to make it myself. The seventh course is the beef roast with sauteed onion, glazed carrots and roasted red potatoes. I'm making a simple salad with mixed greens and a red wine vinegarette dressing. For dessert I'm going to make a chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. And for the cheese course I bought Brie, Camembert, smoked Gouda, American Cheddar, and an Irish Cheddar. I'm going to place that on the cheese board with some dried fruit, grapes and assorted crackers." Alec then went into detail about how each item was prepared.

"You have time to make all of that?" Magnus asked, voice sounding bewildered.

"These aren't hard dishes to make. I've been making them for years now," Alec said with a shrug.

"What made you become a chef?" Magnus asked next. Alec was beginning to wonder if Magnus legitimately wanted to know, or if he was just so bored that he decided to start the million and one question game.

"When my parents left the firm they used to work for to start their own business, they spent so much time working that us kids were constantly having to order take out. I was getting tired of always feeling so sluggish from eating that unhealthy greasy food, so I started looking up recipes online and watching cooking shows. I soon realized that I enjoyed cooking so much that I wanted to make a career out of it," Alec explained as he sauteed some onions.

"Well you certainly have a natural talent," Magnus said easily.

"Partially yes, but I wouldn't be where I am today without my education and training," Alec blew off the compliment. He's never really cared for verbal compliments, and would much prefer to see peoples reactions to his food.

"What made you choose Paris? You seem very close to your siblings," Magnus asked. Alec inwardly sighed due to the constant stream of questions.

"I wanted to learn from the best so I busted my ass in high school, and entered numerous cooking competitions. I built a portfolio and was lucky enough to get accepted. Then I fell in love with French cuisine and decided to stay for awhile to hone my skills," Alec explained.

"And then you came back?" Magnus asked, letting the question hang in the air.

"I did. I missed my family like crazy. Izzy only has a year left of medical school and we have no idea where she's going to end up for her residency. Max plans on going to Columbia when he graduates, but he's going to be busy with his classes so he won't have much time to spend with me once he starts. And Jace, as I've said before, splits his time between here and California. Plus he's an actor so you never know where his next movie will take him, " Alec shrugged, not knowing what Magnus would gain by asking his questions.

"What about your parents? Do you see them often?" Magnus inquired.

"I do. They're not as busy as they were when they were building up their business. It's finally to a point where the business runs itself, although they still do quite a bit of traveling for work. I don't see them as often as I'd like, but we talk often," Alec said with a smile. He looked up to his parents and how hard they've worked to get where they were today.

"You seem like a very close knit family. I can see it in the way your eyes light up when you talk about them," Magnus pointed out.

"My family is very important to me. My brothers and sister are my best friends," Alec stated proudly.

"It's always good to have family, whether they be by blood or by choice," Magnus sounded slightly cryptic.

"What do you mean?" Alec couldn't help but question.

"Well, Ragnor, Catarina, and Raphael are my chosen family," Magnus elaborated.

Alec briefly contemplated Magnus' statement. He knew a few rumors in high school of Magnus' past, but chose not to comment, not knowing if said rumors were true or just fabricated.

"Well, I will let you work in peace. I'm happy that we were able to talk," Magnus said, getting up from the bar stool.

"Thanks, it was nice," Alec told him. "I'm happy we talked as well."

Alec watched as Magnus left, thinking that maybe working for him wouldn't be so bad afterall.

~oOo~

Alec spent the rest of the day preparing for the party and was both exhausted and elated cooking so much food. He hadn't cooked this much since before he left Paris. There was now just under thirty minutes before dinner service started. Alec was putting the chicken in the oven when he heard the kitchen door open. He looked up to see Cat, smiling as she walked in.

"Hey Alec! How are things coming along?" Catarina asked, seemingly in a cheery mood.

"So far so good. I'm done with all of my prep, just waiting on the roast to finish and I just put the chicken in the oven," Alec said, closing the oven door.

"Great! I'm sorry you weren't able to get you any help in the kitchen today, but I was able to hire a couple of extra people to help you out tonight. I'll let them know that you are their supervisor for the evening, and they need to follow your instructions explicitly. One will be free for you to instruct as you need him to, and I figured the other one will help Helen out with dishes," Cat informed him, getting right down to business.

"Thanks! I'll probably just have him expedite the food. I'll plate everything myself as long as I'm able to do so," Alec let her know.

"Whatever works best for you," Cat patted him on the shoulder and glanced around the kitchen.

"Did you need anything else?" Alec asked, wondering why she was lingering.

"Nope, honestly I'm just mesmerized watching work. You're a natural, just like Magnus said," Cat told him.

"Uh... what do you mean?" Alec asked, not sure if he liked being talked about so much.

"Just that you are already so familiar with the kitchen that you look like you own the place," Cat said with an easy smile brightening her features.

"I-I'm sorry. Should I n-not do that?" Alec worried. Inside a kitchen was the one place Alec actually felt confident. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries he wasn't aware of.

"What? Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. It's just cool to watch," Cat chuckled.

"Thanks?" Alec said, making it sound more like a question than an answer.

"Anyway, I have servers to train. I'll see you later." Cat said as she strolled out of the kitchen.

"Have fun!" Alec called out, chuckling as he made his way to start plating the hors d'oeuvres.

Just as Alec put the last mushroom cap on the serving platter, two young guys walked in introducing themselves. The blond, whose name was Logan, went straight to work washing the few pots and pans Helen hadn't gotten to yet. Spencer, who was the brunette, grabbed the serving trays and ushered them into the butler's pantry for the servers to take out to the guests.

The three men and Helen worked seamlessly throughout the night. Alec didn't even have to ask Logan to wipe down the stove and countertops. The kid just took it upon himself to make every surface of the kitchen was clean until the plates were brought in. Spencer also listened diligently to Alec's instructions when helping him plate the various dishes. They all spoke amiably. Alec learned that both boys were in college. Spencer and Logan also asked Alec a myriad of questions about his work. In fact, they asked similar questions to Magnus earlier that day, but Alec didn't mind indulging the guys curiosities. It made the night go by faster.

Once Alec was alone in the kitchen - his temporary help had already left for the evening - Magnus and Cat burst through the door, gushing over his food. Alec, of course, blushed and stammered his way through the compliments, then shared a glass of wine with his two employers. Magnus and Catarina filled Alec in on who was at the party along with Magnus' aspirations for his new pop star. They also insisted that because Alec 'worked a miracle on such short notice' - Magnus' words, not Alec's - that Alec should take Monday off as well as Sunday. Alec reluctantly agreed as he said his goodbyes to the slightly inebriated duo and headed home, looking forward to going straight to bed after his exhausting day.