Joanna Hynes

This novel is roughly 7300 words long and is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.

Amani Jefferson was, at least according to her friends, a beautiful second-generation Jamaican, typically filled with enthusiasm and joie de vivre that many of her friends admired. At the moment, however, her mood was sour, and one look at David's expression caused her to glower even more. Oh, she supposed she couldn't blame him, as they were in the middle of an intense competition with time winding down, but was that any excuse for poor form or behavior?
Amani would soon graduate from the Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts College in Hollywood, while David Spencer, a California native born and raised near Huntington Beach, had attended, and graduated, from general years before. At the moment, he, with her help, was making his first attempt at Master Chef status, and then, following his success of course, planned to advance to an Iron Chef competition in New York.
While Amani hadn't worked with David very long – okay a matter of hours, she certainly knew of him and his reputation. He had worked as chief chef at three major restaurants, one in New York, one in still-recovering New Orleans, and one in downtown Los Angeles. Each of those restaurants were popular and successful and catered to numerous tastes, from Creole seafood to Italian pasta.
As Amani frantically diced the ingredients for her Pan seared Mahi-Mahi with Mango Salsa, she recalled her first meeting of him during a class he taught..........