King of the Kitchen Read Online Free PDF Page A

more, Beck wouldn’t dream of it outside of his own silent fantasies. At the end of the day, he was exactly where he wanted to be, even if it came at the cost of a little bit more of his soul dying every time he had to cook something with aioli.
    “Agneau,” Beck said, keeping his voice level. He knew why the spot had been pulled. He’d even warned the advertising department it might happen, and he’d prepared to cover the time by rehearsing an extended show intro.
    For most television personalities, successfully being the host of a live show was due to a combination of hard work and natural talent. Beck had no natural on-screen charm, so he had to work doubly hard for his success. No viewer would ever guess that every bit of Beck’s carefree, easy demeanor on the show was scripted, or that for every five minutes of on-screen time, Beck spent about an hour preparing. He worked with a team of writers to preplan jokes and asides, and he spent ages over a range in the cramped test kitchen, perfecting recipes with the development team and learning how to make them effortlessly.
    “Did they say why? Agneau has been an advertiser with the show since the beginning.”
    Beck’s eyes slid open, and he stared at Christian with disbelief. “Are you really asking me that? How could they not pull after what Felix Cartwright said during his guest spot last week?”
    Christian scowled. “That throw-away comment about GMOs?”
    “Of course ‘that throw-away comment about GMOs.’ Genetically modified organisms are a hot topic right now, and Agneau has a huge contract with Monsanto. Most of the corn in the processed food Agneau produces is genetically modified.”
    One of the things Beck hated about working on the show—and there were many—was being forced to play nice with food distributors he’d never use personally. Agneau had been a sponsor of King of the Kitchen way back in the days when Christian was the little-known host of a local cooking show in upstate New York, some twenty years ago. Christian always made a point of using Agneau brand dried pasta on the show, as well as other boxed or canned ingredients that never showed up in his pantry at home. Beck’s uncle was the ultimate food snob personally, but professionally he was happy to put his face on pretty much any product that offered a high enough fee for endorsement.
    “I’ll talk to Rollie. I’m sure a few rounds of golf and an afternoon at the club will change his mind.”
    Beck leveled him with an incredulous look. “Felix called the company’s refusal to label which of its products use GMOs ‘irresponsible’ and implied Agneau’s entire line was unhealthy. Somehow I don’t think you playing golf with Agneau’s chief financial officer is going to be enough to convince the company to advertise with us again. I’d be worried about them dropping you as a celebrity sponsor, actually.”
    He didn’t flinch under Christian’s scathing look, but it was a near thing. Only years of being the recipient of it kept him from cowering like most of Christian’s other employees did when he was dressing them down.
    “I don’t need you to tell me how to manage my affairs, Beck.” One of his eyebrows twitched, and Beck braced himself. Christian definitely had a tell when it came to dropping the hammer, and that was it. Anytime there was eyebrow twitching, Beck knew he was in for a tirade. “If I were you, I’d be more worried about finalizing the menu for Brix.”
    Beck’s muscles tightened, dread coiling in his stomach. Christian had promised him he was going to be the executive chef for the new restaurant in the King empire in more than name only; it was going to be his from the ground up. His concept, his menu, his management. He thought he’d been doing a good job, and the focus groups Christian insisted on using for everything agreed.
    “I gave the menu to Sarah yesterday. She said she’d slotted in time on your calendar for you to review