= Chris POV =

My shift started at 8 a.m. sharp at the hotel. The sous chef had called in sick, and I was in charge of the banquet kitchen—hosting a conference for 300 people. From the moment I stepped through the doors, I was on high alert.

Everything had to be perfect. Every garnish, every plate, every damn napkin fold needed to hit the mark. Yet somehow, despite the chaos of prep and plating, my mind kept wandering—to Sarah.

I shouldn’t have been thinking about her at all, not with the stakes so high, but there she was, haunting me in the strangest ways.

The delicate orchids I was carefully arranging on the chocolate ganache-covered cupcakes reminded me of the way Sarah tucked her hair behind her ear—soft, effortless, but somehow mesmerizing. The stir-fry side dish brought back the scent of our shared dinner last night. Even the clinking of the cutlery as I set the tableware had me lingering, remembering her hands brushing against mine in the kitchen drawer.

I caught myself staring too long at the trays and quickly shook it off.

“Chris, see me,” Rosa’s voice snapped me out of my daze. She appeared beside me, clipboard in hand, just as I was tasting the soup that needed to go out in five minutes.

“Marcus—add a pinch of paprika and two more cuts of butter,” I barked before turning to Rosa. “What is it? It’s crunch time.”

Rosa raised an eyebrow but didn’t flinch. “Exactly why I need to talk to you now.” She gestured for me to follow her to her office.

I barely suppressed a groan but obeyed, wiping my hands on my apron before trailing after her.

Once inside, Rosa folded her arms and leaned back against her desk. “Alright, talk to me. What’s going on? You’re staggering. Your timing’s off. That’s not like you.”

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to push down the frustration bubbling inside me. “Ugh. It’s just some trouble at home,” I admitted, hesitating. “I—uh—I need to figure out how to split up chores, responsibilities, and my roommate—”

Rosa tilted her head, her lips twitching upward. “Roommate? Since when do you have a roommate?”

“It’s new. Just started.” My words came out rushed, and I hated how my face heated up. “And I guess we’re having trouble figuring out boundaries and responsibilities. We keep having…heated discussions about it.”

I instantly regretted my choice of words. Heated discussions. What a way to describe the constant push and pull between Sarah and me—the lingering stares, the unspoken tension, and the moments that left me feeling like I’d either lose my mind or lose control completely.

To her credit, Rosa didn’t pry into the details. Instead, she laughed. “Oh, I get it. Trust me. I’ve had my share of troublesome roommates too. Rent-sharing drama is no joke. But I’ve got just the fix.”

She pulled out her phone and held it up. “This app saved my life. It tracks chores and bills, keeps everything organized, and lets you assign tasks. You can even set reminders and deadlines.”

I leaned in, intrigued. The app looked comprehensive—lists for cleaning schedules, grocery runs, and bill tracking. Everything had neat checkboxes and color-coded labels.

“The trick,” Rosa said with a smirk, “is to keep admin rights to yourself. That way, they can’t mark things as done unless they actually are. No more freeloaders leaving the lights on and dodging the utility bills.”

I couldn’t help but smile at how proud she sounded. Rosa had always been a hard-ass—no-nonsense in the kitchen and apparently just as strict at home. It made sense that she’d already figured out how to deal with roommate drama.

“Alright,” I said, nodding. “I’ll download it and whip this household into shape.”

“Good. Now get back out there and stop worrying about home. We have a conference to pull off, and I don’t want to hear a single complaint about timing, or we’ll both be hearing it from the boss.”

“Yes, Chef,” I replied, straightening up and heading back to the kitchen.

But as I fell back into the rhythm of managing the final course, a quiet determination settled over me.

I had to get this right—both here at work and at home. Sarah depended on me now, and like it or not, I had signed that ridiculous contract. I wasn’t about to let her down, even if it meant creating a system to keep her in line.

Maybe with the app, we’d have fewer arguments and clearer rules. And maybe, just maybe, it would help me keep some much-needed distance between us—before I lost what little control I had left.