"Housekeepers were for cleaning, nannies were for infants. I was raised to be independent." And ruthless, calloused, and unflinching to name a few other qualities, and certainly not in a way Lex would have chosen for himself. "It wasn't a matter of incompetence so much as bootstraps."

He tips the contents of the pot into a strainer and leaves it in the sink while he busies himself with a saucepan. "It was as awful as you'd expect it to be. Thankfully I never attempted to serve anyone." He turns down the heat and allows the pan to simmer, finally turning his attention fully to Adrian with drink in hand. "I wasn't aware that being able to cook was that surprising."