Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“Good morning,” she said.
“Hey. I was wondering where you were,” I said.
“Just doing a million errands. That glamorous chef life. How’s everything going in the kitchen so far?” she asked.
“I’ve been in here with the guys most of it,” Derek admitted. “But Jodi’s been helping out. Turns out she isn’t just the server to end all servers. She also knows her way around a prep station.”
Alex gave him a strange look. “The server to end all servers? Did you hire an assassin to help you in the restaurant so she can just pick off underperforming employees? I don’t think that’s a very good motivation tactic.”
I tried not to laugh as Derek glared at his brother.
“I realized how weird it sounded when I said it,” Derek said. “You could have had the decency not to point it out.”
Alex grinned and shook his head. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Alright, come on,” Cameron said. “We need to get going with this. I have some of the paperwork over at the counter.”
The guys headed across the room, but Ally hung back with me.
“How are you doing?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
There was genuine concern in her eyes and in her voice, and it made me feel good to hear it. I’d kept to my rules for the past year, sticking mainly to myself when I went from place to place. I wasn’t cold or standoffish with the people I met, but I also didn’t develop any true friendships either. It felt like that had changed. It was the first time in that year I felt like people were getting to know me and cared.
We chatted for a bit before I stepped out of the conversation so I could head back to the kitchen. It was obvious the brothers were deep in some sort of work meeting and that was why Ally had shown up. I didn’t want to get in the middle of it or seem like I was overstepping my place.
I said goodbye to Ally, and she told me she’d see me later at the restaurant before I turned to leave. I was just making my way past one of the tables scattered around the tasting room when I heard Noah say two words I didn’t want anywhere near me or the place where I was working.
Prince Industries.
My knees went weak under me, and I sat down hard in one of the wooden chairs at the table. As I dropped my head to try to suck in a few deep breaths, I was vaguely aware of Derek calling my name and heading across the room toward me.
19
DEREK
Seeing her drop like that was terrifying. One second, she was chatting with Ally, amiably talking and smiling, and the next she looked like she had seen a ghost and fell. Or, maybe more accurately, had heard a ghost.
I held up one finger to my brothers and turned to her. Ally looked up at me, clearly alarmed. I nodded at her, and she darted into the kitchen, presumably to grab a glass of water. I jogged over to Jodi, kneeling in front of her, and picked her chin up with the tips of my fingers. She looked at me, but her eyes were wide and held an expression I knew too well. She was scared as hell.
Ally came back with a glass of water as I listened to my brothers resume murmuring. They weren’t sure what to make of any of this, but they had things to discuss. They went back to speaking, but it was hushed, like they were listening to hear something from us. They wanted to know what was going on too.
My head throbbed as I ran the thoughts through my mind. Of course. That made so much sense. I could see it now. Kneeling down in front of her, I made sure not to break eye contact. I wanted her to focus on me, to keep her focused and thinking about what could calm her. What could make this okay.
I heard Alex behind me clear his throat. The room had gone silent.
“Prince Industries?” I asked.
She nodded.
“It’s one of our contacts,” Alex said. “Really good price for us from them. I did some negotiating when Cam was out. Sorry, Cam.”
“No worries,” Cam said. “I trust you. Who did you talk to?”
“Real nice fella. Said he could cut us a good deal. A guy named Jack Prince.”
I looked deep into her eyes as she nodded again. Then her eyes shut tightly.
Fuck.
I stood, making my way back to my brothers. They looked curiously from Jodi to me. I held up my palm and nodded, mouthing that it was fine. They knew and I knew that it was a lie. There was no getting around the fact that something was clearly wrong, but none of us really wanted to alert Jodi or make it worse. Ally stood beside her, rubbing her back.