Her New Boss: A Rouge Erotic Romance (12 page)

‘But how do I know the attraction is real and not just some strange misplaced affection because of who he is and what he can do for my career? I mean, I’ve been feeling pretty down and desperate lately. I’d do about anything for a shot.’

‘That’s a tougher one,’ Kat admitted. ‘But really, who knows where true attraction and affection start? I know you, sis, and you’re not a user. Besides, it’s still early. You don’t know him all that well. Give it time and be yourself.’

Zoe really wished she was more like her sisters. All of them seemed so confident and sure. She’d always been the reserved one, over-thinking every little detail.

‘So tell me, how’s your room? He put you up in a nice place?’

‘It’s a little country, but not bad. Reminds me a bit of that place we stayed at in Montana – décor-wise.’ Zoe looked around, staring at a sepia print of a little girl in a bonnet next to an old-fashioned car. ‘Honestly, it’s a little creepy here. It’s so quiet, I can’t sleep. There are these bugs that just chirp all night long. I never thought I’d say I missed the sound of traffic.’

‘Want me to mail you a tape?’

‘Kind of.’ Zoe laughed. ‘I tell you, what I could really use is some street clothes. I thought I’d be in a fine-dining restaurant, so I have mostly chef uniforms with me. I underpacked when it came to T-shirts and jeans. Send me some?’

‘Sure. I have movers going to your place tomorrow to take your stuff to storage. I’ll grab some then.’

‘You’re the best.’

‘I know. I rock.’ Kat chuckled. ‘Now get some sleep and don’t lose heart. You just keep doing what you do and that little town will wake up and take notice.’

‘If Sheryl will let them wake up,’ Zoe grumbled. ‘Night, Kat.’

‘Bye, sweetie.’

Zoe hung up and dropped the phone next to her on the
firm
mattress, turning her head to the window without getting off the bed. Her damp hair felt cool against her skin. The rough texture of the bedspread lightly scratched the backs of her thighs and her arms when she moved against it. The pink pyjama shorts and tank top offered little protection, but were perfect for the warmer South Carolina weather. White lace curtains framed the darkness outside. Stars and tree limbs filled the view of the night sky. Even though it made her nervous, she could appreciate the open beauty.

‘Jackson,’ she whispered. Despite her sister’s comforting words, Zoe knew what it was between them. What would a man like Jackson want with a desperate chef? She didn’t have money, only had a job because of him and had nothing to bring to the relationship but herself. What they had was an affair, pure and simple. She would be a fool to wish for more.

Rolling onto her side, she grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest. She was most definitely a fool.

Chapter Six

THROUGH THE PICK-UP
window Zoe anxiously watched the rich California couples sitting at a booth. The women both had blonde hair – one with sleek short locks and the other with flowing curls. Their designer wrap dresses stood out in the small-town atmosphere, as did the long fake nails, high heels and fancy jewelry. The men were Hollywood-refined, slick players with golden tans and lightweight cotton-knit shirts.

All week, she’d not sold one special – except for meatloaf Tuesday when the restaurant went through an inordinate amount of ground beef with baked ketchup topping. She’d followed the old cook’s recipe to the letter, doubtful when she started that they’d go through over thirty pounds of baked beef. It was only at the end of the day that she learnt Dabery was the self-proclaimed meatloaf capital of the world. They took their loaf seriously and even though she made it exactly to recipe, she felt their suspicious glances as they ate.

Now, as Sheryl carried the four balanced plates to the Californians’ table, she held her breath. They were the first in this town to try her original dishes. Knowing they were coming, she’d made a list of seven options. It also helped to use up some of the foodstuffs she’d ordered but hadn’t used during the week. Predictably, the women picked salads – one fresh corn and pine nuts and the other a ginger
chicken
with melon. The older man with graying temples ordered aged steak with wild mushroom and baby asparagus and the younger chose a salmon rigatoni with parsley sauce.

Zoe held her breath, ignoring the hamburgers cooking on the grill. Their loud sizzle had become a constant background to her days. The restaurant was half full of customers. A few regulars sat at the counter, drinking their bottomless cups of coffee like they did every day. After several hours, they’d each leave a 25-cent tip for Sheryl and a newspaper. For the most part, no one talked to her. It was as if most of them came for the sole purpose of checking her out. To make matters worse, Jackson had disappeared. After he’d walked her home, she hadn’t heard from him again. He hadn’t come to the restaurant, hadn’t shown up outside the bed and breakfast and hadn’t called – not that she’d expected any calls. The most she’d had was a manila envelope filled with employment papers with her name on it left on the back desk of
Renée’s
kitchen.

Swallowing down the hurt, she kept her eyes on the Californians. The ladies both took tiny bites of their salad. Zoe leant forward, trying to read their expressions from the sides of their faces. Suddenly, Sheryl appeared before the pick-up window, blocking her view. Zoe stood up straight, wrinkling her nose at the grumpy woman.

Sheryl slammed order tickets down on the pick-up window’s countertop. ‘Two of those steak things and a corn nut olive salad.’

The waitress turned to go, clearly annoyed. Zoe reached her hand through the window, trying to grab her. The hot metal burned a little because of the overhead heat lamps. Whispering, she said, ‘Wait, wait a second. Come here.’

Sheryl arched a brow, but slowly made her way to the
metal
door. Coming back to the kitchen, she crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Yes?’

‘Really?’ Zoe asked.

‘Really, what?’

‘Other people want my specials?’ She could barely contain her excitement.

‘I placed the order, didn’t I?’ Sheryl moved to go.

‘Wait!’

‘What?’ The waitress sighed heavily.

‘We can’t do any more of the pine nut and corn salad after this one.’ When Sheryl raised a brow, Zoe explained, ‘I only bought a small packet of pine nuts from the grocery store to make it. I didn’t think anyone else would try it outside of that group from California. No one’s tried one of my specials all week.’ She couldn’t help her giddiness. ‘Who ordered it? Those guys at the counter? Or was it the farmer? I bet he took a steak, didn’t he? Or –’

‘Girly, I’m only going to say this once,’ Sheryl broke in, holding up a hand to stop Zoe from saying more. ‘Get a hold of yourself. It’s just a piece of cooked meat, not the second coming. I’ve got customers to tend to. Don’t make them wait.’

Zoe’s smile faded some. She glanced at Travis, who ignored her as he slowly loaded a rack to get it ready to go into the industrial-sized dishwasher. It sucked not having anyone to share these things with. Then, thinking she finally had customers to wow, she hurried back to the grill to flip the hamburgers and move them aside to make room for the steaks. Checking the orders, her grin returned. Her time had finally come. She was her own chef.

Zoe grinned. Nothing could take the smile off her face or the bounce from her step, not even the giant bag of heavy
trash
she slung over her shoulder. She’d sold fifteen of her special dinners. Fifteen! Fifteen people ordered off her menu, ate it and paid for it. Not one complained. She was finally a real chef in her own restaurant.

Throwing open the lid to the blue dumpster, she wrinkled her nose and tried not to breathe in the horrible smell of trash that came from inside. Garbage service had yet to pick up the week’s load. Light from inside the restaurant shone over the shadowed alley, giving her enough to see by. With a grunt, she lifted the bag and tossed it over the side. It landed with a loud bang. As she turned, she saw movement on the ground.

‘Ah!’ Zoe screamed. The sleek body of a long black snake gleamed in the light. It spread its neck horizontally as if ready to strike. It hissed violently and the loud sound made her spring into action. She leapt for the closest high point – the dumpster. The snake lurched forward. Zoe jumped, digging her feet in as she scurried up the side of the large metal container. The reptile hit her leg and she screamed again, jerking her feet up.

Zoe lost her balance and fell head first into the bin. She bumped her head on an empty tin can inside a black garbage bag. Moaning, she pushed up on the unstable pile, trying to right herself. The acrid, rotting smell made her gag. Her entire body shook as she frantically searched her leg for where the snake had hit. A dark splotch stained her white pants and she felt a sharp sting where it had bitten her. Whimpering, she peeked over the side. The snake thrashed its body on the ground, writhing around in what appeared to be agony. Its mouth hung open and the tongue hung lifelessly out of the side, picking up dirt as it convulsed. Finally, it rolled on its back and died.

Zoe stared at the light belly of the animal, just to make
sure
. It didn’t move. She tried to make her limbs work, but they shook badly. Keeping her eye on the snake, she hiked a leg up.

‘Hello?’ Jackson’s voice came from inside the kitchen. ‘Zoe?’

‘Here, help!’ she yelled.

His figure appeared at the door, haloed by light. ‘Zoe?’

She moaned, not moving to get down. The snake hadn’t moved. Jackson’s laughter rang out as he came out of the kitchen. ‘Did you accidentally throw something away you shouldn’t have?’

‘Snake. It bit me.’ She held her position. ‘I had to get away.’

‘A rattler?’ Jackson’s expression fell.

‘I think my blood killed it.’ She nodded at the ground. Inside, her muscles were so tense they felt like rocks beneath her skin. ‘It just started shaking and flopped over. Where’s the hospital? I think I might need anti-venom.’

This time, his laughter was louder. ‘That’s an Eastern Hognose. They’re not poisonous and it’s playing dead. You’ll be fine. Are you sure it bit you?’

‘My pants …’

Jackson walked over to the snake and picked it up. It dangled from his hand as he carried it away from her. Zoe kicked her leg over the side, and landed hard on the ground. She stumbled, falling onto the gravel before quickly righting herself. Her eyes on the ground for more snakes, she limped toward the kitchen.

‘Hey, easy. The bites usually aren’t bad and they rarely attack humans. They prefer eating toads. You just scared it and the snake just reacted to your presence.’ Jackson jogged over to her and slipped a hand under her elbow. He urged her to sit on the step. ‘Let me see. Where did it bite you?’

A tear slipped down Zoe’s cheek. ‘My leg.’ She turned her calf to the side where the snake had hit her. A large red spot marred the once-white uniform pants. An awful smell came off her clothes and she wanted to sink into the earth in embarrassment. She hadn’t seen Jackson for a week and this was how he found her? Covered in trash and bleeding?

Jackson pushed her pant leg up. His fingers ran along her skin, probing. She closed her eyes tight, waiting for him to hit the wound.

‘You’re all right. It’s just sauce,’ he said. ‘You’re not bitten.’

Zoe tried to speak, but instead she just let out a small sob. He looked so handsome in the dark-blue crewneck shirt and light denim jeans. This was not the impression she wanted to make. Her sweaty, dirty chef uniform was now covered in the last week’s worth of trash. She’d missed him, missed the sound of his voice, the touch of his flesh. She’d missed him in a way that should not have been possible in the little time she’d known him.

‘Hey, what’s this? You’re all right. It was just a snake.’

‘Today was one of the best days of my life. I was going to celebrate and now I smell like garbage.’ Zoe swiped at her eyes. ‘And when I go home, Marta is going to kill me. She’s fanatical about keeping the bed and breakfast clean. I doubt she’ll even let me in the front door. Every time I leave, she cleans my room – washes my sheets, mops, even scrubs the bathroom the second I’m done in the morning. After she makes me eat breakfast, she’s waiting with a dishrag to clean up the second I finish the last bite. If I go there looking like this … you don’t understand. Marta yelled at me for my shoes the other night after the spring shower and has been giving me dirty looks ever since.’

‘OK, this is an easy fix.’ Jackson stood. ‘Relax. Come inside. I’ll lock up the restaurant and take you home with me. You can get cleaned up there. Tyrant Marta will never know.’

Zoe began to protest, but in the end nodded in agreement. Unbuttoning her jacket, she slid it off her shoulders and went to put it inside an empty trash bag.

‘Ready?’ Jackson locked the back door and motioned toward the front of the restaurant. ‘My truck is out front.’

‘One second.’ Zoe grabbed more trash bags. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’

‘I don’t really have a choice. I know how Marta can be and I also know she’s the only place in town that takes long-term guests, unless you really want to live out by the highway in a small motel room and walk two miles to work every morning? And she told me about the muddy shoes. You’re already on probation with her.’

Zoe gasped. ‘They were barely dirty!’

Jackson merely laughed. Parked outside, his new black truck was the only vehicle on the street.

‘Is it normally this quiet on a Friday night? I thought teenagers would be out and about.’ Zoe glanced up and down the barren street.

‘Ranch parties,’ he answered. ‘They pick secret locations around the different ranches to meet. It becomes a game of sorts between the kids and the local police. They hide the parties and then time it to see how long it takes the cops to break them up.’

He opened the passenger door for her. Zoe put the bag with her jacket in the back before laying the trash bags on the seat to protect his leather. Sitting gingerly on the seat, she made sure not to touch anything. Jackson climbed in next to her and started the truck. Zoe instantly rolled down the electric window and sat as far away from him as she
could
, hoping the breeze filtering through the car didn’t carry her smell over to him. He drove past the bed and breakfast, navigating through a residential district before following a winding road outside of town.