Time for Change (4 page)

“She’s gone to the bathroom.
She’ll be back in a moment.” He watched as Jared delicately placed their plates
on the table. “So, do you know Richard well?” he asked.

The other guy looked
nervous, glancing toward the kitchen. “He’s, erm, he’s a chef.”

“Does being a chef make him
an asshole?” Chris asked.

“No, no, he’s not an
asshole.” Jared held his hands up.

Chris had enough. He saw
through everyone. What with years of being a cutthroat bastard and also having
a knack for reading people, he cut through the crap. “How much is being put on
Richard fucking my friend?” he asked, getting down to business. Jared went red.

“I don’t know what you mean,
Sir?” Another awkward glance was sent to the kitchen.

“No? Okay, I think I
understand everything. Leave, and tell your chef I want a word with him outside
in thirty minutes.”

He spotted Rachel heading
toward him. Jared left his side, and he focused all of his attention on the
woman in front of him. Making a quick decision, Chris knew there was never
going to be another woman in his life. He was going to find some way of having
Rachel in his.

Claire would want both of
them to be comforted by each other. He wasn’t hurting his wife’s memory. Chris
was going to make sure he gave Rachel everything she wanted.

“Fine, I’ll accept your date
on Friday,” he said. “You’ll call me to make sure you arrived safely, and then
you’ll let me know when you’re leaving.”

When Rachel had walked back
to him, she’d looked ready to go to war. Her shoulders slumped as he caved in
to her demands. Chris got what he wanted, though. The Rachel he’d come to adore
was sat at the table, eating.

He sat back, watching her
eat. She loved her food, and he recalled all the other times he’d been with her
eating a meal. Rachel had been part of his life for a long time. When he’d met
Claire’s family, he’d been enamored by the young woman and her idealistic
views. Later on, he’d cared for her, holding her hand and comforting her
through the hard part of her life. Over the years he’d helped her through
everything, so much so, they’d become really good friends.

When had his feelings turned
to love and lust?

There was a lot of stuff he
wished he could take back, but this feeling wasn’t one of them. The women were
the only part he’d change.

The meal went by without
another hitch. On the way out, twenty-five minutes later, Rachel was smiling
and laughing.

In the fresh air with plenty
of space surrounding them, Rachel threw herself in his arms. “Thank you,” she
said, dropping her head to the nape of his neck.

“What for?” he asked.

“For
being my best friend.
I’ve missed you
being there for me.”

In the coming weeks he was
going to be more than a best friend.

“I care for you, Rachel. I
hate this distance that has settled between us. No more women, I promise.” He
reached out to stroke her cheek. Chris saw her gasp and try to hide it with a
cough. She covered her mouth, stepping away from him.

There was something
blistering between them, and he wasn’t going to let it go.

“I’ve got to go. I’m looking
for more work seeing as I can only work here part-time.” She smiled, looking
unsure and adorable as she did.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah, if not, I’ll call
you.” She left him alone.

Chris waited until she was
out of sight before going around the back. Richard was waiting for him. The
other man was sat on a step with his hands fisted.

“What do you want?” Richard
asked. The real bad attitude of the man was coming through. Chris saw through
the charm to settle on him.

“How high is the bet going?
I mean, do you get more for screwing her or just going on a date?” Chris asked,
getting straight to the point.

He’d been a man. While he’d
been training to become a doctor, he’d worked in a lot of odd jobs. He knew the
men who would put a price on dating or fucking someone. Chris had been exactly
like it. Claire had been the woman at the hospital the men wanted. She’d been a
nurse, an untouchable nurse.

When he’d told her about the
bet on her head, she’d been heartbroken. Chris never expected to fall in love
with her. Once he realized his feelings, he’d nipped the betting in the bud.

“Why? Do you want in?”

Chris smiled. This man’s
life was going to get hard. Acting, Chris grabbed the man’s apron and threw him
against the wall. Pinning him to the wall, he pressed an arm over his neck,
halting his struggles.

“Do you really think
screwing with my friend is funny?” he asked, getting angrier as he looked at
the slime-ball’s face. Shaking his head, Chris applied more pressure to the
man’s windpipe. “This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to go on a date
with her, and then you’re going to tell her everything that happens here. I
don’t want you to leave a detail out of what and how much you were going to win
for getting in her pants. Do you understand?”

Richard jerked his head in
acknowledgement.

“Good.” Releasing the man,
Chris kept his gaze on him. “No one hurts my friend.”

With his parting words, he
turned and left.

Chapter Three

By Friday Rachel settled on
the black cocktail dress she owned, her hair tied back with minimal makeup. The
last thing she wanted to do was look like a clown or something. Chris had phoned
to check in with her. She’d tried to talk to him about tonight, but he wasn’t
having any of it.

She avoided going to his
place, but against her better judgment, she’d walked past her old home, the home
he’d sold after Claire died. She needed to put her relationship with Chris into
some kind of perspective. He was not her lover or boyfriend. Chris was Claire’s
husband, and her sister was dead.

Any feelings she had for him
were wrong, and she needed to stop them from taking any kind of form. She was
twenty-six with no chance of settling down. Rachel still wanted to have a life,
become a mother, a wife, and have the dream of a family.

Chris was not part of her
life. He’d told her before that he was done with having a family and trying to
have a life that meant happiness.

Her cell phone buzzed, and
she saw it was Chris dialing her.

Rolling her eyes, she
clicked accept on her phone and listened to him talk. “Have you gone on your
date yet?” he asked.

“No, I’m stood making sure I
look okay.”

“What are you wearing?”

“A black
cocktail dress.
It’s plain, but
it’s all I have, and he wasn’t very specific on what to wear.” She wiped some
lipstick from her teeth. Another of her faults, she’d never been good with the
makeup or getting all girly. Claire was the woman who could primp and pamper
herself all day. Rachel had never been good at looking in the mirror and
getting herself all pretty.

“Remember I want you to
phone me—”

“Yeah, I know, you want me
to phone you during every stage of my date because you don’t trust me,” she
said, interrupting him before he got into the flow of his rant.

“I trust you, not the chef.”

Her door was knocked on, and
she headed toward it.

“Please, stop worrying about
me. I need to get out and date. I’m not getting any younger, and I want a
family soon.”

The silence on the other end
was deafening.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I never do anything
stupid,” she said, loving his concern way more than she should.

“No? Then what do you call
losing your virginity in college and the guy crushing you because of it?”

She paused at his
accusation. Rachel had begged her sister not to tell him the truth. Yes, she’d
lost her virginity to a musician at college, but not once did he give her the
time of day after that. She’d felt cheap and hated the sight of herself when
she looked in the mirror.

“Did Claire tell you about
that?” she asked.

“No, I knew from looking at
you. You’re like an open book, honey. Please, don’t do anything stupid.”

The knocking grew louder as
she listened to Chris on the phone. “Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you, I
promise.”

She hung up at the first
moment. Closing her eyes, she tried to compose herself.

“Are you there, Rachel?”
Richard asked, calling through the door.

Unlocking the door, she saw
her date was stood, dressed in a suit and holding a single red rose dressed in
a suit.

“Richard,” she said, forcing
a smile to her face.

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. You look very
handsome.”

“You’re just saying that to
be nice.” He handed her the rose.

“Erm,
thank you.
Let me put this in a pot.”

She left the door open,
wishing Richard stayed outside. Filling a little pot, she placed the rose
inside the water and headed back. She didn’t want to be on this date. The
thought of being with Richard for the rest of the evening didn’t leave her
thrilled.

“Are you ready to go?” he
asked. She saw he was stood outside still.

Taking a deep breath, she
nodded and headed out with him. She wasn’t surprised when he took her to a
Chinese restaurant as she’d not been very forthcoming with her ideal place.
Telling a prospective date that she liked eating with Chris didn’t sound great
to her.

She glanced down at her cell
phone as they were seated. When she reached for the menu with the prices on,
Richard took it instead. All too soon she was being ordered something she
didn’t actually like and was having to listen to him talk about work.

Nodding, mumbling and
pushing her food around her plate, Rachel was bored. She couldn’t stop looking
at the clock, wondering when she’d be able to call it a night.

Richard leaned back after he
finished his meal. “I’ve got something to tell you,” he said.

Looking up, she waited for
him to speak.

He reached into his jacket
pocket and produced an envelope. She took it from him. Opening the envelope she
saw it was a lot of money. “What is all this?”

“It’s a bet.”

“A bet?”
She closed the envelope, looking at him.

“Yes.”

“Okay, Richard, you’re going
to have to bring me up to speed because at the moment, I’m not really sure what
you’re trying to say to me.”

“You were part of a bet.”

She stared at him, wondering
if this was some kind of joke. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“No one could get in your
pants. You’re not dating anyone, and so a bet was set up. The first man to get
you on a date and fuck you, got the money,” Richard said.

Rachel felt sick.

“Why are you telling me
this?”

“I got the winnings, but
there’s another pot for getting you into bed.”

Glancing around her, she
felt the tears fill her eyes. She hated the feeling of being alone. “You only
asked me on a date for money?”

“It was nothing personal.”

Standing up, she left him
alone.

“Rachel? Rachel? Stop,
please,” Richard asked.

She kept walking, hating the
fact they were drawing attention.

“Please, stop walking away
from me.”

Stopping where she was, she
faced him. “What? Do you need money? With your winnings you can pay for my
dinner.” She stared at his face and knew she’d brought this date on herself.
Hating Chris for his knowledge of the situation, she raised her palm and
slapped Richard.

“Don’t ever speak to me
again.”

Without waiting for a
response she ran out of the restaurant, wanting to put as much distance as she
could between them both.

She didn’t answer her cell
phone as it rang.

Getting a taxi, she gave the
man Chris’s address and sat back down, waiting to get to his place. The guard
on the door smiled at her and then frowned when he saw her tears.

Rachel gave him a wave and
headed toward the stairs.

****

Chris listened to the
guard’s explanation as his door was being banged on. Her key was still on the
kitchen counter where he’d left it. Going to the door, he saw her waiting for
him, crying.

“Did you know?” she asked.

“Did I know what?” He was
stalling for time.

“About the bet, did you
know? You know everything else, so why not know about this?” She raised her
arms in the air.

Wrapping his arms around her
waist, he pulled her into his apartment.

“Yes, I knew about the bet,
and yes, I told Richard to tell you the truth,” he said.