Page 18 of Burning Rivalry

She was still there, reading the article she’d spread out on the prep table she normally used. Her palms rested on the stainless-steel surface, her head hanging low while she reread the text. Her shoulders rose and fell in a quick, shallow rhythm that expressed her barely contained emotion.

Lucas joined her, sliding up close to where she stood. I watched, holding my breath, while he ran a hand in slow circles over her back and murmured something probably intended to comfort her.

She didn’t stop him.

There was something almost possessive in the gesture, not to mention the way he hovered over her. Her protector, her guardian angel.

He had a fucking thing for her.

The realization ignited something fierce, rage flooding through me like a wildfire I couldn’t contain. There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to order him out of the kitchen and demand he never come back because, goddammit, he had no right. Clearly, the lines had been blurred around here. It might have been way past time to solidify some boundaries and refresh the staff on what I expected from them during working hours.

Otherwise, I would have no choice but to fire an exceptional sous chef for the crime of a crush on the woman currently driving me out of my goddamn mind.

8

CLAUDIA

Leave it to Sebastian to take something I’d been looking forward to and turn it into a pit in my stomach. He had a gift for that sort of thing.

Ever since Hadley offered to come out when we spoke last week, I had imagined the pleasure of showing her around the kitchen. The pride behind it. No, it wasn’t mine, but it was impressive, and I was part of it. Something real, something better than a set on a television show.

Now? The last place I wanted to be was anywhere Sebastian breathed the same air. He couldn’t have settled his problem with me in private? Where we might have come to an understanding and joined forces against an asshole calling herself a journalist.

But no. He chose to throw his weight around like a bull in a china shop. He chose to humiliate me.

“Oh, come on! You know I’ve been dying to see what the kitchen is like.” Hadley wasn’t about to drop the subject, though I was pretty damn clear on how much I wished she would the morning of her first full day in Las Vegas. Folding her hands like she was praying, she added a pout for good measure. “Please?”

“I don’t understand why it matters so much to you,” I grumbled as we strode through her hotel lobby. Technically, it would be our hotel for the duration of her stay, something she had insisted on. “I never get to see you as it is. It will be like an extended slumber party.” Even if I weren’t cool with the idea, which I was, I would have gone along with it simply because I was so damn lonely out here. Everybody in the kitchen was nice, friendly, but that didn’t mean we were friends. There was nobody to sit around with after work, comparing notes, commiserating over stressful situations we had navigated that night.

Kitchen workers were a rare breed. There weren’t many people who could understand us—the schedule, the stress, the fact that we still loved it anyway. It took a special kind of person and maybe a healthy amount of self-loathing to sustain that kind of abuse.

But they all had their routines, habits, and hangouts. I only shone a spotlight on them. I would make things awkward for the crew if I tagged along and attracted unwanted attention from my remaining fans while they tried to hang out and unwind. Even now, today, I caught a few curious glances as we crossed the lobby, planning to grab a couple of iced lattes before Hadley spent a typical tourist day in town.

Stella assured me she had everything under control at the restaurant. We worked as a team the way people normally did when they’d known each other for years. That was a special sort of relationship, and I didn’t take it for granted for a second.

“Come on.” Hadley threw an arm around my shoulders once she finished pulling her long, strawberry blonde locks into a bun on top of her head. “Think of it this way. The big, bad wolf isn’t going to blow your house down while I’m around. Right? He’ll play nice in front of a stranger.”

Sadly, she had a point. He would put on his warm, professional front for her sake, if for no other reason. He wouldn’t make a jackass out of himself and put me on the spot.

Would he?

Either way, one thing was clear—she wasn’t going to let it go. She never did once she set her mind on something. Rather than waste my time protesting, I shrugged as we moved closer to the head of the line at the coffee kiosk. “Fine,” I grumbled. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you if he acts like a dick.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll charm him.” What I wouldn’t give for her confidence. Instead, all I had was an annoying sense of dread as we rolled down the Strip in my new Honda. I wasn’t interested in anything flashy—steadfast and reliable were the words I kept in mind when looking for a car. Another holdover from my youth, when so much of my daily life was in question.

While I drove, Hadley ran down the laundry list of things she wanted to do and see in town. “I want to do that crazy roller coaster thing on the top of the Strato,” she raved. “You know, the one where they dangle you over the edge. You have to go with me.”

“Argh, hard no!” I insisted, laughing uncomfortably at the idea of hanging off the edge of an almost nine-hundred-foot tower. “No way. That looks insane!”

“I know.” Her eyes were shining when I looked her way to find her gazing in wonder at the sights lining both sides of the Strip. “That’s what makes it so fun. Controlled panic. The illusion. Deep down inside, you know you’re safe.”

“I don’t know any such thing,” I replied while she groaned. “But I think it’s cute you believe that.”

“Boy. At least I know I don’t have to worry about you gambling away all your money out here since you never take a chance on anything.” I couldn’t tell if she approved or not by the time we reached the restaurant, where work was underway to prepare for a busy Sunday night. Knowing I’d have tomorrow off and would be able to spend the day with Hadley without feeling guilty for missing time was a bright spot in an otherwise fairly awkward situation. It felt slightly shitty, letting my assistant take the reins.

Even if the timing couldn’t have been better, it was an excuse to steer clear for a few days while things cooled down between Sebastian and me, and only going in if we fell behind or if Stella needed help but mostly keeping away from him. He didn’t even seem to mind when I suggested spending time showing Hadley around town. If anything, he struck me as relieved, and that was before he’d bitched me out. He was probably glad he wouldn’t have to look me in the eye after being rejected.

Please, Sebastian. Behave. I hadn’t told Hadley about the backlash from the article, which was published in today’s paper. Frankly, it wasn’t nearly as bad as he wanted to make things out to be. There was plenty of innuendo, a few thinly veiled barbs, but nothing serious. For God’s sake, it was the “Arts and Leisure” insert in the Sunday paper. Who the hell cared?