Crista McHugh - The Sweetest Seduction

“How much damage did you cause this time?”

His brother paused. “Um, it’s a little more complicated this time.”

Shit! “What happened?”

Another pause. This couldn’t be good. “I need you to bail me out.”

Adam leapt to his feet with another four-letter word. “Why are you in jail?”

“They’re trying to book me for assault, but it was all self-defense.”

He paced the length of the room, mentally calculating how much Frank would cost him this time. Bail, an attorney, damages. His brother would probably need some serious PR work to clean up his image, too, if this had already leaked to the press. “You need to think before you throw a punch, Frank, or no team will want to have you on their roster.”

“Bullshit, Adam. I made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Besides, you’re going to get me out of this mess, right? So nothing to worry about.”

Adam curled his hand up into a fist. What he wouldn’t give to be able to reach through the phone and shake some sense into his brother. “Do you have the name of any bail bondsmen in Atlanta?”

“I figured you could find one for me.” Frank’s voice lowered to a whisper. “And please hurry. I don’t like the way some of these guys are looking at me, if you know what I mean.”

“I have half a mind to let you stay there until after your hearing.”

“Oh, come on, Adam. You wouldn’t let your little brother get sexually violated by these perverts, would you?”

“I don’t know—would it keep you out of trouble in the future?”

“I’m telling you, I’m innocent. Swear to God.”

Innocent was never a word he’d associate with Frank.

The bedroom door creaked, stopping him from giving his brother the tongue lashing he deserved. Lia appeared in the doorway, fully dressed.

“I’ll take care of you in a bit,” he said, never taking his eyes off her. How much had she overheard?

“Why? Don’t tell me you have a hot chick over or anything like that. I know you, Mr. Too Busy to Bang Something with Tits.”

He wanted to tell Frank to shut the fuck up, but Lia’s presence made him watch his tongue. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said, fighting to keep him voice calm, and ended the call.

He threw his phone on the couch and went to her. “Sorry about that, Lia. I—”

She shushed him by covering his mouth with her fingers. “No need to apologize. I understand.”

He lowered her hand, keeping it wrapped in his own. “Do you?”

“Yes.”

“This is not the way I wanted the night to end.”

She gave him a wistful smile. “Me, neither, but it sounds like your brother needs you, and I need to get some rest before going back to the restaurant tomorrow.”

He made a mental reminder to make sure Amadeus Schlittler saw every possible property tomorrow before showing him Lia’s space. “Do you need a ride?”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.” She crossed the room and picked up his phone, pressing it in his hands. “Take care of your brother, and don’t worry about me.”

He caught her as she tried to turn around and pulled her into his arms. He only meant to give her a simple kiss goodbye, but he quickly found himself wanting to take her right back to bed.

Lia pushed on his chest, ending the kiss at last. She backed away from him with a playful smile that let him know she’d gladly continue some other time. When the door closed behind her, a chill crept under his skin that rattled his core. She was gone, and he was already missing her.

He glanced down at his phone, cursing his brother for ruining what could possibly have been the best night in his life. But as he started looking up phone numbers on the internet, he also realized it was probably a good thing Lia had left when she did. He was getting too emotionally involved in this deal, and until he figured out what he was going to do with Schlittler, he needed to keep his head on straight and his heart locked away.

Lia twirled as she entered the kitchen at La Arietta. Everything was going to be all right. Amadeus Schlittler would open his restaurant someplace else, and then she and Adam could look forward to many more nights in each other’s arms once all this was done. It was the best of both worlds.

“Somebody’s in a good mood this morning, I see,” Julie said with a wink. “I take it you had fun last night?”

“Fun, my cute little tight ass,” Dax said from behind her, pushing her toward the office and closing the door behind Julie when she followed them. “She’s practically glowing, which means only one thing—the girl got laid.”

“Dax!” Her cheeks flamed, and she looked longingly at the door that was blocked by her maître d’ and sous chef.

“Oh, come on. Don’t deny it.” He wagged his eyebrows. “And don’t leave out any juicy details, either.”

“Okay, that’s going a bit too far.” Julie shoved Dax back but didn’t move toward the door. “But things did go well, right?”

They weren’t going to let her go until she spilled her guts like a teenager at a slumber party. “Fine. Yes, I had a good time with Adam, but that’s all you’re going to get from me.”

Dax exchanged glances with Julie. “Oh, yeah, she went all the way. Pay up, girlfriend.”

Julie grumbled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill.

Lia’s mouth fell open. “You two made a bet over whether or not I’d sleep with him?”

“You betcha.” Dax snapped the bill open several times to get any wrinkles out. “Julie thought you’d hold out until you knew he wasn’t going to kick you out, but I got a good view of Mr. Hottie, and I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist him once he put the moves on you.”

She tried to come up with some harsh retort, but words failed her. Her face was probably as red as a tomato. She pushed her way past them, finding her voice again once she stepped into the domain where she ruled without question—the kitchen. “You two stop speculating about my personal life and get to work. We have an hour before we open for lunch, and I don’t want to hear any excuses.”

They both scurried back to their workstations—Julie to the pasta machine and Dax back out into the dining room.

Lia hid inside the walk-in fridge and let the cool air bathe her flushed cheeks while she looked to see what she could use for today’s special. Their teasing had struck a nerve in her. As much as she had enjoyed her evening with Adam last night, there would always be that lingering doubt in her mind that one of them had subconsciously seduced the other to get their way.

I just have to trust Adam to keep his word.

Her mind said she could, but her heart was still too wary to trust any man completely. After all, she’d trusted Trey, and look where that had gotten her.

She emerged from the fridge with several bunches of asparagus in her hands, already mentally forming a list of the other ingredients she needed to make the vegetable the centerpiece of a risotto.

It was one second past opening when Dax burst into the kitchen. “Lia, you need to come out here now,” he whispered.

She followed hot on his heels into the dining room and stopped short. A man who looked like Rutger Hauer after a Queer Eye makeover stood by the maître d’ stand, his arms crossed as he stroked his chin. “No, I’m definitely certain,” he said in a strong Austrian accent, “this all has to go. Every bit of it. Ick!” He squeezed his shoulder blades together as though he’d just dunked his fingers into slime.

Mr. Bates wrote something down on a notepad and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Schlittler. Shall we proceed to the next room?”

Amadeus Schlittler strutted into the dining the way supermodels did on the catwalk, swaying hips included. “Oh, God, this is simply horrendous. It all has to go, too. The rustic look is simply passé. I want the black marble to continue into here, and mirrors along this wall to reflect the city lights.”

Lia’s teeth clenched. She started counting to ten before she lost her cool, making it all the way to eight before she reached them. “Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Bates?”

Before he could answer, Amadeus barged in. “This is none of your concern, little girl. Go back into the kitchen and keep scrubbing pots.”

Her blood pressure skyrocketed, her pulse pounding along her scalp. “I am the owner and executive chef of La Arietta, and I demand to know what you are doing here.”

Amadeus rolled his eyes and did his best Valley Girl sigh. “Mr. Bates, will you please deal with her? I don’t have much time to decide what I want to do with this place, and I’d rather focus my creative energies on something other than this speed bump.” He spun around on his heel and rocked one the chairs at a nearby table, wrinkling his nose.

Mr. Bates cleared his throat. “Ms. Mantovani, as you know, Mr. Kelly still plans to lease this space to Mr. Schlittler once your lease is done, so we’re here—”

“No, you have it all wrong,” she interrupted, shaking her head as though this was all a bad dream. “Adam said he’d be showing Mr. Schlittler other properties.”

“What’s this about other properties?” Amadeus rushed back to them. “Mr. Kelly and I had an agreement. I want this space and nothing less. I deserve this place.”

Lia was thankful she’d left her knives in the kitchen. She curled her hands up into fists, her arms pressed against her sides to keep from knocking the other chef’s teeth out. “And what makes you think I don’t deserve to stay here?”

“Oh, please,” he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You’re just a little nobody. I’m Amadeus Schlittler, one of the greatest culinary geniuses of all time. My restaurants have more stars than you’ll ever dream of seeing in your life. Why should Mr. Kelly keep you when he can have me?”

The insults hit her like a slap in face. Why would Adam let her keep this place when he could have Schlittler? And now that he’d gotten what he wanted from her in the bedroom, why should he keep his word to convince the diva-chef to open his restaurant elsewhere?

Her eyes burned, but she refused to show any signs of the weakness trembling inside her. She lifted her chin and said in a cold voice, “Perhaps so, Mr. Schlittler, but until the end of the month, it’s my name on that lease, so get your self-absorbed ass out of my restaurant.”

Schlittler’s eyes widened as though she was the first person who’d ever spoken to him that way. Then they narrowed into a sneer. “For now. Enjoy it while you can, little girl, because on the first of the month, this will all be mine.”

He snapped his fingers and turned around. “Come along, Mr. Bates. I can continue to give you all my demands on the way back to Mr. Kelly’s office.”

Lia kept her muscles locked into place, staring at the entrance long after they left. She didn’t crumble until Dax laid a hand on her shoulder. “Oh, sweetie.”

Fat, scalding tears rolled down her cheeks and plopped onto her crisp, white cotton chef’s jacket. She’d been a fool to ever believe Adam. He always got what he wanted, and this was no exception. And she’d been stupid enough to fall for his bullshit. A treasure? Ha!

Julie pressed a glass into her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Dax stood guard in front of them as they hurried back into the safe confines of her office. “Have a sip of grappa and get it out of your system,” her sous chef urged.

But it wasn’t as simple as that. She’d been tricked into believing Adam had actually cared for her when all the while, he was plotting on destroying her business to make way for that conceited piece of strudel. She’d opened her heart to him, and he’d betrayed her in a far worse way than Trey ever had. He’d given her hope and then squashed it.

It was over now. Lia set the glass on her desk and let the first in a series of silent sobs rack her body.

* * *

Adam bolted up in bed, his heart hammering as he stared at the numbers on his alarm clock. 4:17 PM. A glance at the late afternoon sun outside his window only confirmed that the display was correct.

He ran into the bathroom to check his reflection and frowned at the stubble shadowing his cheeks. He might be able to bypass a shower to save on time, but there was no way he could leave the house without shaving. He snatched the razor from its charger and began running it over his cheeks while he grabbed a fresh suit from his closet.

Cheeks now smooth, he turned his phone over to speaker and dialed Bates’s number. “Yes, Mr. Kelly?”