Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
I came with a low grunt, imagining that I was coming inside of Stevie instead, her slick pussy milking my cock for all it was worth as she came too.
I stood there in the shower, letting the water wash away the evidence of my dirty thoughts. God, it felt so wrong to be thinking of Stevie like this, when she’d made it clear that she wanted to be gone and away from me, when I’d screwed it all up this badly.
But at the same time, it felt right. Even just fantasizing about her as I touched myself felt more right than actually having sex with someone else. Even with Virginia. Sure, being with Virginia at the time had felt good, and I’d loved her, but I had never been swept away like this. The temptation to track Stevie down and apologize, and then fuck her senseless, was so strong it was like a physical ache to ignore it.
But I had to. I had to do what was right for Stevie, and clearly what was right for her was not being around me. I just wished that I could’ve apologized to her properly before she’d left.
I couldn’t help but think that if she’d just stayed a few days longer, she would’ve seen business starting to pick up again. She would’ve seen how things were okay. Maybe then - maybe then, she would’ve stayed.
There was no use beating myself up over what might have been, though. I’d done enough of that with Virginia and Theo and I couldn’t let myself do it again with Stevie. No matter how badly I was tempted to go after her, I had to respect her wishes. Especially when she had never done anything but treat me decently, unlike Virginia and Theo and their selfish, backstabbing behavior.
I reluctantly got out of the shower and got ready to head into the restaurant. I hadn’t realized just how much Stevie had invigorated me, how eager I had been to get to the restaurant while she was working there, until she was gone. Another classic example of my own idiocy, of not realizing how good I had it until the good thing was taken away from me.
One month, one month without Stevie and I was reduced to this. She’d really done a number on me. Dammit, why had I been a fool and not realized how much I cared for her? Why hadn’t I done more to give her a reason to stay?
I had to practically drag myself to the restaurant. Not that I disliked being there, exactly, it was just that it felt so lifeless without Stevie there. But when I got in—for a wild second I forgot about Stevie, because Brooke was in, well, the kind of tizzy she hadn’t been in since Virginia had packed her bags.
“Dad!” She grabbed my arm the second that I stepped in the door, dragging me through to my office. I shot a look at one of our hostesses, who shrugged as if to say your guess is as good as mine.
I hoped that everything was okay. “Brooke, honey, what—”
Brooke shoved open the door to my office and to the computer, where she had a video of some kind up and ready to go. “I can’t believe them, I can’t believe either of them!” she said, her voice cracking.
Uh oh. I was starting to figure out what this might be about.
Brooke hit play on the video and I realized within seconds that it was Theo’s new show—the first episode.
I sat down, watching as the show opened with a montage of Theo doing various cooking things, and walking all over different places, like watching fishermen pull up the day’s catch or hiking up a mountainside. All the while, a faux-deep voiceover played where Theo talked about who he was and his mission.
“I’m the type of guy who doesn’t settle for mediocre,” the voiceover said. “That’s why I make sure I only work with the best of the best, and I’m ready to go the distance for it.”
What the actual hell. Could this possibly get any cheesier?
As if by thinking it, I’d jinxed it or called it into being. Sure enough, the show got worse.
The title card showed with some kind of intense music that sounded like it belonged on a cop procedural or a crazy competition reality show like Survivor instead of on a damn cooking show. I could feel Brooke practically vibrating next to me, making small scoffing and choking noises in response to what was happening on screen.
As if my damn mood hadn’t been bad enough already.
Theo pranced around in front of the camera, acting like the prince of cooking, talking about various tried-and-true recipes and explaining how he’d ‘elevated’ them, implying that the way everyone else was doing it was wrong and that you were just as stupid if you enjoyed that usual way. It was the height of pretentiousness and arrogance, and he was talking about making dishes way more complicated than they needed to be.