British Bachelors: Fabulous and Famous. Kate Hardy
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around and pressed both hands flat against his chest and pushed hard.
‘Nobody—and I mean nobody—comes into my kitchen without asking me first. Do you let strangers just walk into your kitchen? No. I didn’t think so. Step back. All the way. And stay there. Thank you, that’s better. Take a seat and I’ll be right with you.’
Then she exhaled slowly and stepped back to the coffee machine, mumbling under her breath as she went.
‘Apologies,’ Rob said and raised both hands in the air. ‘My fault entirely. I am so used to walking into other people’s kitchens I forgot my manners.’
‘Um, well, I hope that you remember at the fundraiser,’ Lottie replied and stabbed the coffee spoon in his direction. ‘The whole idea is to raise funds for scholarships to the catering college. Not scare the VIPs away.’
‘Hey. I can play nice when the occasion demands,’ Rob replied and hit her with his sweetest smile.
‘That’s good to know.’ Lottie sighed as she strolled towards his table carrying a tray with two steaming cups of coffee that smelt so good his mouth was practically watering before he sat down.
She took a breath, put the tray onto the table, and then shuffled onto the chair facing him.
Watching him take that long, deep sip of piping-hot black coffee. Just the way he liked it. Perfect.
‘Great coffee. And thank you again for helping my mother out last night. It was very generous of you,’ Rob added with a slight bow of the head. ‘I appreciate it.’
‘No problem. Adele has been no trouble at all.’
Ah. Adele had been no trouble? So why did she think he would be?
With a low growl Rob put down the coffee and folded his arms and sat back in his chair so that he could face Lottie. ‘You don’t have a very high opinion of me, do you? Help me to understand.’
She blinked a couple of times and swallowed a long sip of coffee before her gaze flicked up into Rob’s face and their eyes met. ‘You were right, last night in the gallery. We have met before. About three years ago I was one of the catering students who had won a place in the Beresford hotel kitchens right here in London. You were entertaining guests one night and came in to see us after the meal and...you fired me. Gave me the sack. Threw me to the wolves. Let me go.’
Lottie clasped her hands so tightly around the coffee cup that Rob could see the whites of her knuckles and there was just enough of a tremble in her voice to make the hairs on the back of his neck prickle to attention. ‘Remember the pastry chef? Debra? The one who could barely stand up that night, never mind create something amazing? Debra was the one who had made the desserts. But I was the one who got the blame and the sack instead of her.’
Lottie paused and then lifted her chin, defiance blasting out from those green eyes with all of the heat of a fiery dragon. ‘It was no secret that you were sleeping with Debra at the time so you were not going to fire the person responsible for that particular disaster, were you? So I went. And she stayed. Does that help to make things a little clearer, Rob?’
Every sound in the cake shop seemed to fade into the background as Rob focused on the bitter words that had exploded from the lips of the pretty girl sitting so still across the small table from him.
Of course he remembered Debra.
A shiver of cold regret and bitter disappointment bubbled up.
His rules were simple and easy to remember.
They could have fun. They could have a fling and a great time together and while it lasted he would be the most attentive and faithful boyfriend that a girl could want. Then they would walk away and get on with their lives.
That was how it worked and he made damn sure that any girl he dated was very clear that he was not in the business of negotiating. They were either in or out. Black or white. Their choice.
Debra had lasted longer than most and they had enjoyed a pretty good relationship for a few months. Until the inevitable had happened. She had started pushing for a long-term commitment that he hadn’t been prepared to give. She had kept telling him how much she loved him and how different she was from all of the other girls, so his rules did not apply to her. She was too special and different to be treated like one of the others.
She had not felt so special when he’d packed his bags and had been out of her door an hour later. In fact he recalled crying, screaming, and a humiliating display of begging.
It was weeks later that he’d found out through the gossip channels that Debra had been getting over his breaking up with her with the help of vodka and free hotel wine.
Lottie was the apprentice pastry chef who he fired that night to teach Debra a lesson and try and shock her into taking her life back.
Well, that explained a lot.
‘I remember it well. I ended up taking Debra home to her parents a few days later and finding her the professional help that she needed. It was a great relationship while it lasted and Debra is a remarkable girl. I met up with her and her husband when they were in Los Angeles for a professional chef conference last autumn. They seem like a great couple who have a stunning restaurant together. I am happy for her.’
Rob slowly unfolded his arms and stretched them out across the table.
‘That was a long time ago, Lottie. I made a choice. It was the right decision at the time and I have to stand by that. End of story.’
There was a gasp from across the table and Lottie stared at him, wide-eyed.
‘The right decision at the time? For who? Your squeeze?’
She sat back heavily in the chair and blinked. ‘Is that it? Is that the only apology you have for me? Because I have to tell you that, as excuses go, that is pathetic.’
‘No excuses. It was my job to recruit top talent for the restaurant and Debra is a great pastry chef. I didn’t know about her drinking problems until they impacted her work.’
Rob leant forwards from the waist and pressed the flat of his hand down on the pale wood tabletop.
‘My only regret is that I allowed personal feelings to block my judgement. I should have spotted that Debra was in trouble weeks earlier and done something about it before things got out of hand. Instead I stayed away to give her some distance. The last thing she needed was me standing looking over her shoulder and shouting orders at her. That was my mistake.’
‘What about firing me as some sort of scapegoat? I was incredibly lucky to find another placement the next day after some serious pleading.’
A smile crept over his lips and he tilted his head towards Lottie. ‘Sometimes I’m just too sensitive and caring for my own good.’
‘Really? I had no idea.’ Lottie nodded but every word was dripping with venom. ‘You hide it so very well.’
‘On the contrary.’ Rob shrugged. ‘Take this charity fundraiser you conned me into.’ His hand flipped up into a question before he reached for his coffee. ‘I cannot wait to hear all about it. For a start, I would like to know who’s running the show. Whose idea was it to create scholarship funds for trainee chefs? Because I hope that they know what they’re getting themselves into. That is one hell of a lot of hard work.’
The blonde sitting opposite leant forwards, her forearms on the table until her face was only a few inches away from Rob’s nose, and smiled sweetly. ‘That’s an easy question to answer. It was my idea. I know precisely what I have got myself into and, yes, it is a lot of hard work. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
Then she slid back, lifted her chin and smiled before replying. ‘This time I am the one who gets to set the rules and call the shots. And I can’t tell you how liberating that is.’