her old teacher had pressed into hard-sell mode, something sheâd never heard him do before. âMore than his talent, heâs an incredibly hard worker. Heâs got driveâ¦you wouldnât believe the extent of his ambitions.â
Mari frowned. It was easy to overlook his ambitions when he was seducing you with a few words and a few random touchesâ¦easier still when your body was dying to be seduced. But this drove home the point.
âI can imagine just how ambitious he is,â Mari said, her voice turning slightly sour.
Leon was silent for a second. âPerhaps I am misrepresenting him,â he said, and she could tell the note of confusion in his accent. âI donât mean that heâs unscrupulous, certainly. He just wants to be the best. And heâs as close to being the best as any Iâve seen.â
Mari let out a low breath. âYes. I know heâs talented. And I know heâs a hard worker. I hired him, Leon.â
She could almost feel the relief over the phone line. âAh, thatâs wonderful. So? Heâs working out well, then?â
Mari glanced at the door, hoping he wasnât listening. âHeâs working out pretty well, yes.â
âYou sound reserved.â Leon paused. âGood grief. This isnât that nonsense from Chapeau, is it?â
âNo, no, of course not.â The last thing she was thinking of was his past reputation. He couldâve robbed the place blind and all sheâd be thinking of was how good his hands felt on her.
Definitely losing my mind.
âThen what is it?â
Mari took a deep breath, then peered out. Nick looked busy at the sauté station, so she muttered into the phone, âHeâs a littleâ¦er, distracting, isnât he?â
âDistracting?â Leon sounded puzzled. âHow so?â
Mari grimaced. No, Nick definitely wasnât listening. âHeâs sort of a feast for the eyes, I mean.â
Leon burst out laughing. âOh. Distracting. I see.â
âBut heâs talented, and Iâm all about second chances, so donât worry there,â Mari said hurriedly. âI justâ¦I wasnâtâ¦I donât know. He wasnât what I was expecting.â
âHeâll work out fine,â Leon said, his voice still laced with humor. âIf you need help keeping him in line, you just give me a call, and Iâll come and visit.â
âKeeping him in line?â
Leon paused again. âWell, heâs used to having his own kitchen, is all I meant. And I imagine under the circumstancesâbeing distractedâthat could become a problem?â
âHa, ha, Leon.â
He laughed again. âAll right, I have to go. I justwanted to make sure he was settled and that you were working well together.â
âOh, weâre fine. Absolutely.â
âPerfect. Iâll talk to you later, Mari.â
âBye, Leon.â She clicked the phone off, then turned.
Nick was standing in the doorway. âHowâs Leon doing?â
Was it just her, or did he have a smirk hovering at the corner of his lips?
âHeâs fine,â she said with a small shrug. âHe wanted to make sure you were doing all right.â
âHeâs a good man.â Nick was crowding the doorway, so there was no way Mari could walk past without brushing against himâ¦and she now knew from experience how distracting that could be.
âHe also said that if you were being a pain, heâd come down and straighten you out.â
Nick grinned. âIâll keep that in mind.â
It didnât look like he was moving, so she finally walked up to him. âYouâre in my way.â
He leaned down, so she could feel the brush of his breath against her neck. âFeast for the eyes, huh?â
Mari shut her eyes, gritting her teeth. Of course he heard that one.
âWait till Sunday,â he said, leaning against the
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