Read Online Reckless by Kimberly Kincaid - Free Book Online Page A

few seconds later, she jerked back from the ominously stained cardboard carton in her grasp, turning to throw a hard cough into the crook of her elbow.
    â€œUgh.” The pungent smell of something rotten hit Alex right in the gag reflex, and he squeezed his eyes shut against their involuntary watering. “What is that?”
    â€œ That appears to be one of the boxes that should have been sorted with the meat delivery and put in the walk-in for today’s lunch and dinner service,” Zoe bit out, her lips flattening into a hard seal as she swung her gaze from the soggy box to his face.
    â€œBut it was on the kitchen counter with all the other stuff during yesterday’s dry goods delivery.” It had to have been, otherwise he never would’ve shoved the thing back here with all the others like she’d told him to.
    â€œThe individual boxes aren’t always marked with what’s inside, which is exactly why whoever unloads them is supposed to do an inventory of each one to make sure the items go to the right place, especially on days when we have multiple food deliveries. The procedures are very clearly outlined in the manual.”
    All of a sudden, the very bad things in the pit of his belly grew into something even worse. “I guess I must have missed this one. I’m sorry.” Alex took a few steps toward the kitchen for a trash bag to just suck it up and take care of the mess when the harsh burst of Zoe’s exhale stopped him dead in his Red Wings.
    â€œSorry’s not going to cut it,” she said, meeting him toe to toe on the dark brown pantry tiles. He could admit to screwing up—hell, he just had, and he’d offered a genuine apology to boot. What else could she possibly want?
    â€œLook, I get that you’re mad, Zoe, but it was a mistake. I didn’t knowingly put that box back here.”
    â€œYou also didn’t knowingly do your job like you were supposed to. It’s one thing for you to put out minimal effort while you do your community service.” A muscle ticked in her jawline, punctuating the absolute certainty of her words as she added, “But I don’t have room in my kitchen for blatant screwups, and I certainly can’t babysit you every second of the day. Sorry, Alex. But you’ve got to go.”
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    Alex took a step back, and Zoe had to give him this. The shock on his ridiculously handsome face actually looked genuine. “What do you mean, I’ve got to go?”
    â€œIt’s pretty self-explanatory, don’t you think? You just cost me money and resources I can’t afford to lose. I have no way to feed everyone for the rest of the day, and there’s nine kinds of a mess back here where this stuff leaked through the cardboard. Not only is it a clean-up job I don’t have time for, but I could probably wallpaper my office with the health code violations I’d rack up if an inspector walked through that door right now. Add all of that together, and it looks like a pink slip to me.”
    She might need all the man power she could get to run Hope House’s kitchen, but she couldn’t put up with Alex’s ho-hum attitude about community service. Not at the price he’d just cost her, not when it was her job to make a difference. She couldn’t feed people with unsafe kitchen conditions and rotten meat. And she would feed everyone today, despite the lost food and the mess behind her on the shelves.
    Somehow.
    â€œOkay, but you can’t just boot me.” Alex reached into the back pocket of his jeans, producing a pale yellow slip of paper from his wallet as if it would solve the problems of the universe. “The fire chief’s office put in the order, and the city assigned me to you, just like it says right here. My community service is mandatory.”
    â€œMaybe.” Zoe inhaled long and slow, her decision made as Alex replaced the form he’d clearly thought