Read Online What Love Tastes Like by Zuri Day - Free Book Online Page A

eggplant?”
    â€œBetter than the shrimp,” Tiffany admitted. “But I can tell that once again not all the herbs are fresh and this eggplant probably isn’t organic. But it’s okay.”
    The two women ate in silence while Tiffany pondered Joy’s words. Everything she’d said had merit. The truth of the matter was, Nick’s hotel would be the perfect place for Tiffany to work, and a real boost to her skimpy professional résumé. But it wasn’t just about the job, it was about the fact that no matter how she tried, she couldn’t get that night of ecstasy with Nick out of her mind. He’d awakened a part of her that she didn’t even know existed, a part that begged for a culmination to what had begun in a foreign country’s penthouse suite. The truth was, Tiffany was extremely attracted to Nick and at the same time afraid of what being attracted to him might cost her. He was a driven businessman, like her father, and she knew that often personal relationships suffered with men like him. She guessed he was at least thirty-five years old. That he was so driven in business was probably why he wasn’t already married. Tiffany had another thought. Maybe he was married. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t tried contacting her anymore while she was in Rome. He knew she was working with Chef Riatoli, knew how to reach her if he’d really wanted to. She said as much to Joy.
    â€œHe’s probably married, anyway, or at the very least has some lady living with him. A man like that isn’t sitting at home twiddling his thumbs every night.”
    â€œYou don’t know what a man like that is doing. The only way you’re going to find out is to get in touch with him. It’s one simple phone call about a job offer. He has the restaurant and you’re looking for work. What do you have to lose, Tiffany?”
    Tiffany didn’t answer, but rather continued eating. She knew that with a man like Nick…she could lose a lot.

13
    Two weeks and ten restaurants later, Tiffany walked into the lobby of Le Sol. Instead of e-mailing her résumé to Nick, she’d decided to call the number on the ad she’d seen in the Sunday edition of the LA Times. She’d talked with human resources, e-mailed her résumé, and gotten a call back from the chef’s assistant. If she got the job as sous chef, it would be on her own merit, not because of anything Nick did for her. She already owed him twenty-five hundred dollars for the hotel suite. She didn’t want to owe him anything else.
    By the time Tiffany finished the interview with Chef Wang, she was praying she’d get the job. What he had in mind for the menu was exactly the type of quality and variety of cuisine Tiffany wanted to work with. She was sure that Nick had had a say in the menu selections, which boasted pasta and Italian breads made on the premises and a healthy selection of seafood dishes, including scallops used both as appetizers and for a couple of main-course dishes. She’d toured the state-of-the-art kitchen furnished with professional kitchen supplier Citisco classics: dual-flame stoves, double-deck ovens, prep tables, warming units, food wells, and every other industry-strength appliance imaginable. The pasta machine was exactly like the one she’d trained on in Rome. The kitchen was stunning, a cook’s dream.
    â€œDo you think you could handle the pressure of a fast-paced environment?” Chef asked. “The owners plan for this to be an award-winning establishment, the draw of the property, besides the views of the rooms facing the ocean. We’ll probably be full most nights, and in addition, be responsible for catering private parties and meetings that take place here in the hotel. You’re short on experience but long on enthusiasm. Plus, you’ve worked with Emilio Riatoli which, frankly, is the reason we’re thinking to hire