McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014 (12 page)

Sabine settled for a dirty look instead of a retort. She refused to give in to Blanche’s torture and confess anything significant about the last two weeks with Koka.

“He and I are friends, Blanche. If you’re looking for dirt, all you’re going to find out is that Chef Lake is teaching me to cook. My ex and my kids would be laughing their asses off if they found out I was taking cooking lessons after all my years of burning macaroni and cheese.”

She told herself that burning last night’s dinner when she and Koka had stopped to make love didn’t make a single word of her statement less true. Koka
was
teaching her to cook. She had mastered grilled pineapple and pork chops. It was beside the point that she had also mastered how to make her cooking teacher moan in pleasure with just a few pleasurable strokes of her hand.

“Sabine—you stopped walking and stared off into space. Are you seriously that afraid of talking to Anthony?” Blanche demanded.

Sabine rolled her eyes.
Great. There went her professionalism, sacrificed for memories of hot sex with an enthusiastic man.

“No, I’m not afraid of talking to Anthony. If you must know, I was thinking about the grilled pineapple and pork chops I made last night. I missed lunch today and my candy bar high wore off hours ago.”

Blanche glared in disgust. “You’re the only woman I know who gets more blissed out by the prospect of food than by dating the best looking bachelor in Seattle.”

Sabine laughed at Blanche’s comments, her sense of humor finally winning out over her annoyance. She thought of Koka wearing her
Kitchen Diva
apron and no shirt as he had tried to rescue their dinner. It had been sexy as hell, even if the moniker fit. Any woman would have enjoyed cooking around that kind of inspiration.

Anthony stood as they entered his office and waved two DVD cases triumphantly in the air.

“Guess what I have? Early copies of your guest appearance on
The Sexy Chef
. And these babies don’t have the commercials added either. Here Sabine—this one is for you.”

Dazed, Sabine walked forward and took her copy. “Thank you. Why did they send you a copy of my appearance?”

Anthony grinned at one of his favorite employees. “I bought an advertising spot. It’s not on this recorded version of the show—something to do with the network reserving the right to splice spots in as needed. I got these because they send a show sample to new clients so they know what customers will be watching when the spot runs. I asked for two copies of your specific show. Nice, huh?”

Sabine let her breath out slowly hoping to mask her exasperated sigh. “Yes. That was really thoughtful of you, Anthony.”

“No problem. So how is Todd doing this week?”

With Anthony busy loading his copy of the DVD into a player, he didn’t see the glare she gave Blanche who was laughing behind her hand.

“Chef Lake is fine. He’s giving me cooking lessons,” Sabine said, keeping her tone even. “I made grilled pineapple and pork chops mostly by myself last night. He’s a really good teacher.”

She pasted an all business smile on her face when Anthony turned and beamed at her.
How the hell had her work associates gotten so involved in her personal life?
Anthony’s nod and wink in her direction was like having her father approve of her high school boyfriend.

“So do you call him
Chef Lake
when he’s teaching you to cook? Why don’t you call him Todd?” Anthony asked.

Sabine schooled her face into the most stoic expression she could manage. “Actually, I don’t call him at all because his schedule is much busier than mine. Chef Lake usually calls me when he’s free and wants to get together for a cooking lesson.”

Anthony’s face twisted in confusion as the show began to play. When all of them turned to watch, Sabine’s face heated at the sight of her gigantic smile as she stared up into Koka’s TV face. She blushed as she watched herself paying close attention to everything he was saying and doing.

Was that actually a giggle coming out of her mouth every time he showed her how to do something?
“Oh my God,” she said finally, bringing up a hand to cover her face. “I can’t believe I giggled like that on TV.”

But Blanche and Anthony didn’t comment or even look at her. Their gazes were glued to the screen where Koka was now feeding her a bite of grilled pineapple from his fork. She blushed quietly thinking about sitting in his lap while he did that same thing last night.

She curled fingernails into her palms and squeezed hard. It was nearly impossibly to keep her mind from drifting to every intimate moment she’d had in the last two weeks with the man on the screen.

When the show finally ended, Anthony raised the remote and clicked it off. He turned an inquisitive gaze to her.

“If you think that’s bad, Chef Lake is a lot more bossy off camera when he’s showing you how to cook something,” Sabine joked, trying to shake the shock from Anthony’s gaze.

“Are you sure you two are just friends?” Anthony asked.

Keeping the blankest expression in place that she could, Sabine nodded, hoping she wasn’t going to go to hell for lying to her boss. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

Sabine swiveled to face the woman at her side as the woman laughed loudly and swore.

“People who watch that show are going to need a cold shower afterward,” Blanche exclaimed. “Just how many times did his arm graze your breast? I stopped counting after twenty.”

Sabine didn’t reply to Blanche. She couldn’t. Lying was hard for her and it had taken all she had just to get one good one out to Anthony about only being friends. She opened her mouth, but was saved by Anthony butting in.

“All I can say is
The Sexy Chef
actually looked sexy for once. Usually he looks serious and all business no matter what his apron says,” Anthony said.

“Do you watch his show often?” Sabine asked, a bit surprised at Anthony’s comment.

Anthony shrugged. “Actually, I do. My wife tapes it. She loves trying Todd’s recipes.”

Sabine eased out another breath. “So do I. He’s definitely a great cook. That’s not just hype for the show. It’s really true.”

“What did you think of his producer?” Anthony asked.

“Edwina? She’s fine to work with. Tough-minded where Chef Lake is concerned, but she was nice enough to me,” Sabine reported.

“I called her and asked if she thought Todd might cook for our Melting Pot fundraiser this year. I pitched them filming a live show during the event, but she didn’t seem very interested in the idea,” Anthony said.

Sabine blinked. “The fundraiser for the homeless shelter is too large an undertaking for one person. We usually get a catering service.”

Anthony nodded. “Ms. Winston said she would run a personal request by Todd even if the network didn’t want to do the live show. If you get the chance, give him a nudge in our direction, will you?”

Sabine blinked again.
Give him a nudge?
Was her boss really asking her to use her connection to Koka to get something out of him for the company?

“What kind of influence do you think I have over Chef Lake?” Sabine asked.

“The kind where the man kept touching you every three seconds of his show,” Blanche replied, answering for Anthony. “Unless he does that to every woman, it means he’s really interested in you.”

Sabine sighed. “I’m sure he doesn’t do that intentionally to any woman. The set kitchen was very small. And in case you’re trying to be tactful, don’t bother. It’s obvious that neither he nor I are miniature people. Those body brushes were the result of insufficient space.”

“And I thought my ex-husband was bad at flirting,” Blanche said. “Yours left you clueless about men.”

Sabine answered Blanche’s mean jibe with a glare. But when Anthony and Blanche both just continued to stare at her, she finally shrugged. “If cooking for the fundraiser comes up in any conversation, I’ll talk to him.”

Cringing inwardly at her capitulation, she promised herself that she would definitely talk to Koka about it, but not the way they thought.

Under no circumstances was she going to let him be used by Anthony, or the likes of Blanche, whose ethics she was starting to question. She would just have to come up with some kind of excuse for his decline that wouldn’t negatively impact her job.

***

Rising from the table, Koka gathered their empty dishes and carried them to the sink.

“Pekala’s declining health has made it harder for me to travel. Edwina pushes me to do local events so she can at least broadcast those to national viewers. I decline most offers, but I could do this one for you.”

Sabine shook her head. “No, and don’t even give it another thought. One of the reasons I went to work for Anthony is that he seldom plays tit-for-tat games with our clients. Besides—I like that you and I are outside all that. I don’t want you to think I like you because you’re good for my PR career.”

Koka loaded the last of their dishes before he returned to his seat at her table. “I appreciate that you feel that way, but I liked Anthony too. I hope I wasn’t misjudging his character.”

Sabine smiled at him. “You weren’t. Anthony’s a good person. I think it’s my direct supervisor who’s acting like a publicity fiend in this case. I think Blanche has been planting ideas in Anthony’s head about you and me because she suspects we’re closer than I’m saying. I’ve been playing down our relationship because I don’t trust her.”

“I don’t expect you to keep us a secret. Are you ashamed to be associated with me?” Koka asked. His gaze took in her wide eyes over his direct question, but he wanted to know.

“Are you kidding? Ashamed—
no
. Protective—
yes
,” Sabine said. “Negative press might hurt your career, Koka. At the very least, it would be embarrassing to Pekala and Halia.”

Koka crossed his arms as he studied Sabine’s pensive frown. “What could be negative about my association with you? It’s not like I’m planning to brag to the world about how talented you are in bed.”

Sabine laughed at his sideways compliment and rolled her eyes as she stood. “Okay. Negative is probably the wrong word, but getting laughed at publicly can feel negative. I’ve seen my clients go through it often enough to know.”

“I still don’t understand,” Koka said. “We’re consenting adults. It’s not like you’re married or dating anyone other than me. Are you?”

Rolling her eyes again at his worried tone, she gave him the don’t-be-stupid look she normally only used on Joe. “No. I wasn’t dating at all before we got together. I guess technically I was trying to date, if you count trolling coffee shops and wishing.”

“Humor is not going to save you from this discussion, Sabine. I want to know what puts that furrow between your eyes when you talk about us being together,” Koka demanded.

Disbelief that he cared as much as he did was the real cause, but Sabine didn’t feel that was confessable. Unable to formulate any worthy answer, she turned away from the beautiful man at her table with his dark hair, darker eyes, and white shirt partially unbuttoned. It was hard not to go to him and indulge the urge to undress him completely, especially now that she knew he would let her.

Distracting herself to improve the odds of resisting temptation, Sabine added detergent to the dishwasher. She closed and locked its door before she turned back to Koka again. She mentally drew on her forty-plus years of life so she could offer the most positive explanation she could.

“I’m fine with who I am—most of the time—but I’m just not the kind of woman your fans expect
The Sexy Chef
to be dating. They might find my presence in your life to be alarming.”

“I didn’t know my cooking fans had any say about who I go out with,” Koka said, crossing his arms.

“Wait—hear my whole opinion before you get your shorts twisted up about this. You know how our society works. But as an image consultant, it’s my job to call it as I see it. An incredibly fit man who looks like you being associated with a not-so-fit woman who looks like me might not be so great for your current image as a sexy bachelor.”

Koka narrowed his eyes. “Why? Because you’re a real woman with a real body, instead of sporting fake everything and looking plastic?”

Sabine nodded as she leaned against her cabinets. “Yes. My body is a little more female reality than most women want to accept, while you and your muscled form are every woman’s fantasy. Think of any celebrity and then tell me what happens when they pack on a few pounds. Now compound that with the celebrity being a chef. There are automatic assumptions that go along with that. You and your perfectly toned body are miles outside those assumptions and they have helped make your career what it is. Your fans’ expectations about you are important. I’m not willing to risk your popularity.”

“So if I were overweight, you’re saying you think no one would pass judgment on your appearance as the woman in my life?” Koka asked.

Sabine bit her lip at the anger in his voice. “I’m not saying that exactly. And it’s hard to know for sure. But it would be less likely if you looked like just some average man, instead of a muscled god. Depression and divorce made the body I have at the moment. It would take a couple years for me to get myself back in any kind of shape that would look worthy of standing next to
The Sexy Chef
in public.”

Koka shook his head. “So this is why we always go to your house or you come to mine. You’re afraid to be seen in public with me.”

“Afraid is not exactly the right word,” Sabine said.

“What is the right word then, Sabine?” Koka demanded, crossing his arms and glaring.

“
Worried
,” Sabine whispered. “I don’t want anything to change what I’ve found with you. These last two weeks have been like a wonderful dream and I’m not ready to wake up yet. The moment I’m seen with one of Seattle’s most famous bachelors, it will change things for both of us. Everyone will start speculating. In our case, that speculation might not be so great for your popularity.”

“But you don’t know that will happen for sure,” Koka said.

Sabine walked to where he sat. Reaching out, she ran her fingertips inside the collar of his shirt and down to where the first button gave under her fingers. “I may not know for sure, but I’m a pretty good guesser about things like this. It’s my job.”