Read McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014 Online

Authors: Donna McDonald

Tags: #Contemporary Romance, Humor, Holidays

McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014 (8 page)

BOOK: McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014
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“Nothing happened on our so-called
date
. Chef Lake fixed me dinner and sent me home in the limo
Seattle Live
paid for. That’s all,” Sabine said, not raising her gaze.

Blanche snorted. “
Bullshit
—but that’s beside the point. Anthony told them you’d do it without checking first. It never occurred to him that you’d turn down an opportunity to be on
Seattle Live
. If you refuse to do the show, Anthony’s going to shit bricks and be extremely embarrassed. He said they even offered to pay if you wanted money.”

“Great. Tell them I want six thousand dollars,” Sabine joked, not really serious. She just was tired of talking to Blanche about her evening with Koka.

“Fine. I’ll get Anthony to call them back and give them your price,” Blanche declared.

“Stop—don’t you dare.”

Sabine huffed out a breath and swore as she tossed down the pen she’d been using.

“Damn it, Blanche. I wore my blue tunic, black leggings, and flats. I did not wear a dress or stripper heels or even talk all that nice to him. The man fixed me dinner—that’s all that happened. I swear.”

“If that was really all that happened, then going on his show should cause you no problems at all. Right? I’ll just tell Anthony you’re happy to do it,” Blanche declared, crossing her arms.

Sabine found herself locked in a stare down with her immediate boss, but in the end, she was the one that looked away first. “I can’t believe Anthony would expect me to do this. I’m not going to date the man just because Anthony wants a social connection to Todd Lake. There will be no favors asked as a result of this. He’s a good person. I won’t tolerate him being used because of his connection to me.”

“Listen to you. Who said anything about exchanging favors? Anthony didn’t call
Seattle Live
. They called
us
—about
you
. Chef Lake is the one asking. I can’t believe you’re not fainting with joy that
The Sexy Chef
is crushing on you. Was he like crass or gross? Did he ask you to play naughty games?”

“Stop it, Blanche,” Sabine said. She couldn’t listen to another insinuation. “He was the perfect gentleman and the perfect host. The food was wonderful. It was an incredible evening. I’m just not ready to date. I told him that.”

“Then what—for the love of God—is your problem with going on his show?” Blanche demanded. “You’ll both be on a set full of professional people filming. You’re not even going to be alone with him.”

Sabine leaned back in her chair and groaned. “You don’t understand how complicated this is. When I went to that damn auction, I bid on the wrong man. Todd Lake was not who I went to win, but I made a mistake. So I ended up with the wrong Todd and we both made the best of the situation. Maybe if Chef Lake had come along a year or two from now, things might be different. Who knows? But at the moment, I’m not ready to date one of Seattle’s premiere bachelors. That’s my final decision on the matter.”

“Woman, you need to get some serious therapy. Do you know how hard it is to find someone really worth dating in this town? If you don’t get it now, you will in a year or two of bar trolling and online dating services. I’m telling Anthony that you’re excited about doing the show. You can thank me later for lying for you. In the meantime, you need to find a way to manufacture some positive emotion for it, even if you don’t feel any for the man every other red-blooded, normal woman is drooling over.”

Sabine glared. “Are you saying I have no choice but to do the damn show?”

Blanche glared back. “I’m saying none of us do, Sabine. And if you ever want to make partner in this firm, you better put on your big girl panties and buy a dress that makes you look thin on TV. You just became the spokeswoman for the company. Maybe if you’re really lucky, something will knock some sense into your head and you’ll say yes to anything Todd Lake offers you. Honey, men like him don’t come sniffing around very often.”

Too upset to discuss the matter any longer, Sabine got up and stomped out of her own office, leaving Blanche behind shaking her head.

***

“Go away. I don’t want to talk to you either. If I hear the name
Todd
tonight, I may just scream.”

Joe laughed as he patted Sabine’s back. “You’re going to need something a lot stronger than diet soda to take the edge off that kind of mad. I’d recommend sex to burn it off, but I guess that’s out of the question since you keep turning down dates.”

Sabine snorted. “He actually tricked me. His producer called my CEO to ask me to be a guest on his show. Blanche ordered me to do it. Apparently, I have no say in the matter. Why should my career be jeopardized by my refusal to date?”

“What are you complaining about? It’s not like it’s a real date. It’s a TV show,” Joe said. “So technically you’re still holding out on him. I don’t know why you would want to, but hey, I’m willing to validate your insanity for a little while longer.”

Sabine stared into her drink, frowning as she pondered what she had to do. “I am under orders to buy a dress that makes me look thirty pounds thinner—for the good of the company’s image. I’ll have to wear two layers of spandex just to go down one size.”

“Blanche didn’t use the F word did, she?” Joe demanded.

Sabine shook her head. “No. But it was
heavily
implied.”

“Ha. Ha. Was that whining you just did supposed to be a weight joke?”

Sabine pushed the cola aside enough to lay her forehead on the table. “He asked me why I hid my body from men. Did I tell you that?”

Joe’s eyebrows rose. “And what did you tell him?”

“Nothing. I said nothing. I shut up and licked my fork while he watched and drooled,” Sabine reported.

Joe’s loud laughter had all eyes turning to their table. “You must really like him to tease him that way.”

“I do really like him,” Sabine admitted. “But can you imagine what would happen if we dated? Every newspaper and magazine would be posting all the fat photos they can find of me. All the scorned women that he’s ignored would be laughing their asses off that someone with a body like his would be interested in someone so average and normal like me. I do this publicity thing for a living, Joe. I know what kind of press a TV celebrity who looks like him generates.”

“Wait . . . I’m confused. I thought this was about your insecurities, not your Todd’s popularity with his female viewers,” Joe said. “Because I can tell you honestly that real men don’t care about a few extra pounds on a woman—or man in my case. And sweetie, that’s all you have. What they care about is a willing, hot body. Talented fork licking would be considered a huge bonus.”

“Oh, shut up. You’re gay. How would you know what a heterosexual man likes?” Sabine demanded.

“I have three mega heterosexual brothers. Besides—fork licking is a non-gender specific talent appreciated by all. I’m sure you know that at your age. If you don’t, you have permission to kill my younger brother for being so totally worthless in bed. I’m sure Mom wouldn’t miss him at all because she’s still mad at him for cheating on you.”

“Martin wasn’t totally worthless. If he had been, I would never have stayed with him so long. He was plenty talented in bed. He just wasn’t faithful. But he—like most men—liked his women to look better than he did. Every time he cheated on me, he blamed it on my lack of caring about what I looked like.”

“Well what else was he supposed to say to the perfect woman and mother of his children? He’s afraid of getting old and dying. You know that’s Martin’s problem. He hyperventilates every time he sees a new wrinkle on his own face, much less yours. Why are we rehashing this?” Joe demanded.

“Because I ignored his petty excuses about cheating, but now I’m the one panicking over how I look. There’s not enough time to fix myself to go on any TV show. I let Martin’s behavior depress me, and the next thing I knew, I was forty and round. I validated his complaints by making them my reality. Hell, I was sleeping alone anyway. What did I care what I looked like?”

“Sabine, how many of your friends have solid relationships despite carrying around a little extra weight?”

“Several I suppose,” Sabine admitted.

“Then only you can decide how important it is for you to look a certain way, and whether or not it’s going to stop you from finding happiness,” Joe said. “You look great. Most people think you’re in your thirties and those mythical pounds you see in the mirror aren’t even noticeable. You’re just afraid Martin might be right. Let Todd Lake prove him wrong.

“Next time Blanche tells me I need therapy, I’m going to give her your phone number,” Sabine said.

Joe shrugged. “When you forget to judge yourself—or forget to do that stupid comparison thing—you are so damn charming that every guy wants a piece of you. Chef Lake tapped that best side with less effort than any man I’ve ever seen cross your path. That’s pretty rare.”

Sabine swore softly as she realized she was about to fall in line with plans she really wanted no part of. Maybe she should just call Koka back and get the “real date” he wanted over with. Maybe she should ask him to come scratch her current itch so they could both get some relief from their non-dating.

“I guess tomorrow I’m shopping for industrial strength spandex and a fitted black dress,” Sabine said, thinking how uncomfortable all that would be.

“You’re thinking about it all wrong. Don’t downplay the negative. Instead, highlight the positive. Get your hair curled and fluffed, and buy a fitted red dress with a full skirt. Show as much breast and leg as possible without being obscene. It is just a cooking show after all.”

Sabine rolled her eyes. “I’ll look like an outdated fifties housewife trying to fit into the sixties.”

Joe grinned. “Yes. But you’ll also look like a skinny Marilyn Monroe. How’s that for a perspective?”

Sabine leaned over and laid her head on Joe’s shoulder as he laughed. “I love you. I truly love you.”

“I know, baby. I know. But you need to give your Todd a chance to replace me. My love life is doing a lot better than yours. I won’t always be available to mop up after your pity parties. It’s time for you to get cheerfully laid.”

“Okay,” Sabine said, sitting upright again. “Red dress. Fitted top. Show some boob. I can do this.”

“Just be prepared for a stronger reaction than you got to the fork licking,” Joe warned.

Sabine closed her eyes and thought once again of banana rum flavored kisses.

Chapter 8

“She’s here,” Edwina informed her nervous chef, marveling at the way Koka’s face lit up as his gaze searched the set. “Well, not here—
here
yet. They’re touching up her makeup, but she looks great. All that fluffy hair makes you focus on her face more than the rest of her. She’ll do well on camera. So you like blondes, eh?”

Koka shook his head. “Not necessarily. I just like Sabine.”

“Right,” Edwina said, hiding her grin in her hand.
Like
was an understatement. “Okay. Let’s get prepped. We’ll start filming when
your Sabine
arrives. The audience is being seated now.”

“Audience? We have a live audience today?” Koka asked, inwardly cursing. He didn’t like the pressure of retakes being done in front of a crowd. Today, he also didn’t like the idea of them watching him with Sabine.

“Yes. We figured we’d pan to their faces now and again to get an assessment of their interest in a guest’s interaction with you,” Edwina explained.

There was little more he could say against it since people were already taking their seats, so Koka nodded and went back to laying out what he would need on the shelves below his counter.

***

Wearing what had to be half a tube of red lipstick, Sabine trailed slowly down the
Seattle Live
corridor behind the assistant they had sent to collect her. She put a nervous hand on her stomach and breathed out in relief as she felt the waist of her dress still snugly holding her in. It boosted her confidence greatly to feel her body so well restrained inside the fabric.

Taking Joe’s advice, she had bought a dress that was red and full. The dip in the front was more cleavage revealing than her normal clothing, but she had decided a ‘what the hell’ attitude would serve her best. She at least looked sexy and hot from the waist up. She just hoped one chocolate-eyed male agreed.

“Just walk around the curtain, Ms. Blakeman. Try to ignore the audience. They tend to react to anything new, but they’ll settle down in no time once you become part of the set. Most say they forget about them as the show progresses.”

“Thank you—and thanks for the advice,” Sabine said, smiling goodbye at the intern as she proceeded forward.

But as she stepped out into the open set, everyone was suddenly invisible to her except for the man in a blue button-up shirt wearing an apron with
Kiss The Sexy Chef
emblazoned across his wide chest. With sleeves rolled to his elbows, Koka looked ready for kitchen duty. When he turned around and bent to retrieve something from a lower cabinet, his khaki slacks molded way too excellently to his extraordinary rear. Excitement zapped most of her remaining brain cells. A fine sheen of sweat suddenly challenged the mineral powder they had brushed on every inch of her exposed skin just minutes ago.

Her sigh over her feminine reaction must have alerted him to her presence because Koka’s head snapped up as he turned and looked for her. Then when he saw her, the man who obviously didn’t care what anyone thought just stopped and stared. His assessing gaze raked every inch while her face turned the same color as her dress. How in the world did he have the ability to affect her with just a look? If she hadn’t felt her job credibility was on the line, she might have pretended to be sick and fled from the intentions in his gaze.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sabine could see that many of the workers on the set had stopped their tasks as well. But they weren’t looking at her. Oh no. They were looking at Koka staring at her while he remained frozen in place.

Mentally pulling up big girl panties that she wished she could reach under her skirt and adjust for real, Sabine walked forward until she stood just on the other side of what appeared to be a long counter with a sink built into it. Clearing her throat, she put on her brave face and spoke.

BOOK: McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014
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