Steamed 4 (Steamed #4) (2 page)

I trotted after him and followed him out the front door.

Chapter Two

It took about two seconds for the reporters to move in on
Link. I stood off to the side and allowed for him to get in front of the media
without intrusion. The scene was very intimidating for me. I had never been so
close to what could only be classified as the paparazzi. They had no respect
for boundaries and they swarmed like vultures. There was flashing of cameras,
yelling over each other and a general lack of respect even amongst one another.
It was an embarrassing example of their industry and I wondered how things had
been allowed get this bad. Did these men and women have no respect for their
own jobs? They behaved like they were entitled to information. That they could
just barge onto someone’s property and demand answers as if Link was some
common criminal.

“Hi everyone, I understand that things are a little hairy
right now. I just got news of things myself. I would like to hold a brief press
conference to allow you all to ask me some questions that I am more than happy
to answer. Once the press conference is over however, I will ask that you leave
my place of business. You are making it difficult for people to come in and out
and my employees need to be able to get to their vehicles without being
harassed.”

“Maybe people aren't coming here because your food sucks,” someone
shouted.

Link glared at the pudgy man and that alone silenced him.

“Does anyone have anything valid to ask at this time?”

There was yelling all around
us and it
was a wonder that Link could understand anything they were saying. I almost
wished that I hadn't come out. The scene appeared to be aggressive and I
worried about whether or not it had been the best decision for Link. What was
he going to do though? He had no other options. He couldn't allow reporters to
camp out in his parking lot all week. He might as well close his doors forever.

“How about you explain why you stole a recipe from your
former boss?”

“Those allegations are not true. Jared is a liar and he's
the true thief. That recipe has been in my family for generations and I used
that while I worked at Jared's restaurant. He does not own the recipe, nor did
I steal it from him. The recipe is mine.”

“Oh that's a likely story,” someone shouted.

I rolled my eyes. These reporters were a bunch of clowns and
I wondered how they became employed.

“The story is true. And if any of you were any good at your
jobs you would actually try to verify a story before you went around accusing
people. Didn't even occur to you that he was trying to cover his own ass?”

“Well why would he be trying to sue you if he was the real
crook?”

“That is the question of the day. But where's the proof? You
can't just go around accusing people without proof. Just because he says
something happened doesn't mean it's true.”

“It sounds like you just trying to cover your own ass.”

“No, what I'm doing is defending myself, which I shouldn't
have to do. I have done nothing wrong. Like I said, the recipe was mine and
when I resigned my position at Jared's restaurant I took the recipe with me.
He did not own it. I
t was
mine. He is just mad or jealous because I left taking one of his best recipes
with me. He cannot make something like that on his own, so he is trying to take
mine.”

“Come on, we all know you just took the recipe because
you're nothing but a cook and this was the only way you could manage to get a
restaurant of your own.”

I was shocked by the things I was hearing
from the reporters
. They didn't seem to believe a word that Link
said. They weren't even giving him a chance; they were just attacking them over
and over again. Why didn't they just listen to him? Jared had no proof, so
wasn't Link innocent until proven guilty?

“Excuse me, I am not a cook, I am a chef. Not only that but
I'm also a business
owner;
I got
here because I earned it. I paid my dues in the industry.”

“You got this restaurant by selling that recipe.”

“You're damn right I did. The recipe was mine to do with as
I pleased and I decided to let it go to the public to enjoy so that I could
have the money that I needed to open up the restaurant of my dreams. There is
nothing wrong with that. I did nothing wrong. Like I said, the recipe has been
in my family for generations. It's mine and nothing that Jared can do can stop
that.”

“Are you sure of that? Sounds like he is pressing charges so
it looks like you will be going to court and possibly jail.”

The sound of that made my heart beat fast.

“That is highly unlikely. In these situations you typically
tend to need some proof that someone has done some form of wrongdoing. Without
that you have nothing. Jared has nothing, absolutely no proof. The reason he
has no proof is because the recipe isn't his. Did it even occur to you guys to
ask him where he got the recipe in the first place? Of course not, because you
don't know how to do your jobs properly.”

That seemed to shut a few of the reporters up, and a few of
them straggled off from the parking lot. I hope that they would never return
again.

“I think you stole the recipe because you're afraid you're
going to be nothing but just a cook for the rest of your life.”

“While the problem there is that I'm not just a cook. I
happened to be an exemplary chef and one of the
tops
in my industry. You don't get that way by being
just a cook. I'm a chef and I happened to take my art form very seriously.
Jared is a crook; Jared is the liar here, get your facts straight before you
talk to me again.”

With that he walked back into the restaurant and I was left
there standing staring at the reporters. I was happy to see the reporters leaving;
they knew they weren't going to get anything else at that point. I didn't want
to go back into the restaurant though; there was somewhere else I had to be at
that moment.

Chapter Three

It was time for me to go and see my brother again. I had to
try at least one more time to talk some sense into Jared. Even though I had to
believe that Link's innocence would shine through in the end, things weren't
looking very good for him or his business. What was a going to take for people
to believe Link? I just wished that Jared would do the right thing. It seemed
to be the constant mantra that was going through my head at all times. Why
wasn't Jared doing the right thing? Why was he trying to destroy somebody's
life over a recipe? He just wasn't that type of guy and yet there I was driving
to his restaurant to once again try to convince him to be a good man. I don't
know what made him change, and I hoped he wasn't gone forever. I hoped that I
would be able to bring him back to the good side and help them to do the right
thing.

When I pulled into his restaurant my mouth hit the floor.
The parking lot was packed and I could barely find a spot for my own car. I sat
there looking over the steering wheel out of the windshield in a daze. By the
looks of things, my brother's restaurant was suddenly booming with business…s
urprise. S
urprise.
He was probably sitting in there, just loving every moment of that. The sight
of all those cars parked made me want to go in there and slap Jared in the
face. His business was booming but it was a at the expense of someone else. He
didn't earn it; he took it from someone else by force. His lies, his act of
treason had certainly helped his business out more than I could imagine. I
thought that his drugs would be what ruined him, but apparently all you had to
do to
rise
back up to the top was to ruin another
business.

I got out of the car, and practically ran into the
restaurant. I was angry, no more than angry; I thought I was going to kill
someone. I had never been angrier
with
someone in my entire life. Jared was turning
into a monster and it was like he didn't even care. I looked around the
restaurant and I didn't see him. I assumed he was either in the kitchen or in
his office. Some of the staff waved to me as I passed but I just ignored them.
I was on a mission.

I walked back into the kitchen where Marcus was working, and
I didn't see Jared anywhere.

“Where is he?” I demanded.

Marcus looked up surprised, “He's in his office Gemma, but I
wouldn't go in there if I were you. He is in quite a mood.”

“I don't give a shit what kind of mood he's in, he is going
to see me and start explaining himself.”

“Gemma he isn't doing anything
wrong. That Link guy stole--”

“No you listen to me! I am sick of this shit. You don't have
any idea what you're talking about Marcus. You believe a man that you have
trusted for years and I understand that. But he is wrong, dead wrong. He is
lying to you and he is lying to everybody else.”

I had rendered Marcus speechless. He looked down into his
food and didn't say another word. I made my way back to Jared's office.

When I walked in, Jared was leaning back in his office chair
with his feet up on his desk. When he saw me, his feet suddenly went to the
floor and he sat up straight.

“We'll look at you, isn't it the restaurant King at his best…acting
like lazy son of a bitch.”

“Excuse me? What the
hell are
you
doing here Gemma? I keep asking you to leave me alone and here you are once
again.”

“I’m here because you disgust me. You are so much better
than this and I can't even believe what kind of person you have become. You're
not the brother that I used to love.”

“Gemma it sounds like you really love the sound of your own
voice.”

I couldn’t believe him. What happened to the brother that
used to love me? Use the look after me? Was always there when I needed him?

“What is the matter with you? Do you think that you're doing
anything that would make anyone proud of you?”

“Look Gemma, you don't know what's best for anyone anymore.
You proved that you're not loyal to me.”

“Jared please, I've fallen in love with Link, don't you see
that? Don't you care about me at all? Link is a good person and you are ruining
his life. What you are doing here is wrong, very wrong. How could you do
something like this to another person? What did he ever do to you? He left your
restaurant, so what? The recipe is not yours and you are lashing out for no
reason.”

“Stop it Gemma.”

“Please Jared; I'm begging you stop trying to ruin
everything. Not only are you affecting Link’s life and his business, you are
affecting mine as well. I need you to stop this. You are so much better of a person
than this. I just don't understand what happened to you. I need to understand
why you are doing this!”

Jared pulled open a drawer on his desk and dug around
inside. I wasn't quite sure what he was doing. He pulled out a mirror and a low
box. Inside the box was cocaine. He dumped a little bit on the mirror, and with
a razor blade he quite slowly and systematically made himself a line. I stared
in disbelief.
 
I couldn't believe he
was about to do that right in front of me. He had absolute no respect for me
anymore and I wasn't even the one that was in the wrong. Jared bent over and
snorted a line of cocaine, sniffing through his nostrils. The sight of him
disgusted me.

He looked up at me and stared at me straight in the face.

“Get out,” he said.

I turned away from him and did exactly what he wanted. I
left the restaurant with the idea that I would never return. It was pointless
trying to talk to him. He was in the world of drugs and I may never be able to
get him back again. He was no longer listening to me, and to continue on
putting myself out there only to be slapped in the face over and over and over
again was not something I had any interest in. I was walking away from Jared
that day, possibly forever.

As I walked past Marcus, I shot out over my shoulder, “That
coked out man back there is the one that you're going to trust? What a joke.”

Chapter Four

On the way back to Link's restaurant I had a heavy heart. I
was still in shock by what I saw in my brother's office, and I felt that I had
lost him forever. I barely recognized the man I had saw in that office and it
made it that much more obvious to me that things had changed between us. I was
pretty sure that they had started to change long before Link ever came into the
picture. The fact that he had never come to me to discuss these things with me
before going after Link told me all that I need to know. My heart was broken
over the loss of my brother. It was almost as if he died. I knew that I was
been dramatic, but I couldn't help it. Seeing Jared the way he was now I
couldn't imagine how it had gotten to this point. What happened to the caring
man who used to look out for everybody?

When I walked into Link's restaurant I couldn't even find a
smile for the staff as I walked back to the kitchen to find him. I hope that he
wasn't mad at me for leaving him. It had obviously been a waste of time, but I had
thought that I could get through to him. It was time for me to advise Link to
get a lawyer and to get one quickly. He needed somebody who knew the ropes and
who could fight for him against Jared, someone who would support him and speak
to the media on his behalf, and to help him get his life back.