Stepbrother Bad Boy's Baby Boxed Set (15 page)

I
t was
rare for me to get two vacations from work at Alinea so close together, but after the performance on
Iron Chef
, Horst was willing to give me a long weekend, which meant four days off in a row. Monday to Thursday. Because of that, Julian and I took the earliest flight out of O'Hare that we could to Boston, and from there, we rented a car that we drove up to the Manor. In a nod to my more modest tastes, Julian had passed on the luxury sports car and we took a compact Toyota. He fidgeted with the seat constantly until I reached over and put my hand on top of his. "You keep doing that, and I'm going to crash," I said with a smile.

"
Y
eah well
, next time I'm also thinking we can drive our own car, something not designed by a bunch of people who are five seven and top out at a hundred and sixty pounds," he grumbled. "I mean, even the stereo sucks."

"
I
t gets
us where we need to go," I said, setting the cruise control. "We should be there in just over an hour and a half, traffic is pretty good. Don't worry, we'll be there by noon."

J
ulian snorted
and looked out the window. "I know it was my idea to tell them so quickly, but I have to admit, I'm not exactly looking forward to it."

"
K
imberly warned
me along the same lines when we talked about it, about being so quick to tell them that is. She's worried that a lot of people won't understand or accept it."

J
ulian looked over at me
, his blue eyes burning with intensity. "Krystal, I'm kind of used to it, people not accepting me and being on the outside, regardless of it being my fault or not. But you, can you handle it?"

"
I
think so
, and if I need, I have you and Kim," I replied. "What else do I need?"

"
W
ell I know
I could use a cheeseburger," Julian joked in reply, lightening the mood. "So are we there yet?"

"
S
mart ass
."

T
he drive was beautiful
, especially as we left the urban areas around Boston and headed north into the countryside. Living in Chicago was great, and working at Alinea was a dream come true for me, but there is something about New England that just resonated with me. Maybe it was the memories of visiting my grandfather at the Hepburn estate near Bretton Woods, or maybe an overabundant love of pancakes and maple syrup helped. Regardless of the reason, I loved the drive. Even Julian seemed to relax as concrete was replaced by pine trees as we got closer.

I
t wasn't
until I turned up the long driveway to the Castelbon Manor that I started to feel nervous. What if Julian was right? What if Mom and John didn't understand? In the short time that Julian and I had been together, it was more than just sexual with us. There was a connection we'd formed, even before that first kiss, and the days afterwards had just deepened it. Of course, being sexually satisfied to the point that I spent my nights almost delirious was a great benefit too.

P
arking the car
, I shut off the engine and looked over at Julian. "Well, we're here."

"
Y
ep
. You know, if you turn on the engine and hit the gas now, I don't think they'll know we came," he semi-joked, before the front door opened and Yuki came out. "Damn. Too late. Listen, it's not that I don't want to tell them, but how about we hold off on the public affection until we do? I mean, it might be a little less shocking that way."

"
I
can do that
," I said, giving his hand a squeeze. I wanted to kiss him. Hell, I wanted to be kissed by him, but I understood. Instead, I got out of the car, and came over to shake hands with Yuki. "Yuki, it's good to see you again so soon."

"
I
t's
good to see you too, Krystal. I was surprised when Sandra said you'd be coming again so soon." Yuki, as always, looked professional and beautiful in her normal work clothes of black slacks and a blouse. Today it was a pale peach, although she had foregone the jacket to allow for the weather. In winter though, she looked more like an executive than a house manager, which I guess she was. "Mister.... sorry, Julian, it's good to see you too."

J
ulian came
around to shake Yuki's hand. He then surprised us both by bowing very deeply in the Japanese style. "Yuki," he said simply.

Y
uki bowed in return
, then chuckled. "Who taught you how to do that?"

"
W
ould
you believe a guy I know in Los Angeles? There's a lot of Japanese people out there, you know."

"
Y
es
, I know," Yuki deadpanned. She broke out in a smile, and patted Julian on his massive shoulder. "Let me get your car moved and parked while you two go inside. I'll have your bags taken to your rooms."

"
A
ctually
, I have something for you first," I said, opening the trunk of the car and pulling out a paper bag. "I figured I would let you wrap it for your uncle."

Y
uki opened
the bag and took out Chef Morimoto's jacket, her jaw dropping and tears coming to her eyes as she read the script. "Krystal," she whispered, folding the jacket up and placing it neatly back in the bag. "Thank you. This is beyond wonderful."

T
here are
times when it sucks to be rich, and this was one of those times. I could tell Yuki wanted to give me a hug, and I would have been more than happy to get one from her. But, she was the employee, and came from a very hierarchal society, even if she was American now. Employees don't do that with employers. Still, I could tell her meaning, and I nodded, smiling. "Good. I hope your uncle likes it. So, where are our parents?"

"
T
hey're in the study
," Yuki replied. "John is working from home today, and Sandra has decided to start assisting him. It's quite intriguing to see when the time allows.”

"
T
hank you
," Julian said, and the three of us headed inside. Yuki peeled off to get the rental car and our bags taken care of while the two of us headed upstairs. We found John and Mom in the study like promised, reading over a pile of documents.

"
T
hey're expanding
in their European division," John said, pointing at one piece of paper. "With their growth there and the potential in their Asian division, I think they're going to be fine."

"
M
aybe John
, but I'm still worried about their tie-ups in Russia and Greece. A lot of companies made a lot of money in the BRIC countries when times were good, but are finding it tough to pull out now that the growth isn't being sustained and the corruption of those nations starts sucking them dry like a vampire."

"
W
ell
, I see you're on your way to making your next billion dollars," Julian said after knocking on the door. "Think I might be able to get in on it?"

J
ohn set his pen down
, rising slowly to his feet to come around in front of us. Julian walked towards him, and the two met in about the center of the room. I swore time stopped and everything went quiet as the two Castelbon men faced each other. Julian spoke first. "Hi, Dad."

"
H
i
, son," Johnathan replied, his face starting to crack. I couldn't see Julian's face from where I was standing in the room, but the embrace the two men gave each other was impossible to miss. They held each other like that for what seemed an eternity, while Mom and I stood transfixed. When they stepped back, both of their cheeks were a little wet, and I could see Julian do his best to casually wipe his face to play it off.

"
S
andra
," Julian said, turning to Mom. "It's good to see you again too."

"
C
ome here
, you big lunk," Mom replied, getting out of her chair to give him a friendly hug. "God you're big. You promise you're not eating Krystal out of house and home?"

O
h
, he's eating me out all right,
I thought naughtily, a smile coming to my face.
In fact, I love it when he does.
"I'm glad to see you're happy about this too," John commented as he came and gave me a hug, totally missing the reason for my smile. Not that I would tell him, even after we told them about Julian and I. There are just some things you do
not
tell your mother and stepfather.

A
fter we exchanged
hugs all around, Krystal and I sat down on the leather couch in the study. Dad rang for drinks, and Yuki herself brought it in, with steaming mugs of Earl Grey tea along with a sugar bowl and creamer. "Here you are, enjoy," Yuki said, disappearing silently.

I
watched her go
, and knew without a doubt that our rental car was already parked, and our bags were upstairs in the same rooms we'd used last time Krystal and I visited. Turning back to Dad and Sandra, who were sitting side by side on the other couch, I reached out and took a cup. "She hasn't convinced you to go with green tea all the time yet, Dad?"

"
Y
ou know how it is
," John said as he spooned an ungodly amount of sugar and a heavy dollop of cream into his mug and stirred. "I'm not saying I can't enjoy it after dinner or iced after I get some exercise, but for afternoons like this, nothing is better than a good British tea."

"
S
peaking of exercise
, I wanted to tell you guys about some things," I said, taking my tea with just a squeeze of lemon. "I don't want to shock you too much Dad, but I've decided it's time I got a job."

"
R
eally
?" Dad said, sipping his tea and trying not to grin too much. "You know, if you're looking for a place to start, I can certainly find you a spot in our management program."

I
shook my head
, chuckling. "No offense Dad, but that's the last thing I want to do. Not that learning the Castelbon business wouldn't be interesting at some point, but I'm not you, and we've got a lot of work to do on our father-son relationship before I start reporting to you as my boss too. Also, I want to stand on my own feet, like Krystal has."

"
I
can respect that
," Sandra interjected from her seat. "It takes guts to try and make it on your own, Julian."

"
W
ell
, not totally on my own, you know. Let's face it, even now I'm better off than ninety-nine percent of the population. But thank you. Anyway, I've decided to try and make a go of it as a personal trainer. Training is about the only thing I've done well over the past few years, outside raising hell."

"
Y
ou'll learn
a lot there son," Dad said, "Lot of sales and customer service. Not to pile on, but what about going back to college? Even someplace online or something would help when you want to move on to a management position."

"
I
've thought
a little about it, but first I have to see if I passed my certification exam," I replied. "But at least I'll have someone to help keep me in check and show me how to be a good worker."

"
O
h
?" Sandra said. "How's that, are you getting a mentor or something?"

"
W
hat Julian's
saying is that he's moving to Chicago, and is going to live with me," Krystal said, trying not to gush. I could tell she wanted to just blurt out what we came to say, but she also could tell how I was guiding them. It wasn't that we were trying to play them, but this was the sort of subject to be approached carefully. "I have a big apartment after all."

"
H
mm
, won't that interfere with your social lives?" Sandra said. "No offense honey, but since meeting John I've kind of been hoping you'd meet someone like him, and find some happiness outside the kitchen. I know you love it, but there's more to life than fine dining."

"
Y
eah
.... well, about that," Krystal said, looking at her mom and then at me. "I kind of already have."

S
andra looked
from her daughter to me and back, realization beginning to dawn on her face. "Well then.... uhm, wow. Excuse me please, I think I need to go think about this for a little bit before I say something I'll regret."

S
he got
up to leave the room, Krystal standing up to follow her before I put my hand on her forearm. "Don't, babe. She needs some time alone, or at least with her thoughts." I looked over at Dad, who was watching the two of us impassively. "Dad?"