Alex set to work prepping for the night ahead witha pleased sigh, setting out the pans and utensils she was most likely to need, and then lining up ingredients she would use. It was Friday, a week since Cale 's arrival in her life, and it had been an awesome week. The man was a blessing, accomplishing more in that time than she could have.
Cale had managed to get all of her paperwork in order, had overseen countless deliveries without a hitch-or at least, if there had been hitches, he'd taken care of them and kept the aggravation from her. The new restaurant was now furnished, including her office, which had also been painted. After the fiasco with the tiles, Alex had intended to leave her office unfinished until she could better afford it; but once Cale had arranged the refund for the tiles, she'd decided to splurge and gone out to buy the paint. She'd bought it Monday andpainted the office Monday night ... much to Cale's chagrin. He'd been upset that she hadn't told him and let him help, but he worked hard enough during the day and she hadn't wanted to bother him on his time off.
Besides, Alex thought it might be best to avoid spending too much time alone with the man. He was just too attractive for her peace of mind. On top of that, he was working for her, which might only be temporary, but that was another problem altogether. She didn't need to fall for the guy when he was leaving in a month or two. She feared he would be easy to fall for.
There was now only one week to go until the opening of the new restaurant, and Alex found she was actually looking forward to it instead of panicking every time she thought of it. This, the old La Bonne Vie, was being shut down for that night so that she and her staff could attend the opening. They'd also be on hand to help if necessary, and it might be since Alex was expecting quite a turnout on opening night. She was looking forward to that too.
"Which reminds me," Alex murmured to herself, and glanced over her shoulder to Bev. The woman was checking a roast duck she'd popped in the oven earlier.
"Bev, will Mark be able to get Friday night off to attend the opening?" Alex asked as the woman eased the oven door closed and straightened. The young woman's boyfriend, Mark, worked at Chez Joie. Friday night was a busy night for most restaurants, and he hadn't been sure he'd be able to get the time off to attend ... especially considering what it was for.
Bev glanced her way and smiled widely. "Yes, muchto my amazement, Jacques didn't even give him a hard time over it."
Alex raised her eyebrows, surprised at such decency from Jacques, or Jack as she'd always known him before he'd started Chez Joie and changed it to Jacques. What was it with men and their need to put on airs, she wondered. She didn't know any women chefs who took on fake French names to make themselves feel or sound more important. But Jack had actually had his name legally changed to sound French ... the pretentious twit, she thought, and then considered that he and Peter/Pierre might be getting along like gangbusters. Both were egocentric weasels. Which was why she was surprised he'd not given Mark a hard time about attending the opening of a competitor's new restaurant.
"That reminds me," Bev said suddenly. "Mark told me this morning that Jacques fired Peter last night." The younger woman wrinkled her nose. "I guess Peter didn't take it well. He-" She stopped suddenly, her face paling as she peered toward the door.
Expecting someone to have entered, Alex turned, but there was no one there. She didn't understand what had caused Bev's reaction until she peered through the window into the restaurant and spotted Peter walking quickly through the tables toward the kitchens.
"Speak of the devil," Alex muttered. It didn't take a genius to figure out why the man was here. He'd been fired and hoped to gain back his old job, she guessed, and sighed unhappily, not really needing this tonight. Fridays were always busy, and she didn't want to start the night in a bad mood ... although to be honest, shedidn't want to start any night in a bad mood and would have been happy to bypass the coming conversation altogether.
Grimacing, she glanced back to Bev, noting the resigned look on the other woman's face as she ducked her head back to her work. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was bothering her. Bev was afraid Alex would actually take Peter back, which meant Bev would be demoted.
Before Alex could reassure the woman, Peter pushed through the door into the kitchens and headed straight for her.
He hesitated briefly, and then-in humble tones she wasn't at all used to from him-said, "Alex, can I have a word with you, please?"
She considered simply saying no and avoiding what she knew was coming, but then feared he would simply say it out here and decided perhaps the office was better.
Sighing, she led him across the kitchen, saying, "I only have a minute, Peter. It's Friday night."
At the door to her office, Alex paused and gestured for him to enter, then followed, leaving the door open. She didn't want him closing the door and trapping her in the room with him, she wasn't stupid. Peter had a hair-trigger temper, and she wanted someone to know if he suddenly tried to throttle her.
"Sit down," she said quietly, moving around behind her desk. Alex settled in her seat, and then waited a touch impatiently as Peter peered down at his hands and swallowed repeatedly. She now just wanted to getthe unpleasantness over with and get on with her life. She was so eager for that she almost blurted that he couldn't have his job back before he asked for it, but he began to speak as she opened her mouth.
"You were right," he announced grimly. "Jacques fired me last night." He raised his head, expression furious, and said, "He was just trying to ruin you by hiring me away from you."
"I did try to warn you," Alex murmured, not bothering to feign surprise.
"He was furious with that five-star review in the paper last week when you had that French guy cooking," Peter went on, his tone rabid. "And he tried to hire away your new head manager when he heard that you'd hired him. When that didn't work, he just lost it."
Alex's eyes narrowed. Cale hadn't mentioned anything about Jacques approaching him.
"He called me into his office and ranted and raved at me like it was my fault," Peter continued with outrage. "He said hiring me was useless and ... and then he fired me."
"I see," Alex murmured.
"Do you know he hadn't even fired his previous head chef?" Peter asked with disgust. "The guy was only on vacation."
She wasn't terribly surprised at this news. Alex also wasn't surprised that Jacques had hired a chef rather than cook himself. He was a horrible cook. The only way he'd managed to get as far as he had in the culinary school they'd both attended was by cheating. He'dbeen tossed out when he was caught and disappeared for a while, only to pop up in Toronto and open Chez Joie shortly after she started La Bonne Vie.
"So I've come to ask for my position back," Peter announced stiffly, reclaiming her attention as he hurried on. "I realize you are head chef again, so I would have to take the sous-chef position once more, but I'm willing to accept that humiliation as punishment for not heeding your warnings and-"
"Peter," Alex interrupted quietly.
"Pierre," he corrected with a flash of the old arrogance she suspected was boiling under the humbler facade he was presenting.
Alex just shook her head, and said, "I'm sorry you've lost your job at Chez Joie. And yes, I did warn you, however-"
"Yes, I know, but-"
"However," Alex repeated firmly. When he got the message and fell silent, she continued, "I'm not willing to demote Bev and fire Bobby. I won't rearrange everything to suit you when you'll simply do this again the first chance you get and leave me in a lurch once more."
"I wouldn't. I swear it," he said passionately.
"I don't believe you," she said quietly. He started to say something again, but she held up her hand and added, "And I'm not willing to take the chance."
"But I don't have a job now," he said, as if that might have slipped her notice and realizing it should make her change her mind.
"That's not my fault or problem, Peter," she pointed out quietly. "I asked you to stay at the time. I explainedwhat I thought Jacques was up to, and you chose to leave. I'm afraid you'll have to live with that decision."
Peter stared at her blankly, apparently having been sure she'd be pleased to accept him back. The fact that she wasn't forgiving all and welcoming him back wasn't what he wanted to hear, and she felt herself tense as anger began to replace his surprise.
"You arrogant bitch," he hissed coldly. "I suppose you're pleased to see me here groveling?"
The night he'd left, Alex had thought she would enjoy his fall, but now that it was here, she found she wasn't enjoying it at all. Not even a little. Instead, she actually felt sorry for the little weasel and said so. "No, actually I'm sorry for you."
"Sorry?" Rage covered his face and he leapt to his feet. "Don't you dare feel sorry for me. I am Pierre. I am a brilliant chef. Certainly too good for this little shit hole. You're the one who's going to be sorry!" Turning on his heel, he stormed out, nearly running over Bev on the way.
"Jerk," Alex muttered as he slammed out of the kitchen.
"You didn't hire him back."
Alex glanced to the door where Bev now stood, staring at her wide-eyed. Frowning, she said, "Of course I didn't. Why would I? He was difficult to work with at the best of times, and you're a better sous-chef than he ever was. And someday you'll make a better head chef than he could ever dream to be."
Bev flushed at the compliment. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me, it's the truth," Alex said solemnly,and then glanced to the phone on her desk when it began to ring. Recognizing Sam's number, she glanced to the clock, frowning when she saw what time it was. The front doors would be opening in a couple of minutes and the first people arriving. She didn't really have long to talk, and Sam would know that. For her to be calling at this time of the day, it must be something important.
"I'd better get back to prep," Bev murmured.
Alex nodded. "I'll be along in a minute. Can you close the door for me?"
"Sure." Bev pulled the door closed as Alex reached for the phone.
"How is Cale?" Sam asked the moment Alex said hello.
She raised her eyebrows at the unconventional greeting, but then found herself smiling and saying, "He's brilliant. Awesome. Thank you for sending him my way."
"I'm so glad." Sam sounded truly delighted, but then asked, "How awesome?"
Alex sat back in her seat, her eyebrows rising. "What do you mean? "
"I mean ... well how exactly is he awesome?"
Alex considered the question, and then simply said, "He's the answer to my dreams, Sam. Or maybe my prayers."
"Has he told you about his family?" Sam asked at once.
"Not much," she admitted. "I gather he has brothers who are soldiers. And he learned to cook for the familyrestaurant, but prefers the business end of things. That's about it really."
"That's it?" Sam asked, and Alex could hear the disappointment in her voice.
"Yes, that's it," Alex said with a laugh. "Why would he tell me any more than that? I'm his boss, not his girlfriend."
A low groan came down the line. "Alex, don't you-I mean, what do you think of him as a man? "
"Is he a man?" she teased, and peered out the window above her couch at the bustling activity in the kitchen.
"Alexandra!" Sam snapped impatiently.
She sighed. What did she think of him as a man? In her mind's eye Cale rose before her, Cale smiling, Cale frowning, Cale painting, Cale sitting at her desk. Finally, she admitted, "I think he's gorgeous, smart, funny, smells divine, and he probably has the sexiest accent I've ever heard."
"And? " Sam prompted.
"And what?"
"What are you going to do about it?" Sam asked impatiently.
Alex sat up in her seat, her voice firm as she said, "Absolutely nothing."
"What?" her sister gasped with what sounded like horror. "But-"
"Sam, honey," she interrupted gently. "I know you're deliriously happy with Mortimer and want the same for me, but Cale is the best business manager I could ask for. I'm not messing that up by getting involved." She let that sink in, and then added, "Besides, I'm not likeyou. I don't need a man to make me happy. Cooking and my restaurant make me happy."
"But it doesn't keep you warm at night," Sam said at once.
"That's what electric blankets are for."
"You can't talk to electric blankets," Sam argued.
"That's what friends are for," Alex responded at once.
"Friends can't give you sex," she snapped finally.
"Friends with benefits can," Alex said with a grin, actually enjoying her sister's frustration.
Sam sounded surprised when she asked, "Do you have a friend with benefits?"
"No," Alex admitted, her smile fading. Truly, her love life was a barren wasteland at the moment and had been for a while. It was depressing to even think of it. Forcing her shoulders straight, she added, "But a BOB fills in nicely until I get one."
"Who is Bob?" Sam asked with confusion.
"Not a who, a what," Alex explained dryly. "A battery-operated boyfriend."
"What?" Sam sounded completely lost now.
"A vibrator, Sam," she said dryly. "Geez. You've heard of those, haven't you?"
A long sigh came down the line, and then Sam said, "Alex, please ... Just give Cale a chance. If you don't, you could be passing up on the greatest happiness of your life."
Alex was silent for a moment, wondering if she was passing up on a good thing with Cale. But then she reminded herself that he was only here for a short time and would be returning home eventually.
"How is Cale taking your ... reticence," Sam asked garnering her attention again.
Alex felt her eyebrows rise, and said slowly, "He said he'd like to get to know me better, but I made it plain I don't have time for men right now and he's respecting that."
"What an idiot," Sam muttered, making Alex smile with affection. Her sister loved her and would think the man an idiot for not pursuing her ardently. It was sweet, Alex thought, but her smile faded as she glanced out to the kitchen and saw Sue placing orders on her shelf.
"Honey, I have to go," she said apologetically. "The orders have started rolling in now."
Sam sighed, but said, "That's all right, I need to call Marguerite anyway."
"Marguerite Argeneau?" Alex asked with surprise. It was the only Marguerite Sam had ever mentioned to her.
"Yes," Sam muttered, sounding grim, and Alex felt her curiosity stir. She hadn't realized the two women knew each other that well. Sam always talked about the woman like she was some sort of goddess or someone high above their social standing, but it sounded like she was making friends with her.
Sue rushed into the kitchen with more orders in hand, and Alex grimaced. "Right, you call Marguerite then, but first I want to tell you ... thank you thank you thank you for sending Cale to me. He's working wonders and keeping me from bankruptcy. You saved my life. I love you, Sam."
Alex barely waited for Sam's depressed "I love youtoo" back before hanging up and hurrying out to her station.
Cale had just rung the doorbell of Marguerite's large house when the door was opened. The woman had obviously been watching for him.
"Cale," she said happily, and stepped forward to hug him. "Right on time. Now we're all here."
"Who is we?" Cale asked with a frown, as he hugged her back. He'd taken to keeping mortal hours now that he was helping out at the restaurant. It meant consuming a little more blood than usual to make up for the damage the sun could cause; but he'd minimized that as much as possible, bundling up against the sun as well as the cold and working mostly from Alex's office at the new restaurant, where there were no windows.
Unfortunately, it meant his hours were at odds with that of his relatives, and he'd played telephone tag with most of them this last week. Marguerite had called several times Friday, the last message sounding so urgent that Cale had arranged for an early wake-up call this morning so that he could get ahold of her before she and Julius retired at dawn. Cale had been more than a little surprised when all she'd wanted was to invite him to dinner that night. Since it was Saturday, and Alex would be working anyway, he'd accepted.
"I invited a few others," Marguerite said evasively as she urged him inside.
"Who?" Cale asked as she set to work helping him remove his winter clothing as if he were a child.
"Oh, Julius is here of course," she murmured, hanging up his coat.
"Of course," Cale said with a faint smile. The only time he'd seen Marguerite without Julius was when she'd helped him at the restaurant. In New York and then here, the man seemed attached to her side like a Siamese twin. "Who else?"
"Come and see," she said gaily, and took his arm to urge him into the living room.
Cale came to a halt the moment he reached the door and saw the people seated inside. Julius was there, crossing the room to join Marguerite as if the few minutes apart had been unbearable. The man slid his arm around Marguerite and pressed a kiss to her forehead as he hugged her to his side, but Cale's attention had turned to the others in the room. Lucian, Leigh, Mortimer, Sam, and Bricker all stared back, and he got a distinct sense of deja vu. This reminded him of the day he'd arrived and stopped here at Marguerite's behest to find Lucian and Leigh waiting with Marguerite and Julius. He'd felt ambushed then, and did again now.
"Oh no, dear. This isn't an ambush," Marguerite said at once, and he glanced at her sharply, realizing that she'd read his thoughts. He didn't feel any better when she said, "Actually I'm not so much reading them as you are shouting them. It's this new life-mate business. It makes it hard for you to guard your thoughts and even seems to amplify them. We've all been through it," she added sympathetically, and urged him to take a seat across from the sofa where Lucian, Leigh, and Bricker were seated. Mortimer and Sam were seated ona love seat on his right, and Marguerite and Julius now settled onto the love seat on his left, leaving him feeling like he was surrounded and under interrogation.
Cale shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing over the people staring back at him, and then ran one hand wearily through his hair. "So if this isn't an ambush, what is it?"
There was a moment of silence as glances were exchanged, and then Marguerite said, "We just want to help with Alex."
"I don't need help," Cale said stiffly.
"Oh? It's going well then?" she asked gently.
Cale felt his mouth tighten, he wouldn't say well exactly. He hardly saw the woman. He worked at the new restaurant, she at the old. She had Mondays and Tuesdays off and he Saturday and Sundays and while he'd dropped by the old restaurant several times and she'd dropped around at the new restaurant as well to check on things, she'd kept the talk strictly to business. Cale had tried to steer it into more personal conversation several times, but Alex always steered it firmly back to business. It was incredibly frustrating, and he hadn't a clue what to do about it; but he wasn't willing to admit that.
Forgetting that they could read his mind and would know all this, he said stiffly, "It's going very well."
"Have you slept with her yet?" Lucian asked abruptly.
"Luc," Leigh reprimanded, slapping his shoulder. "You'll embarrass Cale."
"Honey," Lucian said gently, "Cale is over two thousand years old. Nothing should embarrass him anymore."
"Are you that old?" Sam asked with amazement.
"He was born in 280 B.C.," Lucian informed her, and Sam blanched. Cale got the distinct impression she was reassessing him as a mate for her sister and finding him wanting now that she knew how old he was.
"You haven't answered my question," Lucian pointed out, reclaiming Cale's attention.
"No," he said at last. "I haven't slept with her yet."
"And you won't," he announced firmly.
Cale frowned at his certainty. "What makes you think-?"
"She doesn't sleep with employees."
Cale scowled at the title employee. He was a business owner in his own right in France. Actually, he had his own miniempire. The idea of her thinking of him as a mere employee rather than an equal who was helping her out was a bit distressing to him. "I am a coworker. Not an employee. And that's only temporary anyway. I'm just-"
"Fine. She doesn't sleep with coworkers either," Lucian interrupted dryly, and added, "She told Sam that on Friday night. Sam immediately called Marguerite for advice, and Marguerite got us all here tonight to help you."
Cale sat back in his seat with defeat. He'd known it was an ambush. "Fine. What do you suggest?"
There was a moment of silence, and then Marguerite said, "I wish Lucern was here. His Kate had issues withthe idea of getting involved with one of her writers, but they managed to get past that. He could tell us how."
"Dream sex," Lucian said abruptly, drawing all eyes his way.
"Dream sex?" Cale said uncertainly.
Lucian nodded. "It's hard to avoid temptation when you're having shared wet dreams."
"Yes, it is," Sam agreed excitedly, and then flushed when everyone glanced her way. "Well, it is. I was pretty into my career and not looking for a relationship when Mortimer came along, but those dreams ..." She shook her head, blood rushing up her throat and into her face as she recalled them. "They made it pretty hard for me to resist Mortimer. Every time I looked at him, I was remembering those damned dreams."
"Thank God for that," Mortimer murmured, hugging her close.
Sam smiled and melted into him.
"You haven't turned yet," Cale commented, and when Sam and Mortimer glanced his way with surprise, he pointed out, "Sorry, but Bricker and I overheard your conversation when I came to the enforcer house last week. You were agreeing to the turn. But you haven't yet?"
"Mortimer's a little shorthanded at the moment with everyone away on their honeymoons," Sam said shyly. "We plan to do it this week, though."
"You've agreed to turn?" Marguerite asked, beaming on the woman. "How lovely. What day are you doing it? I'll come help Mortimer oversee it if you like."
"I will too," Leigh offered.
"You will not," Lucian said at once. "I'm not having her kick you and possibly damaging the baby."
"I would never kick Leigh," Sam said with surprise.
"You wouldn't mean to," Lucian said. "But in that kind of pain, you won't know what you're doing."
Sam blanched. "I know Jo went through a lot of pain when she turned, but I thought that was because she was wounded. Won't it be easier for me?"
"I thought we were here to discuss Cale and Alex," Mortimer said, no doubt worried that if Sam knew just what she was in for, she might have second thoughts about turning.
"Yeah," Bricker said at once, backing his friend. "We were talking about wet dreams."
"Right, wet dreams," Cale said dryly. He grimaced at the group of them. "Just how am I to make Alex have wet dreams about me when I can't get into her mind?" When Bricker opened his mouth to speak, he added sharply, "And please don't suggest one of you give them to her. There is no way in hell I am allowing that."
Lucian snorted and shook his head. "Didn't your mother explain the facts of immortal life to you?"
"Of course," he said impatiently, scowling at the man.
"Then why don't you know about shared wet dreams?" he countered.
When Cale glared at him, Marguerite said quickly, "They aren't something anyone gives to her, dear ... except maybe you. Life mates who sleep under the same roof tend to share their dreams ... erotic dreams about each other."
"Sam and I weren't even under the same roof," Mortimer announced. "We were in neighboring cottages and experienced it."
Sam flushed but nodded silently.
"Then we need to get you two closer," Marguerite murmured thoughtfully. "Under the same roof would be best, but somewhere nearby might work."
Cale scowled at the suggestion, and said, "I don't see why you think sharing dreams would convince her to bypass her rule not to date coworkers and go out with me."
"He's never had them," Mortimer pointed out to Lucian when the older immortal began to look annoyed.
"Then he should trust us to know what we're talking about," Lucian growled.
It was Marguerite who said gently, "Cale dear, right now Alex is just seeing you as the answer to her business dreams. She's noticed that you're handsome and is attracted to you, but it's like seeing a lovely dessert you've never tried before when you're on a diet. It may look delicious, but because you don't know for sure how delicious, it's easier to deny yourself. Whereas, if it were a lovely slice of cheesecake that you have tasted and do know will be delicious, it would be harder to resist."
"I see," he murmured. "Then couldn't I just kiss her? She would experience our attraction that way and-"
"Kisses are nice, but she might pull away before you could get very far," Sam pointed out. "Alex is pretty stubborn when she sets her mind to something. A shared dream really would be better, so that she couldexperience all the passion. A kiss would be like just sampling the first course, and we want her to get the full meal to know what she could have."
Cale ran a hand wearily through his hair. "Right."
"How long has it been since you had sex?" Lucian asked, drawing another reprimanding look from Leigh. Sighing, he patted her hand and explained, "If it's been a while, he may need a refresher course. Or one of those books I bought."
"You said you didn't read those books," Leigh said with surprise.
"Well, no, but I've always been exceptional at everything I do and managed to get along without them. However, Cale is not me."
Cale rolled his eyes. "I'd forgotten just how arrogant you could be, Uncle."
Lucian shrugged. "That's a skill too, and, as I say, I'm exceptional at everything."
Leigh laughed and kissed the man on the cheek as if she thought he was joking. Cale suspected he wasn't.
"All right, I think we're agreed the best way to deal with this is to somehow get Alex and Cale under the same roof or at least nearer each other so they can experience the shared dreams," Marguerite said firmly, and then glanced around the room. "Does anyone have ideas?"
"I could take him over to her place in a van, park on the road, and have him sleep in the back," Bricker suggested. "That might be close enough for their minds to meet."
"No goddamned way," Cale barked, blanching atthe very suggestion. Lying in the back of a van having erotic dreams about Alex while Bricker sat in the front seat able to read what he was experiencing was just not something he was willing to even consider. Dear God!
"I thought you said that after this many years nothing should embarrass him?" Leigh said with gentle amusement.
Lucian grunted. "I guess he's more sensitive than I thought."
"I am not sensitive," Cale snapped, irritated by the very suggestion.
"It's probably his mother's fault," Lucian said, ignoring him. "Martine named him after Calliope, the muse of poetry. Between that and his father dying when he was only fifty, he's probably suffered under Martine's namby-pamby influence."
When Cale began to growl deep in his throat, Marguerite spoke up quickly to keep the peace. "Perhaps we should move to the dining room. Dinner is probably ready now, and we can think about a solution while we eat, and then talk about this some more."
"Food is always a good idea, Marguerite," Lucian announced.
"Great," Cale muttered as everyone got up with murmurs of agreement. It seemed he would have a break before they continued with this torture they called help.