Can't Stand the Heat (Corporate Chaos Series Book 2)

by Leighann Dobbs

  Sarah nodded her head slowly. Raffe was right. If they approached Veronica about it, she’d probably make up some story or do something sneaky that would get them kicked off. “I don’t think she knows, because if she did, she’d probably tell them and try to get us booted. But I agree, we don’t want anyone looking too closely at us. Best to just keep an eye on her and make sure she can’t mess with us anymore.”

  “It’s possible it’s not even her. I know, long shot. But Brenda told on us, so it would appear she has it in for us too,” Raffe said.

  “Trust me, Veronica being here is no coincidence. I don’t know; this is so confusing. I guess we need to keep an eye on both of them!” Sarah pulled a glass from the cabinet and stabbed it under the water dispenser built into the refrigerator. This was so frustrating! Not only did she have to worry about winning the contest, now she had to keep on the lookout for Veronica.

  “I agree. But, for right now we need to get to the kitchen for the next contest.” Raffe finished his orange juice, and they both put their glasses in the sink and headed out to the conference center.

  Sarah developed the usual case of nerves as they traveled the path to the entrance to the kitchens. Today there would be a live audience consisting mostly of other guests from the resort and a few locals. As they entered the kitchen, Sarah glanced at the audience. Men in Hawaiian shirts, women in colorful sundresses. Everyone looked casual and relaxed.

  She nodded to the other contestants and took her place at the cooking station while waiting for Landon to tell them about today’s contest.

  “Attention! Today’s challenge is bacon. No, not baking, bacon. You will prepare your bacon three different ways for the judges, incorporating it into three separate appetizers. Use your creativity, because the team with the least impressive dish will be going home. The challenge starts… now!”

  “Yes!” Raffe was already unwrapping the thick slabs of bacon that had been set out for them. “If there’s one food I love, it’s bacon. Doesn’t everyone love bacon?” He glanced at Sarah.

  “Yeah, you love it, but any ideas on appetizers,” Sarah asked him as she started to cut the bacon into slices. “Actually, should I be slicing them this thick?” She had a few ideas about the bacon but wanted to hear what Raffe had to say. He owned so many upscale restaurants that they most likely had more than one trendy bacon appetizer. Plus, she wanted to see if he could take the lead or if it would be all up to her for the entire contest. Not that she minded. She was used to going it on her own with no one else to depend on.

  “Bacon cheese balls. Bacon-wrapped sliders. And maple-candied bacon. How does that sound? And yes, keep slicing them exactly like you are. That’s great!”

  Apparently bacon was Raffe’s thing. He was in his element, explaining that he’d worked with his chefs on bacon appetizer recipes because they were a key part of his menu in all the trendy locations like Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston.

  “All these recipes are the most popular on my menus, so I think we’re a shoo-in,” he explained.

  They worked seamlessly side by side, Sarah following his instructions to the letter as well as making a few suggestions that he immediately incorporated, causing her face to flush with pride when he commented on how they improved the dish and asked if he could employ them in his restaurants.

  By the time Landon bellowed that time was up, Sarah was just finishing the last of the garnish. She stood back, chancing a look at the other contestants’ plates. Their dishes weren’t as expertly plated, nor did they seem to have as much variety. Hope swelled in her chest. They had this, maybe would even win.

  As usual, Landon took forever, chatting about bacon, making a comment about each appetizer and then drawing out the announcement. Unlike the cooking portion that was filmed in one swoop, the announcements and tasting took longer as the judges asked for retakes when they flubbed their lines.

  After what seemed an eternity, Landon finally grabbed the microphone, smoothed his hair, and nodded to the cameras to start rolling.

  “Contestants, are you ready?”

  The chefs all nodded and shuffled around nervously in front of their dishes.

  Landon turned to the audience. “Audience, are you ready?”

  “Yes!” The audience waved and bounced in their chairs.

  Landon turned back to the camera, smiling. “Well then, without further ado… the winner is…”

  Sarah’s heart pounded on her ribcage as he inserted the usual dramatic pause.

  “Team One—Raffe and Sarah!”

  Sarah’s hands flew to her cheeks. They’d won their first challenge! She turned to Raffe. He was happy, smiling. Sarah felt like jumping up and down, oh wait, she was jumping up and down.

  “Congratulations, you two!” Landon came to them, a cameraman trailing behind him. “Now, let’s see a nice big victory kiss!”

  Sarah stopped midjump. Did he say kiss? Her eyes jerked from Landon’s dorky smiling face to Raffe’s panic-stricken one.

  Don’t panic. Keep smiling. Breathe. Think of a way to get out of it.

  Landon raised his brow at them expectantly, the audience leaning forward in their seats. Everyone waited for them to kiss. There was no way to get out of it without giving away the fact that they weren’t a couple.

  She stepped closer to Raffe, her pulse thudding. Okay, a quick peck should satisfy them.

  She stood on the tips of her toes, tilting her head up as Raffe bent his down.

  Warm breath ghosted across her face, and then his lips were on hers. Warm, soft and… delicious. His arm snaked around her waist, and she vaguely heard the audience utter a collective, “Awww,” as she stepped in closer.

  The kiss wasn’t anything like Raffe had anticipated. He’d expected Sarah’s lips to be stiff and cold. But they were soft and… pliable. He only meant to give her a quick peck, but he found himself pulling her in close, deepening the kiss by instinct.

  Apparently he’d let his lips linger longer than they should have, because the next thing he knew, Landon cleared his throat and cracked a joke about waiting for the honeymoon that elicited a burst of laughter from the audience and crew.

  He pulled back, heart racing and warmth flooding his veins. Sarah’s face was flushed, her eyes half closed and dreamy. The kiss had definitely affected him. Had it affected her too?

  Suddenly embarrassed and confused, he jerked away from her and started busy work, wiping their knives and scrubbing down the countertops.

  “That was luck, I think. The bacon, I mean. I have so many variations on my menus it was easy to come up with the dishes.” Raffe tried to talk his way through the awkwardness.

  “Right. Those are delicious. I can see why they are favored in your restaurants.”

  “Yeah, the maple-candied one is a personal favorite. It looks like Durkin really likes it too.”

  Raffe nodded toward the food critic, who sat with a pile of the candied bacon in front of him. He bit into a piece of it, eyes closed and head leaning slightly back. Sarah and Raffe burst into laughter.

  “It’s definitely something I’m going to try a recipe variation of when I get home,” Sarah said. “I mean, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure, have at it.” Raffe wondered if Sarah would go back to work for Jasper when they got back or seek out that chef position she hoped for. There was no doubt she was an excellent cook, and it seemed she could handle a kitchen. In fact, she’d be a great addition to his new restaurant.

  They finished cleaning up and headed to the bungalow. Raffe slowed and let Sarah go in ahead of him so he could make a quick call to Jasper outside alone.

  “I’ll be there in a sec,” Raffe said as he pulled out his phone and pressed the contact for Jasper.

  “You again? I feel like we’re back in school, you know, when you’d call me nonstop even though I was in the next room over from you?” Jasper joked. “Is the contest that boring?”

  Raffe, remembering those days, laughed. When he was in New York they saw ea
ch other almost daily. Now that he thought about it, they didn’t speak on the phone much between seeing each other so often and texting.

  “I just had a quick question for you about Sarah. Is she coming back to work for you after this?”

  “Well, I think so. I mean, I left it open to her. She’s the best assistant I’ve ever had, but she’s totally overqualified for the role. Especially with the cooking. I think she should pursue a job in that line. Why do you ask?”

  Raffe hesitated with his answer. He knew his friend could read him, and his answer might encourage Jasper’s scheme to fix him up. He didn’t need that, because then Jasper would tell Marly, and things might get blown out of proportion.

  “Just wondering. Something was mentioned in the contest about jobs. I just wasn’t sure. I figured she was going back to work for you. Thanks for the info.”

  He felt bad lying, but he knew in this situation it was best. Same for telling Jasper about the kiss. It was best not to mention it. He ended the call as he walked into the bungalow.

  11

  Sarah grabbed two ice-cold bottles of beer from the fridge in their bungalow, handed one to Raffe, and then plopped down on the opposite end of the sofa.

  “We made it again,” she said, leaning over to tap her bottle against Raffe’s in celebration. The unexpected kiss at the end, still fresh in her mind, had created a new level of awkwardness, especially now that they were alone in the bungalow.

  “Yes, only four more to go. We might actually win this thing,” Raffe said.

  Pride bloomed in Sarah’s chest. It turned out they actually were a good team, despite the reservations she’d had when she’d agreed to enter the contest. Now they’d survived the elimination and two challenges. They actually had a real shot at winning.

  “We should try to anticipate what the next challenge will be, you know, try to prepare for it.” Sarah was trying to keep her mind on the contest, but her thoughts kept drifting to the kiss. “Your research has really helped us with food pairings, so we should try to leverage that.”

  “Thanks. I think the fact that you think quick on your feet helps too. Gets us up and running fast,” Raffe said. “I think as long as we just stay calm and communicate we can win.”

  Sarah sipped her beer, looking at Raffe out of the corner of her eye. Should she mention the kiss? She wanted to forget about the darn thing, but all she could do was think about it. Obviously the kiss wasn’t a big deal to Raffe. He acted completely normal. Still, shouldn’t she say something to clear the air?

  “I think I’ll take a shower now,” was all that came out of her mouth instead.

  Sarah shut the bathroom door and leaned up against it. This was all becoming too stressful. First the show makes them shack up together, and then they make them kiss. What was next?! She called Marly, hoping that she didn’t have an anxiety attack in the process.

  “They made us kiss, and I don’t know what to do. This is so awkward.” She blurted as soon as Marly answered.

  “Um, what? You kissed? Oh my God! How was it? What was it like? Like a movie kiss or a peck on the cheek? I need the details!” Marly’s voice rose with excitement.

  “God no! Not like a movie kiss. But not a peck either. Okay, maybe kind of like a movie kiss, but not a really long one. Well, kind of long, I guess. It was like one that Big and Carrie would have after they hadn’t seen each other in a while when they weren’t hooking up and were in other relationships but then they see each other and want to hook up.” Sarah knew Marly would know exactly what she meant. They had both binge watched the Sex and the City series together.

  “Umm, whoa! Okay, well, I guess there isn’t much you can do about it, right? Just go with it. That’s so awkward!” Marly laughed.

  “I can’t believe you talked me into this contest. I’m coming home!”

  “No you’re not! You’re there to win. So you had to kiss? Big deal. Just act like nothing happened. Let me guess, that’s how Raffe acted, like nothing happened?”

  “Yes. Which makes it even more awkward,” Sarah lowered her voice, hoping Raffe wasn’t standing outside the bathroom door with his ear up to it.

  “Look, it’s not as big a deal as you think. I mean, they all assume you guys are engaged. Just pretend you’re acting. It’s all an act. I mean, it’s kind of true anyway, you’re acting engaged. Maybe that will help you get through the horrible ordeal of kissing Raffe Washburn.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes. Horrible ordeal? She wished. She wished she could just forget about it and act normal. But she’d felt something. Probably one-sided, though. Raffe was hot. He had his pick of women. And he acted as though nothing had happened. Marly was right. That’s what she needed to do too. Act as if the kiss meant nothing.

  She disconnected and turned the shower on, hoping it would wash her anxiety away.

  Veronica slammed her foot down on the ant running along the sidewalk, wishing it was Sarah. Damn it! Sarah and Raffe had won yet another contest and would move onto the next round. All her attempts to sabotage them had backfired so far, and to make matters worse, Tanner wouldn’t stop texting and calling.

  Ugh… and that kiss. Veronica rolled her eyes even though no one was around to see. How sappy sweet. If Veronica had had doubts that Raffe and Sarah were a real couple, they’d been put to rest with that stupid kiss. No one had ever kissed Veronica like that.

  She pulled a handful of M&Ms, warm from the heat of the day, from her pocket. She opened her mouth and popped the whole handful in then noticed the red, green, and blue spots on her palm from the coating. “Melts in your mouth not in your hand, my ass!”

  Rounding the corner, she spotted Brenda and Dick. Their conversation stopped abruptly, and they each stepped back to let her pass. Veronica continued on until the path wound out of sight, then darted behind a tall silver bismarck palm so she could hear the conversation. She scratched her arm on the rough razor-like leaves jutting from the trunk. The sharp scent of the mulch wafted up, and she looked down. Damn, she’d gotten mulch stains on her white ballet flats. A tiny gecko poised on the leaf in front of her. “What are you looking at?” she snarled, and it scurried away, giving her the satisfaction of having scared it off. Veronica leaned forward to listen in on the conversation.

  “Yes, Dick, I’m positive they’re cheating, and I know that Veronica woman is helping them. Didn’t you think that was obvious when we were in Scott’s office?”

  “I dunno. I mean, I guess it was an odd coincidence that they know each other.” Dick didn’t sound convinced, or interested, in Brenda’s accusation.

  “Coincidence my ass! And you know what else? I think I saw Sarah leave the resort the other night. Late. And you know that’s against the rules! I almost told Scott, but I don’t want to tell him anything again unless I have proof!”

  “What do you mean you saw her leaving the resort? Where would she go?” Dick asked.

  “How do I know?” Brenda snapped. “Maybe she has a mole who lives here on the island and works at the resort that she had to meet. Maybe she’s selling stories about the inner workings of the contest to The Enquirer. Whatever. It doesn’t sound like a coincidence now, does it!”

  “Brenda, I really don’t care one way or the other. Let’s go.” Dick sounded exhausted.

  Veronica didn’t doubt that being married to Brenda was tiresome. She was a busybody who always bugged others with her gossiping. She had even been told more than once to stop talking so much during the contests. But this gossip had given her some good intelligence on Sarah. Was Sarah sneaking out? If so, why? And where was she going?

  Veronica peeked between the palm fronds to make sure no one was around before slipping out from behind the tree and heading to her room. Her plans had just changed, but she needed a nap. She wouldn’t get much sleep tonight, because she’d be following Sarah’s every move to find out exactly what was going on. As she hurried along, she almost plowed over a slow idiot pedestrian in her way.

  “Whoa, slow down!” a dee
p voice said. “What’s the emergency? You run out of clean pans?”

  Veronica eyed the smart-ass dishwasher up and down. For some reason he reminded her of Jasper Kenney, her old boss. He had the same blue eyes and chiseled jaw and was tall like Jasper. But that’s where the resemblance ended. He clearly didn’t have the billions of dollars Jasper did. He also looked like he hadn’t eaten in a month. And, he was a dishwasher, not a CEO.

  “Have you ever thought of hosting the nightly comedy show here instead of scrubbing pans?” she asked, her face cracking into a sarcastic smile as she stared at him intently, waiting for him to break and look away in fear like everyone else did.

  “Yes, actually I have. But I heard it was draining.”

  Veronica’s eyes narrowed. What the heck? He didn’t back down, nor did he break eye contact. She should be insulted. So why did she think his comment was kind of funny? She snorted, the closest thing she’d let herself come to a laugh.

  Wait, this guy was her underling. Shouldn’t she reprimand him for insubordination or something? Now, what was his name?

  “You should put something on that. It could get infected.” The dishwasher pointed to her arm, and Veronica looked down at the bloody scratch from the palm tree. No one had ever expressed concern for her before. Was this some kind of trick?

  She looked up, ready to confront him and demand to know what he was up to, but he was already halfway down the path, the sun falling on his broad shoulders as he whistled a cheerful tune.

  Veronica stared after him. Oh well, she’d yell at him later. No one had a right to be that cheerful.

  TJ shuffled down the path, whistling softly under his breath. That Veronica sure was a piece of work. The entire kitchen staff was terrified of her. They referred to her as “the tyrant” but, of course, never when she was around.

  She was always yelling and complaining about something. As if someone like her should have anything to complain about. But she found plenty. Either they weren’t getting clean pots out to the kitchens fast enough, or the utensils weren’t clean enough, or the kitchen was too hot or too cold. She was never satisfied.