Double Obsessions

by Charlotte Sloan

  I will bring everything I need then. Where do I go?

  She waited for his next message once she hit send. This one came through much quicker than the last, and Ella found herself growing excited about the opportunity to really and truly cook something that tested her skills for someone else.

  I will send you my address tomorrow at 5 pm. You will come to my home at 6.

  He was so straight forward and to the point. It was refreshing.

  I will see you tomorrow evening then.

  Chapter Four

  Sure enough, Ella received a message at five the next evening with the address she needed to go to. She had agonized all night about what she should make for him. Would he want something healthy? Or just something that tasted great but wouldn’t matter how healthy? Finally, after tossing and turning about what to make, she decided she would just go for something easier. Fish was never too hard, but it was just a little more difficult to perfect than making chicken.

  Ella dressed in a simple black dress, Ginnifer’s suggestion. It was almost too tight around her curves, but her roommate had insisted that she looked great in it, and it looked very professional. She gathered her knives and filled a medium sized lunch cooler with everything she thought she might need. There wasn’t quite enough space, so she grabbed a small backpack and added stuff to that, too.

  When she was all set, she went out to her car and set up her phone to use as a navigator. It led her into the city, not too far from where her old work was. She drove past the giant building she worked at and rolled her eyes, hoping that this new job would work out. She pulled up to the sidewalk of the building her phone had directed her to and her eyes went wide in amazement. Ella left the car running, deciding to spring for valet parking so she could avoid having to drive around the downtown streets to find a place to park. It was already growing awfully close to six, and she really did not want to be late for her first appointment through this site.

  Gathering her things from her car, she handed her keys to the valet and got her ticket, slipping it into her purse. Ella went to the door, which was opened by a doorman. She smiled and thanked him, then walked into the lobby of the building. There were two elevators on either side of the room, along with a desk and a man sitting behind it.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, looking up at her.

  “Uh… yeah, I’m looking for uh… number 1900?”

  The man nodded. “Yes, I was told he was expecting a visitor. Into the elevator, nineteenth floor.”

  Ella smiled. “Thank you.” She went into the elevator and pushed the number nineteen button. She leaned back against the back of the elevator, waiting for the ride to finish. The doors opened and there was only one door to welcome her to the floor. Her mouth dropped at the realization that this man who had practically summoned her had the penthouse apartment. He had to be loaded.

  She finally shook her head and forced her feet to move her out of the elevator. Ella swallowed thickly and shook her head, trying to get the sudden nervousness out of her body. Stepping up to the door, she knocked firmly on it and waited. Of all the things she had expected when she confirmed their meeting, it had not been the man who opened the door. He had no smile to give her, just a simple hello as he stepped aside to let her in. He was tall, probably six feet, with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes.

  He intimidated Ella immediately. He was incredibly handsome, but almost… stiff. He had a strong jaw and broad shoulders, and he was probably the most masculine man she had ever met. He was absolutely gorgeous.

  Once she was inside and he had closed the door, she turned to him and smiled. “I’m Ella,” she stated, holding her hand out.

  “Michael. Thank you for coming.” He reached to take her hand, shaking it firmly, with a strong grip. Ella thought immediately about how large his hands were, and strong. She snapped out of it when he spoke again. “The kitchen is this way.” He guided her to it.

  The room was huge, bigger than any personal kitchen she had ever seen in her entire life. The stove had six burners, and the oven was almost twice as wide as a standard oven. The countertops were all marble and gorgeous, and everything had a perfect place. It was absolutely beautiful and Ella just knew she would love cooking in this kitchen.

  “Am I feeding an army?” she joked nervously. Ella looked at him to see his reaction, and he gave her nothing, not even a small smirk or chuckle. She shrugged it off, setting her bags on the countertop of the island and pulling out all the ingredients she had chosen to bring.

  Pulling out her knives, Ella laid them out and organized her ingredients. She looked around the kitchen, and then looked at Michael. “Where can I find pans to cook in?”

  He directed her to the right cupboards, while also stopping to point out the drawer where she could find all the necessary utensils and measuring cups and spoons. She thanked him, and then gathered everything she would need. Ella gave him a faint smile, then grabbed a skillet and set it on the stove.

  Cutting a tablespoon of butter into the skillet and pouring some olive oil in, she looked over at him. “Now how do I use this thing?” she joked. He gave her a worried look instead of laughing, so she quickly recovered. “I’m sorry, that was my bad attempt at a joke. I can work a stove just fine.” Ella turned the burner on to let the butter melt while she cut open the pack of chicken breasts she brought. She took out a meat tenderizer and started pounding the chicken down. Sprinkling each breast with salt and pepper, she laid them into the skillet.

  Ella could feel his eyes on her the entire time. It made her nervous, but it was kind of nice, too, to have someone pay attention to her cooking so intently. She started carrying the rest of the ingredients over to the stove for the second part and realized she had forgotten the white wine. “I… I’m sorry. I forgot the white wine. I’ll have to change the recipe I was going to make.”

  Michael held up his hand and walked over to a cabinet. He opened it to reveal that it was a wine cupboard. “What kind would you like?”

  She considered for a moment. “Just a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc will do.”

  He pulled out a bottle of the latter and handed it to her. “Here.”

  Ella thanked him, then started a pot of water to boil for the rice. “So… you seem pretty well off, and you hardly seem like an awful guy. Why use a site like Crave to find a woman?”

  “It isn’t so much that I wanted a woman, but that I want an amazing meal.”

  “You could go to any restaurant for that!” she laughed, raising her eyebrows.

  Michael stepped just a little closer to her, watching her cook still, speaking to her as she worked on the meal. “I’ve tried nearly every restaurant the city has to offer. I’ve sampled foods from all over the world on business trips, taken recommendations for the best places in all the cities I’ve been to. I have tried exotic food, and expensive food, and fast food. Nothing has stood out to me as extraordinary. I want something that I can’t stop thinking about. I want a meal that makes my mouth water while I’m dreaming.”

  Ella suddenly felt out of place. She was good, she knew that much. She had a taste for mixing flavors that no one would consider combining. But that was a tall order to fill. “I love cooking. There’s nothing else I’ve ever been so passionate about, but I’m not sure I can do that.”

  “It seems natural to you,” he said, though she was unsure if he meant it, or if it was simply an observation he had pieced together, since she had continued the steps of her meal while they spoke.

  “I like to think so.” She stirred the sauce one last time and used a fork to fluff the rice. Ella reached for a plate, taking out a chicken breast from the skillet and laying it on the plate. Adding a pile of rice next to it, she poured some sauce over the chicken and the rice. She very nervously set the plate on the island, laying a fork and knife beside it. “I hope it proves delicious to you.”

  Michael cut off a bite of the chicken, scooping rice onto his fork as well. Taking the bite, he sighed softly and
shook his head. “It is not what I’m searching for. Thank you for your time, you can see yourself out.”

  Chapter Five

  Ella was incredibly disappointed with herself. She had gathered her things under his watchful eye and left. It was the most embarrassing five minutes of her life. Even worse than wearing a stupid hairnet and making pitas. She had gone home and eaten ice cream with Ginnifer, letting herself cry for a minute about the fact that the first real chance she had to cook for someone, her meal had apparently been nowhere near satisfactory. After that, they had ordered Chinese takeout and watched crappy reality television until they passed out on the couch.

  The next morning, Ella woke up to her phone chiming. She opened it up and saw a notification button on the Crave app she had downloaded. Clicking on it, she saw that there was a new message from Michael. He wanted her to cook again for him, that night to be precise. Ella was unsure if she could handle that rejection again. But she needed the money. It was good pay. He had seemed dissatisfied with both her and her food, though.

  After several minutes of deliberating, she decided she was going to do it. She would just have to bring a more sophisticated recipe to make. Ella opened her notebook of recipes, flipping through the ones she favored from culinary school. She wanted to do something with seafood, something that would be more impressive than chicken. Ella had decided that that had to have been where she went wrong with the last dish. Anybody could make a chicken dinner; it took someone with skill to properly and deliciously prepare seafood.

  After deciding on a meal to make him, Ella went into her room to get ready. She spent less time fretting over what to wear than she had the previous evening. He already knew what she looked like, and she knew he had no interest in her as a real date anyway. It was precisely quarter after five when she headed to his place once more, a black pencil skirt on and a green blouse. Ginnifer had upgraded her entire wardrobe when they moved in together, teaching her how to dress for her body and stop wearing frumpy clothes. It was an act she would be eternally grateful for.

  Ella left her car with the valet again, grabbing the bags she had packed her ingredients in and heading into the building. She took the elevator right up this time, nervously stepping out and knocking on his door. She wasn’t sure this would work any better than the previous night, but at least she was getting paid for it regardless. Michael came and let her into his apartment, and then he walked with her to the kitchen. She remembered easily where everything was from the night before, and Ella began gathering everything she needed right away.

  She looked at him hesitantly as she sliced a jalapeno down the center and started scraping away the seeds and membranes. “You didn’t seem impressed with me yesterday evening… or with my meal, for that matter. Why did you invite me back?” Ella asked, returning her eyes to the pepper.

  Michael leaned stiffly against the counter just a few feet from her. “I believe you can do better. You seemed nervous yesterday, and I understand that it was a great deal of pressure. I thought that maybe giving you another chance might prove worth it. And you intrigue me.”

  Ella did not respond to him as she measured ingredients into his blender and put the pepper in with everything else. She turned the blender on to puree the mixture, finally turning her gaze back to him. “Well I’m glad to hear that, then.” Turning around, she grabbed a skillet and set it on the stove, pouring vegetable oil into it and heating the pan. She ripped open the packaging on the fresh scallops she had purchased at the market on her way over. She had paid too much for them, but that was the cost of getting seafood so far from the ocean.

  Sprinkling salt and cayenne pepper over the scallops, she put them in the pan to cook. Ella went back to the island and pulled out the single orange she had brought, setting it on the cutting board and turning off the blender. The drizzle was perfectly blended. She went back to the orange and peeled it quickly, separating the pieces from each other. Ella flipped the scallops, then grabbed a plate and silverware for him. She hoped this meal went over well.

  The scallops only needed another two minutes or so to cook, so she waited and watched the food as it cooked. Once it was finished, she plated the scallops, garnishing with oranges and the jalapeno drizzle. Ella pushed the plate toward him and crossed her fingers behind her back. It was the best recipe she had in her armory.

  He cut a scallop in half, bringing it to his mouth and chewing it carefully. Ella watched as Michael closed his eyes, but his eyebrows seemed to drop with disappointment and she knew it had not impressed him. He turned to look at her.

  “It is better than the chicken you made me, but it still isn’t quite what I wanted.”

  Ella sighed, throwing her leftover ingredients into her bag. She was livid. That meal was one that not a single person in her culinary schooling had ever complained about. Everyone loved it. Apparently though, it was not good enough for Mr. Perfect. Stupid man and his stupid food addiction. She had never felt so humiliated in her life. She slid her bag strap over her shoulder and moved around him, wanting nothing more than to be out of his presence.

  Apparently he had something else in mind, because he reached out and gripped her arm. Michael looked at her intensely for a moment, and then he crashed his lips to hers. She had not expected that in any way, but she parted her lips against his. He was kissing her hungrily, and Ella dropped her arm to let her bag fall from her shoulder. Michael pressed against her, pushing her in the direction of the dining room table.

  He helped her onto the hard surface, their lips barely leaving each other’s as his hands explored the curves of her body. Michael moved his hands to the hem of her blouse, tugging it from her skirt and unbuttoning it as quickly as his fingers could move. Ella, for her part, did the same to his shirt, then started working on his belt. She had no clue where his desire was stemming from, because as far as she knew, he had shown no interest in her, or her food for that matter.

  But then his hands were reaching for the zipper on her skirt, tugging it down and gripping the top of the fabric. He pulled at it, fingers hooking into her underwear to pull those with it. Ella shimmied her hips to help him, and only a short moment passed before she was nearly naked, sitting on his dining room table. Michael shed his own clothes quickly, while she worked on taking her bra off. She didn’t think even a minute had passed since his lips had first touched hers, but maybe that was because she was so into it with him.

  She had never found a man so irritating and infuriating and attractive all at once. At least, she hadn’t until she met him. But he was so delicious, and he kissed her so well. Ella moved her hand between their bodies and reached for his cock, stroking the length in her fist. He was thicker than she would have expected, and he rocked into her touch so eagerly. Michael’s hands were on her thighs then, pushing them wide open. He slid one hand between them, stroking his fingers through where she was already so wet and hot for him.

  Michael replaced her hand with his on his cock, guiding himself into her. He let out a quiet groan as she took him in, gripping her hips and thrusting himself in and out of her. Ella whimpered. He felt so good, and it had been so long since she had been with anyone. She rocked her hips to meet his, balancing herself with her hands on the table behind her. Sliding his hands to her plump ass, Michael fucked her faster and harder.

  It was not at all what she had planned for, and had Ella known what she would be doing, she would have taken extra care to make sure she was entirely presentable, but he didn’t seem to care. Michael seemed to have no worries about things that she was self-conscious about. No, instead of worrying about little things that bothered her, he was too busy trailing his lips down her jaw and throat, one hand moving to cup her breast and squeeze it.

  He fucked into her harder, trying to get an orgasm from her. Michael moved his hand from her ass to her clit, his thumb pressing firmly against it and circling the nerves. It was the most spontaneous sex that she had ever had in her life, and it was incredible. His hands and dick were pushing her
so close to that edge, and she moved her hands into his hair, tugging it as her orgasm neared. She whimpered, moving her mouth to his shoulder as he sucked her collarbone.

  Ella bit him as her orgasm hit her, her body trembling around him. She dug her nails into the back of his neck, the other hand scraping at his scalp. He thrust into her a couple more times before he came, too. Michael stilled his hips against her, panting heavily to catch his breath. Her breathing wasn’t any more stable than his, coming in heated exhales against his skin.

  Backing away from her, Michael gathered her clothes and passed them off to her. Ella took the hint, quickly dressing herself and moving around the island to pick up her bag. She didn’t even have it in her to look at him again. Instead, Ella gave one more glance to the dinner she had prepared, and then she turned and left the penthouse.

  Chapter Six

  Ella waited the long hour after she got home until Ginnifer arrived home from her own job. Her roommate could obviously tell something was wrong with her by the way she dropped her purse and hurried to sit down beside her.

  “El, what happened? Did… was there an issue with the food again?” she asked, her voice showing annoyance. Ginnifer knew better than anyone how good of a cook she was, and for someone to turn their nose up to two meals she had made was just as surprising to her as it was to Ella.

  Shaking her head, Ella sighed. “Well… yes, he said it was better than what I made him last night, but that isn’t what’s wrong.”

  Ginnifer sat back against the couch, tugging on her arm. “Spill.”

  “We had sex.”

  “You and the uptight dude?”

  Ella gave a short bark of laughter. “Yeah. He just… he fucked me on his dining room table after he rejected the meal I made him.”