The Games We Play (Sizzle & Burn Book 2)

by Linda Verji

  “The food better be good, Ted,” April warned the chef who was supposed to cater to Snow’s wedding. “These two are also chefs.”

  “Don’t scare him,” Snow slapped April’s arm.

  “He should be scared.” Vina glared at the heavyset man who was standing beside their table.

  “He should,” Yvonne, Snow’s step-mother, leveled an even sharper glare at the poor chef. “If this isn’t up to standard, then we can always go to Marlowe Hotel. I hear that their new Executive Chef is from Italy.”

  “Don’t worry.” Ted, Landa Hotel’s Executive Chef, smiled coolly. “You won’t have to run to Marlowe. I promise the food will be good.”

  “We hope so.” Vina used the fork and knife beside her table to rap a quick drum-roll on the table-clothe covered table. “Let the tasting begin.”

  The best thing about working in different restaurants was that April, Vina and Snow could now sync their days off, something that came in handy on days like these. The four women were currently at Landa Hotel, sampling the menu for Greyson’s and Snow’s wedding. Though most of the couple’s friends were in the food industry, they couldn’t cater the wedding since they would be guests at the wedding. Landa Hotel was the next best alternative. The hotel was known for its good food, luxuriously furnished rooms and well-tended grounds – ideal for a garden wedding.

  “Shouldn’t Greyson be here with you?” April asked Snow as she eyed the plate one of Chef Ted’s assistants set in front. On the plate sat crisply baked tarts stuffed with some kind of white meat and herbs.

  “I told him not to come,” Snow said. “He’s too picky.”

  “His pickiness is exactly what we need right now.” Yvonne pointed to her plate with her fork as she turned to the chef. “What is this?”

  “Those are crab tartlets,” Chef Ted explained. “We’ve stuffed the tarts with Surimi crab meat mixed with creamy herbed cheese and garnished with dill. We’d like to serve these as the tray passed hors d’oeuvre.”

  “They look good,” Snow said.

  “But do they taste good?” Vina countered.

  Almost in concert, the four women each picked a tart from their plates and bit into it. A medley of flavors burst in April’s mouth and overwhelmed her taste buds with deliciousness. Cupping a hand over her mouth, she exclaimed, “Wow! That tastes so good.”

  “Yes, Lord. This is what crab is supposed to taste like,” Snow agreed.

  Vina and Yvonne were less enthusiastic in their compliments of the dish but it was obvious that they enjoyed it too. After a brief discussion, the women came to a consensus. The tartlets were definitely on the menu. Grinning, Chef Ted brought out the next dish, Caesar wraps that were meant for the vegetarians.

  “I think I just became a vegetarian,” April complimented after her first bite. They were that good.

  Dish after delicious dish, Chef Ted brought out, leaving no doubt that Landa Hotel deserved its good reputation. Finally, it was time for the desserts that would accompany the wedding cake; brownies, lemon bars and strawberries dipped in white and dark chocolate.

  This was what heaven tastes like, April thought as she closed her eyes to better savor the chocolate covered strawberries. Involuntarily, she murmured, “Roman would love these.”

  It was only after the words came out that she realized what she’d said. Her eyes snapped open to find her friends watching her with amused expressions.

  “You really cannot stop yourself, can you?” Snow laughed. “It’s like you think about that man twenty-four-o-seven.”

  “No, I don’t,” April protested.

  “You’re one to talk.” Yvonne teased Snow. “These days everything with you is Greyson this… Greyson that.”

  “I don’t talk about him that much,” Snow protested.

  “Oh yes, you do,” Yvonne countered with a grin.

  Thinking the conversation had shifted from her, April relaxed. But it was too soon, because Vina turned to her with curious eyes. “What’s going on between you and Roman anyway?”

  “Nothing,” April quickly dismissed.

  “Something’s going on between her and Roman?” Snow asked Vina. Now that she worked in Greyson’s branch of Tellers, she was often the last to get in the loop.

  “Yup.” Vina nodded.

  “What’s going on?” Yvonne jumped in. Though she was Snow’s step-mother, she interacted with the three ladies enough to know some of their secrets.

  “She’s been giving him the silent treatment and he doesn’t drive her to work anymore,” Vina explained.

  Snow turned genuinely concerned eyes to April. “What happened?”

  “Nothing,” April tried but when all the other three women leveled disbelieving looks at her, she went for, “We had a little argument.”

  “Why?”

  “What was the argument about?”

  “Was it about you liking him?” Their questions bombarded her from all sides.

  Realizing that she’d have to give some kind of explanation to quiet them, April said, “Let’s just say that I discovered that he wasn’t the man I knew.” She paused before announcing, “I’ve decided not to waste my time on him anymore.”

  Her announcement brought her friends to a shocked standstill. For a moment, they just stared at her in silent, wide-eyed shock. Snow was the first to speak, “Are you serious?”

  April nodded. “As a heart attack.”

  Another long, studying silence from her friends then Vina broke into a grin. “It’s about damn time. That man was riding you like his personal limo and taking you wherever he wanted. I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses and decided to get back your power.”

  “Hear. Hear,” Snow agreed. “I know he’s my brother-in-law but Roman doesn’t appreciate you.”

  Yvonne was the only one who wasn’t as enthusiastic about the news. The older woman said, “Don’t get me wrong – I like that you’ve decided to stop focusing so much on Roman when he doesn’t do the same for you. But are you sure it’ll be that easy? Love isn’t a switch that you can just flick on and off.”

  “Well, I’ll try to flick it off,” April returned resolutely. “And I’ll succeed. I’m done chasing Roman.”

  “Yes, Girl.” “Go. Go. Go.” Vina and Snow responded enthusiastically. Yvonne studied April skeptically.

  April could understand Yvonne’s cynicism, after all the older woman had only seen how much April loved Roman. But she hadn’t heard everything Roman had said. If she had, then she would understand why April had to do this, why she couldn’t go back to loving Roman.

  He’d broken her heart then crushed it under his heel. With his words, he’d made sure that there was no gluing it back together.

  CHAPTER 4

  Roman had never been in April’s bad books. And now that he was, he hated it with every inch of his being.

  “These are the dinner reservations for next week.” April handed him a print-out without meeting his eyes.

  “How many empty tables?” he asked, his cool tone belying the internal voice within him that was crying for her to at least look at him.

  As if she could hear him, she looked up. But her beautiful, brown eyes were hard and cold. “About twelve between Monday and Thursday, but from Friday we have no empty tables.”

  He frowned. “So we have no space for walkins?”

  “I’ve reserved one table on each of those nights for any high-profile walkins,” she answered, her tone business-like. “But that’s all I’ve got.”

  “I suppose we’ll have to work with that.” He sighed.

  April pushed her seat back and stood. “If that’s all, Mr. Teller…” She paused as if waiting for him to release her.

  Mr. Teller? She hadn’t called him that in over two years. Cold wasn’t enough of a word to describe the way she was treating him. Frosty. Wintery. Chilly. Brr. Overnight, they’d become complete strangers. There were no more smiles for him, no more random popping into his office just to say hi, no more long late n
ight calls. She’d completely cut him off, and he felt like a junky suffering severe withdrawal symptoms. Even worse, he didn’t know why he’d been cut off, which made his suffering all the more intense.

  The icy treatment had been going on for just over a week but it felt like a decade, even a century. He’d expected her to get over whatever it was that was bothering her, or at least confront him eventually. But neither seemed to be happening, and he was running out of patience. He couldn’t handle it anymore. He was freezing, and he needed her warmth back in his life.

  “April, wait.” He gestured for her to sit back down.

  She took a seat then watched him expectantly. “Yes?”

  He sat back in his seat and studied her. “What’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what’s going on with us?” he asked. “What have I done to piss you off?”

  She watched him for a long moment then let out an almost inaudible harrumph before saying, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  “It can’t be nothing.” He ran a frustrated hand over his hair. “You’ve been acting like you’re angry with me; not riding in my car, not taking my phone calls…” He didn’t add that she didn’t smile or flirt with him anymore because that would’ve given the impression that he liked it. And he didn’t. He really didn’t.

  “I’m just treating you like my boss, as I should,” April retorted. “Keeping everything professional.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to.” She raised her eyebrows. “Is that all, Sir?”

  The way she emphasized that ‘sir’ had him uttering a frustrated, “April.”

  She stood again. “If that’s all, then I’ll get going.”

  She exited his office, leaving him feeling out of sorts and frustrated. Why couldn’t she tell him what he’d done wrong? Shout at him, scream at him… hell, he would’ve preferred a heated argument any day to her icy retorts.

  As if Roman didn’t have enough problems trying to figure April out, Javier made a surprise appearance during dinner service. Right from the get-go it was obvious that Roman’s talk had done nothing to dampen the younger man’s interest in April.

  “What do you recommend for dinner?” Javier smiled up at April when she stopped by their table.

  April advised, “The steak. Our chef cooks a mean steak.”

  “I bet its delicious,” Javier said, but his slow up and down perusal of April left no doubt that he wasn’t talking about the steak. Roman, who was seated opposite the man, barely held himself back from reaching across the table and strangling him.

  Usually in such situations, April would smile amiably then beat a hasty retreat. But this time she stayed. Smiling, she nodded. “It is. It’s very delicious.”

  What the hell?

  “What about wine?” Javier asked. “Do you like it smooth or rough around the edges like me?”

  Her smile widened. “Hmm, let me thi-”

  “April,” Roman sharply cut into her words. “Do you have any of those migraine pills you carry around with you? I think I might be getting one.”

  Usually she’d offer to go buy them or at least send someone, but this time, she gave him a short, “No,” before turning back to Javier. “I like my wine with a little bite. If that’s what you’re looking for, then…” And on she went. All her attention was on Javier and on keeping him pleased.

  Heat and anger flashed up Roman’s body as he watched the two talking and flirting. He wasn’t used to being ignored by April and he was quickly discovering that he couldn’t stand it, especially when it was in favor of another man.

  “April,” Roman cut into their flirting again.

  She looked away from Javier and to him. “Yes.”

  “I’m paying you to take care of all our diners,” Roman gritted between his teeth. “Not just one.”

  “Aw, come on, man. Let the pretty woman do her job,” Javier protested.

  Roman ignored the young man and, while glaring at April, pointed towards the door, “A group just came in.”

  He could’ve sworn that a fresh layer of ice eclipsed her eyes as she glared at him before biting out an icy, “Yes, sir. I’ll go take care of them.” But when she turned to Javier, her smile slid smoothly back in place, “Mr. Consuelos, your order will be out in a couple of minutes.”

  “Thank you, April.”

  Working his jaw, Roman watched her walk away from their table. Once she was far enough, he angrily turned to Javier. “I thought we agreed about you not going after April?”

  “I didn’t agree. I just listened,” Javier returned flippantly. But when he saw the fire blazing in Roman’s expression, he raised his hands as if in self-defense. “Come on, man, would you listen to you if you were me? Look at that woman! She’s the kind of woman you put everything on the line for.”

  “I told you she was dangerous,” Roman bit out.

  “Then we’ll be dangerous together.” Javier shrugged. Sitting back in his seat, he said, “Look, I’m not looking for anything serious so you don’t need to worry that she’ll rope me in or anything. I’ll be careful.”

  The man had it all wrong. Roman wasn’t worried about him getting hurt, he was worried about Javier hurting April. But telling him that would mean admitting that the advice he’d given him last time wasn’t altruistic. That it had just been a cloak to cover Roman’s true intentions. Basically, Roman had just walked into a trap the he himself had set.

  If it wasn’t so irritating, it would be funny.

  Brooding, Roman sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He couldn’t let this go on. He needed to find a way to stop Javier from making any more headway with April. He needed to stop this.

  APRIL WAS WALKING on cloud nine. Maybe it was petty of her, but she was enjoying rattling Roman more than she should. Seeing his temper flare when she and Javier had been flirting had made her happier than she could explain. Who could blame her? All these years, she’d always been the one getting irritated when Roman walked in or flirted with other women. It felt amazing to be the one causing him grief. That happiness had driven her to smile and talk with Javier more even though she knew it wasn’t going anywhere.

  April didn’t do men like Javier. She wasn’t naive – she could tell when a man was trying to get into her panties. Javier was smooth but he wasn’t smooth enough to hide his intentions. Granted, he was a fine man with a lot of things going for him but she wasn’t looking for a playmate. If it was any other day, she wouldn’t have come near him with a stick. But tonight, he’d been a convenient instrument of revenge. She grinned as the memory of Roman’s snappish responses teased her thoughts.

  “What are you so happy about?” Vina asked when April stopped by the window to check on the progress of orders.

  “Hmm?”

  “What are you so happy about?” her friend repeated.

  April beamed. “Life is good.”

  “Is it?” Vina didn’t look up as she expertly plated two orders of beef wellington with a side of roasted mushrooms. “All that goodness wouldn’t have anything to do with Javier Consuelos, would it?”

  April gave a start. “You know about Javier?”

  Ignoring her question, Vina yelled out, “Table Fifteen’s order at the window.”

  None of the servers milling around came forward to collect the order.

  “Table Fifteen’s order is dying here,” Vina snapped but still no one came.

  “Hey, Sheena,” April called out to a waitress who was passing by with a trolley. “Fifteen is yours.”

  “Oh, sorry!” The young woman rushed to collect the order. She was a new addition to the Teller crew and hadn’t yet had time to get to used to their high-paced turnover.

  Once Table Fifteen’s order was gone, Vina turned to the chefs inside the kitchen with her. “Where’s the seared steak and polenta that’s going to Table Nine?”

  “Two minutes, Chef,” Oscar yelled out.

  “Make sure it’s cooke
d on the inside. Rare does not mean raw,” Vina ordered before finally turning back to April. “Yes, I know about Javier. He’s all your minions talk about when they come to place their orders. Him and how you’ve been giggling around him.”

  April’s jaw dropped. “Who said that? Which minion? There was no giggling involved.”

  “Mm hmm!” Vina scoffed then grinned. “How did Roman take it?”

  “How did Roman take what?” April asked. When her friend only gave her an amused look, she sighed. “I’m not doing it for his benefit.”

  “Okay, lady.” Vina laughed.

  “I’m not.”

  “Sure, you’re not,” Vina teased. “Hey, I’m not judging. I’m with you on this one. Make him bleed.”

  Despite her best efforts to act like she was mature, April found herself smiling. “It’s petty though, right?”

  “Who cares? Petty away.” Vina clapped twice enthusiastically. “Roman deserves every bit of pettiness you throw his way.”

  “I’m walking with the steak,” Oscar called out from behind them.

  “Right behind you with the polenta, ” Morgan, the other chef in the kitchen, yelled out.

  “Shoo!” Vina waved April away as she prepared to plate the orders. “Go torture Roman.”

  Grinning, April left the window. The cold war she’d been waging on Roman had given her a bit of relief but making him mad was so much more satisfying. She would’ve loved to torture him more but it was a Friday and there were just too many diners for her to waste time like that. She spent the evening working the floor; escorting diners into the dining room, monitoring the room for empty tables and those that needed to be cleaned, moving tables together for large parties, directing her underlings, and generally making sure that all their guests were enjoying their Teller experience.

  By the time they closed the kitchen, April was dead tired. Just the thought of walking to the road to take a cab was enough to make her groan. Roman found her seated at one of the tables, rubbing the soles of her aching feet.

  “I told you to stop wearing high-heels.” He settled on the chair beside hers. “With the amount of walking you do here, you’ll end up breaking your ankles one of these days.”