His Personal Chef

4

"This place is amazing. Look at you Nick, if you're looking for brownie points you should have rented a yacht." Sage winks at him, she has the most expensive taste in everything out of all of us. I swear when we were younger she was going to be a suga baby.

"If I can have a night with all three of you then, next time it will be a yacht." Nick points to Sage, Olivia, and me. I fake vomit in my mouth, rolling my eyes at him. "No? Then I guess we will just stick to land."

"Good God, Nick, you're unbelievable." Tiffany punches him in the arm. "This is a really nice place, though." She adds.

"It is I wouldn't mind living here." I chime in.

"Well, we can make that happen." All of us turn around to see Tristan walking down the stairs, fixing his cufflinks. What the hell is he doing here? I look over at Tiffany and she is smiling at me. I mouth fuck off before turning my attention back to Tristan. "Would you like that?" He now stands in front of me.

"Excuse me?" I take a step back.

"You said you wouldn't mind living here. I can make that happen, but yo—"

"No thank you. If you all will excuse me, I have to call my job." I walk out of the penthouse. Just the sight of him had me wet. I pace back and forth outside, trying to collect myself. This night wasn't going to go over great, hell, it never did. I heard the door open and I faked like I was just ending my phone call.

"Are you going to be ok?" I hear Tiffany ask.

"Yeah," I turn to face her. "I think this is going to be a long night. My body wants him more than I would like it to. I think he remembers. He has to."

"That's great, right, he knows, and now you can go for round whatever and still get an Opal contract out of it." She winks at me.

"No, it's not good. I dont want to mix business with pleasure."

"It's a little too late for that dont you think?"

"No. It's better if we keep this to ourselves and move on as if nothing happened. If not, I will tell Jeffery you want to suck his dick." I smirk at her.

"You wouldn't. I told you that underneath the bestie oath don't be a bitch."

"And what I told you is underneath that same oath. So I guess we are both even. Henry will text me in thirty minutes and I will be gone and then next week at dinner we should lay down some rules. One is not inviting Tristan or anyone else for that matter."

"You really don't know how to be incognito about things, because, once you say that, Patrick and Olivia are going to cross-examine you on the spot, do you really want that? I thought so. Let tonight play out and see how everything goes, if you don't like being around him then I will speak out about bringing him back next week, deal?"

"Deal."

Nick's head peeks out the door. "Are you two coming in? We're about to sit down for drinks and dinner."

The dinner was lovely. 

I praised the food more than once, and that's saying a lot coming from me. Tristan kept his eyes on me when he thought I wasn't looking, but I knew he was since he wasn't shy about it either. The conversation was kept light and it was all thanks to having Tristan around. Nick seemed to be more bearable around him. Tonight it seemed like Sage was the new Nick and she was on Tristan like flies on shit. She is drunk so at this point, anything is fair game to her.

"So Tristan, are you seeing someone?"

"Way to be subtle Sage, why don't you just ask to fuck him while you're at it." Olivia rolls her eyes.

"Ok. Ladies, I think you had one too many drinks."

"Fuck off, Pat! Now Olivia are you mad I made the first pass at him? You had all night to get him, seeing that you were sitting right next to him. Couldn't get him to slip a finger in?"

What the hell? Oh, my fucking days. What is happening? I looked at Tiffany, and she was on the verge of laughing. Why out of all nights, did these two have to act a fool? Nick looked as if he wanted to choke them to death.

"Alright, you two, let's go." I stand up; Nick sends me a thankful look. "Come on."

"Yeah, I thin—"

"Should I call you ladies a cab or two?" Tristan looks between Sage and Olivia; two cabs would be a great idea. I nod, and he pulls out his phone.

"No need Tristan. I'll take Olivia home; she is two blocks away from me." Patrick shakes his head in disbelief. "She is going to hate herself in the morning. We have a huge case we've been working on and tomorrow is the day we present our cases."

"Tristan?" Sage purrs. "Do you mind taking me home? I promise I won't bite unless you want me to." She winks. "You know that saying the darker the berry the sweeter the juice? It was based on me. Right, Nick?"

"No way! Did you two fuck?" Tiffany's eyes widen. I covered my mouth and looked between the two. Everyone knew that something happened between the two, but there was never any real proof. Three years ago Sage bumped into Nick after her two-year relationship went south with the love of her life. She said they did nothing but talk and watched movies and he was a great listener. Sound like a bunch of shit to us. Yet, they never acted a different way around each other.

"I knew it!" I smiled from ear to ear. "Great listener, my ass."

"I'm so sorry about this entire night, Tris. The girls aren't like this any other night." He glared at us. "I will see you at Opal tomorrow." He shook hands with Tristan and ushered all of us out of the penthouse. He was quiet, but I knew he wanted to say so much more to us. I would, too if they embarrassed me in front of my company.

Everyone is flagging down cabs and climbing into their vehicles. I couldn't do either, seeing I left my purse upstairs. I forgot it when Nick was literally pushing everyone out the door. I look over at Tiffany.

"Hey, do you mind waiting for me? I have to go back and get my purse." At that very moment, Sage takes it upon herself to throw up on Tiffany's shoes. Good God that is gross. I look back up to meet Tiffany's eyes and she wasn't happy. "Never mind. I will catch up with you tomorrow, lunch, right?"

"Yes, lunch." She says through gritted teeth, pushing a drunken Sage into the cab.

"Goodnight, Helena." Nick slammed his car door, his tires screeching as he pulled off.

"Goodnight," I whispered in defeat. Turning around I went back into the building.

I knocked once, and the door opened. Tristan's blazer was off, cuff links missing, and his sleeves rolled up. He looked down at me and smiled.

"I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon." Is it me, or did his voice get huskier?

"I forgot my purse. I'll just be out your way in a second. May I come in?"

"That is a question I would like the answer to as well." He opened the door wide enough for me to step in. I ignored his dirty double meaning and spotted my purse on the couch. I moved quickly. I hear the door lock and pray that it is only my imagination. Turning around slowly, Tristan gives me a panty-dropping smile. "I think we need dessert, don't you?"

"Sorry. I'm going to have to take a rain check on that." I smile back. "I have work in the morning and I can't be up too late, prepping for my restaurant's first Mexican night. Tons to do and so little time."

"Please just stay for a few. I made brownies and now I feel a little sad no one even got the chance to taste them." That look on his face made me want to eat every last one.

I put my purse back on the couch. "You have exactly ten minutes, Mr. Beckett."

"Please, once again, call me Tristan." He touches my lower back, escorting me into the kitchen.