His Personal Chef

17

 Helena sits straight up in her seat. Thankfully, we're at a red light. I look at her, and she smiles at me. She turns to look out the window and then back to me. Confusion etches across her face.

"Are we going to the restaurant?" She squints.

"No, I'm taking you home." She is crazy if she thinks I'm taking her anywhere but home. I wouldn't hear the end of it if I did. She isnt in her right mind.

"No, we're going to my restaurant. I need to be there." She smiles.

"You need to be there? Why?" I look at her with amusement.

"I'm the owner and haven't been there because you've taken up my time." She sticks out her tongue. Drunk Helena is playful. "You always want me around. So clingy. I don't even know how my restaurant is doing." she smiles, biting down on her lip.

"Clingy?" A car horn honks, and I look back to the road driving her to where I know she wants to be. Not her place or mine, but that damn restaurant. As if she recognizes the streets in her drunken state, she starts to giddy. Could this woman really be 36 years old? A pull up the restaurant, and the valet driver steps forward. Helena doesn't wait for me and filings my car door open.

"Good evening, Ms. Mathis." He bows slightly. Helena bows in return, almost tipping over. I move quickly, wrapping my arm around her waist. I toss the Valet driver my key.

"Helena, you're going to regret this in the morning," I whisper in her ear as we walk inside. Her hostess, Janet, if I'm correct, her face lits up when she spots Helena and then frowns we she sees her swaying toward her.

"Lena, you're drunk." Janet's eyes widen, looking around before landing on me. "Why did you bring her here?" She's finding it difficult to hold up Helena, so I help her, pulling Helena back into my arms and steadying her.

"This is where she wanted to be, and she said she hasn't been for a few days. She wanted to check in." I look around. "Can we take this conversation into her office?"

Janet nods. "Follow me." She walks the perimeter of the restaurant walls, turning down the hallway; she once took me to meet Helena. Opening the office door, I pull Helena to the couch in her office. She starts to become quite stubborn, asking her for her apron so she can go into the kitchen to cook. Janet looked at me, mortified, as if I was going to let that happen. I didn't need the restaurant to burn the fuck down.

"The restaurant closes in two hours, and the staff will be gone an hour later. If she sobers up beforehand, she is free to come out; if not, no. I won't disturb you two any longer." She closes the door but stops. "The key to lock up if you two decide to stay after we all leave is on her key ring. It's the long gold one." She closes the door.

Helena stands up quickly, swaying over to her desk. I don't move. I sit there watching her. She doesn't acknowledge my presence as she grabs a bottle of pills, Tylenol out of her drawer, and a water bottle. So it seems she could be sobering up or a pro at this. Plopping down at her desk, she groans, rubbing her temples. So she is sobering up. Slowly, but she is. I think stepping into her place of work has done the trick.

"You should leave." I hear her say. "I'll make sure Janet gets me home." She yawns, laying her head on the desk. I don't respond because soon, her snores fill the room. Standing up, I move toward her desk, scooping her up bridal style before laying her on the couch. I pull up the CNN app watching the news to kill time.

A knock on the door has me slowly opening my eyes. I look down to see Helena's head in my lap as one of her arms wrap around my waist. Before I can take in her sleeping features, the door opens slowly. Janet walks in quietly, taking in the scene before her.

"Sorry to interrupt. We're all heading out now. Here are your car keys. The Valet driver parked it outside the restaurant." She hands me the keys.

"It's been three hours already?" I ask, confused.

"Almost four hours. I checked on you two an hour ago, and both of you were sleeping. I didn't tell Henry you two were in here, so I need to get going before he comes looking for me so we can lock up. I won't put the alarm on." she says before looking down at Helena. "Please treat her well. She deserves some happiness after what went down with Henry." her eye flicker to mine, and she smiles, leaving out the office.

What the hell happened between Helena and Henry?

The girl I have been looking for since college is right here in my arms 19 years later. I sit in silence, just admiring her beauty. My phone pings and I see a text from Chase; it reads. You probably know by now that if you plan on doing something, you have three months to get it done. I don't respond and place the phone down, and Helena starts to stir. Her eyes flutter open, and she turns her head, looking at me.

"Tristan." She sits up, taking in her surroundings.

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. What time is it?" She yawns.

"A little after midnight. Are you ready to go home now?" I stand, and she follows.

"No, I'm hungry." She opens the office door, and I follow behind her as she makes her way into the kitchen. "How about dessert?" she looks at me, and I see the mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Are you still drunk?" I question. "Tipsy?"

"Wanna find out?" she moves around the restaurant's kitchen easily. "Do you?" She smiles at me, just a slow, sly thing. Now, I wonder what the hell is going through that beautiful head.

"You didn't sign the contract." I finally say. I wasn't a fan of beating around bushes, and I won't start now. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Well, that's surprising. I didn't think she would want to talk about it. All signs point to her still being under the influence. "I want you. I want to see just how far we can go. Three months that's all we have. We're both grown, and time is ticking." She grabs a knife to cut up a block of cheese. I watch as she moves with grace.

"And what happens after the three months?" I'm curious. I don't know what she talked about with Chase, and after his text message, now I can't help but wonder. I know that it will be hard to convince Helena to marry me within three months. Impregnating her also seems like something I shouldn't do. I wanted to do things the right way. Like Miguel did with his wife. Miguel and Chase are the only two who married before having children. The other three seem to knock them up first.

"Either I'll be knocked up or your wife. I'm hoping for the latter if this does work out. I like kids, but I dont want any, well, any time soon." She winks at me before the cheese has her undivided attention. "Can you grab the pasta from out that room over there"? She tilts her head to the right. Grabbing what she needs, I walk over to the counter and screw up my nose. Yup, she is still drunk. She reeks of alcohol.

"Should you be cooking? You smell like you drowned in alcohol."

"I'm buzz, that's all. A little devil juice won't make me burn down my kitchen. Now you can help me cook and bake macaroni and cheese, or you can go out there and have a seat. The choice is yours."

Now it's my turn to give her a panty-dropping smile. Now that we are both on the same page, claiming what's mine in three months will be a piece of cake.