Just For You

Chapter 25: Hera

Zeus was standing in the middle of my kitchen. She wouldn't tell me what she was cooking, but I know it involved lamb. What she's doing with it, I have no clue.

          I was sitting at the island counter, twirling my glass of wine.

          "Why did you want full control of Tolliver Publishing?" I asked to break the silence. Not that it was uncomfortable, but that question has been roaming around in my head since she told me about it.

          She turned down the temperature to the stove eye and stirred whatever was in the pot before turning around to look at me. Ever since she got here, she's been a little far off.

          She grabbed the kitchen towel and wiped her hands. "I needed change, and I know Hades never really wanted it anyway." She said, throwing the towel back down on the counter.

          I knew that already. None of the Tolliver children liked the company, but Hades and Zeus ran it well. Doing better than her father ever did.

          "Change?" I frowned. "You wanted more responsibility? More conference meetings? More workload?" I asked, sipping from my glass.

          She looked down at the counter, biting her lip. "I'm not going to have to worry about any of that. Not when I sell, so to speak." She looked back at me, a small smile on her face.

          "You're selling? Why do you need full control to do that? Hades probably would have been fine selling if she still owned her part of the company." I do not understand her reasons.

          She sighed and turned back to the stove. "It would have taken too long. We would have had to merge certain assets, and I didn't want to wait that long. Too much time has passed of misery and... I can't handle that anymore."

          My frown deepened. "What does that mean?"

          "It means some good will come of me getting rid of the company." She turned the stove eye off. "Dinner is done." She looked at my now-empty glass and smiled. "If you haven't drunk all the wine, would you please put a bottle on the table, and I'll get everything ready to take to the table?"

          I scoffed. "That's the last time you point out my drinking." I grabbed the bottle I had already opened and headed toward the dining room.

          I heard her laugh. "I'm not the one on the verge of becoming an alcoholic. Should I be worried?" she said, walking in with plates and silverware.

          I walked over, grabbing them from her, my hands over hers. "Not about my drinking, but you should be worried about leaving here with my foot up your ass."

          She cooed. "Ohh, tempting. A bit freakier than I'm used to, but I'm sure with the right amount of lube, I can get there." My mouth shot open, and she just leaned down to kiss my cheek. "Set the table, please, darling." she returned to the kitchen.

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Lamb curry. That's what she made, and it was absolutely delicious—so many flavors bursting to life on my tongue. It was so good that I had to go for seconds, but when I tried to make my plate, she slapped my hand away. Saying this wasn't a buffet and I'm not allowed to touch the food.

          She ended up making my plate for me for the second time, leaving me full and sedated, lounging on the couch while she cleaned up the kitchen.

          We didn't talk much more about her buying hades parts of the company. She mostly just spoke to me about working with Achilles and if I liked it there.