Mirepoix (A Recipe Of Love Book 1) (20 page)

“Okay, love you too. I’ll try to be there. I’ll let you know how it goes.” She ends the call and puts her hands on her hips. I have to fight not to laugh at the pose, all I can imagine is her in little slippers with balls on the toes. I glance at Tony and Andy and see them biting their cheeks as well.

“Okay, Big Papa went and visited the bimbo. It turns out she took the photo and sent it to Heather. Heather had asked her for Frankie’s name and any info Staci had on her, she told her that Frankie was bad for your image and after she broke you guys up, she would get you to use Staci as a date to any events you needed to attend. That girl seriously needs her head checked, I’ll be dealing with getting her to relocate but that can be handled later. The racist little twat is now convinced that Frankie has gang protection or some shit so it shouldn’t take much.” She nods to Anthony then tilts her head towards me.

I gently placed Frankie’s head on the couch and stand up with slow and deliberate movements. I know Heather was pissed off with how I started questioning her and taking back some of my power but I never thought she would stoop this low. My personal life was just that and she has no business trying to interfere in it. I hold my hand up and Andy throws my keys to me.

“I’ll stay with her and keep her safe. If she wakes up do you want me to tell her what’s going on or just distract her?” He says as he sits down on the arm of the couch closest to her feet. He’s making sure he’s a respectable distance away from her, I know he’s doing it just to set me at ease and I find myself respecting him more and more.

“Go ahead and tell her it was Heather who was behind the article, make sure she knows we’re taking care of it and she doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.” I lean down and kiss her temple gently before heading out the door with Lindsay and Tony behind me.

So now I’m in my truck speeding towards my soon to be ex-personal manager’s with a lumberjack and a pissed off fairy. I knew Heather was a bitch, but I didn’t know she was a soulless one. I think of all the stupid shit I put up with and did. Then question how far it would have gone if I hadn’t met Frankie and started sticking up for myself. In a few years I might have had the fame I dreamt of but I would have hated myself. I know now that my mom would prefer my happiness over fame.

I jerk the truck to a stop in front of a soulless condo just outside of the city. We all jump out of the truck and unsurprisingly Lindsay is leading the way to the door. Tony and I look at each other and shrug, willing to let her be in charge for now. Truthfully I think we’re both afraid of trying to stop her, she is definitely a woman on a mission. When she reaches the door, she starts pounding on it with the side of her fist. Why politely ring the doorbell when you can make it sound like the cops are at the door?

Heather opens the door, despite the fact that it’s Sunday she’s still in a suit with her hair shellacked in place. I wonder if she even sleeps in a suit. I can tell by the brief flash of fear in her eyes she knows we found out what she did.

“Listen uptight she-bitch from hell. No one is allowed to hurt my best friend. No one. She has suffered enough pain in her life and if anyone has earned their happily ever after it’s her. If you ever hurt her in any way again, I will utterly destroy you. As it is, I recommend you move far far away because I have lots of friends and I can make sure you never work with anyone in Philly again! Do you understand me?” Lindsay wastes no time tearing into her, but I can tell by the look of disdain on Heather’s face she isn’t taking her seriously.

“Considering I don’t work with criminals and lowlifes I really don’t care who you yip at. I don’t even know why you’re here.” Heather shifts her gaze to me and apparently is going to try to lie her way out of this.

“Don’t. We know what you did, I just don’t understand why.” I calmly shut that tactic down before she can get started on pleading her innocence. I watch her realize that no one will believe her and morph straight to a self righteous bitch.

“She’s ruining all of my plans! Can’t you see she’s no good for you? She’s a greedy grasping social climber! If you’re not going to get away from her for your own good, I need to make sure everyone at least is on your side! Plus with your cookbook coming out next month it will get your name out there!”

“Bitch, she could buy you five times over, with all of her investments and income she has coming in from rentals. She could afford to never work another day in her life. She’s who won’t touch her trust fund because she doesn’t want to become that type of person. She’s the best thing to ever happen to him. If you weren’t such a childish twat, you would see that instead of trying to paint Frankie as the bad guy, it would be a PR goldmine for you if they get married!” Lindsay is raising up a little higher on her toes with every sentence she spits out. I nod for Tony to grab her before we have to figure out how to get her out of an assault charge, the jumpsuit would match her hair but Frankie would have my ass for letting it happen.

“Bottom line, you’re fired. Lose my number and if you get anyone else to print anything against me or Frankie I will let her,” I point to Lindsay who is walking backwards and glaring daggers at Heather, “off her leash and allow her to do whatever she wants with you.”

I turn and follow Tony and Lindsay back to the truck. It feels kind of anticlimactic but I can’t say I don’t feel freer. Now I can be myself and not have anyone tell me how to dress and act. If someone doesn’t like it, they can kiss my ass, it should be about the food not what I’m wearing. Now to get back to Frankie and make sure she’s doing better.

24

I wake up feeling Joe licking up the back of my neck, my braid I sleep with my hair in shoved to the side out of his way. His one arm is wrapped around me holding me to his chest while his other is buried between my legs. He has my left leg held high and out with his knee giving him plenty of room to toy with me, which he is, very slowly and deliberately tracing the entrance to my pussy but not shoving inside where I need him, or on my clit where I also need him. Just slowly up and down, around and around. I try to jerk my hips and force him in me but he holds my right leg down with his now and is holding me open and immobile.

“Please Joe! I need..” is all I manage to get out before he steals my words with a kiss. I whimper and moan into his kiss, his mouth dominating me as much as his hand is. I’m grateful when I feel him line his cock up and slide into me. Despite how tight he is holding me, and how hard he is kissing me, he is gentle and slow with his thrusting. Rolling his hips and pushing deep inside me, he is mapping every inch of my pussy with his dick. His hand is splayed across my lower stomach holding me in place. There’s something incredibly sexy about how he is holding me but not moving his hands, other than where he’s holding me the only contact is him slowly drawing in and out of me and kissing me like he never wants to stop. I feel my orgasm starting to build little by little with each deep shove inside me before long it shoves me over my peak and I can practically feel the orgasm wash through my body in pulsing waves.

I pull my mouth away with a gasp as Joe continues his slow methodical love making. Instead of dying off, my orgasm keeps rolling over me with how he is rubbing over and over deep inside me. He doesn’t speed up or start going
harder but adds a circular grinding motion when he’s deep inside me that has another orgasm building right on the tail end of the first. 

“Let go Pixie, I’ll catch you when you fall.” He whispers huskily in my ear, shoving me over again. Instead of the normal muscle tensing and explosion of pleasure, the orgasm shimmers over me relaxing my muscles and leaving me limber and languid. I have no fight left in me and just relax and enjoy as he makes love with me in a seemingly endless loop.  I feel him shove deep inside me one last time and hold tight, I can feel him jerking inside me with his release
that I feel in a warm rush. He pulls out and I feel his come trickling out of me and lean my head down to look and feel him looking down too.

“Fuck, that’s one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen. I’m sorry baby I woke up needing inside you and didn’t even think about a condom. I promise you I’m clean and can have the results from my last physical sent over to you.” Joe rolls us so he’s on his back and I’m tucked tight into his side. He’s holding me tight as if afraid I’m going to get mad and storm off.

“I agree it’s hot Joe, and I’m clean as well but I’m not on any birth control. It can mess with brain chemistry too.” His eyes lock onto mine with my admission, I have no doubts about what he’s hoping for when he puts his hand flat on my lower belly and rubs in a firm circular motion, before dropping his eyes to his hand with a look of hope in his eyes.

“Good. I hope you do get pregnant Frankie.” He leans down over my lower belly, “Please give me a little boy first, I don’t think I could handle a little girl who looks like Frankie without some backup.” I start cracking up over this big badass man seeming to implore my uterus not only to get pregnant but make sure it was a boy.

“Come on Chuckles, we need a shower!” He laughs as he pulls me across the hall and into the bathroom.

I’m up on my production floor getting ready to move soaps from the shelves to the curing floor below. These are my basic winter soaps with some of the popular year round recipes. All of the Christmas themed soap is already downstairs and ready to be packaged and shipped off. I finally convinced Joe that the best thing for me would be to come up and do some of my work and lose myself in the monotonous tasks of packaging. I need some normal to help remind me that my life isn’t going to change because of some article. Everyone who is important knows the truth about me. I wouldn’t have cared if Gram and Pap were penniless as long as they loved me. I didn’t want the trust fund they left me and have thought more than once I should just donate it all to charity. Lindsay won’t let me, she says Gram made her promise not to let me before she died. I believe it, my Gram knows that I feel like I don’t deserve it, she told me that they were who didn’t deserve me and it made her feel better that it was going to me who wouldn’t spend it frivolously.

My rolling cart was full, and I was heading back to the elevator when I heard the buzzer go off for the door. I left the cart at the end of the shelves and walked to the monitor. When I saw it was Heather, I debated on just ignoring her. I woke up yesterday and got a full recap from everyone about what had happened. I hate that I let the article get to me but I can’t help being happy that Heather is out of Joe’s life.

I still don’t know why she hates me so much, which is why despite my knowing better I hit the button to allow her in the building. I was petty enough to watch her have to walk up all the stairs though. If she wanted this confrontation, she was damn sure gonna earn it. Plus it would give the advantage of looking fresh and energized while she was starting to look a bit sweaty. I think the starch in her shirt was starting to go, leaving her look a bit bedraggled. It warms the cold mean place deep inside me that everyone has, even if they don’t admit to it.

I open the door to the stairs as she is rounding the final bend, holding it open so she can walk in. I let her walk in front of me and she stops by my prep station. I feel my back stiffen as she glances around at my shop with a look of disgust on her face. It makes me feel better about the plans Lindsay has already put into motion to put her out of business. I was feeling a little guilty about her life getting ruined for just doing what she thought her job was, but not anymore. Maybe she should go to California and start over somewhere there weren’t tiny interlinked communities that all stick up for each other and unite against outsiders.

“Why do you hate me so much?” I blurt out. I really can’t get why she feels the disdain for me she does.

“Initially because you got in my way and had Joe questioning me. I needed to get him to the big time, ideally with his own cooking show so I could move into television. You were in my way and despite trying to keep him busy and away from you, you guys kept getting closer. When I found out who you were I couldn’t believe it. The little orphan Frankie who always seems to land on her feet. I had to deal with my middle-class parents who thought family was more important than earning a good living, I had to get loans and work to put myself through college. You got everything handed to you on a silver platter. There was no way I was going to let you keep me from the future I earned by dealing with Joe and everything I did to make him more palatable.” She glares at me with her face distorted with rage. That’s okay I’m feeling pretty full of rage myself, any more and I might turn green.

I’m so distracted by my anger and watching her face that
I miss her reaching under her jacket and pulling out a gun until it’s too late and I’m staring down the barrell. 
What the actual fuck?!
I’ve dealt with a lot of shit in my life but never been held at gunpoint by a crazy whack job in a skirt suit. Seriously, I cannot let this bitch kill me. Lindsay will find a way to tether me to the earth just so she could yell at me every day, not just for dying but for letting this uptight bitch beat me. I start inching my way closer to my prep table and turning so my body blocked my hands from view. I regret being such a fanatic about cleaning and safety. I wish I had some lye out I could throw in her face, all I would need to do is add water and she would melt like the wicked bitch she is.

I hear the doors to my bat elevator open and close noiselessly. I know either Lindsay or Joe are up here and can get help. I let out a small breath happy that I don’t feel so alone right now. Hopefully whoever it is stays hidden behind the shelves and safe until the cops can get here and bag this nut ball.