URBAN: Chosen By A Kingpin (53 page)

The smells of pig fat wafted around her as she began cleaning and chopping her collard greens. Veronica looked over at her and made a stank face. “What are you making? Some country bumpkin’ food?”

Bianca stared at her knife, for a moment contemplating cuttin’ that bitch right up. “It ain’t none of your business what I’m cookin’. You should worry about your own food. Something smells like it’s burning.”

Veronica looked around and saw that the garlic she was sautéing was becoming too brown. “Shit!” she exclaimed, turning off the fire and taking the pan to the sink to wash. Rookie mistake. Veronica had no business trying to be all up in Bianca’s face. All her worrying would just keep setting her behind. But Bianca had no problem with that. Veronica could fuck up all she wanted. That would only leave her to take the lead and get right up there with Hasmid.

The clock overhead seemed to tick by faster than she wanted it to. The fat was rendering, collards wilting, chicken breaded, macaroni boiling. There was so much to do but she had to concentrate. Soon, the front door would open and she would hear that—
ding!

All three competing chefs looked up, through the pick-up window, and saw him walking in. Bianca had only seen Vincent once, in passing. But now that she could see him clearly, he took her breath away. His thick black hair was slicked back, showing off his beautiful green eyes. His lips curled into a perfect smile as he headed towards the kitchen. He looked so excited to be back in his restaurant. It was like he was home again.

Bianca’s heart skipped a beat or two when she saw him getting closer. All her confidence and calmness fell quickly, she could almost see it shattering like a porcelain plate as it hit a tiled floor. In just a matter of seconds, she was flustered. Her mind was racing, and she didn’t know where she had left off. Seeing Vincent made her nervous.

On top of being absolutely gorgeous, he was about to taste her food for the first time. Her food, not the food she was made to cook, not his recipes, but
her
food. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she wiped it away with her towel, hoping and praying to the Lord above that none fell into the food. Her knees were shaking, and she felt so hot—like she was going to pass out at any second.

Bianca don’t know what possessed her to look, but she did. She could see Veronica talking to Vincent all smooth, rubbing against him like the big flirt she was. Flirting wasn’t gonna get her the job…or maybe it would. Bianca didn’t want to think about that. She couldn’t. Anything but that. She had to regain her focus.

She was just getting back into her groove when she heard a deep voice behind her.

“This smells absolutely amazing.”

Bianca froze as their eyes met. There he was. Her billion dollar man, well…she…her boss. Her billion dollar boss.
Remember Bianca, you aren’t Veronica. Get yo’ shit together! He’s just another guy. A totally handsome, sexy, seductive, talented and rich guy. It ain’t no big deal.

Except it was a big deal and she knew it.

Her mouth was making all kinds of small sounds but none of them were words. She was losing her voice and acting like a damn fool in front of the very person she needed to impress. He was staring at her as if she was stupid, which was not something she wanted. Finally, her voice perked up just enough to say, “Thank you.” But that was it. He had already moved on and Bianca thought that her chance had already gone out the window. She felt as stupid as she thought she looked.

Vincent’s voice rang throughout the kitchen. “Alright guys, listen up! Twenty more minutes and I’ll be ready to judge your food. Make sure you don’t forget anything!”

She rushed to get her plate. Plating was important. Bianca had to make sure everything looked absolutely perfect. After all, people ate with their eyes before even putting food into their mouths.

With the last few minutes winding down, Bianca managed to plate her fried chicken—exactly the recipe she used for Daneka—collards, and macaroni and cheese with a drizzle of sauce on the side. The dish screamed of her roots. This was exactly who she was and who she wanted to be in a restaurant.

The three chefs carried their plates out to the dining area where Vince was seated. He greeted each chef by shaking their hand and inviting them to reveal their dishes one by one. Bianca though it was best to ignore what Vince said about the other dishes. She didn’t want to hear anything about what he thought of them. Besides, her eyes were too focused on the way his lips wrapped around the fork and the way his tongue slipped out to lick his lips when he was done. Everything about him seemed so sensual. She knew she was staring but it was hard not too. She didn’t even realize when it was her turn.

Bianca blinked and looked at the the other two plates that had gone unfinished. Vince was staring at her, waiting to hear what her dish was called and consisted of. Veronica tried to hide her snarky little laugh which only made Bianca stand up taller and speak.

“I made my grandmama’s Creole-fried chicken with a side of four-cheese macaroni and sautéed collard greens.”

“You think you’re going to get the promotion with this?” he asked.

“Why wouldn’t I? I made something that I love to make, not just something that I thought was fancy or would impress you. This food is who I am and nothing is going to change that, not even a promotion.”

As soon as she said those words, she wished she could take them back. Well, part of her did. The other part was glad that she stood up for herself. But at the same time she didn’t want Vince to think she was disrespectful or that she didn’t care about the promotion. But a small smile from Vince eased her eager thoughts just a bit. She watched as he bit into the chicken, just waiting for him to spit it out or something. The noises he made indicated otherwise.

“This is amazing. It’s crisp. The flavors really stand out and there’s something in the background, a spice. What is it?” Vince asked.

“Can’t tell you. It’s a family secret.” Bianca laughed.

Vince smiled at her. “I like you. And I like your dish. I think you have what it takes to be the sous chef of Serenity. What do you think about that?”

Bianca couldn’t help but jump up in excitement. “Yes! Yes! I’d love to be sous chef!”

Veronica rolled her eyes and stomped back into the kitchen like a child. Bianca couldn’t help herself. She went around the table and wrapped her arms around Vince. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“You’re beautiful and talented. It would have been wrong of me to not have you as sous chef and represent my restaurant.”

Beautiful?
Had he really said that? Bianca remained stunned as Vince continued on with business, his cheeks tinging a light pink. “We’ll have to set up meeting times to go over the menu and what you’d like to add to it. I definitely want this dish on there. We can create a new menu if you want to. I also want to show you some of my other restaurants, if that’s okay with you?”

“I’d love that…a lot.” Bianca smirked. Spending alone time with Vince was definitely something she wanted to do.

***

Bianca couldn’t believe she was in Italy. She also couldn’t believe that she had just flown in a private jet or that she packed up a bag and left behind her apartment for a whirlwind trip. Even though the flight was long, she got to spend the entire time talking to Vince, learning about him, how he got to where he was, and how amazing he was in general. Their lips met a few times on the plane, in between laughs and sips of champagne. His hand slipped to hold hers and Bianca had to admire the contrast of their skin tones. She laughed because she thought her hand looked like chocolate over a marshmallow.

“This is amazing, Vince. I can’t…I just can’t believe it. I’ve never been anywhere outside the States,” she said as the plane touched down and she saw the city lights surrounding the airport.

“Really? Well I’m glad I took you then. A beautiful girl like you deserves to see a beautiful city like this.” Vince smiled.

Bianca had to look away. Her stomach was fluttering, and her heart was beating fast again. Vince probably had no idea what kind of effect he had on her. He drove her crazy. No one had ever treated her the way he did. Vince made her feel like a queen, a goddess he worshipped. All that time they spent together creating the new menu had ignited a spark between them. And now, here she was in a country she never even dreamed of seeing, feeling like Julia Roberts in
Pretty Woman
—minus the hooker part.

The plane door opened and the stairs were lowered. Vince went first so he could hold Bianca’s hand and help her down.

“What are we even doing here, Vince?” she asked.

“I wanted you to see my restaurant here. I wanted you to see how it worked and I thought that maybe we could have a nice night together. Come on, the limo driver is waiting to take us to the hotel.”

Limo driver?
Bianca looked up ahead and saw the long stretch limo before her. A suited driver had the door open, waiting for them to get in. “This is way too fucking surreal. I can’t even believe this. How—well, I mean, I know how you can afford this—but this is crazy!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Please, get in. I’ve got a lot of things planned for us.”

“Oh yeah, like what?” Bianca couldn’t help but ask as she got into the limo.

“I want to wine you and dine you. Take you on a walk along the coast, show you the city. But all in due time.” Vince joined her in the limo and shut the door. He spoke to the driver in Italian, and soon they were on their way to the hotel.

“I didn’t know you could speak Italian,” she gushed.

“You have to learn a few things when you’ve got restaurants all over the world. It’s pretty helpful,” he chuckled and slipped his hand into hers.

Bianca squeezed his hand and looked out the window, taking in all the foreign architecture. It was so different from what she was used to, but it took her breath away all the same. She wanted to keep taking in the sights, but the drive to the hotel wasn’t very long. Soon she and Vince were getting out the car and heading into the grand hotel.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I had some clothes picked out for you. There’s a variety in your room so change into whatever makes you feel comfortable and sexy. I’ll be waiting for you at the restaurant.” Vince said.

“Oh? What kind of clothes are there? You expectin’ me to come down in some lingerie or something?” Bianca giggled.

“If that’s what would really make you comfortable then I got the wrong thing.” He smiled and headed back towards the limo. “Everything is all set for you.”

“You’re leavin’?”

“Only for a little bit, my love. You’ll come back to me soon. Just have fun. Take as much time as you need.”

Bianca saw him disappear into the limo again and close the door. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it wasn’t to be dropped off at a foreign hotel without any sense of where she should go.

“Miss Bianca?” a voice asked.

She turned quickly and saw a young, good-looking man in a suit. He greeted her more formerly once Bianca acknowledged her name. “I’ll be taking care of you tonight. We shall go up to your room, and then I will direct you back to the limo when you are ready to leave to the restaurant. I believe there is a team of makeup and hair people in the room as well.”

“Makeup and hair? What the—?” Bianca grew more and more excited as the hotel employee guided her to the elevator. She was about to get her J. Lo on! Hair! Makeup! Like a damn celebrity. Shit. Dating a billionaire was living the life!

***

She had spent so long trying to pick out the perfect dress and squeeze into one that was her size that she had lost track of time. Two hours had already passed, and she had kept him waiting long enough. She was off to see Vince. He was already sitting at the reserved table. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and kissed his freshly shaven cheek. "Hello, gorgeous."

A smile crossed his lips as he turned to kiss her. No one else was in the restaurant. It was after hours and they had the entire place to themselves. The mood was set with dim lights and soft classical music playing in the background. He must’ve shelled out a lot of money for the staff to stay after hours, just for her. At least Bianca hoped so. Vince pulled her close, raking his eyes down her curvaceous body. "You look incredible…”

"Don't I?!" Bianca giggled then nodded towards her seat. "Ya gonna just ogle me or be a gentleman and pull out my chair?"

He let out a chuckle and got up, towering over her even though she was wearing heels. “Of course, of course. It would be wrong of a gentleman like myself not to pull out the chair for my gorgeous guest.”

He was wearing a nice, deep grey suit, smelling all kinds of good with his hair slicked back. For a split second Bianca thought of shedding his clothes off right then and there and taking him on the table. That wouldn’t be appropriate would it?
But there isn’t really anyone else here
, she thought.
It wouldn’t be so bad.

Vince pulled the chair out and Bianca smoothed out the skirt of her dress down before taking a seat. He sat across from her and ordered a bottle of wine when the waiter finally came over.

"Everything’s so fancy," she commented.

He smiled, that dashing good looks smile and took her hand in his. "Anything for you, my love."

It seemed like they were in a cheesy romantic movie, but nonetheless, Bianca was turning into a puddle of goo as soon as those words left his mouth. She could feel the heat start to form across her cheeks, making Vince smile even wider.
I think he likes seeing me all flustered and going crazy over him.

"I’m glad you liked the dress. I had no idea what size to get or even what style and I didn’t want to offend you so I had one of my assistants do it. It needed a woman’s touch, haha."

"It’s not bad at all. I think she ended up doing a great job. Besides, no one’s ever left out a whole row of dresses for me to try on. I’m just sorry I kept you waiting while I tried every single one," she replied as she eyed the glass of wine that was now being poured for her.