Brendon never gave me credit, even when I insisted on it.
When he landed the job as executive chef at Axel, he was interviewed for a feature article in the Times food section. The reporter asked about his inspiration, he said it all came from within him.
I wanted to understand but when weeks passed and I had to stay up all night to revamp the menu because Brendon panicked when he couldn't get it right, I knew that I couldn't keep hiding in his shadow.
Caring for Brendon wasn't the same as loving him. I never loved him. We weren't a duo in any sense of the word. We are two chefs who both want to rise to the top.
When I finally realized that it felt like Brendon would always have one foot on my neck holding me down, I ended our relationship.
He made my life at Axel hell after that, giving me the most menial tasks to take care of. I couldn't flourish with him at the helm then and I sure as hell wouldn't flourish there now.
I left because I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my soul for my career. Brendon didn't say it today, when he was offering me the senior chef's position, but there's a caveat attached to it.
He wants me back in his bed and by his side. He needs my creativity and passion to fuel his own success. I dug myself out of that once, I'll never go back now.
"You still have a lot to learn, Cadence." He crooks the corner of his mouth. "You're a fantastic chef but you're not ready for a senior chef position. He wants more from you, doesn't he? Brendon wants you back in his life."
"I don't care what he wants." I rest one hand on his shoulder as our eyes meet. "It's over. Brendon and I will never work together or be together again."
CHAPTER 23
"Your day off is on Tuesday. I thought we could go up to the experimental garden together."
I tilt my head back so I can look up at his face. It's flushed. The sheen of perspiration that covers his forehead and cheeks extends to his chest. His bottom lip is plumped and swollen from the pressure of my teeth as I bit it. He looks well fucked, which makes perfect sense since that's what he is.
He came over to my place after Nova closed. He wanted to see me, he said on the phone. His voice was insistent and impatient. The need in it, reflected what I'd felt inside.
We hadn't been intimate since Brendon made his unexpected appearance at Nova last week. I thought it would end there, but persistence drove him to show up again, two days later with a handful of poppies and a bottle of my favorite Cabernet.
I turned him away at the kitchen door with Tyler looking on. He talked about seeing me on television and it igniting something within him. I told him, literally, to get lost, and he did, with his gifts in hand and his anger barely controlled.
"I have to work Tuesday." I correct him with a tap of my fingers on his chest. We're both still nude, our bodies tangled together as we work to catch our breath. "Thursday is my next day off."
"I changed the schedule. I want you to go to the garden with me."
I rest my chin on my hand as I study his face. "Why are we going to the garden? Is there a new harvest of Marglobes you need me to sample?"
He runs the pad of his thumb over my brow. "I want your input on a few things."
I eye him, trying to decipher what the words mean. After Brendon left Axel with his tail between his legs, for the second time, I thought we'd talk about it. I tried, but Tyler changed the subject to the raspberry coulis that one of the sous chefs had prepared the night before during service.
He was unhappy with it, his nostrils flaring with controlled anger when he told me that the pastry chef in charge of that station had failed when they approved the coulis and it made its way onto several dessert plates. When the complaints inevitably started inundating the kitchen, Tyler had slammed his fist against the counter.
It was a powerful, intense sound meant to jar everyone in the kitchen to attention. It worked. We all stood in silence as he tasted the foul mixture before he asked the sous chef at fault whether she thought it was acceptable.
She visibly shook as she confessed she hadn't sampled it. When the pastry chef admitted that he hadn't either, Tyler took them both to his office. I expected neither to come back to the kitchen but they had. They reworked the coulis and when Chef sampled it, he complimented them both on a job well done.
"You've been improving, Cadence." He rubs his fingers over my bare shoulder. "Not in bed. I don't think there's any room for improvement there. Fucking you is incredible."
My face warms with his words. He hadn't complained when I took his cock between my lips when he first got here. Between clenched teeth he told me to stop as he neared his release. I sheathed him myself this time, taking care with his cock, stroking it hard before I rubbed the tip against my clit.
He took over then, his fingers digging into the flesh of my hips as he fucked me relentlessly.