Page 105 of The Love of Priest

"That's not nice, P. That's her assessing the situation so she could snap your neck. She's manipulative," Britain seethed with a scowl on her face.

Priest laughed at how angry Britain was getting about his situation. She did that often, but she could never understand how he could just let so many people slide after they did him so wrong. "Don't trip. I got out, recovered from the loss, and ain't looked back since," Priest shrugged, figuring he got the better end of it all.

"How much did she steal?" Britain asked.

"A couple thousand out my safe and some jewelry. I'm not tripping off it. Not to sound arrogant or vain, but what she stole is nothing to me now. It was pretty much a handout," he shrugged nonchalantly.

Britain sighed. "That's cool and all, and I'm so proud that you've evolved, but did she ever even apologize?"

Priest nodded in confirmation. "She ended up a widow, and her son started working for me." He chuckled. "She came around and apologized. I had sex with her just because, and I never spoke to her again."

Priest wasn't always against getting revenge instead of letting God handle people. He was angry that Paula did him dirty and took advantage of him the way she did, so, of course, he handled her. Priest never got around to telling anyone he was close to exactly why he and Paula called it quits, which was why J'Ru believed it was okay to chop it up with her at La Lealtá. Once Priest got out, he made sure to give Paula what she deserved. He offed her husband and recruited her son as a corner boy. He took away the two people who meant the most to her. Her son Kaleb was still pushing his weight to that day. As spiteful as it was, Priest knew Kaleb had proven his loyalty to be elevated to a much higher position in the spectrum of his business, but Paula had him paying the cost of her fucking him over. It was pretty malicious, but Priest felt like Paula deserved it. She was less a husband, and less a son who would never find it rational to leave the street life alone. They were even now.

“Well, when you put it like that, I guess she got what was coming to her,” Britain shrugged as her face softened from the scowl she once sported.

Priest laughed as he agreed with her. "You can say that.”

After a while, Priest did end up giving up putting his own expertise into the lamb chop meal, and, like anyone else with a private chef, dialed Talia's number. "You must be having a food emergency," Talia laughed as she answered the phone call.

"Yo, how do you cook lamb chops?" Priest asked as Britain stood behind him in hysterics. He was so stubborn that he refused to ask her for any help, although she knew exactly how to make the dish.

Talia laughed. "Well, for starters, what are you pairing it with?"

Priest huffed out a breath of frustration as he grabbed the package of mashed potatoes. "Instant mash potatoes,” he replied, only for Talia to laugh harder. With Britain laughing at one end of the call and Talia laughing on the other, Priest was on the verge of saying screw the whole meal and taking Britain out to dinner.

After laughing her ass off along with Britain, Talia walked Priest through the cooking process for the lamb chops, and they turned out excellent. Although he cheated with the help of a personal chef, Britain gave him props. "Thanks, T," Priest thanked Talia.

"I'm just saving one dish at a time. You two enjoy." Talia smiled before she said her goodbyes.

"She's nice," Britain said as she stood at the sink washing her hands before she sat down to eat.

Priest nodded. "Yeah, she's cool people. I try to keep good vibes around at all times."

Priest made sure everyone around him had a purpose he could help with. Talia was a single mom who really had no interest in the culinary field, but she had the talent. She was initially hired to work in La Lealtá as a line cook, but Priest hired her to be his personal chef because she couldn't deal with the fast-paced work environment. It was honestly one of the best decisions he had ever made. Jazzy and Talia had grown close and become friends since Talia was always around. Talia kept Jazzy company while Priest was gone throughout the day and sometimes at night, all the while remaining professional and never overstepping.

Britain set the table for them, and Priest served her. "Thank you. I never had a man cook for me before and look so good while doing it," she mocked him, repeating his taunt from the first time she had ever cooked a meal for him.

Priest took his seat opposite her while chuckling. "I never had a woman who looks so good enjoy my cooking," Priest recalled her response with a smirk while extending his hand across the table for her to hold. "I gotta feed your body, mind, and soul."

Britain stared at him in awe. He was effortlessly captivating. "That sounded so much better coming from you," Britain said adoringly as she gazed at him.

Priest laughed. "Go ahead and lead the prayer,Gioia."

Britain licked her lips before nodding. In unison, the two bowed their heads before shuttering their eyes shut. Britain led the prayer, thanking The Man Above not only for the food that was about to nourish their bodies, but also for Priest. He couldn't help but to lift his head and eye her once he heard her thank God for allowing him to love her wholeheartedly. It was sweet to hear, and he couldn't help but love her even more.

Once they closed the prayer with an amen, Britain lifted her head and fluttered her feline-like eyes open. She was shocked to see Priest’s dark orbs already searing into her. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Britain asked with a raise of her brow.

Priest shook his head. "Nah." He raised her hand to his lips to kiss it lightly.

Britain decided not to probe him with any more questions. Together, they dug into their lamb chops, savoring the delicious taste of the dinner. "What was all that you were saying about only trusting me to boil water?" Priest leaned back in his seat in an arrogant manner as he watched Britain indulge in both the lamb chops and the roasted potatoes Talia convinced him to make instead of the bland instant mashed potatoes.

Britain wiped the corner of her mouth before responding to him. "You cheated." She narrowed her eyes playfully at him.

Priest waved her off as if she were completely wrong. "I ain't cheat. I just used my resources." He shrugged as he cut into one of his lamb chops.

"Not everyone has a private chef on speed-dial," Britain pointed out, causing Priest to laugh.

He agreed with a nod. "Fair enough," he shrugged. Over dinner, the two enjoyed light, thoroughly amusing conversation. The scenery was perfect. The tall pane windows gave them a perfect view of the beach. With the time closing in at seven in the evening, the sun was beginning to set in pink and yellow tinted hues within the sky. It was gorgeous, and Britain often caught herself too engulfed in the beauty of the view to pay attention to her food or even Priest.

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