Page 1 of Lost At Sea With A Billionaire

Chapter1

Janet

Inever expected a phone call to change my life, but here I was, staring at an opportunity that would either resurrect my dream or make me lose what little sanity I had left.

“Girl, it’s triple your standard rate,” Melanie, my sister, who’d been managing my business affairs, squealed through the phone.“You’d be absolutely insane to turn this down.”

I paced my kitchen floor, the same floor I’d stood on for countless hours perfecting recipes for my failed restaurant.It had been six months since I’d locked those doors.The wound remained fresh, like salt in an open cut.

“Working for some rich asshole on his yacht isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I went to culinary school,” I replied, running my fingers over the counter where I’d rolled countless pastries and chopped through garden-fresh vegetables.

“But it could fund your dream again,” Melanie pressed.“Two weeks cooking for one man, and you’d have enough for a serious down payment on a new restaurant space.”

I stopped pacing, my hand frozen mid-air.“How’d you even get this offer?”

“He saw you on ‘Extreme Chef: Wilderness Edition.’He said he was impressed by your resourcefulness.”

My mind flashed back to that ridiculous competition—cooking over open flames during torrential rain, foraging for ingredients in dense woods while competitors whined about conditions.I’d been running on pure adrenaline.I still couldn’t believe I’d won.My daddy’s survival training had come through when I needed it most.He would’ve been so proud.

“I don’t know, Melanie.”

“What the hell, Janet?You’re broke,” she cut in, her usual subtlety nowhere to be found.“Your restaurant savings are gone, and those sad frozen dinners you’ve been eating are an insult to your talent.”

The truth in her words stung, but I couldn’t deny it.“That’s not fair.”

“Fair?Life ain’t fair, honey.This could be exactly what you need—get away for a while, cook amazing food, make ridiculous money.”

I sighed, glancing at the stack of unpaid bills on my counter.“What’s his name?”

“Jonathan Black.He’s a pharmaceutical mogul.He created some breakthrough treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections after his sister nearly died from one.”

“Never heard of him.”

“That’s because you’ve lived under a rock since Flavors closed.He’s everywhere.Young, filthy rich, and unbelievably handsome.”

“I don’t care if he looks like Idris Elba,” I interrupted.“If he’s paying that kind of money, he’s going to be impossible to please.”

“Is that a, yes?”

I closed my eyes, thinking of my restaurant dreams slipping further away with each passing day.“Two weeks, you say?”

“That’s it, and that’s all.”

I groaned.“Fine.Send me the details.”

“That’s my girl!You won’t regret it, I promise.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m a sure motherfucker,” she laughed loudly, and I rolled my eyes even as a smile formed on my lips.

One week later,I stood at the marina with my knife roll clutched in one hand and my duffel bag in the other, staring at the most enormous yacht I’d ever seen.Three decks of gleaming white perfection stretched before me, making me feel smaller with each step I took toward it.

A Black woman in a crisp white uniform approached me with her posture military straight.She had a pixie cut, sharp arched brows, and a wide nose that she tried to thin with contour.

“Ms.Banks?”

“That’s me.”

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