Page 25 of The Billionaire & the Virgin Chef
Emily
I’m nowin the game. My catering business is now a reality. A paid gig for this kind of money has a way of confirming it’sreal.
It’s hard to believe how much my life has changed from a monthago.
I’m close to graduating from college, I have a part-time job with the most chill celebrity chef around, and now I have a business I can call my own. What should I call it? There’s time to pick a name. Whatever I choose, it’ll be perfect, even if it takes me months to get itright.
For sure, it won’t betonight.
Dylan’s somewhere near the bar in his study making me a drink. He asked what my poison was. I told him white wine or champagne, my two favorites. But his question on which one threw me. I have a good knowledge of the various types and brands. It’s essential for a chef to have a grasp of wine pairings and such. But tonight, I don’t want to think too hard. I told him to surpriseme.
As I stand at the glass sliding doors in Dylan’s living room, soaking up the breathtaking view of the city, it feels like there are no limits to what I can make of my life. Grams and Momma would be so proud. It’s been a few years since I wore the locket with their pictures inside. All of our photos. Grams on one side and the silly one with Momma, Joy and me on the other. I couldn’t wear it after Joy fell off the face of the earth. On her birthday, I force myself to look, and on days like today when there’s something big or important in mylife.
I head back to the sofa end table where I set down my purse and reach into the side pocket where I keep the locket. My fingers slide along the outer embellishments. Can I bear to look at the ghosts of my past? I want to see Grams, and Momma, so I cup the locket inside my palm and lift it out into the light. A push of one fingernail into the seam snaps it open. I close my eyes, bracing myself. It’s all going to flood back. All three of them. As I do, I notice the sepia color of the two tiny images. That color treatment makes them all look so far away, as though that time in my life was adream.
Like all the time before tonight, my eyes land onher.
My babysister.
Where are you,Joy?
I’m so sorry I failed her. I want her to be here now that my future looks so bright. I want to hear her laugh, see her smile, to find out what direction her life took. The world might have given up on her, but somewhere deep down, I still want to believe she’s alive. We’re survivors, even if our entire family is longgone.
The squishy tap of Dylan’s loafers on the granite floor approaches. I close the locket but keep it safely in my palm as I lookup.
“I didn’t find a huge selection of champagnes or white wines,” he informs me. “Hopefully you likeCristal?”
“Definitely. Hang on.” I slip the locket back into the side of my purse and take the glass. “Thanks.”
“Whiskey is my drink of choice. There’s a better selection if you’re into the hardstuff.”
“Not really. This isgreat.”
I sip my champagne and take a seat with him, my eyes darting from my champagne flute to the view ahead of us. He swirls the ice in his glass and takes a sip, then reaches over tome.
“To surpassing expectations and a job welldone.”
I clink my flute to his glass. “Cheers to that,” I say, accepting thetoast.
“Is exhaustion setting inalready?”
“Notreally.”
“Something about you is different from just minutesago.”
“I’m just thinking…appreciating how great the start of my career is going right now. It’s humbling,really.”
“Talent pays off when you work hard atit.”
“True, but there’s also a but of luck thrownin.”
“Yes.”
“I’m blown away by itall.”
“Which is why I’m glad you agreed to drinks this time. It’s important to stop and take notice as milestones happen. Most hardworking people like us, we work and work, and before we know it, we’re hitting the golden years with all the toys, wondering where the timewent.”
“There are also hardworking people who struggle and never break out…and those who don’t reap the benefits of their effort…and those who are gone toosoon.”
