I just shook my head, feeling like someone had taken a hand mixer and stuck it in my brain before turning the whole thing on high. I sat there like that, with my forearms resting on my knees and my head drooping for a while, then I looked up again. "So what now?"
Kimberly looked at me and smiled. "Now, you know the truth. You're Julian Castelbon, you're richer than most of Chicago, and you're young."
"Which doesn't mean shit," I said honestly. "I'd trade it all away in three seconds if I could have Krystal."
Kim shook her head and looked at me like I was insane. "Hey dumbass," she said, before I interrupted her.
"You keep calling me that."
"You keep deserving to be called that. Julian, Krystal is my best friend, I've known her for years. And she is head over heels for you too. When you came to Chicago, she said you could stay with her for a few days. How long has she let you stay in that apartment?"
"A few weeks."
"A few weeks," Kimberly replied. "A few weeks to a man that she'd only known for a grand total of seventy-two hours beforehand. Hell, you've practically moved in, and she hasn't complained one peep about it, other than when you gave her some grief at work. You two have spent more time together in those two weeks than she and I have, which is very rare, by the way. When we do spend time together, she almost never shuts up about you. Since you moved in, the only two topics of conversation she seems to be interested in is the damn cooking show, and you."
In my heart, I could feel a warm ball of hope blooming. Was there really a chance for me? Could I be more than just the asshole I'd always been? "You really think there's a chance for us?"
"I do. Now, I know what I should say at this point. You two are family, even if it is stepsiblings, it's wrong, yada yada yada. You know what? I don't really care about any of that. What I care about is Krystal being happy, and Julian, you're the closest any man has ever come to making her happy since Danyal Aksoy died. And yes, she's causing you to become a better man too, so that's kind of a nice side benefit. But the ball's in your court now, dude. What are you going to do?"
Chapter 13
Krystal
"And the winner is . . . Chef Shannon!"
Although the producers had me and the rest of the Alinea team off to the side, we were celebrating just as hard as Shannon was as she was congratulated by the Iron Chef. Turning, we were allowed to come back onto the stage and shake hands and embrace her too. We celebrated like we'd just won the Super Bowl, which in a lot of ways, we did. After leaving the stadium, I stopped to watch as the production crew quickly cleared away all the mess, setting up the next battle. They filmed three or four episodes a day, and had to work hard to get Kitchen Stadium spotless in between.
"Shannon?" I said, turning around. Shannon, who was shaking hands with a producer, came over.
"Great job out there, Krystal," she started, giving me another hug. "What's up?"
"Uh, I wanted to hang around a bit longer, just watch and see if I could get an autograph from Iron Chef Morimoto. You mind if I catch up with you guys at the hotel later?"
"Of course not. How about you do what you want, and we'll all catch up in the lobby at six or so. Drinks are on me, and then if you want, we can light up the town a bit."
I nodded politely. "Okay, but I may have to crash early. I'm exhausted after the past few weeks, and could look forward to a spa treatment and a long night's sleep."
"Done deal. Drinks at six, you've got a spa appointment at seven, on me. You did good Krystal."
Shannon left, and I turned back around, leaning against the wall to watch the production crew. I was just about to see if I could find a seat when there was a tap on my shoulder. "Miss Aksoy?"
I turned and was almost left speechless as Masaharu Morimoto stood in front of me. He was dressed in his competition uniform, and looked just as cool in person as he did on television. His accent was strong, but easy to understand. "Alton Brown said you were looking for me?"
"Chef Morimoto, it's truly an honor," I said, shaking his hand and bowing. He returned the bow, smiling softly the whole time. "Wow, I didn't think I'd be this star struck."
"It happens," Morimoto said. "By the way, I saw your effort during the last battle. You do good work. Am I correct in that you are a newly promoted line cook at Alinea?"
"Yes Chef," I replied. "I just got a place on the line about two months ago."
"With work like that, keep going, you'll be a sous or executive chef very quickly. Now, what can I do for you?"
I quickly explained Yuki's request for him, and his smile grew the entire time.