Bossing the Virgin(9)

“Hey! I cooked you dinner every night,” I remind her.

“Thank God that’s over. I’m having to do the wiggle dance to get into my skinny jeans these days. Your carbonara needs to come with a warning sign.”

I smile. Violet’s trying to boost my confidence, and I appreciate it. I know that logically speaking, my food is good. But I’m just a little worried about how veteran chefs, with years of training under their belts, are going to think about a newbie like me telling them how to cook. For all I know, they might hate it. And maybe Logan will be more likely to take what they have to say than he would for me. I swallow hard.

“You’ll be fine,” Violet stresses when she sees how far up my shoulders are around my ears. “Why don’t you tell me more about Logan?”

That came out of left field. I’m so surprised that I instinctively jerk and she curses as the dark eye shadow she’s putting on me goes sideways.

“You have to hold still!”

“Why do you want to know about Logan?” I demand.

“A hot guy like that keeps popping up for lunch? Especially a guy who’s the boss of a company that’s probably dealing with a million different things before their relaunch? You’re kidding yourself if you think it’s because he only wants a good meal Mikayla.”

She knows me too well. I have been telling myself that there’s nothing going on. That there can’t possibly be anything. I’ve been so caught up in work that I haven’t examined my feelings too closely, but now that the new menu’s almost done, I’m faced with the fact that I’ve gotten to know Logan well, and I like what he’s showing me. I’m more than due for a new relationship, but there are just too many similarities between Logan and Jake still that I’m hesitating.

“There’s nothing going on,” I say to Violet. She looks at me askance. “Okay, so maybe there’s a little, very tiny, minuscule crush. But that’s all it is! It’s not going to be anything else.”

“This is the first time you’ve shown an interest in anyone Mikayla. You’re scared; I understand. You’re completely out of practice. But it’s okay. He’s interested too. That makes things a hell of a lot easier,” Violet says knowingly. She dabs my eyelid with makeup remover. “Just follow his direction.”

Talking about him reminds me of what happened in the kitchen today. It’s almost overwhelming, the desire I’m feeling. I wish I could splash some cold water on myself, but that would ruin the makeup. I really do need to stop thinking dirty things about my boss. It’s going to lead to nowhere good. But when has that ever worked?

“I don’t want to follow his direction though,” I say, lying through my teeth. “He’s my boss.”

“That makes things a little more complicated,” Violet concedes. “But also kind of sexy. Forbidden love and all that. I can get behind it.”

“Well I can’t. I actually need this job.”

“Mmhm,” she says, but I can tell that she’s utterly unconvinced.

“So how’s your mom doing?”

It’s a blatant change in subject, but Violet gives me a knowing look and lets me. She’s always ready to talk about her narcissistic mom. The latest escapade was when she invited herself over to Violet’s brother and sister-in-law’s house and managed to rearrange the entire main floor for her own convenience under the guise of “helping her tidy up”. Violet’s niece had just been born, and her sister in law was in no condition to do anything because of her c-section. I let Violet tell the story, gasping and nodding along, but a part of me is still wondering, could it really happen between Logan and I?





Mikayla


The night turns out to be better than I expected. Logan decided to take over one of the restaurants, and it gives the meeting a cozy, informal feel. I can tell it’s one of the newer restaurants, because it doesn’t have the heavy formalness of the original Red Canyon Steakhouse. It’s a bit of a shame, because I have fond memories of going there for special occasions, and I would have liked to see what it looks like now. There’s an open bar in the back of the restaurant, and the atmosphere is lively and upbeat. They’ve even opened up the patio for people to mingle. I’m glad I didn’t overdress for it. I have on a jewel green blouse and a dark grey skirt, and my hair and makeup is sophisticated without looking overdone. It portrays the kind of professionalism that I hope will impress.

Maybe it’ll make an impression on Logan too. Though that’s not the reason why I asked Violet to help... I add silently.