Pacific Northwest Werebears(2)

Chapter 2




Sophie was in no hurry to get off the plane, so she leaned back and thought of the phone call she’d received after she had brashly submitted her resume for the job. It did pay room and board, and someone moving from another country had to think of starting from scratch. On one hand this was a brilliant plan, on the other it was pure insanity.

She’d missed the first call and her mother had given her the message, “Some gruff, ill-bred American called for you Sophie.”

Taking the message pad with a sigh, she made her way to her room and looked at the note. Cage Rochon and a number where to reach him. Recognizing the last name and realizing this was her chance at a plum job that was thousands of miles from her mother, she gathered her courage and dialed the number. Then hung up and tried again this time remembering she was calling halfway around the world and needed the international code before dialing.

Once the phone finally started ringing it only rang twice before a very deep, very gruff voice answered, “Rochon Enterprises, Camp One, speak to me.”

Taken aback, Sophie managed an “Um…”

“Talk to me or call back, I’m a busy man,” the voice said rumbling through the phone.

The rumble gave Sophie a quick shiver. “Um, yes, this is Ms. Sophie Carlton calling for a Mr. Rochon,” she managed to stammer out.

“Well there are four Mr. Rochons here, which one you looking for,” the voice asked with a chuckle.

“Mr. Cage Rochon? I’m calling back about the cook position that was posted.”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, the cook. I’m Cage, sorry about that, I’m sitting with a mountain of paperwork in front of me and around here I’m not exaggerating. Let me find your resume,” he said and she could hear papers shuffling around.

“Ah, here it is, Sophie Carlton, London England,” he said, reading what she assumed was her resume he’d found. He also pronounced London like Lawn-dawn, with a clear twang that was either mocking or just a little country, she wasn’t sure which.

“You have quite the fancy set of credentials Ms. Carlton. What makes you want to relocate to the forests of Washington to feed a bunch of rough loggers?”

Sophie was hoping that a businessman like Mr. Rochon would appreciate honesty. “I want to cook Mr. Rochon. And I really want to cook as far away from my family and the life I’ve lived up until now as I can get. I graduated at the top of my class and cooking isn’t just about making a plate look pretty in a five-star restaurant. It’s about feeding people’s stomachs and their souls. Food is life and I hope to bring a little pleasure into the lives of those that I cook for. I would think a group of hard working men would appreciate my cooking after a long day working in the forest.”

She finished her speech and took a deep breath. There was silence on the other end of the phone line.

“Well first off, Ms. Carlton, you can call me Cage, only my father is Mr. Rochon. Secondly I don’t think anyone has ever talked about feeding my boys with that much conviction. Our last gut robber was a fry cook at a local diner. He wasn’t so worried about feeding anyone’s soul that’s for sure. I can’t promise luxury out here. It’s pretty rough I’ll be honest, but you’ll have your own bunk room off the kitchen trailer and full control of the menu. All we ask is you make enough to feed a lot of hungry men and keep them from bitching about the food to me. Think you can handle that?”

“Yes, sir, I mean Cage. I think I am more than up for the task,” she responded positively.

“Well then, I’d say we have a deal. When you book your travel, forward it to me and I’ll make sure one of my brothers picks you up from the airport. Other than that, welcome to Rochon Enterprises Ms. Carlton,” he said. Sophie could hear a smile in his voice.

“Sophie, please Cage, and thank you so much for this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started,” she said and she really was excited.

Once she’d hung up she started to doubt her easy acceptance of moving so far away, to a remote area, surrounded by trees and men, and not much else. She hadn’t even considered wild animals, or bugs, she bet they had huge bugs.

That was just about a month ago and now she was in Seattle and facing a future she had no idea if she was ready for. She was twenty-four for pete’s sake, she could handle starting a new job, in a new place. Hopefully.

Noticing she was one of the last people on the plane, she stood and grabbed her bag from the overhead bin. She’d paid extra to have two large suitcases checked when she boarded. Those bags were her whole life now. She’d told Cage that she was getting in an hour later than she actually was so she would have time to freshen up and grab a bite to eat. It had been twelve hours since her last meal and her tummy was rumbling.