Page 28 of Hotel Mallois

"I don't know what it's about and you don't have to tell me, but I wouldn't worry, it'll be fine," he assures with such conviction that Jodie wishes she could believe him.

"Why are you so sure?"

"I don't know, but Katherine is one of the best people I know, I find it hard to imagine anything going wrong when you're around her."

Jodie smiles and remains hypnotized for a few seconds.

"Can I ask how long you've known her?" the cleaner asks with interest.

"Since adolescence, she was the only friend I had in that fancy school."

Jodie raises her eyebrows, not understanding, and Mike smiles.

"I got into an elite school on a sports scholarship, the same one Katherine attended. As you can imagine, a neighborhood kid like me stuck out completely in a place like that, but not to her. The first day I bumped into her in a hallway and almost knocked her down. One of her friends wanted to confront me, suggesting I did it on purpose and encouraging others to pick a fight with me," Mike smiles at the memory. "You should have seen her, she pushed him so hard that he was the one who ended up on the floor. I don't remember the words she said because I was stunned seeing her defending me, and after that, we just became very good friends and still are today."

"Wow," Jodie says, surprised.

Mike looks at her for just a moment and winks, and somehow, she senses that he knows exactly what the conversation will be about and that what he's trying to make clear is that if she's worried about the class difference between her and Katherine, she can relax.

"Good luck," Mike tells her when Jodie gets out of the car.

She returns a sincere smile before closing the door and enters the Mallois hotel trying to contain her nerves.

She decides not to use her card when she reaches the penthouse door, she's not working and it seems like an invasion of Katherine's privacy who, when she opens the door, dressed again in comfortable and casual clothes, makes Jodie tremble from head to toe. The two women stand face to face for a few seconds, looking at each other without knowing how they should greet each other, untilKatherine takes control of the situation and stretches out an arm to take Jodie's hand, pull her in and press her against her body.

"I really dislike awkward situations," she says before kissing her, while pushing the door to close it.

"Me too," Jodie responds when they break the kiss.

"Great, then let's avoid them once and for all, okay?" she says and points to the terrace. "I imagine you're tired and hungry. I had dinner sent up here, we can talk while we eat."

Jodie's stomach suddenly growls, but when she follows Katherine to the terrace and finds the table with a couple of candles and a bottle of champagne that clearly indicate that the owner intends for the evening to extend until it ends in her bed, something clicks in Jodie's head and she blurts out what she's thinking without having time to filter it.

"Is something wrong?" Katherine asks, turning to Jodie when she stops abruptly.

"I've been in love with you for two years," she fires point-blank and Katherine's blue eyes intensify when she hears her.

Jodie's heart pounds like a hammer against her chest, but she's already said it and doesn't plan to take it back because she's launched.

"I'm telling you because if what you expect from us is something like what you have with Annie, it's better if we forget what happened and I go home before this becomes more awkward, because I don't want that, Katherine."

Katherine is speechless, so impacted by what she's just heard that, despite being a businesswoman used to handling all kinds of situations, in this one she's gone blank.

Jodie keeps looking at her feeling her ears buzzing louder and louder, after a confession like this, there are only two possible answers Katherine can give her, and given her silence, Jodie is clear about her decision and suddenly feels something like a stone falling on her head and sinking her into the ground until she disappears.

"I figured as much," she says, pressing her lips together. "See you tomorrow."

Jodie turns around ready to leave, but before taking a step, Katherine grabs her arm and stops her.

"Wait..."

Jodie turns and finds the Mallois owner pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment.

"Don't go, Jodie," she asks after sighing deeply. "I guess I didn't react the way you would have liked, but I wasn't expecting such a confession. Give me a break, okay? Stay and have dinner with me, let's relax and when we're both calmer, we'll talk about this, what do you say?"

Katherine's fingers intertwine with Jodie's in a casual, involuntary gesture. And Jodie nods.

Dinner proceeds with a tranquility that neither would have expected after the tense moment they just experienced. Katherine has asked her to talk about her day as a cook and Jodie feels in another world doing so, one she hasn't returned to in a long time and that makes her eyesshine in a way that hypnotizes Katherine even more. She talks about everything she's done and not just that, she also gives some advice on what could have been improved in that kitchen to be more efficient, plus a ton of menu ideas for events of that type.

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