Page 94 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

Just thinking of award-winning barbecue had Monique’s mouth watering. Eventually, her angry gaze found its way back to Raz. This soup and salad mess had his name written all over it. How the hell had he made this happen so fast?

It was scary the things this man was capable of. And to be honest, it was impressive too. However, no matter how impressive it was, it was just another red flag to go with all the other red flags he’d thrown her way since their night together.

Once again, she found herself wondering if wanting to be with him was a wise decision or not. How could she fault Meka for how she was behaving when, technically, Monique was no different?

Sure, Meka was acting strange after being locked away with Cas for a brief period of time. But Meka and Cas wouldn’t have met if Monique’s strange behavior hadn’t brought them together.

If she hadn’t agreed to see Raz again, this wouldn’t have happened. If she hadn’t told her friends about her kidnapping, this wouldn’t have happened. She was the one at fault. Therefore, she was the one who needed to figure out a way to separate Cas from Meka.

“I don’t want soup or a salad,” Monique told the waiter after tearing her gaze from Raz.

“I’m sorry, Miss. But that is all we’re serving tonight.”

“Understood.” She closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter. She wouldn’t snap at this guy. None of this was his fault. “Thank you,” she said as politely as she could. “But I’m no longer hungry.”

“Monique,” Raz started.

“I’m not hungry,” Monique said again, adding a little more bass to her voice as she eyed the man she’d been eager to see again tonight.

Now, she was starting to regret that decision. There was a tick in his jaw that let her know he wasn’t happy. Screw him and his ticking jaw. She wasn’t happy either. He’d told her he’d fix this. Instead, this situation was growing worse.

He gave her a look that seemed to be pleading with her to be patient and understanding with him. She narrowed her gaze, letting him know she was out of patience and she didn’t understand what was going on.

“So, you expect usthickwomen to eat only soup and salad, huh?” Toya asked, bringing Monique’s attention back to the menu.

Both Cas and Raz frowned in confusion. Their expressions changed when they caught on to what Toya was trying to say.

“Of course not,” they sputtered, talking over one another.

“That’s not the case at all,” Raz assured Monique. “You can eat whatever you want. There’s no wrong thing to eat.”

“Right,” Cas added, talking to Meka, who wasn’t even looking at him. “Eat all the food you want,” he told her. “I plan to eat all the food I want.”

All three ladies turned to look at Leo when he spoke.

“That being said,” Leo stated. “Soups and salads are the healthier choice...”

The table shook. Monique had a feeling Raz was kicking Leo to shut him up. The guard paused as he glared from Raz to Cas, only to find them glaring back at him. Then the guard’s eyes drifted to the three women seated across from him. He cleared his throat.

“You all didn’t let me finish,” Leo started. “Soups and salads are the healthier choice for, uh, rabbits. I was referring to rabbits.”

“Someone needs to pull a rabbit out of their hat and roast it,” Toya said. “Because there’s no way I’m eating just soup and salad.”

“Only a magician can pull a rabbit out of a hat,” Leo muttered.

“Not true,” Toya told him. “A clown can too. So, go ahead. Present a rabbit to us.”

“Are you calling me a clown?” the guard asked.

“You should be happy that I’m only calling you a clown because there are other things I want to call you.”

“Mr. Cattaneo,” the waiter said, talking over Toya and Leo, halting their heated argument. “It seems I came at a bad time. Please contact the kitchen when you’re ready to order.”

Raz nodded and said, “Let the chef know tonight won’t be a soup and salad only night after all.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll bring out the other menus.”

“Thank you,” Raz said.

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