Page 40 of Desirous

That makes her smile, and I love how beautiful she looks right now. She has no idea how incredible she is. I wish she could see what I see when I look at her.

“I think you’re starting to think like Maria and Shane, you know that? Ratings gold? That’s TV talk,” she says, teasing me.

I pull her to me and kiss her softly on the lips. “Then let’s hope they see me as one of them and do what I want. Either way, I’ll be happy. Either they get rid of her, or I’ll go. Their choice. I would like to be able to get you back on the show, though, so I want them to send her packing.”

Resting her head on my shoulder, she smiles up at me. “Normally, I’d say my luck isn’t good enough to have that happen, but who knows? We’re together and I never thought that would happen, so maybe they’ll do what you demand. You do have a way of charming people into giving you what you want, Alex March.”

“Oh yeah? Exactly how do I do that?” I ask while I slide my hands down her sides to cup her ass.

Snuggling up against my body, she giggles. “Exactly like this.”

I nuzzle her neck until I realize what she said. Lifting my head, I say, “I can tell you that I’ve never kissed Maria or Shane, and I swear I’ve never grabbed either of their asses.”

“Promise?”

God, she’s cute when she’s like this. I pull her up onto my lap and slide my hand around her neck to bring her mouth to mine. Against her lips, I whisper, “I promise. Now let’s see how much I can charm you tonight.”

“I’m betting a lot.”

“Oh yeah? You’re going to make me cocky,” I say with a smile.

Kat levels her gaze on me like she can’t believe what I just said. “Make you cocky? Baby, you’ve got cocky down to a science. But don’t worry. That’s one of my favorite parts about you.”

She winks, and all I can think of is how happy this woman makes me. Who would have believed a dedicated single man like myself could end up like this?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Kat

I dragmyself to the bathroom to brush my teeth before it gets too late in the day and I become a veritable slob with stinky breath and dirty teeth for too many hours. I’m like this every time I have to go to work. The hours I spend with Alex are incredible. Like seriously incredible. Like I’ve never been with anyone who’s this good in bed incredible.

But the other hours of my life are filled with dread because I have to go back to that kitchen and deal with Deidre. I’m wondering how long it is before she demotes me to dishwasher since she’s such a bitch to me. You’d swear I stole her man or killed her parents or something by how awful she is. I think she stays up late each night devising new ways of torture for me.

My teeth clean and my breath minty fresh, I smile at myself in the mirror. God, I do look good when I’m happy. Too bad fifty percent of my life is full of misery courtesy of my boss.

I should get dressed. I’ve been lounging around in my yoga pants and a t-shirt since I got home from Alex’s. It’s just thatchanging my clothes means my time away from Frederick’s is almost over, and I hate that.

My phone rings, tearing me out of the cycle of anxiety I go through every day before my shift starts. Assuming it’s Alex, I answer it immediately, but to my surprise, it’s not him but Maria.

“Kat, I was wondering if you’d be able to come to the studio right now. Shane and I would like to meet with you.”

“About what? You threw me off the show. Remember?”

“Yes, about that. We would really like you to come in. Can you be here as soon as possible?”

Did Alex actually convince them to invite me back? Excitement courses through me, but I don’t want to sound desperate, so I keep my voice level as I say, “I have work this afternoon, so I can’t be there for long.”

Surprisingly, she’s fine with that. “That’s okay. I don’t think what we have planned will take long. See you in a couple!”

So the producers want to see me. As I slide my phone into my pants pocket, I wonder if they plan to apologize for accusing me of poisoning poor Murphy. That would be nice to hear. Even better would be for them to tell me they want me back on the show.

I guess I’ll see what they want when I get to the studio.

My heart slamsinto my chest when I push open the door to step onto the set of Chef on Chef again. I’ve only been gone for a week, but I feel like a stranger here now, especially after being escorted out in shame that day.

With each step, I get more nervous. My palms are so sweaty I have to wipe them on my pants. If I need to shake hands with anyone, they’re going to think they’re touching a damp fish.

I glance around for any sign of Alex, but no one seems to be in the studio today. Was Maria pulling a prank on me? Why would everyone be gone?

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