Page 1 of Jolene's Justice

Chapter 1

10 Years Ago

“Married!”JolenePritchett’svoicewas loud and full of confusion as she shouted, trying to make sense of the word. “Married?” With a focused look, she bore a hole into the man using the same steely gaze she employed in her kitchen. The man who was supposed to be her whole world.

But the real world was a bitch. And reality was her consort.

A harsh reality confronted her, like a bitch slap to the face. She could feel the foundation of her beliefs splintering under the weight of betrayal and a pair of sharp blue eyes.

The restaurant’s kitchen had gone deathly quiet, the smells of freshly cooked food replaced by a heavy, almost oppressive atmosphere. The only sounds were the hiss of the frying pans, the whir of the dishwasher’s spray arm, the roiling bubbles of the boiling pots, and the sizzle of meat that needed attention before it overcooked. They were the usual sounds of a professional kitchen that never failed to put a smile on her face. But now, an eerie stillness replaced the usual hustle and bustle of seven o’clock on a Thursday night.

It was as if she was deaf to it. The only noise that filled her ears was the roaring of her heart. A white noise that muted everything around her. Her head swam, and she steadied herself by placing her hand on the cool, metallic surface of the counter.

Her gaze bounced back and forth between the two people standing in front of her, their voices echoing in the stillness of the room. The woman smiled smugly in her Elie Tahari belted minidress. The Pepto Bismol pink sateen stood out harshly against the chrome and steel colors of Jolene’s kitchen. As if to taunt her, the diamond on her left hand shone brightly under the bright lights. The jewels around her neck and in her ears jingled with every movement, the facets of the expensive stones glittering. The woman looked like she’d stepped out of the pages of the Saks Fifth Avenue catalog and probably shouldn’t be so close to the sizzling food. Jolene hated her on sight.

The man next to her was just as refined in the bespoke suit she’d once found so appealing on him. His blue Prince of Wales ZEGNA wool suit was as equally out of place among the typical attire of white chef’s coats and black server’s uniforms.

Jolene’s coat was a vibrant eggplant color, with sleek black piping and buttons. It went perfectly with her red hair and made her stand out as the head chef. It was her hair that the man in front of her always said attracted him to her first.

Jolene had met Harrison Walker Winston III—yes, that’s how he always introduced himself—while in culinary school in Chicago. The Kendall College School of Culinary Arts had been a dream, and she’d been ecstatic to be attending. Just before graduation, Jolene and her friends had been letting off some steam at a bar in downtown Chicago. Harrison, who lived in New York City, had been attending meetings in the area and ended up at the same bar with his coworkers.

He eventually revealed that he had only asked her to dance because of her hair. He’d found himself drawn to her because of it. After dating intermittently for over a year, Jolene accepted the chance to move to NYC to begin her chef career and be in the same city as Harrison.

Noitiña, her NYC restaurant, had been Jolene’s dream. As a child, she’d watched her parents work tirelessly in their neighborhood pub, the Dafty Neighbor. People from all over Chattooga County came to their pub to taste a bit of Scotland in small town Georgia. Gorden Pritchett emigrated to the US when he was a boy but never forgot his Scottish roots. The menu had the usual pub fare, but the Scottish dishes quickly became favorites. Jolene’s father’s mince and tatties dinner was one of the most requested meals. The ground beef and potatoes dish, a favorite in Scotland, was the perfect way to soothe the soul with its warm, inviting flavors.

Noitiña, Gaelic for dusk, had been born from Jolene’s love and respect for her parents. She’d taken Gorden’s old favorite Scottish recipes and given them a high cuisine twist. After a year, Noitiña had earned the highly coveted three-star rating in the Michelin Guide. It went on from there.

She owed her success to Harrison. Having fallen fast and hard for him, she’d trusted him with her body. How could she not trust him with her dream? Together, they’d opened the restaurant. She, as the talented chef. He, as the money. It was an agreement that had worked well for years.

The sudden loss of stability now as the rug was yanked out from under her was tremendous. Dizziness swamped her as she internally windmilled her arms to regain a stable footing. She felt a crushing pain in her chest, like a vise was squeezing her heart. A single word reverberated in her mind like a relentless torment.

Married.

The man she’d intended to spend the rest of her life with already had his forever. The man who was supposed to be her soulmate already had a perfect partner. And Jolene could feel the weight of her gaze, like daggers stabbing her from across the kitchen. Herhusband—she could hardly believe that fact—stood next to her and shrugged.

Shrugged!

He’d lied to her. Five years of her life. Wasted.

Oh God! She was the other woman!

A weight dropped in her stomach that was as heavy as a stone. It churned, and a sour taste filled her mouth. The plummeting stone shattered into bile, thick and acidic. It roiled. A deep, burning sensation rose up in her gut. Jolene swallowed thickly, her throat burning with the taste of stomach acid.

She studied the man she’d trusted with everything. She searched his eyes, looking for the truth and praying this was all an elaborate joke. His dazzling blue eyes were now icy with indifference. His expression was wooden and emotionless.

His wife, however, wore an expression of smug, righteous superiority. Paris Winston sneered at Jolene with a condescending countenance. It was hard enough to stand her ground under the wife’s condemnation—she hadn’t knowingly done anything wrong, after all—but the venom that shot out of her mouth hit Jolene like a whip. Flaying her open until she had nothing left.

“My husband no longer has any use for his whore. Your time in his bed is over.”

Chapter 2

Present Day

Jolenecouldn’tbelieveshe’dagreed to this. She must have been out of her mind. Truthfully, she hadn’t been in her right mind. Between the shit going on at the bar, the stupid wrong number texts that kept spamming her phone, and the call about her father, she’d felt out of control. It was a feeling she hadn’t had since Harrison’s infidelity came to light.

She’d lost a lot that day. She refused to lose again.

But right now, she needed to focus on her father. Which meant putting up with Finch, another jackass liar.Why did she always attract them?

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