Page 50 of Obsessed

“I know.” Her tone implied that he was simple. “But everyone believesme.”

It took an embarrassing fifteen seconds for Bryce to understand exactly what was going on and Rain spent that time staring at Kate in awe until Bryce gasped and glowered.

“I’m sorry,” he ground out, opening his mouth to say more, but Marci cut him off.

“Everyone strap in because John’s here!” she shouted from the doorway, the statement rippling through the already-quiet kitchen.

“Fuckme,” Angelo shouted.

“Not interested!” someone yelled from the back, but no one laughed because John the Jerk was infamous. Rain had only heard stories, mostly from Kate, but Emma, Ollie, and Marci had also regaled him with crazy tales.

According to what he’d compiled, John had good hair plugs and a better dentist, as well as a wife who could barely tolerate him, a mistress, and a few exotic cars that he liked better than the women in his life. He also owned several businesses, one of which was The Pointe, and while he never had an inside thought and dressed like a nineteen-eighties rodeo pimp, a few whispers said that he had a heart of gold.

Rain couldn’t wait to meet him.

Giving Bryce alook, Kate went back to her station but Rain couldn’t help himself. He stared Bryce down until he slowly slinked away.

Breathing deeply, Rain left the kitchen, managing to stamp down his anger by the time he reached the foyer, where some of The Pointe’s staff had gathered around a woman wearing chef’s whites and an overly tanned man in a magenta pinstripe suit and cowboy boots who was definitely John.

“I can’t believe I’m here on a fucking Sunday! I should be on the golf course!” Unlit cigar between his fingers, John gestured at everyone. “Anyway, I’ll get right to the point. I’m adding another sous chef to the roster. Everyone, say hi to Suzie.”

“Is she starting today?” Marci didn’t seem fazed but a few of the others looked surprised, and Suzie’s sunny expression slowly transformed into mortification.

“John didn’t tell anyone about my first day either, so we should all be used to this by now.” Smiling warmly, Owen shook Suzie’s hand. “Welcome to The Pointe.”

“Happy to be here,” she beamed, some of her discomfort draining away.

“I poached her from Evergreen!” John tugged on his lapels, downright proud of himself. “Angelo’s been bitchin’ that he needs more help so I stole Suzie right out from under them.” Shaking his head, John scowled. “Those bastards, with their glass room and fountain, I have half a mind to remodel-”

Rain tried not to giggle as John spotted him and lost all train of thought, ogling with interested shock, an expression Rain often saw on older straight men, and they always needed to be reminded of one thing.

“Hi, I’m Rain.” Holding out a delicate hand, he choked on his laughter as John carefully took his fingers and shook them. “And I’m a guy.”

“Damn.” John looked Rain up and down, and then turned to Finn and Owen. “Sometimes you fellas make me wish I was gay.”

Owen and Marci seemed to be the most used to John because their expressions didn’t change; however, Suzie stared at him in open horror, Dylan snorted and turned away, Finn bit his lip, and Ollie provided the comedic relief by dropping his phone and scrambling to catch it before it hit the floor.

“Okay,” John clapped his palms together, his cigar still between his fingers. “I’m gonna stop by my office. Someone show Suzie around, let her get to know the place.”

He gave Rain one last glance and Rain winked in return, causing John to twitch before he turned and strode upstairs, Owen tailing him. Too many people started laughing once the staff door closed and it turned into a group shush that only made the laughter worse.

“Oh my god, Rain, he is going to have one hell of a sexual awakening.” Marci wiped a tear from her eye, patting Rain on the back. “Come on, Suzie, I’ll give you a tour and introduce you to Angelo.”

“Great.” Clearly unsure, she followed Marci downstairs but Rain knew she’d fit right in by the end of the day.

Playing with his braid, he turned to Ollie and Finn, who leaned against each other, snickering.

“Ollie, do you have Liam’s number? I want to ask him something.” Rain had never stopped trying to find another lawyer; unfortunately, he hadn’t made any more progress.

“You’re in luck because he’s stopping by in a half-hour,” Ollie told him. “I’ll let you know when he gets here and we’ll hang out in my office.”

“Cool.” With a nod, Rain dove into setup until his phone buzzed and he darted upstairs, knocking on the door next to Owen’s.

“Rain!” Liam greeted him with a bright smile and a hug, and Rain returned them both.

“Wow, I’ve never been in here.” Rain glanced at the desk and chairs that took up most of the room. “It’s…cozy?”

“You can say small.” Ollie raised an eyebrow as Liam chuckled.

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