Page 11 of To Love and Protect
Her face immediately scrunched up. “Excuse me?”
He chuckled. Her little reactions were so damn cute to him. “This position is a live-in position. During training weeks, I would need six to eight meals a day to keep my weight up. Off weeks, I still probably eat that much, just less structured. Those weeks are when I’m bad and eat whatever I want. I’d need you to be here so you could make sure I’m fed.”
His eyes traveled down her body as he licked his lips. When he got to her face again, he saw her cheeks were bright red. He also noticed her nipples poking through the shirt she wore. His thick brow rose as he waited for her to respond.
“I guess I didn’t really expect to live with you?—”
“Pay is five thousand a week.”
Her eyes bulged, and quicker than he could blink, she said, “Deal.”
He sat back with a cocky smile. “Go pack yo’ shit, sweetheart. You start tomorrow.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Girl, you’re dead ass, ain’t you?” Isla watched as Remedie zipped her suitcase.
When she straightened up, Remedie tried to give Isla a reassuring look, but it felt like she looked constipated instead. The truth was, she wasn’t sure she should do this. She knew nothing about Nico, but here she was about to move into his house.
“Five thousand dollars a week, Isla? I think I would be dumb to not take the job,” Remedie argued weakly.
Isla shrugged. “I guess don’t nobody like a dumb bitch.”
A small smile graced Remedie’s face. “Very true.”
They stood in silence for a moment, right in the middle of the living room, before Isla spoke again. “Just be safe, friend. I don’t want you to go from one bad situation to another.”
Remedie had thought heavily about that all morning, but she had come to a peaceful resolution, which she had no issue sharing with Isla. “It’s not the same. Nico is offering me a job, something I don’t have because of Zayden. This is strictly professional.”
Isla eyed her as if she wanted to correct everything Remedie just said, but she simply huffed out a breath and nodded. “Send me his address and keep me updated on everything.”
Remedie laughed. “You act like I’m going off to war or something. I’ll still be able to see you and FaceTime, you know?”
“Yeah, make sure you do all that. That man is fine as hell, but that don’t mean I trust him with my bestie.”
Remedie didn’t have anything to say to that, because she knew she would sound crazy if she said what was on her heart. She felt like she could trust Nico for some reason. Still, her instincts had led her wrong before. Zayden was proof enough of that, so she knew she needed to keep this about business and chase a check, not a nigga.
Together, they walked toward the front door. Remedie had already been there for a couple of hours, and she wanted to get back to Nico’s house and get settled before she took inventory of his kitchen and hit the grocery store. A smile blessed her face at the excitement of being back in the kitchen and getting paid to do what she loved on a higher level than selling plates out of her home. Becoming a personal chef to a celebrity had always been intriguing to her. Nico may not have been a celebrity for real, but he was a hood celebrity, and his pockets were apparently long, so she would take it.
“I’ll call you when I get settled,” Remedie promised as she hugged Isla.
“Do that.” Isla nodded.
By the time Remedie got to her car, she felt calmness wash over her. This was the break she needed since losing her job, and something deep within her told her she was on the right path.
On the ride back to Nico’s side of town, she blasted Jhene Aiko and sang off-key and like she’d just gotten her heart broken, which really, she had. The heartbreak had been happening slowly over the past year, but a big part of her wasglad it finally all came to a head. As soon as she stood up for herself and walked away from all of Zayden’s toxicity, this job landed directly in her lap. Five thousand dollars a week would change her life forever.
Her car concert slowly turned into daydreams of what she would do with the money. She thought of getting her own place again, but then she realized she didn’t really need one if she had to live with Nico. It didn’t go over her head that she didn’t really need to live with him. She knew plenty of personal chefs that didn’t live with their bosses. In fact, she was sure most of them didn’t. Somehow, though, she knew Nico wouldn’t take no for an answer on that front, and honestly, it got her off Isla’s couch. A win was a win.
When she pulled back up to Nico’s house, she noticed him outside. His shirt was off, and he looked like he was talking on the phone. One of Remedie’s eyebrows rose as she watched him after she parked.
“He’s doing this shit on purpose,” she mumbled in amusement.
He wasn’t doing anything in particular outside, and she could tell he purposely acted like he didn’t see her pull up. Remedie knew a thirst trap when she saw one, and she wasn’t even ashamed to admit that she had definitely been caught and trapped. She took a few seconds to watch him. The sun beat down on his melanin skin as he paced while talking on the phone. She wondered what significance his many tattoos held and dreamed of laying up in bed and asking him about each and every one. Then there was the obvious print in his gym shorts. Her eyes grew in size, but she quickly snapped out of it and turned the car off. The last thing she wanted was to get caught staring at Nico’s dick. She knew she would never hear the end of it.
As soon as she stepped out of the car, Nico’s gaze snapped toward her.
“Gramps, let me call you back. My personal chef just pulled up.” The way he saidpersonal chef, coupled with the grin on his face, made the title feel naughty in the best way. Remedie knew she needed to snap out of it. She was there to do a job. Nothing more. “Hey, cookie.”
