Page 1 of Jaasiel

Prologue

Jaasiel

I place the last bit of the beef I broke down in the walk-in freezer and begin to clean up the mess I made. Once that is done, I begin planning out this week’s meals. Cooking is my safe place, and I enjoy doing it and experimenting on my family. Luckily for me, they enjoy being my Guinea pigs, and my family has grown tremendously over the last few years, so I always have someone willing to eat the concoctions. With the family growing as much as it has and the impromptu dinner parties happening almost every week, I buy an entire order of beef and break it down myself. Not only is it cheaper, but I can cut my meat the way I like it. I converted one of my spare bedrooms into a walk-in freezer and refrigerator to be able to handle all of the food I keep on hand.

I started dinner before I began this huge undertaking, so all I have to do is clean up, and then I can enjoy my dinner before I finish the book I’m reading. Now since my cleaning standards are on full-fledged OCD level, it is going to take me a little time to clean my work area. I grab my gloves, disinfectant spray, bags, and hose and get to work. I pretty much save everything possible from the beef. I make tallow out of the fat, broth from the bones and other discarded pieces, and even use some of the bone marrow for my steak dishes.

Once the saws, hooks, and floor are clean, I head to the sink to wash my knives, removable saw tops, and other small surfaces. The water is so hot I can see the steam coming from the sink. I add some bleach and dish detergent and I get to work.

“Hey Kaitoa (Kai toe ah), playNo DiggitybyBlackstreet,” I tell the A. I. system Jabarri created for our house. The music comes on a few seconds later, and I begin washing the dishes and getting my area back to Board of Health standards. Thirty minutes later and clean-up is done. I write out the menu for the next two weeks, and finally, I heat up my food, grab a glass, cranberry juice, and utensils, and sit down to finally eat.

The fork is halfway to my mouth when I hear Carla calling for me. I am almost too scared to answer her because I know it can't be good if she is looking for me. All of my sisters are borderline crazy, but honestly, we have fostered this behavior in each and every one of them. My brothers spoil their wives, and we all spoil them in our own ways. They know that we won’t say no nine times out of ten. So, if Carla is looking for me, I know she will ask me for something, and I know I will say yes without even knowing what she wants.

“Jaasiel! I know you heard me calling you, why didn’t you answer? Oouu is that a ramen bowl?” she says as she snatches the bowl over to her. I hand her a spoon, and she begins eating. Sighing in defeat, I go to make myself another bowl and have a seat next to her. After a few minutes, she finally takes a breath to talk to me about whatever she hunted me down for.

“I was going to ask you a dumb question, but then I caught myself,” she says.

“I’m curious. What was the question?”

“I was going to ask you if all of this was from scratch, but then I remembered who I was talking to,” she says as she finishes off the bowl.

“Since I know you didn’t come up here hoping to find me here eating, what’s up, sis?”

“Oh right, well, I just got off the phone with a friend of mine, and she was having a bit of an emergency and asked if I knew anyone who could possibly help her out.” She says, looking at me.

“Carla, you are looking at me but haven’t told me anything. You wanna tell me how I am supposed to be helping her out?”

“Oh, shit, I didn’t tell you anything, huh? My friend is throwing a networking dinner party, but the chef quit on her, so now she has no food for the party. So would you be willing to help out?”

“When is the party, Carla?”

“Oh, tonight,” she says, eyeing my bowl of ramen.

“Carla, tonight! How many people?”

“I have no idea. Here’s her number. You can call her,” she says right before she snatches my forgotten bowl and begins eating that one too.

I grab the card in defeat because, as I said earlier, I know I will do this even though I already feel in my gut that I will regret doing this. Pulling my cell phone out, I dial the number on the card and listen to it ring.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Noelani?”

“Yes?”

“My name is Jaasiel; I am Carla’s brother. She said you needed a little help tonight,” I say, cutting my eye over at Carla, who is acting like she isn’t ear hustling.

“Oh my god, yes, and I am desperate! I can pay you whatever your rate is,” she says excitedly over the phone.

“We can discuss rates when I get there. I need to get there so I can see what I am working with,” I tell her heading back to my bedroom so I can change clothes. Noelani continues talking and texts me the address. I change into jeans and a tee shirt and grab my chef coat, knives, and a few other things I know I will need; by the time I return to my kitchen, Carla is already gone. I do not know how I get myself into these things; even though I love cooking, I only love doing it on my terms. And I definitely do not want to work in a restaurant. However, I am opening myself to other avenues to allow me to cook and maintain my freedom. I load everything in my SUV and head to the address to see how big of an undertaking I took on.

One

Jaasiel

This was more work than I anticipated, but luckily, I called in the kitchen staff from Asher’s restaurant after moving a few things around. Once I got here, we got to work, and soon we were running like a well-oiled machine. Luckily the food and everything else was delivered when it was supposed to be, making things much easier. I, of course, tweaked the menu to my liking because the original menu was boring and bland as hell. Noelani said it was supposed to be a small intimate gathering, but I do not consider fifty people small.

“Jaasiel, the food smells fantastic! I cannot wait to taste what you have come up with. I hoped when I called Carla, I would be able to get you to come to cook for me, but I didn’t really expect you actually to come. I hope you brought a suit so you can come out and mingle once everything is up to your standards,” she says without a break between her words. I look down at her with an amused smirk on my lips. She is a beautiful woman, and around five or six years ago, I would have had a very pleasurable time with her, but at this point in my life, I am not interested in a casual relationship. I don’t want a long-term relationship either, but seeing what my brothers have has jaded my perception of what I want in my life. Until I can figure out what I really want, I won’t get involved with anyone. It’s not fair to them that I don’t have my shit straight.

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