Page 29 of Sinfully Shameless Chef

I left the handwritten version on the counter in the kitchen when I was over looking at her range. She was alone in there…with the damn menu. And I never bothered to review it when I dropped it off at the printer because I had finalized it already.

That sneaky little woman.

It seems I underestimated the feisty blonde next door. Izzy has more guts than I gave her credit for. Apparently, my offer to buy her range was a shot across the bow I didn’t know I fired. She was ready with a response attack and found the perfect opportunity with the menu.

Well played.

Only now, I’m on one of the most-watched morning news shows in New York, looking like a fucking idiot.

I finally force a smile and glance back up at Becky and Tim. “Looks like somebody decided to play a little joke on me, that's all. I can assure you—the menu is going to dazzle everyone.”

God, that sounded lame.

Becky’s fake tinkle of laughter floats over to me, and she places her hand on my arm. “Do you have an opening date set yet?”

At least she steered the topic of conversation away from the menu disaster. I shake the paper in my hand. “Once I get these corrected, we’ll be almost ready. A couple of final inspections and I anticipate opening in a few weeks.”

She claps like an excited child. “Excellent. And why did you choose Bushwick for a location? I imagine with your name recognition, you could have opened up anywhere in Manhattan and been successful.”

“I'm very excited to be opening a restaurant in the Bushwick neighborhood. It’s a very up-and-coming area, and the people there have been very underserved in the past in terms of options for more upscale dining. I'm happy to be the only restaurateur looking to expand in this area of Brooklyn right now.”

Tim nods and points at me. “And I heard you partnered with Grant Mason. That's impressive. Everything that man touches is like gold.”

Let’s fucking hope.

I smirk and look directly at the camera. Izzy thinks embarrassing me like that with the menu stunt was slick, but I now have a massive stage to knock her down another peg. “I can assure you, Tim, we’re going to be the best restaurant in all of Brooklyn and certainly in Bushwick.”

Becky turns back to the table in front of us and spreads her hands wide. “And I hear we’re going to have a little taste of something after the commercial break. What you going to be making for us?”

Not the Octopussy salad.

“Oh, I have something interesting in mind.”

Something that will show them what I have in store for the patrons who come to FURY.

And that will show Izzy what she’s up against.

* * *

IZZY

The look on Jameson’s face as he reads the menu and sees all the changes I made almost makes suffering through all the shit he’s done to me worth it.

It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. After walking through his restaurant and seeing how much he’s accomplished and then standing there in his kitchen, looking at his set-up, the menu sitting there was like an open invitation.

All I could think was: If he wants war, I'll give him war.

And this was just the first shot on my part. When he figures out what else I did, he’s really going to melt down. As it is now, Jameson Fury is at a complete loss. I never thought I'd see it, but this even tops his knowing that I got the Vulcan he wanted.

He’s pissed. Good.

It's about time he knows how I felt with all the underhanded stuff he's been pulling on me. And the fact that Becky and Tim are giving him shit only adds to my glee.

Payback’s a bitch. And so is what he will undoubtedly try to do to me after this. But it's worth it. Well worth it, just for that one moment, that one look of embarrassment on the most-watched morning news channel in New York City.

But he finally seems to come to his senses again and shakes his head. “Looks like somebody decided to play a little joke on me, that's all….”

Damn, he handled that well.

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