Victoriously Yours

Reece was holding one of my hands and gave it a comforting squeeze. I hadn’t met her until after I’d had Tori, so she had no idea, and the way she kept looking between Jonas and me, it was now for the best. She had already suggested that I play this man, and in the heat of the moment the night before, it seemed like a much better plan than it did right now.

“Delicious,” Jonas finally said, then licked his lips as I watched. That tongue of his had always been wicked, and remembering what he’d told me last night, I shivered slightly. “I can’t wait to taste more.”

From the way his eyes were practically glued to my legs, I knew what he’d been referencing to, and something told me it wasn’t food. “Thank you,” I mumbled, then Reece and I removed what was left of the plates, and stepped aside so the next chef could be judged.

“He wants you,” Reece stated as we carried the plates over to the sink.

I rolled my eyes again. “You need to forget about this. I changed my mind about it all.”

“You what?” she hissed softly.

“I can’t do it,” I whispered back. It had seemed easy enough, but it wasn’t me.

When I had arrived in Omaha in the predicament I found myself in, I had been overcome with rage and despair. I had not only been humiliated in front of everyone twice, but I also was now forced to carry a child he created during that unholy union. I had pretty much closed myself off from everyone and everything, spending all of my time alone in my room. With each bout of morning sickness, discomfort from my summer pregnancy, and later the fourteen hours of labor I’d endured, I had sworn to make him pay one day. That time was now, but I couldn’t make him atone for the past because he held my very future in the palm of his hands.

“I disagree, but it’s your choice,” she replied.

I smiled at her. If anyone knew how bad I could make life for Jonas, it would be Reece. After all, he hadn’t been the only one to try to play me for a fool. I was better equipped for Bobby Jenkins, however, than I’d ever been for Jonas. We dated for a few months, then he decided to try to make me a side piece by getting married to someone else and not telling me. I wasn’t proud of the way I acted afterward. I did more than break up with him when I found out. I’d done all the normal things from crying over a quart of ice cream to burning all reminders of my time with him. That hadn’t been all, though. I keyed his car, flattened the tires, and essentially stalked him until what I was doing finally sank in.

I suppose in a way I wanted to show the world I was tired of being played for the fool. During my more manic phases, I could break others in the way that they broke me, but unlike Bobby and Jonas, it would all come crashing down on me to the point where I couldn’t even get out of bed for days. The constant crash and burn would take its toll on me. I’d finally pull myself together, often times after having my meds adjusted, and then I would hold my head high and avoid all triggers. If I wanted this contract, I couldn’t hide from Jonas or fear for my sanity.

“Oh my God, we’ve moved on to the next round,” Reece proclaimed excitedly.

I blinked a few times to focus on the present, then her words sunk in. “Really?”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. The judges did enjoy the appetizers, and that included my ex. I could finally breathe easily especially when I noticed that eight more chefs were leaving the makeshift kitchen area. If I counted the two that never showed up, we were now down to nine chefs outside of myself. It was a much more manageable number and that set me at ease.

“Maybe I can do this,” I murmured. Jonas had been sitting there practically the entire time and I had remained a professional. It didn’t even matter that I wanted to stab him in his cold heart with a dull knife. I resisted the urge, as I would all others, and get through these last six days the best I could.

“I’m happy to say that you’ve all made it to the next challenge. It’ll be the last one of the day, and you’ll have exactly two hours to prepare, cook, and plate your creation using a few signature ingredients,” Oliver instructed, and I waited for him to tell me what they would be. “You’ll need to use filet mignon, red wine, and gorgonzola cheese.”

My mind was in overdrive as I immediately thought about miniature beef wellingtons. I had made them for various events, and I didn’t even need a recipe to follow. I walked to the cooler and grabbed some puff pastry dough, and when I returned, Reece smiled. She knew exactly where my mind had gone to, and as she went to gather the rest of the ingredients, I started to prepare.

From time to time, I could sense Jonas staring at me. I didn’t know whether it had been because of who I was, or if he was giving every other chef the same attention, but I wouldn’t let him distract me. In the kitchen, I was in my zone, and there was little room for juvenile ex-manwhores. With the time constraint and my ambitious appetizer, there was little for anything.

I seasoned the steaks and got a sear on them before handing the meat off to Reece to cool. As she took the cremini mushrooms and made a paste with it, I started to lay out the puff pastry on a floured board. I heard a lot of chatter around me, but my sous chef and I worked just fine together, so there was little conversing that we had do. I then began to compose the miniature beef wellingtons. I was taking a risk because if we’d erred on any of these steps, we would be eliminated and not even around long enough to see what tonight would bring.

I’d made these many times, so once the little pastry bundles were all sealed up, I slid the cooking tray into the oven and said a silent prayer. Twice, I kneeled in front of the oven to see how they were cooking by gazing through the door. The second time that I did, I rose to my feet and looked directly into the eyes of the last man I ever wanted to see.

“I could get used to the sight of you on your knees, Kenzie.”

I just bet you could. I glared, and didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response at first until he smirked at me. “It’s too bad that you’ll never get the chance.”

“Tsk. Tsk,” was all he said, before giving Reece a wink when she came to check on me, then he walked to the next station.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just Jonas being vulgar,” I responded. But it wasn’t nothing because now I could imagine myself in the exact position that he wanted me in. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“It’s been a few weeks since you last broke up with what’s his face—” she started before I interrupted.

“His name is Derrick, and we weren’t sexually compatible.” That had been an understatement.

“What do you mean?” I realized then that I had never told her why we stopped seeing each other.

“Let’s just say that we played for the same team. I wanted sex with him, and he wanted it with the guy next door.”

“Ouch.” I thought she’d leave it at that, but she grinned cheekily. “And now, you and Jonas want each other. You should throw something on him, and leave him feigning That’ll teach him to play women.”

That was doubtful. I was pretty convinced he was the same asshole he’d always been, so odds were that I would be the one left hanging and not him, unless...

The sound of the timer going off forced me back to the present, and I went to check on the beef wellingtons again. We now had just fifteen minutes left, and I needed to leave mine in for another five. I checked the dry red wine sauce, and at the last minute, added gorgonzola cheese to it. The rest of the time was spent in a flurry as we garnished the plates, then delivered them to the judges.