Playing to Win: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by Romi Hart

  “He wasn’t holding my hand, Dad. He was asking me out on a date.” I could see the flames of my dad’s building anger in his face. I assured him, “Dad, he’s a nice guy. He’s a student at the University of Florida.”

  He jabbed a finger at me. “In my office. Now.”

  I followed my dad to what he called his office but was really the building he had behind the restaurant where he hung his meat. My father had the building designed to resemble the interior of a cave: stone walls and low sloped ceilings. The lighting in the cave was always low since my father believed his buey needed a restful environment to mature.

  Surrounded by slabs of hanging meat, my dad laid into me. “Jasmine, you have no time for boys especially a boy from that school. College boys are only going to use you, and then leave for something or someone better when their schooling is over.”

  Crossing my arms, I sighed heavily. I’d heard this speech before from my father. When my brother and I were little, my mother was a stay at home mom. After she earned her degree at the University of Florida, she left us to pursue her Ph.D. and quite possibly to escape my father, who was on the controlling side.

  “Dad, it’s just a date!” I protested.

  “That’s how it begins,” my dad said, turning away from me.

  “Dad! You can’t…” I began.

  But, he interrupted me as he spun around. “Go back to the kitchen now!” His voice was loud and seething and he turned to leave. I quieted, staring at the back of my father’s head. “I’ll turn that boy down for you,” he said quietly. “Go back to work.”

  I wanted to scream at him, but I knew it would do no good.

  For the rest of the dinner shift, I zoned out, trying to focus on my tasks and to stop thinking about Alex and my father. At the end of the night, in the walk-in, when most of the kitchen staff had gone home for the night, my brother, Joseph, asked me, “You okay?”

  I stopped taking inventory, dropping my hand to my side. “Joseph, what am I doing here?”

  Joseph stepped behind me and looked over my shoulder. “Inventorying the butter?”

  “No, I mean, I turned twenty-one in April. And Dad still treats me like a teenager. I thought things would change, but they haven’t.” I sat down on a crate, tossing my clipboard down on the floor.

  Joseph picked it up. He turned around to continue where I had left off. That was just like my little brother, always eager to help me out.

  “You know, UF just started an interdisciplinary program in Food Science and Culinary Arts. You should start doing things you’ve always dreamt of, Jas. I think you should apply.”

  Tapping my foot against a bin full of potatoes, I asked, “How would I be able to do that without Dad finding out?”

  Joseph turned around, sliding his pen behind his ear. “We both work the day and evening shifts together. I’ll cover for you. Besides, Dad spends most of his time on the farm with his oxen and doesn’t show up to the restaurant until right before the dinner rush. You would be free to take classes all day.”

  “I don’t know, Joseph,” I said glumly.

  “Being a prep cook for Dad’s restaurant will never be enough for you. Didn’t you say, you always wanted to find a way to bring Dad’s extraordinary meat to the rest of the world?”

  “Ya, but Dad won’t go for it. He doesn’t trust the internet,” I groaned, lamenting my father's old-fashioned ways.

  Joseph was persistent. “If you had a Food Science degree, he might. I want you to be happy, Jas.”

  I loved my family and the business, the farm and restaurant; my father had built. He’d accomplished the amazing task of raising rare breeds of oxen and a bereft son and daughter who missed their mother. My father was strict with a short fuse, but he’d been heartbroken from my mother’s absence just as much, if not even more than we were. He’d pushed that heartbreak aside to raise us. I owed him.

  I took the clipboard back from Joseph. “Thanks. Finish up your closing work. I don’t want to be here all night,” I said jokingly.

  He nodded. “Just think about it. Don’t let this be all you ever are, Jas. You have a lot more to offer. You should know that.”

  Before he stepped out of the walk-in, I asked, “You really think I can do it?”

  Joseph nodded thoughtfully. “Jas, you can do anything.”

  Can I?

  3

  Jasmine

  My nerves were a wreck. That morning, I said bye to my dad like nothing especially interesting would happen that day, but it was my first day at UF.

  Keeping things the way they always had been, Joseph and I rode together, keeping Dad unsuspecting of anything. Joseph dropped me off next to campus. “Have a great first day, Jas.”

  “Thanks.” I took a deep breath before opening the door. “Meet you at the restaurant after my last class. I’ll call an Uber to take me.”

  Joseph nodded. “Sure thing.” I went to get out of the car, but he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “And don’t worry about Dad. He never comes into the restaurant before dinner. Just focus on your classes.”

  I wandered around campus with my head buried in a map, looking for the Food Science and Human Nutrition Buildings. The campus map had it right next to the Dairy Pond and McCarty Hall, all four McCarty Halls. I flipped the map upside down as I looked at the building next to me: McCarty Hall B. That meant Food Science must be back behind it toward the East end of campus. I flipped the map upright again. Or did that mean it was on the Western side?

  I was utterly confused.

  Just then, as I turned my map upside down one more time, someone collided right into me. “Oh, shit! Sorry,” some guy mumbled at me.

  “No, it’s my fault,” I quickly took the blame as it was mine to take.

  The collision had sent my map flying away. Without that map, I’d be lost all day. Envisioning myself walking around like a blindfolded kid playing Marco Polo for the rest of the day, I chased after the map as the wind picked it up, fluttering it further away from me.

  From behind me, I heard the guy who’d ran into me yell, “I’ll get it!” He jogged past me, elegantly retrieving the map with one easy swoop of his very muscular arm. As he walked back towards me, map in hand, I realized it was Alex from the restaurant a few weeks before.

  Oh shit! What should I do now? Act cool, Jas, it’s just a guy. Just a totally hot, sexy as sin guy. Who seems to be making my body super-heated with just his presence alone.

  Of course. The most gorgeous guy in the world had witnessed me stumbling around like a circus clown, trying to catch a flying map.

  A few feet away, his face brightened. His killer smile emanated from his face. “Jasmine?”

  Oh my god. He remembers me.

  My stupid cheeks blushed crimson. I couldn’t see them, but I knew I must have looked like a tomato from the heat that had suddenly taken over my face. I didn’t know how to act. How to speak. So I went for dumbass. “Yes?”

  With a little frown that didn’t affect his sexiness one bit, he handed me the map. My trembling hand took it, too scared to look him in the eyes. “It’s me, Alex Cantrell. I was in your restaurant a month ago?”

  Standing next to him, I was in complete awe of the guy. In his shorts and tight t-shirt, I could see the muscles in his arms and legs. And he was tall. Six feet at least. Dreamy. But still, I feigned ignorance. “Oh, yeah?”

  Way to go, Jas. What a bitch thing to say.

  I wasn’t trying to be aloof. I was just so unsure of myself that it came off that way.

  “Yeah. I asked you out? Your father turned me down for you…” he tilted his head a bit and reached out his hand to touch my chin so I’d actually look at him. “That guy. Remember him. The jackass who said the perfect steak was anything but that. You know the dopey guy who made your cousin cry?”

  Here you go, Jas, fix this lame shit pronto! “Alex! Yes. I remember you. Sorry about my father.” In fact, I hadn’t forgotten Alex since that day we met. I had thought about him nea
rly constantly for the last month. And here he was, right there. Looking at me.

  God, what do I have on? Is it sexy or boring? Why don’t I know how to dress for the love of Pete?

  Afraid that I was staring at him too much after I finally gave him my undivided attention, I forced myself to stare at the ground.

  With a chuckle he took me by the chin again, lifting my face to look at him. “Hey, don’t worry about that. I mean, I get it.” Then his hand moved away from my chin, breaking the contact that had my heart pounding as he opened his hands, gesturing to the campus as a whole. “Are you going here now?”

  “Yes, I am. First day.” I held up the map. “That’s why I desperately need this map.” Then I promptly felt like an idiot. Of course, anyone new needs a map.

  God, Jas! You act like you’ve never talked to a guy before. ‘I desperately need this map.’ What a moron…

  Alex chuckled. “I still need a map. This campus is huge!” He pulled out a folded up map from his back pocket to prove his words and that made me smile.

  Maybe I wasn’t such a dufus after all. “I don’t feel so bad then.” My eyes returned to the ground. Talking to Alex was terrifying.

  But there came his hand back to my chin. Lifting it up and making my body hot all over. “I have to say; I was very disappointed when your father told me that you were too busy to date anyone.”

  A grimace took over my expression as I was so embarrassed. “Yeah. My dad likes to talk on my behalf. I’m sorry about that. I hope he wasn’t too rude to you.”

  Alex just laughed. “I get it. I mean, I’ve heard of your dad, Jose Fontaine. I might have heard about his cantankerous personality.” He gave me a sly wink that had this edge of sexy to it. Like he wasn’t even aware of how gorgeous and charismatic he was. “My faculty advisor, Dr. Dupree, may have mentioned it. And he wasn’t too hard on me. Although my ego has been bruised ever since that fateful night when I was turned down for the first time. But getting to talk to your father, even if the words we exchanged were nothing I’d ever thought we’d talk about, was a dream come true for me.”

  “Rebecca Dupree?” I laughed, thinking about the conversational sparring my father and Rebecca got into whenever she visited the farm. “She’s wonderful. I love her. She’s been a big help on the farm. My dad bounces ideas off of her. He’s always looking for ways to improve his oxen.” I was kind of shocked Alex knew her. And kind of intrigued that he was in one of her classes.

  His smile was devastating as he looked at me. “She’s a huge fan of his.”

  “My dad doesn’t let a lot of people onto his farm. Rebecca is one of the select few. He’s super protective of his animals,” I explained.

  With a wink, he added, “And his daughter too, I guess.”

  “A bit,” I admitted. Standing there, looking down at my shoes, I worried Alex thought I was a child to have such a protective father who turned down dates for her, but when I glanced up, Alex’s spectacular eyes were shining at me.

  “Are you that busy today?” he asked. “I know your dad said…”

  “I’m busy after class today. I’m working the dinner shift at the restaurant,” I quickly answered, hoping to get Alex’s mind off my dad’s overprotective behavior. Alex’s smile wilted. So I added, “But, I’ve got a free hour between my classes for lunch.”

  His smile returned, even bigger. “Great!” We stared at each other for a brief moment, 0ur eyes peering deeply back at one another. Alex mesmerized me, his smile, his eyes, his upbeat personality. When I realized what was happening, I looked away, feeling the hot rush of anxiety creep up my neck.

  “What are you majoring in?” Alex asked, breaking the silence and relieving me of the awkward moment.

  “Food Science. The university just started an interdisciplinary program combining Food Science with Culinary Arts. There’s no other program like it in the country.” I stopped myself from babbling. Maybe he didn’t want to hear about my plans with my Food Science degree.

  But his reaction told me otherwise, “That’s amazing! You must be something else to get into it.”

  “I don’t know.” A twinge of embarrassment pierced my chest. I assumed that my application was accepted past the enrollment period because I was Jose Fontaine’s daughter.

  It bothered me slightly to think that was the reason for my unconventional acceptance, but simply being the great Jose Fontaine’s daughter wasn’t going to assure me good grades. I was determined to prove myself in the program.

  “Bet you are.” He playfully jabbed his elbow at my ribs. “I’ll meet you outside the Food Science building. I want to hear more about your program over lunch.”

  He does? Just probably being nice, I bet.

  “Ok. Sounds good.” I looked down at my map. “Do you happen to know where the Food Science building is?”

  Alex laughed. “Sure do. It’s right behind this building, McCarty Hall B. You can cut through.” He pointed to a set of doors straight ahead of me.

  “Thanks. I’ll see you later,” I said, walking away. I was vaguely aware that Alex might have been watching me. Shaky and nervous from talking to him, I made sure to focus on walking properly and not tripping on something.

  What kind of impression would that make? Falling ass over end right in front of him. It wouldn’t have been the first time I took an embarrassing spill in front of people.

  Once inside McCarty, I heaved a gigantic sigh. I couldn’t believe I had run into Alex on my very first day. What were the chances of that? We were going to meet for lunch! Was I dreaming?

  I’d secretly hoped that Alex would come back to the restaurant, but he never returned. It’s not like I could blame him. That would have meant he would have to deal with my dad again. Most people who sensed my father didn’t like them were wise enough to keep away.

  Alex’s directions were spot on. Exiting McCarty Hall B, put me right in front of the Food Science building. My excitement grew as I walked toward the tall, imposing building, but my happiness, unfortunately, had a subtle raw bitterness to it.

  If my father ever found out I had enrolled in UF, I’d probably see a level of astronomic anger I’d never seen before. Entering the doors of Food Science, I was full of hope that I would do well there and graduate without him ever finding out.

  Once I had my degree, I could present my father with my new ideas on how to revolutionize his business. If he didn’t approve, I, at least, had a degree that I could use elsewhere.

  This degree was my key to freedom. Without it, I’d never be able to make it all on my own if my father disowned me for disobeying his wishes.

  4

  Alex

  It was a nice day out. The hot Florida summer had started to fade into Fall. The Reitz Union had just been renovated into a snazzy student gathering space with a game room, a meditation room, and staggered theater style grass seating right outside, facing Liberty Pond. It would be the perfect spot to take Jasmine for lunch and enjoy the nice weather.

  When Jasmine walked away to class, it left me about an hour to put together a picnic. I ran, literally, off campus to Phil’s Market. It was my favorite sandwich shop and only two miles through campus from where the Food Science building was. I ran a four-minute mile, but I obviously couldn’t sprint through campus like I wanted to or I’d look like a crazy person.

  Phil, the owner of Phil’s Market, was an elderly man from Portugal, who loved soccer or football as the rest of the world called it. He followed two teams religiously: The Florida Gators and currently Real Madrid, the team Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese forward, played on.

  With my Argentinian background, I naturally was a Lionel Messi fan. This fact was a matter of contention for Phil, who loved to bust my chops since Messi and Ronaldo were supposed rivals.

  From his usual position, right behind the sparkling clean countertop, Phil’s smile greeted me. “What can I get the best player on the Gator soccer team?”

  Jogging up to lean on the counter, I gave the blackboa
rd behind him the once over. “I’ll take a turkey brie and green apple on a toasted baguette.”

  “I didn’t think Ronnie liked brie?” Phil chuckled at his own joke.

  I laughed too. “Good one, Phil. We all can’t be like Ronaldo. Except for one person: Messi.”

  His meaty fist raised high into the air as he made a hearty laugh. “Ay, ay, ay! Blasphemy in my shop!”

  I scoured the list of yummy sandwiches to find one more of the delectable delicacies. “I’ll also take a Phil’s Cubano on a Cuban roll.”

  Phil’s eyebrows raised. “Two sandwiches?”

  I felt goofy all of a sudden and on the spot. “Yes. I have a lunch date.”

  Phil hit the counter with his palm. “Ay! Lucky girl! It’s about time you had some romance in your life. All you ever do is soccer and study. Study and soccer!”

  Feeling a bit shy for some damn reason, I shoved one hand in my pocket and the other through my hair. “This girl is special.”

  His fast hands got to work on my sandwich as he gave me a wink. “Ya? Tell me about her.”

  “She has the prettiest big green eyes. Smart. Mature. Actually, works in her father’s restaurant. Not a lot of students at UF work and go to school like I do. I’m so impressed with her.” I felt myself smiling. Just the thought of her made me smile.

  Phil pointed at me with his large carving knife as he looked at me thoughtfully. “You need a responsible girl like that. Someone who can understand you.”

  He handed me the Cubano. The sandwich was warm in my hand. I just knew Jasmine would love the food I was bringing her for lunch. I hoped so anyway. It wasn’t like I had a clue what her tastes were. But she was into food, so I was putting all my money on Phil’s badass sandwiches.

  Stuffing everything into my backpack, I waved to Phil as I pushed the door open with my back. “Thanks again, old man.”