And He Cooks Too

by Barbara Barrett

  Leonie waved a dismissive hand. “What difference does it make why she left? She’s gone. I say good riddance. Time to celebrate.”

  “Leonie, give it a rest,” Jasper warned.

  “That woman was changing the entire image of this show. Stealing the spotlight that rightfully belonged to Nick. And I still think she had something to do with his accident.”

  Nick scoffed. “Absolutely not! While those Monfort jokers lost their heads, she kept hers and got me to the hospital.”

  Leonie shook her head. “She was probably in league with those Monfort half-wits.”

  Shaking a finger at her, Jasper bounded out of his chair. “Enough! We have other things to think about. With Reese’s departure, Nick has to take over full hosting duties.”

  Thunking his head, Nick sank back into the chair he’d previously occupied. “Hell! We’re supposed to tape today. How’re we going to do that without Reese?” She’d left them in the lurch.

  Leonie folded her hands in front of her, as if preparing to deliver some great edict. “I couldn’t agree with you more, Jasper. We must move on.” She paused. “Which brings me to my own announcement.” She paused long enough to gain their full attention. “The network wants us!”

  Nick’s stomach fell, like many of the cakes he’d checked too soon. This was the last thing he needed to hear. “What?”

  “There’s a slot opening up on the network next season. I’ve been sending them excerpts of our show for some time. They’re finally ready to consider us.”

  Nick glanced at Jasper. Jasper closed his eyes briefly, acknowledging what they’d suspected all along. While they had taken over publicity, Leonie had been off doing her own promotion. Although they hadn’t figured it would be courting the network.

  “Consider us?” Jasper repeated. “What does that mean, Leonie?”

  “It’s part of the negotiation game,” Leonie explained. “They’d never tell us outright that they want us.”

  “So, in other words, we don’t have it sewn up,” Nick surmised.

  Picking up on Nick’s question, Jasper asked, “What exactly did they tell you, Leonie?”

  A cagey smile played at the corners of her mouth. “They like the new format. Especially the repartee. Said no one else is doing anything quite like that.”

  Nick stared at Leonie, yet again taken aback by the way she could switch tracks when it suited her. “They liked the repartee, huh? Isn’t that interesting…since it’s going to be a little difficult for me to pull that one off as a solo act.”

  She glanced down briefly at her folded hands and then returned her attention to the two men. “There are other options.”

  Nick caught her intent first. “No!”

  Leonie sat back and favored them with a “brave me” smile. “It’s time for me to join the action. Conquer my own hesitation to come to the show’s aid.”

  Nick and Jasper stared at her, dumbstruck.

  Nick felt as if the air had been siphoned from him. All this time, he’d tried to get her in front of the camera. Now, after what he and Reese had accomplished, now Leonie wanted in. But then, hadn’t that been his plan all along? But seeing it come to fruition this way struck a hollow chord.

  She beamed at both of them. “Well? Say something.”

  Since Nick was lost in his own thoughts, Jasper responded. “You actually plan to co-host the show?” His voice rose. “When did you decide this, Leonie? Before or after the network signaled their interest?”

  Nick struggled for a response. Time to lay a few cards on the table. “Good idea,” he agreed. He turned to Jasper. “I’ve been pushing her for some time to take over hosting duties, because I want to leave. I thought my accident would pave the way to doing that, but then I started co-hosting with Reese. Until now, that’s been worth sticking around for.”

  Leonie grabbed Nick’s hand. “And now that Ms. Dunbar is out of the picture, it will be even better.”

  Nick removed his hand from his aunt’s reach. “The plan was for me to leave and you to be sole host.”

  “How come I didn’t know any of this?” Jasper asked Leonie. “Nick’s been great for the show, but if he wanted to go, why is he still here?”

  Leonie straightened and adjusted her jacket. “Nick was never serious, Jasper. Why disturb you about something that wasn’t going to happen.”

  Nick’s eyes widened. Had she ever really listened to him? “Sorry, Jasper. I would have told you sooner, but first I had to convince Leonie I was serious. When Reese joined us, I hoped we’d eventually put her on camera, which we did.” He described his succession plan.

  “Is that why you…”

  Realization must have dawned on Jasper. Nick knew the other man was referring to the circumstances of Reese’s hire. Nick’s part in it. And the promise Nick had extracted from Jasper not to tell Leonie about it. He was grateful the supervising producer hadn’t finished his question.

  “We are going to be quite the team, Nick.” Leonie rose, floated to the window and twirled around to face them. “Isn’t this just the best of all possible worlds? We get rid of that liability of a chef just as the network comes calling.”

  “Uh, but—” Jasper apparently still wasn’t buying. “Does the network know Reese is gone?”

  She spun around to the window again, lifted the slats on the blinds as if surveying her kingdom below.

  “Leonie? You’re not answering,” Nick pushed.

  She spun around. “That doesn’t matter. It’s the concept that appeals to the network. The twosome.”

  “The twosome was Nick and Reese, Leonie,” Jasper reminded her. “As soon as they discover she’s no longer part of the deal, they’ll back off.”

  “Let’s not think about that now. We have a bona fide nibble and we’re going to hook that fish.”

  His aunt’s posturing filled him with foreboding. She looked so triumphant, living in her dream world. She had absolutely no idea that it had been the chemistry between Reese and himself—on screen and off—that had made their duo work. Leonie wasn’t cut out to be anyone’s partner. Maybe that’s what her fiancé had figured out years ago.

  “Aren’t you jumping the gun just a tad?” Jasper asked.

  Her chin jutted out, a petulant expression daring either man to say more. “Think positive thoughts, you two. It’s so much better on the spleen.”

  Spleen? He doubted she knew where that body part was located, let alone what it did.

  Jasper stood and leaned on Leonie’s desk, this time knocking over a small vase. A diminutive nosegay fell out, a thin river of water puddling around it. “Surely you’re not serious?”

  She turned narrowed eyes, hard as emeralds, on Jasper. “Of course, I am. The sooner you accept this change, the sooner we can get the new show underway. It will probably take me awhile to feel comfortable with this improvisational format,” a hand drifted to her hairdo, “but I’ve always been pretty good with the spontaneous.”

  Jasper’s fist hit the desk. “Good God, woman, listen to yourself! You plan and overplan. I’ll bet you know how many steps it is from the elevator door downstairs to your waiting car. This format is not for you. You’ll be in over your head.”

  “That’s not your call, Jasper. I can handle it.”

  “And the banter? It worked between Reese and Nick because there was this ongoing sexual innuendo underlying their exchanges.”

  “Uh, Jasper, I wouldn’t go that—” Nick interjected.

  “Far? Well, I would, Nick. You’re a fool if you continue to deny the way you two heated up the kitchen.”

  “They did nothing of the sort,” Leonie protested. “Nick is a very good actor.”

  “Open your eyes, Leonie,” Jasper challenged. Then he stopped, seemed to consider something. “On the other hand, your eyes have been open and alert all along, haven’t they? You saw what was happening between our two hosts and didn’t like it. So you set out to get rid of her. You’re the one who fed that damning information to that Fo
odNation reporter.”

  Through hooded eyes resembling a cobra about to strike, Leonie said, “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t play innocent about your sabotage. To your own show, for God’s sake!” Jasper shouted. His face had taken on the color of Leonie’s garnet red nails.

  “Is that true, Leonie?” Nick asked.

  Jasper’s breath came heavily. “Of course it is. Look at her. She’s not denying it.”

  “Calm down, Jasper. Why must I keep reminding you that this is my show? I’ll do what I must to keep it healthy.”

  Jasper drew in a long, choking breath. “Healthy? You don’t do sick things to promote health, Leonie. You’ve made one poor decision after another, and you treat your crew miserably.”

  Leonie stroked the diamond pendant dangling from her neck. “You knew who I was and what I was when you signed on, Jasper. It’s a little late for you to adopt that holier-than-thou attitude.”

  “You helped me through those bitter years after Jane’s death. I thought if I stuck around, looked the other way, I could help you realize your dreams. But the price is too high.”

  Nick blinked in surprise. The older man got angry from time to time, but not like this. “What are you saying, Jasper?”

  “Good-bye,” he replied, in a cooler, calmer voice and turned toward the door.

  “Where are you going? I haven’t dismissed this meeting yet,” Leonie called.

  “Check my contract.” He switched his attention to Nick. “Maybe she’s got you convinced you can’t leave her, but not me. I quit.” He slammed the door behind him.

  Neither of the room’s two remaining occupants said anything for what seemed an interminable length of time. Finally, Leonie broke the silence. “Can you believe that?”

  “No,” Nick replied in a hushed tone, envying the other man. “I never thought he’d leave.”

  Leonie shook her head. “He’s bluffing. Trying to make a statement.”

  “Should I go after him?”

  “Darling, you can barely get around. Don’t worry about Jasper. He’ll be back.”

  Nick wasn’t so sure. He’d never seen Jasper so upset and determined. The old man wasn’t one to go off on tangents. Nick pulled at his collar. The room felt stifling. He also made for the door.

  “Where are you going? I told you to let Jasper be for now.”

  He turned back. She was sitting at her desk like a monarch receiving her subjects. She didn’t appear the least bit upset about Jasper’s departure. “Need to clear my head. I’ll be back later.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply. Nor did he care when or if they taped the week’s episode.

  He had no idea where he was going, only that he had to get away. Make his head stop spinning. The events of the last hour were mind-boggling. Events he’d set in motion and now had to deal with.

  He went immediately to the small fridge in his dressing room and retrieved a can of soda. He guzzled over half before he set it down to take a breath. This was all his fault. He didn’t have the balls to walk away from Leonie and the show. So he’d jumped at the chance to bring a possible substitute on board, not caring what effect his actions might have on her. He’d romanced her, gone to bed with her, even begun to open up to her, but the minute she needed him to come to her defense, he’d turned in a lackluster performance.

  So now he had what he wanted—half of it at least—with Leonie in front of the camera. And his half included what she wanted; the network was at least interested in the show. But it was the half they didn’t have—Reese, now Jasper, and a firm commitment from the network—that concerned him.

  He looked around for a note. Surely Reese would have left him something? Even if it was to tell him what a jerk he was. With which he totally agreed.

  Nothing. He checked his phone messages. Again nothing.

  Should he call her? And do what? Beg her to come back?

  Damn her! Why had she turned out to be like every other woman in his life except Leonie? Why hadn’t she given him one more chance to talk her out of leaving?

  The one thing he wanted more than anything, save possibly a life with Reese, which was impossible now, was to leave the show. And the last thing he could do right now, thanks to Leonie’s latest harebrained scheme, was leave the show.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  As Reese’s cab pulled up to her parents’ home early Saturday morning, she caught a glimpse of her mother behind the house attending to her garden. Good sign. She could test the waters with her mother before facing the full Grandquist clan.

  She paid the driver, left her bag on the front porch and cut behind the front hedges to greet her mother. “Your garden is in better shape than ever this year, Mom,” she said, giving her a hug.

  Maureen Grandquist wiped a hand across her forehead, pulling errant bangs away from her eyes. “Reese! I didn’t expect you for another hour. The boys aren’t even back from the gym.”

  “That will give me time to catch you up on a few things first. You can help me decide how much to tell the rest of the family.”

  Eyes widening, her mother asked, “Good news or bad? Do I need to sit?”

  She had to chuckle at her mother’s go-for-it attitude. The woman was never one to back down from a crisis. “I’m not sure which. That’s why I need your input.” Noting her mother’s arched brow, she added, “Just in case, let’s move over to the patio table.”

  Once they were seated, Reese plunged immediately into the events of the last few days, omitting the part about Nick’s lack of cooking skills. She was still processing what to do about that little tidbit and wasn’t ready to discuss it yet with anyone else, even her mother. Focusing on Leonie’s role in the FoodNation embarrassment, she finished with, “I almost had it out with that witch then and there, but Nick and Jasper talked me down. The more I thought about it during the day, though, I realized I couldn’t continue working for people I can’t trust. Who knows what she would’ve done next to undermine me.”

  “Of course you couldn’t remain,” her mother told her, grasping her hand. “I’m just sorry this came so close on the heels of your disappointment at Solange.”

  She bowed her head. “Me, too. After Solange, I told myself I’d never walk out on a job again. But this can’t be helped.”

  Her mother’s eyes brightened, like the sun coming over a hill in the morning. “That means you can unveil your own show sooner.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Maybe Elliott too.”

  “You know that Elliott and I, and the boys too, are behind you.” The gardener leaned forward, palms planted on her denim-covered thighs. “How can we help?”

  Reese squeezed her eyes to keep from tearing up. She was so lucky to have such family support. To think, she’d resented Elliott and the boys when she was younger. Before she figured out what it meant to be a member of a real family after ten years as the only child of parents who didn’t love each other.

  “Last night, after a glass of wine and a long, soapy bath, I dried my tears and assessed my situation. Suddenly, going forward with my own cooking show has become a very real possibility.”

  “How do you feel about that? Scared?”

  She considered. “A little, but also excited. Stoked, the boys would say.” She paused, because this next part required diplomacy, the kind of thing she didn’t usually do well. “Putting together a demo this weekend is just the start. Beyond that, I need a comprehensive plan. Fast. First and foremost, though, I have to figure out how to handle financing.”

  “Elliott and I would be hap—”

  She stuck up a hand. “I know what you’re going to say, and as much as I appreciate the thought, that wasn’t where I was going.”

  “Oh? Then where?”

  “I’ve been putting a little away each payday for the last few years. I’ve got enough to keep my apartment and feed myself for another year. Or I can run my own production company for about half that time.” She gazed down at her folded hands and then back at her m
other. “But I can’t do both.”

  Her mother cocked her head. “I don’t understand. If you chose the first option, how would get your show produced?”

  “I’d be maintaining my base in the city and have ready access to potential backers. But I’d probably have to give up the kind of control I want.”

  “And the other option?”

  Reese looked directly into her mother’s coffee brown eyes. “Move home and set up operations here.”

  “That sounds like an obvious solution. Especially since you have a ready-made production company under this roof.”

  She bit her lip. “Uh, that’s my dilemma. If I’m going to produce my own show, I have to pursue the project wholeheartedly, twenty-four seven. Even if all of you were available to do that as well, I can’t ask you to. You have your own lives to think about.”

  Her mother flicked away an insect that had the temerity to fly near her ear. Reese recognized the tactic. Her mother knew she was holding back her real reason for being concerned and was waiting for her to share the rest of the story. Bowing to the inevitable, she continued. “Okay. What I’m really trying to say is, if I’m going to make this work, I need a professional staff. A bunch of amateurs is all very well for making a demo, but the demands of producing a top-notch cooking show are beyond all of you.”

  She emitted a sigh so heavy, she scared away the pesky insect that had harassed her mother. “There! Now I’ve told you. I hate myself for saying it, but if I didn’t—”

  “Your show would suffer,” her mother finished for her. With her index finger, she tipped Reese’s chin up so they were both looking straight into the other’s eyes. “Shame on you, young lady. Don’t you think we’ve already thought of that?”

  “You have?”

  “Don’t go getting offended, but yes, Elliott and I have already talked to the boys about this venture. We nudged you into seeing that your own cooking show was as natural a career step for you as baking a cake from scratch. And we’ll all be there for you to make this demo. But once you’re off and running, we’ll back off.”