by Nella Tyler
When I pulled into his restaurant my mouth hit the floor. The parking lot was packed and I could barely find a spot for my own car. I sat there looking over the steering wheel out of the windshield in a daze. By the looks of things, my brother's restaurant was suddenly booming with business…surprise. Surprise. He was probably sitting in there, just loving every moment of that. The sight of all those cars parked made me want to go in there and slap Jared in the face. His business was booming but it was a at the expense of someone else. He didn't earn it; he took it from someone else by force. His lies, his act of treason had certainly helped his business out more than I could imagine. I thought that his drugs would be what ruined him, but apparently all you had to do to rise back up to the top was to ruin another business.
I got out of the car, and practically ran into the restaurant. I was angry, no more than angry; I thought I was going to kill someone. I had never been angrier with someone in my entire life. Jared was turning into a monster and it was like he didn't even care. I looked around the restaurant and I didn't see him. I assumed he was either in the kitchen or in his office. Some of the staff waved to me as I passed but I just ignored them. I was on a mission.
I walked back into the kitchen where Marcus was working, and I didn't see Jared anywhere.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
Marcus looked up surprised, “He's in his office Gemma, but I wouldn't go in there if I were you. He is in quite a mood.”
“I don't give a shit what kind of mood he's in, he is going to see me and start explaining himself.”
“Gemma he isn't doing anything wrong. That Link guy stole--”
“No you listen to me! I am sick of this shit. You don't have any idea what you're talking about Marcus. You believe a man that you have trusted for years and I understand that. But he is wrong, dead wrong. He is lying to you and he is lying to everybody else.”
I had rendered Marcus speechless. He looked down into his food and didn't say another word. I made my way back to Jared's office.
When I walked in, Jared was leaning back in his office chair with his feet up on his desk. When he saw me, his feet suddenly went to the floor and he sat up straight.
“We'll look at you, isn't it the restaurant King at his best…acting like lazy son of a bitch.”
“Excuse me? What the hell are you doing here Gemma? I keep asking you to leave me alone and here you are once again.”
“I’m here because you disgust me. You are so much better than this and I can't even believe what kind of person you have become. You're not the brother that I used to love.”
“Gemma it sounds like you really love the sound of your own voice.”
I couldn’t believe him. What happened to the brother that used to love me? Use the look after me? Was always there when I needed him?
“What is the matter with you? Do you think that you're doing anything that would make anyone proud of you?”
“Look Gemma, you don't know what's best for anyone anymore. You proved that you're not loyal to me.”
“Jared please, I've fallen in love with Link, don't you see that? Don't you care about me at all? Link is a good person and you are ruining his life. What you are doing here is wrong, very wrong. How could you do something like this to another person? What did he ever do to you? He left your restaurant, so what? The recipe is not yours and you are lashing out for no reason.”
“Stop it Gemma.”
“Please Jared; I'm begging you stop trying to ruin everything. Not only are you affecting Link’s life and his business, you are affecting mine as well. I need you to stop this. You are so much better of a person than this. I just don't understand what happened to you. I need to understand why you are doing this!”
Jared pulled open a drawer on his desk and dug around inside. I wasn't quite sure what he was doing. He pulled out a mirror and a low box. Inside the box was cocaine. He dumped a little bit on the mirror, and with a razor blade he quite slowly and systematically made himself a line. I stared in disbelief. I couldn't believe he was about to do that right in front of me. He had absolute no respect for me anymore and I wasn't even the one that was in the wrong. Jared bent over and snorted a line of cocaine, sniffing through his nostrils. The sight of him disgusted me.
He looked up at me and stared at me straight in the face.
“Get out,” he said.
I turned away from him and did exactly what he wanted. I left the restaurant with the idea that I would never return. It was pointless trying to talk to him. He was in the world of drugs and I may never be able to get him back again. He was no longer listening to me, and to continue on putting myself out there only to be slapped in the face over and over and over again was not something I had any interest in. I was walking away from Jared that day, possibly forever.
As I walked past Marcus, I shot out over my shoulder, “That coked out man back there is the one that you're going to trust? What a joke.”
Chapter Four
On the way back to Link's restaurant I had a heavy heart. I was still in shock by what I saw in my brother's office, and I felt that I had lost him forever. I barely recognized the man I had saw in that office and it made it that much more obvious to me that things had changed between us. I was pretty sure that they had started to change long before Link ever came into the picture. The fact that he had never come to me to discuss these things with me before going after Link told me all that I need to know. My heart was broken over the loss of my brother. It was almost as if he died. I knew that I was been dramatic, but I couldn't help it. Seeing Jared the way he was now I couldn't imagine how it had gotten to this point. What happened to the caring man who used to look out for everybody?
When I walked into Link's restaurant I couldn't even find a smile for the staff as I walked back to the kitchen to find him. I hope that he wasn't mad at me for leaving him. It had obviously been a waste of time, but I had thought that I could get through to him. It was time for me to advise Link to get a lawyer and to get one quickly. He needed somebody who knew the ropes and who could fight for him against Jared, someone who would support him and speak to the media on his behalf, and to help him get his life back.
When I walked back into the kitchen I saw him trying some of the chef's lunch items. He turned to me with a smile and said, “Did the reporters scare you off my love?”
I laughed, “No, they didn't. I went to talk to Jared, which turned out to be a waste of my time. My god Link, he was doing coke right there on a desk in front of me. He just doesn't care anymore.”
Tears welled up in my eyes and he came to me immediately.
“Oh Gemma...”
He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. He knew exactly what I needed at that moment. I needed to be held, and I needed someone to tell me that everything was going to be okay even if it wasn't.
“What's happening right now? What's happening to Jared? You know him Link; you know he's not like this. What happened to him?”
“I don't know Gemma. I'm just as confused about this whole thing is you are. I never would have thought my leaving the restaurant would cause such a mess. Sometimes I wonder if it would've been better just to leave the recipe with him.”
“No Link, he doesn't deserve it. It's your recipe and your life. If you want to sell your recipe so that you can open up your restaurant then you're right. You wanted something for yourself you shouldn't have to worry about how your former boss is going to react.”
“I know, but...”
“Link it's time for you to call a lawyer. You need someone to fight for you and you need someone to defend you when Jared goes on his rants. You need someone who is going to make Jared stop.”
“Oh darling I'm way ahead of you on that.”
“What?”
He turned around and it was then that I noticed that there was somebody else in the room. It appeared as if she had just come out of his office and was watching us talk. She had a look of interest on her face and I wondered
who the hell she was.
“Gemma I want to introduce you to an old friend of mine and she also happens to be a great lawyer. Gloria, this is my girlfriend Gemma.”
It was the first time he had called me his girlfriend.
“Hi Gemma it's nice to meet you.”
Gloria was stunning, and even that description was an understatement. She had long, flowing, coppery red hair that made you instantly think that she must have a wild side to her. She had emerald green eyes that couldn't possibly be real. She was tall and thin with a bust size that put mine to shame. Not only was she obviously beautiful but to be a lawyer she had to be very intelligent as well. Being in her presence, I found her to be very intimidating. I wasn't sure I really like the idea of she and Link working together, and what I liked even last was the fact that they had obviously been friends for a while. I wasn't used to being jealous. I was an attractive female myself, but being in Gloria's presence made it really hard not to feel insecure.
“It's nice to meet you as well.”
“Gemma, I can assure you that I'm going to set things right as soon as possible. But I can't promise that Jared will have a pot to piss in once I'm through with him.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m bringing your brother down with everything that I got. I'm going to destroy him for what he's done to Link. Being that it's your brother, I thought you'd like to know.”
All I could do was nod. It wasn't like I had anything to argue about. I had just seen Jared and I knew that he was in the process of trying to bring Link down still. So why did the whole situation make me uneasy? I didn't want Link to be ruined and I knew that Jared had to stop but the idea of him being ruined as well hadn't occurred to me. I didn't like it one bit.
Chapter Five
After Gloria left I decided I should probably make an appearance at work. It felt like forever since I had been there. I knew that there could be a lot of work stacked up on my desk. I had a lot of flexibility in my schedule but at the end of the day things still needed to get done. I hoped that I would be able to focus on the tasks that needed to get done. Would I be able to put all the nonsense I had jumbled inside my head aside until I figured out my workload?
Link broke me out of my train of thought.
“Do you need a ride?”
“Yes, you picked me up at home remember? I only borrowed your car to go see Jared,” I said with another smile. Ahhh, I wished we could be back at the beach house together.
“Okay, let's go,” he said as he kissed me on the forehead.
We walked out to the car and I got into the passenger side. I would just take a cab home after my workday. Link had enough going on without shuttling me around. I would get some work done and then see my friends for a bit and then head home for some bathtub time.
Once in the car, he grasped my hand and squeezed it. “You have nothing to worry about Gemma. I want you to know that.”
I turned to him and smiled. He was so sweet and always so concerned about my wellbeing. That was the kind of man you wanted in your life.
“Gloria is one of the best. She's going to take very good care of me and soon this will all be over with.”
Why did he have to bring her up again? I had to bite my tongue to avoid asking him if the two had dated before. Maybe not even dated, they could have just slept together. The thought of it made me cringe inside. I didn't like the fact that Gloria was currently in the picture. It made me exceedingly uncomfortable. I hated the fact that Gloria representing him bothered me. I was not the jealous type, but just looking at Gloria sent red flags up. How could he have not at least tried to date a woman that looked like that? Even though I wanted to ask him if they dated, I wouldn't allow myself to do it. It made me feel stupid and insecure and I wouldn't allow myself to feel that way. Things were going wonderfully with Link and I had no reason to worry about him or our budding relationship. I pushed the insecurities down as far as I could. It wasn't fair to Link. He deserved the best representing him and if the best was Gloria then so be it.
Why was I even worried about Link? He was a good man and I could never even imagine him hurting me in that way. There was nothing going on between the two of them even if she was one of the prettiest women I had ever met. I needed to remember that I was nothing to sneeze over either. I had been known to snatch myself up a hottie every now and then, Link included. Sarah had always wondered why I had never gone into modelling. The answer was that I loved food too much. I shouldn't be letting Gloria get to me. I was one hell of a catch and Link was just as lucky to have me as I was to have him.
When we got to my work, Link leaned over and kissed me goodbye. “Everything is going to be alright beautiful, trust me.”
I nodded and kissed him on the lips once again. I slowly got out of the car, not looking forward to going into my office. I turned and waved to Link, watching him drive away and hoping that he was right.
Chapter Six
Like I said, it felt like forever since I had been in my office. Between meeting Link, dealing with my brother, and then our little mini vacation, I had barely been in the office. I was successful though. I could afford to take a little time off. I worked damn hard and had gone far in my career in a short amount of time. Being in and out of the office for a few weeks was not the end of the world.
When I walked into my office, my assistant was there to greet me. She had a coffee ready for me and it made me about the happiest person in the world. I had yet to have a coffee that day with everything that had happened and I needed one badly.
“Hi Miss Johnson, how are you today? Did you have a good weekend?”
“Oh it definitely could have been better Karen, no fault of Link’s of course. I'm sure you have seen the news lately and saw that my brother has caused a real shit storm in my life.”
Karen giggled and then stopped herself, “Yes ma'am. Sorry to hear that you haven't had the best time lately.”
“Oh my luck is sure to turn around, I hope. Isn't that how it’s supposed to work?”
“Sure Miss Johnson. Your mail is on your desk, you have a meeting in a few hours and I left your updated schedule for you to review.”
“Thank you Karen, good job as always. I would like to lose myself completely in work until my meeting, so if you will excuse me.”
“Yes ma'am, I will bring in all your current files and let you get to it.”
“Sounds like a blast.”
Even though Karen had brought me in mountains of paperwork to go through, I had a hard time focusing. All I kept thinking about was that when all this was through either Link or Jared would be living a very different life. Gloria had made it perfectly clear that it was going to be Jared that would be going down. If that was the case, he would probably have some very big regrets about the way he had handled everything. He was a successful business owner, the owner of a very popular restaurant. Was it possible that he would ruin it all, and end up with nothing? The very thought of that was so heartbreaking that it took my breath away. I couldn't imagine my brother without his restaurant. It would destroy him. But how could I feel pity for someone who was so bent on destroying someone else's life. He didn't care who he was hurting right now, so how could I feel bad for him? Still, he was my brother and I loved him no matter what.
I started to realize that I was losing whole blocks of time sitting there worrying. I couldn't seem to focus on anything. I was rereading paragraphs, going over paperwork that I had already read. The whole situation was becoming so annoying, and I wondered why had even bothered coming into work that day. We need to get stuff done, but clearly I was not being very successful at it. I should have just hung out with Link all day at the restaurant, eating good food, enjoying good company. That would've been much more enjoyable than trying to sift through all the paperwork and getting nowhere.
Speaking of Link, thinking about him and Gloria working together was also preventing me from paying attention to work. Why did his savior have to be so gorgeous? Would it h
ave been too much to ask to have his lawyer be an 800-pound woman? I knew the way that guys thought. I had a brother after all. When we were younger I’d been forced to listen to him and his friends talk about girls all the time.
I had my head in my hands, numb from paperwork when Karen arrived at my door. She was holding another cup of coffee in her hand. She walked into the room and set it down before me.
“Oh Karen thank God, you're a lifesaver.”
“You're very welcome. It came in to see how you are doing and also to let you know that your lunch has arrived.”
I looked up at Karen and I took a sip of my coffee and everything in the world felt right again. There is nothing like the taste of coffee; it just calmed me down right away.
“I think you must be mistaken Karen, I didn't order lunch.”
“Well I think that this handsome guy at the door would have to disagree,” she said giggling. Suddenly Link entered my office with a paper bag that smelled just heavenly.
Grinning I said, “Link!”
“Hey Gemma, I see you are working hard. That is a lot of paperwork, I'm really glad that I work in a kitchen.”
I laughed, “Karen I would like to introduce you to my boyfriend Link. He's the kind of guy that brings a girl some lunch when she's having a bad day.”
“You're having a bad day? I thought I was the only one having a bad day. Glad to hear I can come and cheer you up then.”
I looked at Karen. “Hold my calls, I don't wish to be disturbed.”
“No problem Miss Johnson.” She looked at Link and said, “It was nice to finally meet you Link.”
“Same here.”
Karen left should in the door behind her. I was going to ear to ear when Link came to immediately and started deep kissing me. I felt breathless all of a sudden. This was exactly what I needed. I should have stayed at the restaurant with Link and did this very thing all day long.
He pressed me up against the wall and I felt his need for me press into me. “I think we need to christen this office of yours my beauty.”