Best Jerk

by Lulu Pratt

  I don’t want to stay anywhere near here longer than I have to, but I didn’t think about where I planned to run off to. I regret not having a backup plan, but it’s not like I’m exactly thinking rationally.

  Maybe I can crash at Rachel’s place until I can figure this shit out?

  The elevator reaches the lobby and I don’t even let the doors open all the way before making a mad dash for the parking garage across the street. I have tunnel vision with one thing on my mind, and that’s getting the hell out of here as quickly as possible.

  Chapter 28

  ASHER

  My luck has clearly run out and my time is up. This is the long-awaited moment of truth that should have taken place ages ago. I pace the lobby nervously waiting on Jade to come over so I can talk to her. My palms are sweaty and I’m starting to develop a pounding headache.

  I should’ve told Jade the truth from day one. It’s bad enough I had anything to do with Magdalene, but adding in the possibility of Jacob being my son make me certain this relationship could be heading over a cliff.

  After a slow breath, fighting my lightheadedness, I look to the glass door. I’ve gone over my speech hundreds of times, but I’m still not mentally or physically prepared for this conversation.

  What if she blows up before ending things abruptly?

  My heart sinks considering the possibility of never seeing Jade again. I’ve had a million chances to tell her the truth and it will serve me right if she does decide to walk out of my life.

  Maybe I should call her and break it to her now?

  I’m not sure I can handle whatever her reaction is with her standing right in front of me. I know how pain and anger looks on her face and I don’t want to witness it firsthand again, especially knowing it’s my fault.

  I’ll burn a hole into the floor if I keep pacing around like this, but I don’t know what else to do because standing still is not an option. I need to get in touch with Nathan and have Jacob’s hair analyzed as soon as possible.

  I really hope these few strands are enough to run the test. Nathan said after he looked into the DNA issue that hair with the root was easiest and fortunately the strands I caught in my fingers and from the baby’s top appear to have a bump at the end. I hate that I had to go to such extremes, but I can’t trust Magdalene to tell the truth and be upfront. She’s denied that I’m the father numerous times, but the dates are too close for me to accept that answer without proof.

  I mull over the things I need to do as a familiar blonde blur surges in my peripheral.

  Jade?

  Running out of the door as I fail to catch her, I holler for her attention. Even with her arms loaded down with bags and clothes, she’s still ten times faster than me, getting further away by the second.

  “Jade!”

  She doesn’t turn around at all, but instead speeds up, which I didn’t think was possible. The lights flash on the back of her car and she quickly pulls the door open and shoves everything inside.

  “Jade, wait!”

  Her hand reaches for the driver’s side and pulls the door open. She turns to look at me and the second she does, my heart drops. Her cheeks are red, and her eyes swollen with tears still streaming down her face.

  After watching her for a matter of seconds, I’m sure of two things. One, Magdalene must have said something about our previous relationship. Two, my relationship with Jade is over.

  After shaking her head, she ducks inside the car. I try to chase after her, but she speeds out of the parking garage and out of sight. I’m left standing there, my chest heaving, as I watch the love of my life drive away.

  Seeing the pain and anguish on her face, and knowing I’m the reason, is unbearable.

  I did this to her. It’s all my fault. I really messed up this time.

  I could kick myself for letting things get this far without telling her the truth. My hands can’t get to my phone fast enough, but my fingers dial Jade’s number in vain. After repeated calls to her phone are sent directly to voicemail, I’m certain she’s ignoring me.

  What should I do now? This isn’t how I pictured things going at all.

  After accepting there’s no way to talk to her, I walk back to my penthouse in defeat, unsure of my next move. My heart aches and I feel terrible for putting Jade in the middle of such an unfair situation. I dial Jade’s number one last time, ready to finally leave a message.

  Instead of her sweet honeyed voice picking up, the robotic voice of the voicemail answers instead.

  Damn it.

  “Jade, I don’t know what Magdalene said to you, but please give me a chance to explain everything. I only want to talk. I don’t care if you yell and scream at me. I just want to hear from you. Give me a chance to make things right. I’m so sorry about all of this. Please, just give me a call back as soon as possible.”

  I end the call knowing Jade’s not going to return it. My next call is to Nathan, hoping to resolve the unfinished business we have. I need to have all the cards on the table out in the open.

  “Hey, boss,” says Nathan. “What’s up?”

  “Nathan, I have the hair from Jacob, and I need the paternity test results immediately. If you have time, I need you to swing by my penthouse.”

  “Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be there,” he says.

  After hanging up the phone, I head to the bar and blindly grab the closest bottle.

  I need a drink, or three, to help dull the pain in my heart.

  Jade has been the one bright spot in my life, and now she’s gone. A woman like her comes around once in a lifetime, and I just blew my shot.

  Instead of looking forward to closing the next business deal, I’ve spent my day-to-day moments looking forward to my stolen time with Jade. Now I have nothing to look forward to. No more dates to plan, no more dinners by the ocean and no more late-night phone calls just to hear her voice.

  I already know that no number of apologies will make this right, but I must do something.

  Chapter 29

  JADE

  Leave it to Rachel to be out of the country when I need her the most. I really hate hotels and now here I am stuck in one, spending money I should be saving, especially with my recent unemployment. After rolling onto my back, staring at the ceiling, I contemplate my next move. Mentally I wasn’t at all prepared for what has happened over these last few days, but maybe this was the push I needed to set me on the path to my heart’s desires. My phone rings for what seems like the hundredth time and I instantly regret turning it back on.

  If it’s not Asher on the end, it’s Magdalene, and right now neither one of them deserves my attention. They can save their apologies for someone who cares.

  What they should do is call each other if they want to talk to someone so badly.

  I grab my phone without looking at it and hit the ignore button. It’s high time I start thinking of myself and putting my needs ahead of everyone else’s. My hands tremble as I scroll to the name I’m looking for and hit the call button.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Bradley, it’s me, Jade,” I say. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but—”

  “Of course I remember you. You’re the amateur chef who’s going to give me a run for my money. How are you?”

  “I’m okay, but my job situation has suddenly changed, and I think I’m ready for a fresh start,” I say. “So, if you have any advice or suggestions, I’m all ears.”

  “Excellent,” says Bradley. “I’ve been looking forward to this phone call since the night we met. You have so much potential and I’m happy you’re ready to put those skills to good use.”

  We chat for a few minutes as I take down a few notes I’ll need to get started.

  “I’m pretty sure my friend Ray has an opening left at his culinary school,” says Bradley. “His place is downtown, maybe you’ve heard of it?”

  My heart skips two beats and I nearly drop the phone. “Ray, as in Ray Manicozi?”

  “Yep, one and the s
ame,” says Bradley. “Hold on for just a minute and I’ll give him a call. He’s always looking for new talent and I think you’ll be a perfect fit for his program.”

  The line goes silent and it takes everything inside me to contain the scream in the back of my throat. Ray is the cream of the crop when dealing with anything in the culinary world. If you know anything about food, you’ve heard his name before and you know he’s the best of the best.

  I’ve driven by his restaurant several times in hopes of simply catching a glimpse of the famous chef, and right now, Bradley is on the line talking to a cooking legend, about me of all people. Not only that, but he’s talking to him about getting me into his school. I never would have imagined that Bradley would go to these lengths to help me, a person who is practically a stranger. I only called him in hopes of learning a few tips and tricks, but this mind-boggling conversation has exceeded my expectations tenfold.

  “Hello, Jade, are you still there?” he asks.

  I sit up straight in the bed and nearly drop the phone. “Yes, I’m here,” I say as calm as I can muster. My voice is steady, but my hands aren’t, and I hope Bradley can’t hear the shaking through the phone.

  “Great! So, I talked to Ray and he’d love to meet you if you’re free today around one o’clock.”

  “Today?” My voice is a screech.

  “Is today not good for you? I can call him back,” Bradley adds warily.

  “No, no, don’t do that. Today is perfect,” I assure him. “I’ll be ready to meet with Ray Manicozi… today… in person… today.”

  Bradley laughs for a few seconds. “He’s just a regular person, so don’t be too nervous. Ray is an amazing chef, but he’s an even better guy. It’s been a pleasure for me knowing him on a personal level, so I know what he likes, and I think he’ll like you and see your potential just like I did,” he says.

  “Thank you. Thank you so much,” I say, biting back tears. “You have no idea how much this opportunity means to me. Trust me, I know this is an experience of a lifetime and I promise I’ll give it my all.”

  “I’m not worried,” says Bradley. “Just go in there and be yourself. Call or text me if you need anything else.”

  “I will,” I say before ending the call.

  I wouldn’t believe what just happened if it hadn’t happened to me.

  My love life is in shambles, I don’t have a job, I am living in a hotel as I have nowhere else to go, but at least my new career path is off to a good start. I get out of bed and rush over to my pile of belongings lying in the corner of the room, hoping to find an appropriate outfit for the meeting.

  I settle on a crisp white button-down shirt paired with black slacks and low heels. Since I only have an hour and twenty minutes before my meeting, I rush to take my shower before beginning to get ready.

  The shower is quick and my make-up application goes by even faster as I take on the ‘less is more’ approach.

  No need to doll up too much, my cooking skills are the star of this show.

  I lock the door to my hotel room before heading down to my car so I can battle the traffic to the culinary school. Luckily, the drive isn’t too bad, and I weave in and out of traffic like a pro, making it to the school ten minutes early.

  I clutch my chest and take two deep breaths to help steady my nerves before walking inside the building. My senses are immediately taken over by a myriad of smells, which are both familiar and foreign simultaneously.

  Ray exits an office to the left and immediately heads to me wearing a black chef’s coat with his name stitched on the left-hand side.

  “You must be Jade,” he says reaching out to shake my hand. “Bradley has told me so much about you.”

  “Yes, sir,” I say nervously. “Or should it be ‘Yes, Chef’?”

  Ray pats the back of my hand and laughs. “Relax,” he says. “We’ll get to the formalities of the kitchen eventually, but for now I just want to show you around.”

  I nod and cautiously follow him through two sets of double doors until we reach a white pristine kitchen. There’s not a pot, pan or knife out of place. I can tell the floor has recently been cleaned, and everything looks sterile enough to eat off.

  “Everyone is out to lunch right now, so I figure this is the best time to show you everything,” he says. “Take note of how clean the kitchen is. Any time the students leave, it should look just like this, so I hope you don’t mind cleaning. Most students come here expecting to only learn how to cook, and maybe a few knife tricks, but they’re mistaken. I have a course that takes several weeks to complete where we go over the process of proper sterilization.”

  “Oh, that won’t be an issue for me at all. I was previously employed as a nanny, and part of my job included keeping the residence clean from top to bottom.”

  “Good,” he says. “There’s nothing worse than a dirty kitchen. I can’t tell you how many restaurants with delicious food end up getting shut down by the health department because their kitchen standards aren’t up to spec.”

  We walk from one station to the next with Ray pointing out different things. I feel like a kid walking through an amusement park for the first time. Each thing he points out is more exciting than the last.

  “That’s it,” he says. “It’s not much, as I tend to prefer smaller, more intimate classes, but I promise once you finish my courses, there’s not a kitchen in the world that won’t scramble to get you.”

  I instantly know how true that statement is. People who get their training here go on to do big things within the industry, and now I have a shot at being one of those people.

  He leads me back through the double doors and holds open the door leading into an office.

  “Please have a seat,” he says, motioning to the chairs in front of his desk.

  He takes a seat and starts rummaging around in a drawer for a few seconds. Eventually, he finds what he’s looking for and pulls out a very thick folder filled with several pamphlets.

  “Here,” he says, sliding everything across the desk to me. “Flip through and let me know if this is something you are really interested in, because my time is valuable, and I don’t want it wasted on someone who isn’t sure of themselves. Cooking isn’t a hobby for me, it’s my life and I need students who share that same value.”

  I nod and take my time flipping through all the pages, that is, until I get to the page about tuition. In my mind, I knew going to school with such a prestigious chef would cost a pretty penny, but the number staring back at me is astronomical, and significantly higher than the generous estimation I made in my head.

  I’d have to sell a kidney or two just to afford the supplies for this place. Even if I use all my savings, that still wouldn’t be enough to cover all the expenses.

  I hate that I got my hopes up just to watch them come smashing into the ground, ultimately breaking up into tiny pieces.

  “Listen,” I say, slowly closing the folder. “I’m grateful you took the time to give me this tour. It really means a lot to me to even meet you and see everything your school has to offer. To be completely honest with you, I’m going through a major life change and I may have put the cart before the horse by not really ironing out the details to this plan. I want to come here and learn everything you’ve mentioned, but the tuition—”

  “Is already taken care of,” he says, reclining back in his chair.

  I drop the rest of the papers on the desk and stare blindly, waiting for him to start laughing, but he doesn’t.

  “Um, what?” I ask in disbelief. “I don’t understand.”

  “Bradley went to bat for you, and he never does that for anyone, so you must have really impressed him. I’ve known him over twenty years and you’re the first person he has ever recommended… ever. He explained that you’re transitioning from your last job as a nanny and that I’d be a fool to pass you up, and I’m no fool. There’s a lot you should be worried about, like how to keep your chef coat stain free, because I require a pristine coat
to enter my kitchen. Your tuition is the last thing that should be on your mind. Just don’t make me regret my decision.”

  “Can you… do that? Just waive the tuition?” I ask nervously. Once again, I don’t want to get my hopes up just for him to come back later and say he made a mistake.

  Ray laughs and nods his head. “It’s my school. I can do what I want, when I want. Just think of it this way, you’re on a scholarship, and you must maintain high marks to keep it. It’s not often I do something like this, so I’m telling you now, I expect great things from you. I’m welcoming you into my school without knowing your skill level, or even tasting your food, because I trust Bradley.”

  I’m trembling and don’t even bother to fight back the tears forming in my eyes. “I won’t let either of you down, I swear,” I say. “I’m going to work harder than anyone you’ve ever seen.”

  “I believe you,” he says with a smile. “Now dry those tears, and go celebrate. This is a special moment for you, and you deserve to go have some fun with it.”

  I gather all the paperwork and get to my feet. “I’ll be here bright and early every day once classes start,” I say. “You can definitely count on me.”

  “Good,” says Ray. “Get those info sheets back to me as soon as you can so I can get you set up in the system and order your supplies.”

  We shake hands again and he politely walks me to my car. I slide in before patiently waiting for him to go back inside before I start screaming.

  I can’t believe this just happened. I just got in one of the most prestigious culinary schools in this country… for free! I’m stunned he let me in right there on the spot, without even asking me to cook something to showcase my skills. I’m not sure what Bradley said to him to make Ray have so much faith in me and my abilities, but I’m eternally grateful.

  No matter what, I can’t jeopardize Bradley’s reputation by letting him down, and I certainly can’t risk embarrassing myself.