Cooking with Kandy

by Peggy Jaeger

“Did he tell you this?”

  She shook her head. “Someone who knew what was going on behind my back told me.”

  “Who?”

  He could practically hear her debating with herself about whether or not to tell him.

  “Kandy, you have to trust me.”

  He watched her face as she made her decision. After a few tense seconds, she said, “Cort.”

  “What did he say?”

  She finished her water and did a quick check of the oven timer. “I’d been seeing Evan for a while. He never once asked me to do any favors for him with regard to the network. I thought we…well, let’s just say I thought we had a pretty decent relationship. He never complained when I had to work a funky schedule or a day’s shooting changed our plans. However, one day Evan came to the studio when I was out at an interview and he wasn’t looking for me. It seems he’d been waiting to get Cort alone to discuss his ideas, but never had the chance. I was always around.”

  Bitterness infused her words. The creep had hurt her, that was plain, and even if he wasn’t responsible for harassing her, Josh promised punishment.

  “Anyway. Cort put him off. Told him he wasn’t the person to talk to. Evan was persistent and there was a bit of a blowup. I didn’t notice anything different in how they acted toward each other, but about a week later Evan told me I should think about finding a new director, that Cort didn’t have my best interests in mind. I told him he was wrong, but he wouldn’t let it go. I asked if anything had happened between them and he denied it. So of course I went to Cort. Evan is such an egotist he never imagined I would doubt him.”

  “But to your credit, you did.”

  She shifted in her chair. “Cort’s been with me since the beginning of the show. I trust him completely. He was reluctant to tell me what happened, but finally did. I asked around and found a few other people Evan had spoken to as well. Stacy was one of them.”

  “I’m surprised she didn’t tell you.”

  Kandy shrugged.

  “What did you do when you found out?”

  The timer sounded and Kandy removed the pizza from the oven, putting it on top of the counter to cool. While she pulled dishes from one of the cabinets and utensils from the drawers, she continued.

  “Confronted him. He denied it. I called him a liar. He called me some choice names I’d rather not repeat, and then I had him thrown out of my office by security. He called me every day for a week after that. Pleading. Whining. Apologizing. I found out he was following me when he showed up at a location shoot. I made my position crystal clear on our relationship, and it was the last time I saw him until tonight.”

  With a marble-handled cutting wheel, she divided the pizza into individual slices and filled his plate, then her own.

  “What did you tell him then that was different from the other times?”

  “It wasn’t what I said, but what I did,” she answered, biting into the delicious-smelling crust.

  Josh took his own sample and groaned in pleasure. “God, Kandy, this is incredible.”

  Grinning, she said, “It’s the sauce. Grandma’s recipe.”

  “You could mass produce this and make a fortune.” He polished off the first piece in four bites and she handed him another.

  “I have enough on my plate right now, thanks. Besides, there are about a dozen or so recipes I’ve never revealed to anyone. I’m keeping them in my private collection.”

  “Why?”

  She wiped her mouth with a napkin, and said, “It sounds corny, but to keep some of Grandma’s secrets makes me feel close to her. It’s like part of her is still with me. And only with me.”

  Josh nodded. “I can understand that. Now answer my question. What did you do to Chandler?”

  She sighed and took another bite. After swallowing, she said, “We were at the Fulton Fish Market filming a show segment. During a shooting break Evan approached me, all conciliatory and amiable. I wanted to throw up. He was persistent, even grabbing me at one point to kiss me. I didn’t really think about what I was doing. I saw the boning knife lying on the fish counter, grabbed it, and, well.”

  Josh was charmed when she blushed to the roots of her curly black hair.

  “I aimed the knife at his crotch and told him if he didn’t leave me alone I’d cut his balls off and give them to the fisherman for bait. It worked. He was so stunned, he left, babbling that I was crazy.”

  “It would work for me, too,” Josh said, grimacing. “With any man.”

  She shrugged again and took a bite of her pizza. “That was it. End of story, until tonight.”

  “Okay. I have to tell you, he’s pretty high on my list. Who else do you know who might have an ax to grind?”

  Kandy rose and took two more waters from the refrigerator. Handing one to him, she said, “Personally? Or in business?”

  “Both.”

  “Professional cooking’s not the mild-mannered business you might think,” she said after a minute. “I started young and rose fast. You don’t make a lot of friends that way.”

  If she was bitter, he couldn’t hear it in her voice.

  “Professional jealousies?” he asked.

  “A few. My cookbooks are always on the New York Times bestseller list, usually bumping someone down a few notches. I’d certainly be mad if it happened to me.”

  Josh made a mental note to ask Reva.

  “What about on a personal level?”

  Kandy scratched her nose with the flat of her hand and frowned. Sighing, she said, “My cousin Daniel isn’t too happy with me these days.”

  “Does he work for you? I mean, with you?”

  “He did. I had to fire him about a month ago.”

  “Why?”

  She took a sip and said, “Daniel is Aunt Lucy’s oldest, Stacy’s big brother. He was one of the sound crew technicians. I started hearing some noise about problems with him from the other techs, but ignored them, figuring it was just personality differences, something petty like that.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “He started showing up to work late, not coming back from lunch, and a few times it was obvious he’d been drinking. I saw his behavior twice myself, so I confronted him. It didn’t go well.” She shook her head and her voice turned sad. “We wound up having a huge shouting match in the middle of the studio kitchen. Again, some choice names were thrown around. Aunt Lucy couldn’t even calm him down. I fired him on the spot. Told him to pack up his gear and get out.”

  “Did he go without a fight?”

  “Yeah. Angry. Pissed. But compliant. I haven’t seen him since.”

  “Has your aunt or Stacy spoken with him about it?”

  She shook her head. “If they have, they haven’t mentioned it to me. I guess this weekend I’ll find out if he’s still mad.”

  “Why? What’s this weekend?”

  “My sister Eleanor’s twenty-first birthday. I’m doing the food and hosting. Everyone in the family is invited.”

  “Where?”

  “My weekend house in the Hamptons. We’ve been planning it for months.”

  “Who’s we?”

  “Gemma, and two of my other sisters, Belinda and Abby. They’ve done most of the planning. I’m furnishing the house and doing the eats.”

  “On top of everything else you’re already doing?”

  She rose and took her dish to the sink. Rinsing it, she sighed. “It’s family, and that comes before everything. Besides, Eleanor deserves this party. Of all my sisters, she’s the dearest and the sweetest. And the smartest. She just found out she’s been accepted to Harvard Medical School in the fall.”

  Josh took his own dish to the sink and was prepared to wash it, but Kandy took it from him, rinsed it along with the other utensils she’d used, and put them all in the dishwasher.

  “Look,” she said, turning to him, one hand on her hip. “I’ve got some work to do before bed. Can we continue this inqui
sition in the morning?”

  He nodded. “No problem.”

  She put the leftover pizza into a plastic storage container and into the refrigerator. When she turned out the kitchen light, he followed her through the hallway. Where the wings converged, they stopped.

  “Everything you’ll need is either in your bathroom or in one of the guest room closets. Feel free.”

  “Thanks. One more thing?”

  Her brows lifted in a question.

  “What’s your morning routine? What time do you get up?”

  The dimples in her chin deepened as a lazy grin spread slow and sumptuous across her lips. There was a tiny trace of pizza sauce still lining them and for a hot second he envisioned wiping it away.

  And not with his fingertip.

  “My daily workout is at four thirty,” she said. “I leave for the studio at six.”

  He knew she was waiting for his reaction. It took a great deal of willpower not to blanch at the ungodly hour.

  “You do it here, or go to a gym?” he asked, proud his voice sounded free of emotion.

  “Here. The gym’s down the hall, next to the guest bathroom. I’ll try not to wake you.”

  “Thanks, but like I said before, where you go, I go. See you at four thirty.”

  He could tell she was trying to keep another grin from her lips.

  “Okay.”

  Back in his room, Josh realized he hadn’t given her the cell phone. He pulled it out of his duffel and went back toward her wing of the apartment.

  He knocked even though the bedroom door was open, and walked in.

  “Kandy? I forgot to give—”

  She was standing next to the bed facing him, arms crossed in front of her chest. When she glanced up he saw fear drench her eyes. He quickly moved into the room and to her side. “What’s wrong?”

  She was shaking, her whole body trembling like a windblown leaf. Without thought, he pulled her into his arms.

  “Kandy?”

  She clung to him, her hands balling into his shirt. “My answering machine,” she said, her voice vibrating with emotion.

  She nodded toward the flickering light coming from the older-model device sitting on her bedside table.

  “A message?”

  She nodded and pressed her face into his chest.

  “Sit down,” he said, and gently guided her onto the bed. He plopped down next to her and threw an arm around her shoulder, knowing she needed the physical contact, the warmth.

  He pressed the Play button on the machine.

  “You filthy whore! I want you dead!”

  She shuddered against him.

  “Do you recognize the voice?” He pulled back, forcing her to look at him

  He expected tears, but her eyes were dry, her pupils constricted.

  He expected her to shout and vent. She was silent and mute as she leaned into him.

  Her color was pale, her lips a frosty blue.

  Shock.

  “Kandy? Do you?” He gave her a tiny shake.

  She blinked a few times and then stared straight at his face. “No. No, I don’t.”

  “This is your private line? The one only for family?”

  “Mostly, y-yes.”

  “What does that mean? Who else has the number?”

  “Cort. Reva. A few…friends.”

  “Okay. I’m taking the tape out.”

  She didn’t try to stop him.

  “I’m unplugging this phone and I want you to turn your cell off, too.”

  Some of her color was returning.

  “What if someone needs me? They won’t have any way to get in touch with me.”

  “Too bad. You need privacy and peace. Sleep.”

  She gaped openmouthed at him and he was prepared for her to fight more about it.

  “All right,” she said after a few seconds. “All right. I can do without the phone for one night.”

  “Forget about working, too. Get ready for bed and just go to sleep. Shut down.”

  “I need to—”

  “No arguments. You need to sleep more than you need to do anything else tonight. It’ll all still be there in the morning.”

  She frowned at him and he was actually glad to see it. It told him she was coming out of the shock and back to herself.

  “You’re very bossy,” she told him, repeating his words back at him.

  “Come’s with the job. Now go get ready for bed.”

  He was mildly surprised when she did.

  Josh unplugged the phone along with the answering machine. He left her cell phone on the dresser in the charging dock but made sure it was turned off.

  Walking back to his room, his mind was racing. He needed to find out who was behind this, and soon. Kandy, strong-willed though she appeared, was frightened and trying her best to hide it. Josh felt it in the way she’d clung to him. Wanting—needing—to be held, helped, and comforted. She hadn’t brokered with him on leaving the phone in case of an emergency, she’d accepted it. Nor had she argued when he told her to forget about working.

  Kandy was a woman used to giving orders, not following them blindly. He knew just how afraid she must really be to simply acquiesce to his commands.

  Booting up his laptop, he plugged in a few security keys and was able to weave into the local usage track of the phone company’s website to see if the call could be traced.

  He typed in an access code and Kandy’s unlisted home phone number.

  Within a minute he knew the call had been made in Manhattan, but the number was untraceable.

  Not a total loss. At least he knew the geographic origination.

  A little while later Josh made his way back to Kandy’s bedroom. The door was still ajar, the light inside off. He crept in, saw her huddled under the covers, and listened to her breathe for a few seconds. When he was satisfied she was out, he went back to his own room, prepared for a long, boring night of research.

  Chapter Five

  Kandy’s feet pummeled the treadmill as she increased the pace through the mountain-climbing program.

  She needed this run to clear her head. Last night’s events had left her shaken and confused.

  Shaken? Ha! Scared witless was more like it.

  The phone message had been disturbing and frightening, sure, but the feel of Josh Keane’s arms around her, warming her and giving comfort, had been overwhelming. The titanium-steel hardness of his chest when she’d buried her face into it had not only reassured, but aroused her.

  Completely.

  She couldn’t remember ever being so turned on just by being held.

  The feel of him, the actual sensation of his rock-hard body against hers as he held her, gently, was more powerful than any seductive touch could have been.

  Josh kept pace with her on the adjoining treadmill. She had her iPod plugged in and ran to the beat of the music. Josh ran music-free, his rhythm steady as he tore through his own preprogrammed routine. Kandy glanced over to check his status to see he’d also selected a mountain run. His stride was much wider than hers, though, his pace almost double.

  The ceiling-mounted television in front of them was on and cued to the early morning news. She tried to keep her gaze fixed on the screen, or in front of her, or anywhere that wasn’t on him. Watching those powerful, muscle-laden calves and thighs go through their pace was almost too much to handle. Not to mention the way his T-shirt fit snugly across his ripped-to-godlike-perfection chest and those broad, corded arms, showing and defining all the toned muscle groups beneath it.

  No, it was too much to watch.

  He wouldn’t be around forever to distract her like this. He’d find out what was going on and then be off to his next job, which was for the best. She had too much to do, too much that needed her undivided attention, to be sidetracked by this gorgeous man following her and watching her every move.

  Kandy had no time to worry about things she couldn’t co
ntrol, like this supposed harasser. She’d tried ignoring the incidents away, tried to convince Stacy it was nothing. Now she had to contend with an outsider going through her friends’ and family’s personal business.

  Josh claimed he wouldn’t disturb her life in any way, but he already had just with his presence. In one day he’d insinuated himself into her home, her life. Even her head.

  And she just wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

  The treadmill slowed to a walking pace.

  “Almost done?” Josh asked.

  Bathed in shiny sweat, his muscles glowed with definition. Each crevice where the sinew curved in his upper arms was pooled with dampness.

  Kandy swallowed. “Five-minute cooldown.”

  “You doing any weights?” He pointed his chin to the equipment in a corner of the room.

  He’d been running for more than forty-five minutes at a gallop pace and his breathing was still steady and calm. “No. I’ve got a six thirty meeting with the production crew I’ve got to prep for.”

  “Okay.”

  He continued his run while she finished the walk.

  When the machine timed out, she grabbed a towel and slung it across her neck. She was sweating, but not nearly to the extent Josh was.

  “I’ll be ready to leave in a half hour,” she told him.

  He gave her a thumbs-up and kept running.

  Josh was waiting in the kitchen for her when it was time to go.

  She’d pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, her face naked. Before filming, she’d be made up for the camera and dressed in gardening togs. For now, she wore a pink jogging suit with matching designer sneakers, a black T-shirt under the lightweight jacket.

  “You look comfortable,” Josh said, a coffee mug in his hand.

  “I’ll dress for the camera at the studio,” she told him, and filled a travel mug with coffee. “Did you sleep okay?”

  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

  “I slept fine,” she told him. “I shut down completely once I turned the light out. Didn’t wake up until the alarm went off this morning.”

  Josh nodded. “Good.”

  “So, did you?” she asked. “Sleep okay? Bed was okay?”

  “Everything was fine, Kandy.”