Accidental Acquisition by Evangeline Anderson
28
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jillian demanded, the minute the pantry door was closed. “Why are you hiring people to work in my kitchen?”
“Because we’re desperately short-handed and neither one of us has ever cooked Nebrian cuisine before,” Suzanne shot back. “Plus, at some point, I have to go breastfeed the triplets—we need help!”
Jillian put her hands on her hips.
“When you asked me to come run Pat-ar, we agreed that I would be in charge of hiring and firing!”
“And you mostly are. But I can see that you’re too wound up over this guy to give him a fair shake,” Suzanne said.
Jillian ran a hand over her hair, which was in a tight ponytail to keep it out of her face.
“Suzanne, come on. I told you what he turns into—it’s fucking terrifying!”
“He’s promised that this other form of his—this bear-thing—is completely under his control and that it can’t come out unless he lets it,” Suzanne pointed out. “I have to believe that’s the truth, or Commander Sylvan would never have let him on board the Mother Ship in the first place. Plus, Hard trusts him—he told me so, through our link.”
“He just met him, though!” Jillian protested.
“I know, but that doesn’t matter. My Dark Twin hubby might have a foul mouth, but he’s also got infallible instincts about people,” Suzanne said with certainty. “If Kalis was any kind of a danger to either one of us, he wouldn’t let us be in the same room with him for even a minute.”
“But…but…” Jillian ran a hand over her hair again. She just didn’t know what to say. Being around the big Kindred twisted her up in knots inside. She was torn between being incredibly attracted to him…and frightened half to death of the beast he turned into.
“Look, Jilly, don’t you remember what you told me when you first hired me at The Palms?” Suzanne said gently.
“I said everybody deserves a second chance,” Jillian admitted reluctantly.
“So why not give Kalis one?” Suzanne asked. “Look, I know yesterday was a horrible, crazy day for you and I’m so, so sorry for that—but maybe something good came out of it. And I think that might be Kalis.”
Jillian sighed deeply.
“All right,” she said at last. “But the minute he starts to sprout fur, or grow into a giant alien bear, he’s out of here! I can’t deal with that again!”
“He’s not going to do that,” Suzanne said gently. “If you want, I can make it part of his employment contract. No turning into a giant green Grizzly bear under any circumstances during work hours,” she said, pretending to write on an imaginary contract. “On pain of immediate termination.”
Jillian smiled reluctantly.
“Fine,” she said and sighed deeply. “The crazy thing is, I’m completely attracted to him, other than that,” she admitted. “I mean, butterflies in the stomach and chills down my spine and all that. That massage he gave me yesterday before everything went to hell…” She shook her head. “It was mind-blowing.”
“I knew it!” Suzanne exclaimed delightedly. “I’ve never seen you so worked up over a guy—not even Brad, before you found out what an asshole he was!”
“I just keep feeling like I’ve seen him somewhere before! Those eyes…” Jillian shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy.”
“Maybe you’ve been Dream-Sharing with him,” Suzanne suggested. “The way I was with Kind and Hard before they came for me.”
“I doubt it.” Jillian shook her head. “I don’t remember having any dreams about him. It’s just his eyes that look familiar.”
“Well, whatever the deal is, just give him a chance—okay?” Suzanne asked. “If you two get along and he turns out to be good in the kitchen, we could really use him—even after Lor and Lydia get back. You know we’ve been looking for another line cook for ages.”
Jillian nodded.
“I know. And I don’t mind being his boss in the kitchen, as long as he doesn’t expect me to act like his ‘Mistress” any other time. That kind of freaks me out—you know?”
“I don’t know why, though,” Suzanne said, with a twinkle in her eye. “You’ve always liked being a bossy bitch for as long as I’ve known you.”
Jillian grinned and elbowed her in the side.
“Only in the kitchen. In the bedroom, I like the guy to take charge—you know?”
“Well, let’s see if Kalis works in the kitchen before you invite him into your bedroom,” Suzanne said, grinning back.
“Suzanne…” Jillian gave her a warning look.
“Okay, okay—you know I’m just kidding.” Suzanne held up both hands in a “don’t shoot” gesture. “The point is, let’s just give him a chance and see how things go.”
Jillian nodded.
“All right. Tonight’s VIP dinner is a good test. If he can stay cool under pressure—which he did yesterday, right up until the end—he’ll be a good addition at Pat-ar.”
“Agreed. Okay—let’s go check out the jumja soup and see how he did,” Suzanne said. “If it’s good, I’ve really got to go feed my babies—my boobs are about to burst.” She nodded at her front, where her breasts did look awfully swollen.
Jillian nodded.
“Okay, let’s go.”
She would give the big Kindred another chance, she told herself. After all, Kalis really did seem like a wonderful, amazing guy, other than the huge beast he was capable of turning into. If he could just keep that side of himself in check—and far away from her—they could have a very successful working relationship, she was sure.
What about some other kind of relationship? whispered a little voice in her head. Remember the way he touched you during that massage…
I was drugged at the time, Jillian argued with herself. Otherwise I would never have let a guy I barely knew do all that.
She pushed the erotic memory and the confusing feelings it gave her about Kalis out of her head. Right now, she just had to concentrate on getting through this VIP dinner. Everything else could wait.
