Victoria The Billionaires Maid

I suppose in a way I wanted to show the world I was tired of being played for the fool. During my more manic phases, I could break others in the way that they broke me, but unlike Bobby and Jonas, it would all come crashing down on me to the point where I couldn’t even get out of bed for days.

The constant crash and burn would take its toll on me. I’d finally pull myself together, oftentimes after having my meds adjusted, and then I would hold my head high and avoid all triggers. If I wanted this contract, I couldn’t hide from Jonas or fear for my sanity.

“Oh my God, we’ve moved on to the next round,” Reece proclaimed excitedly.

I blinked a few times to focus on the present, then her words sunk in. “Really?”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. The judges did enjoy the appetizers, and that included my ex. I could finally breathe easily, especially when I noticed that eight more chefs were leaving the makeshift kitchen area. If I counted the two that never showed up, we were now down to nine chefs outside of myself. It was a much more manageable number and that set me at ease.

“Maybe I can do this,” I murmured. Jonas had been sitting there practically the entire time and I had remained a professional. It didn’t even matter that I wanted to stab him in his cold heart with a dull knife. I resisted the urge, as I would all others, and got through these last six days the best I could.

“I’m happy to say that you’ve all made it to the next challenge. It’ll be the last one of the day, and you’ll have exactly two hours to prepare, cook, and plate your creation using a few signature ingredients,” Oliver instructed, and I waited for him to tell me what they would be. “You’ll need to use filet mignon, red wine, and gorgonzola cheese.”

My mind was in overdrive as I immediately thought about miniature beef wellingtons. I had made them for various events, and I didn’t even need a recipe to follow. I walked to the cooler and grabbed some puff pastry dough, and when I returned, Reece smiled. She knew exactly where my mind had gone, and as she went to gather the rest of the ingredients, I started to prepare.

From time to time, I could sense Jonas staring at me. I didn’t know whether it had been because of who I was, or if he was giving every other chef the same attention, but I wouldn’t let him distract me. In the kitchen, I was in my zone, and there was little room for juvenile ex-manwhores. With the time constraint and my ambitious appetizer, there was little for anything.

I seasoned the steaks and got a sear on them before handing the meat off to Reece to cool. As she took the cremini mushrooms and made a paste with them, I started to lay out the puff pastry on a floured board. I heard a lot of chatter around me, but my sous chef and I worked just fine together, so there was little conversation that we had to do.

I then began to compose the miniature beef wellingtons. I was taking a risk because if we’d erred on any of these steps, we would be eliminated and not even around long enough to see what tonight would bring.

I’d made these many times, so once the little pastry bundles were all sealed up, I slid the cooking tray into the oven and said a silent prayer. Twice, I kneeled in front of the oven to see how they were cooking by gazing through the door. The second time that I did, I rose to my feet and looked directly into the eyes of the last man I ever wanted to see.

“I could get used to the sight of you on your knees, Kenzie.”

I just bet you could. I glared and didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response at first until he smirked at me. “It’s too bad that you’ll never get the chance.”

“Tsk. Tsk,” was all he said, before giving Reece a wink when she came to check on me, then he walked to the next station.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just Jonas being vulgar,” I responded. But it wasn’t anything because now I could imagine myself in the exact position that he wanted me in. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“It’s been a few weeks since you last broke up with what’s his face-” she started before I interrupted.

“His name is Derrick, and we weren’t sexually compatible.” That had been an understatement.

“What do you mean?” I realized then that I had never told her why we stopped seeing each other.

“Let’s just say that we played for the same team. I wanted sex with him, and he wanted it with the guy next door.”

“Ouch.” I thought she’d leave it at that, but she grinned cheekily. “And now, you and Jonas want each other. You should throw something on him, and leave him feigning That’ll teach him to play women.”

That was doubtful. I was pretty convinced he was the same asshole he’d always been, so odds were that I would be the one left hanging and not him, unless…

The sound of the timer going off forced me back to the present, and I went to check on the beef wellingtons again. We now had just fifteen minutes left, and I needed to leave mine in for another five. I checked the dry red wine sauce, and at the last minute, added gorgonzola cheese to it. The rest of the time was spent in a flurry as we garnished the plates, then delivered them to the judges.

I cut, and while I should’ve been happy about being one of the final seven chefs left, I was still angry that the one I needed to impress was Jonas Courtland. Of all the cooking competitions and hotels in the world…

“Please tell me you’re not wearing that to karaoke tonight,” Reece implored, breaking me out of my preoccupation.

“Then I won’t,” I answered, before adding, “because I don’t plan to go.”

I’d had enough of trying to schmooze up to my ex. Was he actually that, though? In my head, we’d been exclusively committed to one another. I had given him my virginity after all. Now in hindsight, since I was nothing more than a game to him, I doubted he considered me anything back then.

I was the stupid one imagining place settings and color schemes for our wedding, while he’d been anticipating the reaction he’d get from his boys when they saw the video of us and what I thought had been a private moment.

Oh my God. I’d been so stupid back then. Even now, I was bordering on complete lunacy for even sharing air with him. My thoughts returned to his friends, and I wanted to roll my eyes as I remembered every one of them, especially Kristopher Simon.

I should’ve known something like reuniting with Jonas would happen after I had catered a society wedding a few months back for the same man who used to be his best friend. I’d been able to stay hidden mostly from view, especially since his fiancee, Hayley, had been in complete control of the menu. I should’ve turned down the job, but it paid well, and living in Manhattan, I needed all the money I could make. It had never crossed my mind that the groom was the same one from Texas, although it would have the moment I had seen his face.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

The one time he was supposed to be there to sample my tasting menu before the event, he’d been called away for emergency surgery, so my moment of shock happened at the ceremony itself.

I’d not seen Jonas there. I stayed in the back and left as soon as the festivities were over. I hadn’t wanted to see any of the other guys or girls, who had made my life hell after the prom. There’d been rumblings that my client was just as malicious as those other kids had been but in New York City.

I thankfully hadn’t had to like those that hired me. I only needed to do what they paid me to do. I did it with Kristopher and Hayley, and I would do it with Jonas Courtland, even if the mere thought made me nauseous.

Lord knows he made sure I was that way for several months more as the morning sickness I had with Tori had been brutal. He knew nothing of his daughter, and I intended to keep it that way.

To the world, she was my niece, but to me, she was my greatest blessing and most heart-wrenching mistake all wrapped into one. My sister and her husband gave my daughter a good life, and that was more than I likely could’ve given her on my own.