Deanna is speechless.
If it weren’t for the raw hatred glaring from her eyes, all of it aimed directly at me, I’d almost feel sorry for her. Ever observant, Vincent puts his arm around my waist, pulling me close.
“You should’ve left Raina alone,” he tells Deanna. “All you had to do was try to be a decent human being. But you let your fragile ego get in the way. For such a successful dominatrix, I honestly expected you to have a bit more self-control.”
“Screw you, Vincent,”
“If anyone is to blame for your own undoing, it’s you,” he says.
Unceremoniously, Deanna grabs her two suitcases and rolls them out of the mansion. I catch a glimpse of a Lincoln Town Car pulling up at the base of the front steps, a smallBrunei flag flapping at the front. That must be her ride, but Deanna looks nowhere near happy when the driver gets out to help her with the suitcases.
Max shuts the door behind her with an thud, then turns around to look at me and smile. “Nobody insults our woman without experiencing the consequences, Raina, nobody.”
“Wow, I can see that,” I mumble. “I didn’t think you’d let her go, not really.”
“She was never going to change,” Vincent says and plants a kiss on my temple. “And she overstayed her welcome. In business and in life, it’s better to cut ties with people who do more harm than good. We live by this.”
I slowly turn and wrap my arms around his hard waist. “Thank you for sticking up for me.”
He gazes at me softly, and his lips find mine. He tastes like coffee and honey.
“Are all the guests gone then?” I ask once we part.
“And the hosts,” Max replies.
“The service staff has orders to recheck every room and lock the place down, then leave before the end of the week,” Alex adds, “which means we should all get ready to head out, as well.”
Vincent looks at me. “I’ll go get that last suitcase from upstairs.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I suppose you’ll help me carry everything to my car, too?”
“Of course,” Alex replies, almost laughing. “Why would you even ask?”
“The hyper-independent version of me still struggles to relinquish control sometimes,” I say with a sheepish smile. “But see? I’m learning to let go of that. Baby steps, gentlemen, it’s going to be baby steps.”
Max takes a deep breath. “Relax, Raina. You don’t have to carry a single thing. The last thing we want is for those exceptionally capable hands of yours to suffer any sort of strain or injury weeks ahead of The Black Swan’s grand opening.”
I laugh until I catch the meaning behind his words, and then I freeze for a moment.
“Wait. Stop. Explain,” I say, my voice trembling slightly.
Max casually shrugs, a smile on his handsome face. “The head chef job is already yours. We’re expecting you to take over the kitchen as soon as Monday.”
“If you still want the job,” Alex adds with a raised eyebrow.
23
RAINA
Ifeel it throbbing through my veins and thickening my blood as I look at Alex, at Max, at Vincent.
“You are really serious,” I say, wrapping my head around the single greatest news I’ve heard in a very long time. “You’re giving me the job.”
“No, Raina, you’veearnedit,” Alex declares and comes closer. “You’ve worked hard here. It only took a few weeks for us to realize precisely how special and how precious you are.”
“As a chef and as a woman,” Max adds.
“I’m speechless—and grateful,” I say. “Of course I want the job. I will do everything in my power to prove I’m worthy of it.”
