Sex with Roth? She wouldn't lie; she had envisioned the scenario more than once over the months since she first met him. She had envisioned in her mind's eye what his body would feel and look like under those finely tailored designer suits. Amazing to both the eyes and to the touch, she had no doubt about that. She'd even masturbated to thoughts of him. Truth be told, Roth was normally the star of all her fantasies.
Finally, after what felt like close to an hour of awkward silence but amounted closer to a fraction of a minute, he grinned at her. "I'm teasing you, Ruby."
She released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding until that moment with a loud huff. She wasn't sure what she was more of - relieved or disappointed. No, he's my boss now. I have to keep reminding myself of that. Off-limits! Period! Sadly, the reaction of her body to his close proximity seemed to disagree with her reasoning as she found herself squirming uncomfortably as wetness began to form between her legs from her desire for him.
"Sorry I-"
"Hmmm," he cocked a brow at her and grinned.
"How did you know my dress size?" She decided it best to change the subject before she got herself more embarrassed than she already was.
It was his turn to flush. "I-um. Well, I had this planned and"
"And you went snooping through my private things," she narrowed her eyes at him, pretending to be aghast at his actions.
"No. No-it wasn't snooping. You see, I knew I was going to take you here and to keep it a surprise -"
"You went poking through my underwear drawer," she couldn't hold the stern look any longer as a grin broke through ruining her facade.
"Nah," he gave her a wink, "I had Leonard do it."
Ruby cringed. Leonard, the older, stern looking butler, was rummaging through her personal belongings? She prayed he didn't open the drawer with her vibrator in it. He did seem to have a hard time looking her in the eye all day today. Oh God! The whole idea was too mortifying to even consider.
He didn't happen to mention anything else about what he found when going through my clothes looking for sizes, did he?"
Roth frowned, "No. Why would he?"
Ruby shook her head, attempting a reassuring smile. "No reason at all. I was just wondering."
"Hmmm, sweet little Ruby from the coffee shop, are you keeping secrets from me?" he flicked on the blinker and pulled the car into the parking lot of one of the hottest and most exclusive restaurants in town - The View. The dress made perfect sense now considering the ultra formal dress code the restaurant required.
She'd always wondered what it was like there, and if the food was truly worth the price she'd heard, it was on it. She supposed she would find out soon enough.
Roth pulled the car up to the front door and turned it over to the valet while a second valet assisted her from the passenger's side. He immediately handed her off to Roth as he approached.
Roth offered his arm to her, which she accepted, feeling like royalty or some sort of superstar as they strolled - quite literally - down a red carpet into the very elegantly styled, modern restaurant. Oh, I could totally get used to this!
"You know, Roth, this feels an awful lot like a date," Ruby commented as he pushed her chair in for her. They were seated in a private room where one wall was actually a window overlooking Portland. Millions of lights sparkled in the darkness below them, and if you looked far out, you could see the water. It was nothing short of spectacular.
"Does it now?" he asked, unbuttoning his suit jacket, shrugging it off and laying it across the back of his chair as he sat down across from her. "For the sake of argument. You don't start working for me until tomorrow morning, so technically, even if this were a date, it wouldn't be a conflict to our working relationship."
A light knock came at the door.
"Come in," Roth called out.
Ruby turned in her seat, expecting to see the waiter, but instead, the head chef walked in, closing the door behind him. "Roth, good to see you again."
"Pete." Roth stood and walked over to the other man.
They shook hands and then did what Ruby called a "man hug," one arm, with no lower body contact. The chef appeared to be about the same age as Roth; early thirties perhaps.
He waved his hand in the direction of Ruby. "This is Ruby. She's going to be your student for the next few weeks or so."
Student? Ruby looked up at the handsome blonde-haired man, who was assumed to be a close friend to Roth.
"Ahhh Ruby, it's going to be a pleasure teaching you everything I know," he gave her a wink that had her heart racing and colour rising to her cheeks as he extended his hand to her.
Ruby took his hand as she glanced over at Roth with a questioning frown.
"Pete is a world-renowned chef, and he is going to be teaching you the art of cooking. You know, something beyond... mac and cheese."
Ruby's eye narrowed as she glared over at Roth. Oh God, could that have been more embarrassing.
Pete chuckled good-naturedly. "No need to be embarrassed Ruby, a good many people should stay far away from the kitchen, but no worries, I will turn you into a master chef in no time."
Roth caught her gaze and grinned, unaffected by her penetrating stare. "So now, you won't be able to say you're not qualified for the job." He nodded towards Pete. "Pete here will ensure that you are."
While becoming a chef certainly wasn't her lifelong dream, to be tutored by the head chef of The View was an opportunity that she couldn't refuse. Maybe he could whip her into becoming a great chef. Maybe this was the opportunity she needed? Anything was possible, and she was determined to keep an open mind.