She glares at me, but there’s no denying the truth of what I’m saying. “You’re good,” she says bitterly. “But then again, you’re a professional.”
I chuckle under my breath. “Are you going to keep the phone or not, Jessa?”
She sighs deeply and reaches into her jean pocket. “Here,” she says in defeat.
The moment the phone is placed in my hand, I feel a small trickle of relief. It’s vastly outweighed by the regret that this part of our little dance has come to an end.
“Are we done now?” she asks.
I raise my eyebrows. “That’s up to you. You haven’t answered my offer.”
She frowns. “You can’t be serious about the whole private chef thing.”
“I am always serious,” I tell her. “More to the point, it wasn’t actually a question.”
She straightens up and stares at me. “You’ve already cost me my job. Isn’t that punishment enough?”
“Not by a long shot, kotyonok.”
She stands up and starts pacing right in front of me. “So you really want me to come to your home and cook for you, day in and day out?”
“Why are you repeating things that I’ve already made clear?”
“For how long?” she snaps.
I’ve given that some thought since I last saw her. “Three months.”
Her mouth falls open. “Three months?”
I sigh. “Are you intending to make this a habit? Repeating everything I say?”
“Three fucking months? That’s a lifetime!”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t be a drama queen.”
Her eyes flash dangerously. “You… you’re such a… a…”
“An asshole?”
“Asshole!” she yells. “Three entire months of my life and—”
“You’ll get paid far more than you could possibly make anywhere else. You’ll live in the finest mansion in the city. And at the end of it, you’ll get a recommendation letter from me that will help you get hired in any restaurant in town,” I tell her.
She falls silent at that. “Wait… seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I believe in incentivizing my employees.”
She bristles at my word choice. “I am not your employee.”
“Yes, you are. Or do I need to explain everything to you again?”
She crosses her arms and glares at me over the coffee table. “Interest is not paid off this way.”
“I do things differently.”