Crime Boss' Unwilling Wife
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Elle Chipp
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Beggars Canât Be Choosers
Emma~
When a woman of this family turns eighteen, not only are they expected to take on more responsibility, but they are finally at an age where they are allowed to date.
Iâd been counting the days until my birthday, wondering hopelessly what it would be like to have someone walk into my life and live up to the stories Iâve read about in my books. But here we are, five years later and Iâm still none the wiser.
Itâs hard not to lose hope. Almost all of the others my age in our family are married by now and with twenty-four right around the corner, Iâm starting to give up hope. At first, every time we had a visitor from one of my fatherâs business deals or parties in the summer, I would jump at the chance, hoping to find someone that would sweep me off my feet, but it never happened.
My older brother, Owen, is more than happy with that fact, encouraging it even, and has gone as far as to start threatening anyone who shows interest in me of late. But heâs lucky the feeling never seems to be mutual.
Thank goodness it hasnât happened recently though, the larger the suspense the more protective he gets and I donât even think my book characters would be good enough for him.
But thatâs not to say that I havenât received one or two offers in the past, itâs just that we never seem to click. Maybe my expectations are too high, or maybe I donât understand what itâs actually meant to be like, you know, meeting someone naturally. As all I do know for sure is that it wasnât right and I couldnât go through with it.
With so much spare time on my hands, Iâve been able to develop my skills in the kitchen and really invest in a culinary education. My father has been very supportive (probably because my late mother had a similar passion too) and has let me gradually take over the management of the kitchen the more confident Iâve become, which is no small feat when considering the mouths we have to feed.
I live at home with my family, and by family, I donât just mean my blood. Thereâs a large group of us that live here, people that work alongside my father and those partnered with them. I canât say that I know exactly what they do, but from the hushed voices in offices and long business trips without contact, I find that itâs best not to ask if I donât want to ruffle feathers.
Every time Iâve dared in the past, I seem to have the same canned response thrown back at me in reply. âIâm a businessman, Emma, now run along will you?â
Itâs the only time my father ever seems to get frustrated with me, and as I got older and started to realize the potential danger in all of the secrecy, Iâve eventually got too scared to know. After my mother died, losing anyone else is too much to even think about, so I bury my head in the sand, even if itâs the cowardâs way out.
âEmma!â The voice of my father booms behind me and I jump up from the stove I was bent over.
Iâm attempting to shape âHappy Birthdayâ in caramel ahead of a birthday next week as I know that this particular sweet treat is Trinaâs all-time favorite.
âYes, Papa?â I bow my head for a second in frustration before accepting the fact that Iâll need to start again now that my concentration is blown.
Caramel might not be rocket science, but Iâd like to see NASA try and nail this in between batching meals for thirty hungry mouths all hours of the day.
âWe have guests coming unexpectedly tomorrow, a potential client. Iâd like to make a strong impression and expect nothing but the best, will you have enough time for fifteen?â
My mouth falls open. Dinner tomorrow night for a client and thirteen others? The last time he trusted me enough to have one visit I had two weeksâ notice and a test run, never mind the fact that Betty the housekeeper is currently ill and Iâve been helping out where I can.
âYes, Papa. I will place an order right away and start preparing now.â
I mean, what else can I say? Heâs my father and what he says goes. After all that heâs done to get me here, Iâd sooner die than risk disappointing him.
âIâll have the others come in to help with what you need.â He turns to go before pausing for a second as if needing to add something, and he does. âOh and Emma? Spare no expense. Itâs important we come across as strong tomorrow.â
He leaves as swiftly as he came and Iâve never seen him so anxious over a meal before, never mind so formal. He tends to come down here to sneak cake while chatting to me about my studies, not saying things like âexpecting nothing but the bestâ. Who are these people to work him up so much?
I realize these thoughts arenât very productive and shake them from my mind. I need all the time I can get to start sketching out this meal so that I can get my order in for what we donât have in the pantry.
Spare no expense. Yeah, he really shouldnât have said that. Iâve been dying for an excuse to add to my truffle oil stash for a while now and what screams ânothing but the bestâ more than that? Caviar? Itâs far too clichĂ© and to be honest Iâve never really been a fan.
Given the opportunity to put on something special, Iâm going to wow my diners with the crĂšme de la crĂšme of my capabilities. But whatâs always frustrated me with high-end food is that you can go hungry right after eating it most of the time. My personal approach and the one Iâll be going with tomorrow is to keep up with high-end ingredients and presentation but to mix it with hearty foods as well. I want them to feel full, but in the seventh heaven all at the same time.
Now that I think I have some sort of plan, I can start my ritual of cleaning the whole kitchen. I need to start with a blank canvas when doing something like this as itâs easy for all the pots and pans to pile up on me as I go. It also gives me a chance to reflect on my meals and what equipment will be best to prepare it.
I just hope to all that is good in this world that I can actually pull this off.
