Free Romance: The Billionaire's Demands by Jodi Cooper Page A

Anne.
    “I doubt it.  His reputation is, um…”
    She held her hands out to indicate a large size.
    “There are no secrets in this city,” I mumbled.
     
    SLAM!
     
    The kitchen door swung open with intimidating force.
    All the kitchen staff’s eyes shifted to the door.
    “Who made this dessert?”
    It was more of a demand than a question.
    The handsome man standing at the door was the same man that I was staring only moments before. When he was sitting down, it was clear that he was tall and strong, but now that he was standing in the doorway, he looked even bigger. There was an aura about him as he stood at the kitchen entrance in his perfect suit, waiting for a response.
    His firm and blunt demeanor made it unclear whether he was happy or angry.
    “May I help you, sir?” the head chef finally responded to the billionaire.
    “Who made my dessert?”
    Bradley Clifford came close to the head chef, looking down on him and invading his personal space.
    Terry is the head chef and he’s responsible for everything that happens in the kitchen. He should be the one taking responsibility for the food – good or bad.
    Terry bullies and belittles us at every opportunity but now that he’s about to stick up for me against this harsh billionaire, I guess I can cut him some more slack.
    “She made it!”
    He pointed his finger straight at me.
    Damn.
    Thanks, head chef.
    Glad to know that you have my back.
    Prick.
     
     

Chapter 2
     

 
     
     
     
    Bradley Clifford walked towards me and my heart skipped a beat. He was definitely handsome.
    Insanely handsome, in fact.
    He was probably the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on.
    I noticed that he was checking out my figure, including my breasts and curvy backside.  His eyes danced down my body, and then back up again.
    I knew that I was pretty on a good day, but I felt frumpy and worn out today in these clothes.  
    Having just dropped out of law school due to running out of tuition, it had been a while since I had any fun.  I was definitely overdue. 
    “May I ask what your name is?” he directed me to respond, finally catching my brown eyes with his green ones.  
    He tried in vain to look down for my nametag, but I realized that it was missing from my chef uniform. 
    I hesitated.
    His body definitely had an intimidating aura about it.
    He waited for me to respond. The whole kitchen was waiting for me to respond.
    “Jasmine,” I blurted out finally.  
    That sounded bad.  
    Not my smoothest moment.
    “My name is Jasmine,” I said in a more polite tone of voice.  
    I looked around at the other kitchen staff in a vain attempt to figure out how to behave, but none of them were paying any attention to me fumbling horribly in front of this man.  They were all too busy staring at him.
    Even the men were staring at him.
    I wiped some jelly off my hand that had been there since I made the last dessert, and thrust it in his direction.  
    I didn’t know if it was proper to shake a billionaire’s hand, but I guessed maybe it was.
    “Nice to meet you, Jasmine.  My name is Bradley.”
    He flashed me a winning smile, the one I imagine that he uses in order to get all the girls or to win over his clients.  
    They probably fall down around his feet and swoon madly for him, I guess.
    “You certainly are very pretty for a dessert chef.” His smile widened, and I could feel my cheeks flush under his gaze.  
    Oh brother.  This guy sure was a smooth talker if ever I’d seen one.    
    I tried to smile back at him. “Oh… um. Aren’t dessert chefs supposed to be pretty?”
    “I haven’t met that many dessert chefs, Jasmine.” My heart jumped when he used my name. “But if they are all as pretty as you, then I have been moving in all the wrong circles.”
    I sensed that he was trying to say more, but he closed his mouth again just as fast as he had opened it.
    “What is your favorite dish, if you could have anything on earth?”  
    Strange question.  I bit