Benne glanced at Jeff. Seeing how Mia had agreed that Jeff cin as a chef, he was certain that Mia had watched Jeff prepare meals and approved of his meals.
“Absolutely,” he assured Henderson, his voice dripping with false sincerity. “Highly skilled, impeccable references. Just the kind of addition Rosewood needs. And he will only be keeping an eye on things. He won’t cause any troubles for you.”
There was another pause, longer this time. Benne knew Henderson was weighing his options, caught between the lucrative contract he had with the Rosewoods and doing Lawrence’s grandson a favor.
“Mr Delgado,” Henderson finally said, his voice laced with wariness, “I understand your desire to… improve the situation at the Rosewood Household. However, I cannot simply insert someone into an established household staff. My staff has contracts, and I have a reputation to uphold.”
Benne knew he had to tread carefully. He couldn’t push Henderson too far, but he also couldn’t afford delays. “Mr. Henderson,” he said, his voice softening slightly, “rest assured, my intention is not to cause any disruption. The current chef, well, let’s just say they haven’t been meeting expectations. Perhaps a… friendly departure could be arranged?”
He left the suggestion hanging in the air, a silent offer for Henderson’s cooperation. Jeff, noticing the shift in Benne’s tone, glanced at Benne, a flicker of hope sparking in his eyes.
“A friendly departure,” Henderson repeated slowly, clearly contemplating the situation. “And what about this new chef? What exactly are their… duties?”
Benne couldn’t help but smirk. This was it. “Aside from cooking, the new chef will be primarily concerned with the well-being of Mrs Rosewood,” he began, his voice dropping to a low murmur.
Henderson scoffed. “Are you sure this ‘chef’ of yours wouldn’t be more interested in… extracurricular activities?”
“Letassure you, he is a man of integrity. His sole purpose will be to ensure the safety of Mrs Rosewood and… let’s say, keeping her out of trouble.”. Discreetly, of course.”
Another long pause. Benne could almost hear Henderson weighing the risks and rewards. Finally, with a resigned sigh, Henderson spoke.
“Mr. Delgado,” he said, his voice tight, “I have a contract with both my staff and the family at Rosewood. Replacing someone wouldn’t be easy, especially without a good reason. But if you can find a way to make the current chef vacate the position then I can see about accommodating your request. However, understand that my hands are tied until then…”
“Consider it done,” Benne interrupted smoothly, his voice firm. “I will have the current chef discharged within the next three days. No muss, no fuss. The new chef will be at your office in three days.
A tense silence followed. Finally, a grudging acceptance filled the receiver.
“Fine,” Henderson grumbled. “But if it turns out you’re deceivingand playing games, you’ll be answering to me.”
“You can rest assured, Mr. Henderson, my intentions are pure,” Benne said smoothly, the tension draining from his shoulders.
He hung up the phone, a triumphant smile playing on his lips. Turning to Jeff, he met the man’s hopeful gaze. “Everything is going according to plan. I hope you’ve packed your bags. You have to be there to take over from the chef in three days.”
Jeff’s face lit up, a spark of determination replacing his earlier worry. He could finally be near Mia again. He wouldn’t let anything stop him from protecting her.
“But, how do you plan to get rid of the incumbent chef? Did you hear from Mia? Has she found a way to get it done?” Jeff asked as an afterthought.
Benne looked at Jeff for a moment and knowing that he was most likely worried about Mia, he decided to tell him about Tyler’s dinner and let him hear the recording, but he wasn’t going to tell him about Barry.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to get it done one way or the other. About Mia. Tyler had dinner with them,” Benne said and played the recording for Jeff to hear.
After Jeff was done listening to it, he sighed deeply. Mia sounded like a completely different person. He hoped that Henry had not touched a hair on her head else he would make sure to teach Henry a lesson before he was handed to the police.
His silent vow echoed in the room, a promise fueled by love and a burning desire for justice.
“Don’t you think this lady might cause stroubles for us?” Jeff asked, thinking about what Mia had said about Diana following her everywhere and being in charge of everything.
“Don’t worry about it, I have things under control…”
Jeff hit the table before Benne could finish, “No! I’m worried,” he said as he rose, “I don’t care if you have things under control or not, what I care about is that if you know something I don’t know, you should tell me. Do not asknot to worry. If you were in my shoes and the woman you love is going through stuff like that would you be able to stay still and not worry?” Jeff asked heatedly.
Without waiting for Benne to respond, he continued, “I need to go in there with as much knowledge as I can. Do you have any idea how worried she must be for her to have tried to send that message to us that way? Do you expectto go in there with no information to cheer her up? We are all doing this for Mia and I don’t think it is fair that you’re withholding information,” Jeff said, unable to hold back his annoyance.
“I see,” Benne said calmly, “Now that you’ve admitted that you’re in love with her, I think I should ask this now. I hope your feelings won’t get in the way of our plans? You’re not going to blow your cover and put both Mia and everyone else at risk, right?” Benne asked and Jeff took a deep breath.
“I won’t.”
“You had better now. If you’re going to act this emotionally when you get there, it’s better we send someone else in there. It will be safer for everyone that way,” Benne said and Jeff held his gaze.
“I told Mia I’m going to be there with her. I intend to keep it that way. I won’t blow my cover,” Jeff said and Benne let out a sigh.
“Alright. I’m not sure what you want to know, but you already know that we have acquired sof the companies working for Henry. Harry did that before he left, so that means we can have our people go in and out in the guise of going to fix things. I have my people keeping an eye on the house. Diana Locke seems to be there with motives of her own. So I plan to blackmail her with what I know about her so she can let go of the incumbent chef, and you can replace him. Does that answer your question?” Benne said and Jeff sighed deeply, then nodded.
“Yes. You could have just said so. You didn’t have to be so mysterious about it,” Jeff muttered, “Besides, don’t you think I had every right to know this considering that when I am sent there, she is going to be suspicious of me? And if you didn’t tellabout it now I wouldn’t have known why?” Jeff said, and Benne shook his head.
“I wasn’t planning on making it seem like it was about you. I was just going to make her fire the current chef thinking I have something against the chef or had use for him,” Benne said with a shrug.
“So you didn’t plan on lettingknow about her?” Jeff asked and Benne shrugged.
“The less you know about plan B, the better. Don’t let Diana know you know she is with Henry for ulterior motives. Stick to plan A and letworry about plan B. I will control her from out here, while you do what you need to do in there. You can’t tell Mia about Diana either,” Benne warned.
“How then will I explain how I got to be in the house?” Jeff asked with a frown.
“Was it Diana who sent you there? I did. I talked to the domestic staff company and they withdrew their staff and sent you. It’s as simple as that. Don’t make the mistake of blowing your cover,” Benne said, and Jeff nodded.
“Alright. I will do as you have said. I feel better knowing there is a plan B in place and you have things under control. Thanks,” Jeff said as Benne looked him over.
“You need a makeover. Your disguise has to be perfect.”
“Yes. I plan to get it done just before I leave. I don’t want to go about in my new look in case Henry’s men are still watching,” Jeff said, easily.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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