Addicted (The Addicted Series, #1)(72)

Finally, in desperation, I found Krystal's home phone. It was one of her quirks, that she still had a land line phone, but I was grateful. It took me a while, but I found in the phone's memory a number assigned to "Kim," so I took a risk. Dialing, I held my breath. After the third ring, I heard the line get picked up. "What the hell are you doing at home? You should be at work, right?"

"Hi, Kim? It's me, Julian. Please, don't hang up."

The silence on the other end of the line drew out, and I was worried that Kim would hang up when she finally replied. "Julian. How'd you get this number?"

I realized my palms were sweating, and I went over to the chair in the living room to sit down. It was overcast, but I could see all the way over most of the city from where I was sitting. "I woke up this morning, and Krystal wasn't here. I tried messaging her, and she isn't replying. Kimberly, did I do something to anger her?"

I heard a huff on the other end, and it took me a minute to realize that Kimberly was laughing. "Let me clue you in, Julian. Going to your stepsister's restaurant and making a big scene is not the way to endear yourself to her, or her to the staff. What the hell did you think you were doing last night?"

I blinked, surprised. "That? I had a few friends of friends that I gave a call to, and I wanted to introduce them to Alinea. None of them had been there before, and I figured I'd make it rain a little while I was there. That was why I made sure to order the best of everything. We left with a tab of over three thousand dollars, and I dropped a two-thousand-dollar tip on top of that."

I could almost hear Kimberly roll her eyes at me from the other end of the phone. "Listen dude, that is not how to help her out. Jesus, what sort of thought process was going through your head? As you put it, making it rain doesn't work in fine dining. Those people charge out the ass for a plate of steak and French fries because they can, and because Alinea can pack them in night after night. Sure, you left a big tip, but you messed up the flow of the kitchen with that tsunami order as she calls it. You alone gave her another twenty minutes of work backup by ordering those seven steaks, by the way. Who do you think was on the steak station at Alinea last night?"

I felt the blood drain out of my face, as I realized what I'd done. "Ah hell."

"Yeah, ah hell is right. Julian, if you want to have a good relationship with Krystal, you're going to have to get some things straight. First off, she isn't going to be impressed by you trying to be a baller. Remember, she's got her own money, and besides that, she's never been the type to be impressed by cash anyway. So if you want to actually get on her good side, drop that stupid act right now."

I nodded, and swallowed. "Then what should I do?"

"Try being honest and open with her. The reason we're friends is because I'm one of the few people who hasn't tried to kiss her ass for being an Aksoy. We're friends because when we are on the mat together, it's just Kimberly and Krystal, regardless of the money we have or the places we come from. Do you even know where I live?"

“Uh . . . no, no I don't," I said, honestly. "Krystal's talked about you sure, but she never brought it up."

"I live in Edgewater, which if you're unfamiliar with Chicago may not be the worst neighborhood, but I plan on getting the hell out of it as soon as I can. The reason I live here is because it's cheap, if I can put up with the gangs and the occasional shooting. Tell you something about my socio economic background, Julian?"

I felt myself nodding. "Yeah. Kimberly, you know that doesn't matter to me. You're Krystal's friend, you know?"

"I know that, dumbass. What I'm saying is, offer Krystal something more than money and tattoos, and she'll be happy to have you as part of her life. Understand?"

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "I got it. Listen, one last question, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead, but a short one. I gotta get back to work."

"What's her favorite movie?"

Kimberly laughed again, and I could hear the ice in her voice thaw as she did. "She's a chef. What type of movies do you think she likes?"

The phone went dead in my ear, and I hung up. Sitting back, I thought for a long time, then set the handset back on its base. I walked back into my room, and sat down to think. Finally, I got an idea, and went over to the laptop I had bought the other day. It was pretty decent, not a top flight gaming rig but I didn't need one for what I wanted to do. Krystal was letting me cadge off her Internet signal, and I pulled up my browser so I could start to learn.





Chapter 9


Krystal




"He did what?"

"He actually called and asked me about you. You know, if I didn't know better, he sounded like he has a crush on you, babe."

I was on my meal break before service time, that golden hour before final prep and service began. Traditionally, it was the time that a lot of restaurants would gather and let the staff fill their bellies with the scraps and cutoffs of what couldn't be reused or repurposed from the raw ingredients, and Alinea was no different. I'd finished my bowl of rice, beef and vegetables, and was sitting in the alley behind the restaurant, just getting some fresh air. Well, if you can call alley air fresh. "No way. Kim, he's my stepbrother."