Chapter Twenty-Four:

"…Do you know how to make beef wellingtons Jane?"

Let's just say after a quick recipe check and video tutorial by Gordon Ramsey, I felt like I could make a half decent try at a beef wellington. I spent the next hour putting things in and out of ovens and pans. It felt exactly like previous dinner preparations, so any nerves quickly vanished. One change I did make was to shoo away Edward from the kitchen area. He really didn't know where all the utensils lived and I needed to get the food started. He didn't go far though. He sat at the dinner table with his trusty iPad. At one point he must have gotten up to pour himself a drink, and I found a glass of red wine close by. I looked up to ask him about it, but he was so absorbed with whatever he was doing that I didn't want to distract him. I took a few sips and I felt the last traces of tension from earlier melt away. It was either that, or the delicious aromas from the oven made me confident that the meat would be delicious.

After an hour of cooking, we were sitting at the table with our meals. I sipped my wine nervously till Edward had tasted the food. After waiting for what felt like hours, I got some feedback. "It's not the best I've had… but it isn't the worst either." That was his whole evaluation. I was quite hungry so I took a bite out of mine. I thought the meat was a little dry and the pastry wasn't as crisp as it could have been. I was kinda pleased with Edward's response to my food. It was okay that he didn't praise the heck out of it – he was being honest and I was appreciative for that. And the fact that he was eating it enthusiastically made me smile. The smiling put me in such a good mood that I couldn't help but joke around some more with my dinner partner.

"So you aren't going to tell me off like Gordon Ramsey does? Remember if you tell me to jump in the oven, you will have to find someone else to teach Adele," I said in jest.

"I better not insult your cooking anymore then. You're too valuable for me to lose," he remarked. I was taken aback by what I heard. Valuable? Me? 'Is he trying to flirt with me?' I pondered. I looked over and he wasn't acting unusual at all. He just kept eating and chatting away. "Where else can I find a governess and a personal chef for the price of one salary?" he continued with a grin. I realised then that I was holding my breath. Of course, I was reading into that valuable thing a little too much. But with him smiling like that, I might not mind him thinking I was special… I got distracted from that train of thought with his next use of banter. "…Even if you aren't proficient in cooking beef wellingtons."

I knew he was being sarcastic so I decided to play along with him. "Give me a chance. I'll try to get better," I joked.

"If you do get better at making beef wellingtons, I might pay you an increased salary," he continued.

The topic of salary and money reminded me of a subject I wanted to discuss ever since our first meeting. I took a sip of wine and decided that this would be the best time to talk about this. "Actually, can I discuss something with you?"

Edward noticed the seriousness in my tone. He put down his cutlery and leant back in his chair. "What is it Jane?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and brought up something that had bothered me for a while now. I tried to sound confident but I know my voice waved a little bit. "Do… Do you know about the evening we met? How you swerved the car… around the bus bench, and then scratches appeared on your car…"

"-What about them Jane?" he stated. He didn't appear like he was uncomfortable talking out our meeting, but I could sense he wasn't prepared for me to bring it up. I hadn't had a moment alone with him since Adele's birthday. I knew now was the best time to say it. So I took a breath and let it out. "I want to pay for the repairs to your car."

"Don't be a git." He went back to his food and his tone of voice told me that he felt that this discussion had ended. I figured Edward might not take this request seriously, but I really wanted to do this.

"I feel responsible and I feel like I need to make it up to you somehow." I never owed anything to anyone before… except for Helen. I wasn't used to people doing things for me. I didn't like to feel indebted to other people. I become really sceptical of other people's motives when people do favours for me. And I felt being obliged to my employer would just be unprofessional and inconsiderate.

I could tell that Edward wasn't going to see things my way. He put down his cutlery again and leant forward on the table. "You don't have enough money to even buy your own car. Think sensibly." He started making gestures to emphasise his arguments. "What you are saying makes no financial sense. I told you that I had already paid for it."

I figured this man wasn't used to people arguing with him, but I wasn't going to give up so easily. I lifted my chin, squared my shoulders and locked eyes from across the table. He was taking this too lightly and I wasn't going to back down from my principles. "I feel quite strongly about this," I counted. "Please tell me how I can repay you for the damage I caused."

He didn't reply to me straightaway. I watched him shift and sit upright in his seat. I could see the clogs move behind his eyes and realised we were in a battle of wits again. I tried to straighten in my chair so I could appear taller than I actually was. I could sense that this disagreement was coming to a head and I couldn't back down now. Edward didn't look away either and I could tell he was trying to appear as authoritative as possible. His face formed a wry smirk and I started to feel uneasy about how my request could be misconstrued. 'What if he asks you to do something immoral Jane? What are you going to do then?' I questioned to myself.

His reply didn't completely put me at ease. "Tell you what – I'm going to make three requests Jane."

"O…Okay…" I stammered. I felt like somehow I was in more trouble than I was before.

I watched him lace his fingers together and sensed that somehow I had lost the contest. "The first is that I want to commission a piece of art from you," he mandated.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Here was a millionaire who could hire professional painters but he wanted me to do a painting? I tried to stammer a reply but he quickly cut me off. "Did you not just say you had a favour to repay Jane?"

"I suppose…" I murmured. I couldn't really argue with his request as I did say that I wanted to work my way out of his debt. But I couldn't fathom why he had chosen this, as I could not see any rhyme or reason to asking an amateur to complete a task. As my stomach tightened, I was now beginning to worry about what his other two requests would be.

"So that's my first request. The second is that you make beef wellington dinners once a week.

"…Okay… But it wouldn't be good for Adele to have beef every week for dinner. I'll still have to make meals using other proteins so we will get enough beneficial vitamins. Maybe every other week we can have this for dinner?" I queried.

"Fine. As for my last request… I'll save it. I'll tell you what it is later." He sat back into his chair and took a sip of his drink. My panic heightened when I saw his wry smirk appear again.

"I want to point out that I won't do anything illegal," I blurted out. After taking a stance on principle, going on to sacrifice my own morals was unthinkable. "Or anything unethical. Or-" I couldn't stop rambling as I was feeling vulnerable, until Edward cut me off.

"-I wouldn't force you to do anything that would make you uncomfortable Jane," he countered.

Diary, I know that you shouldn't take a person's words on face value alone. In this situation, his last request was completely untrustworthy, unreliable and could have compromised so many of my values. But the look in his eyes and the small smile told me he was genuine. Somehow I felt like this person before me could be somebody I could trust. 'Hadn't he already saved my life before? Maybe we should give him the benefit of a doubt before rushing to any conclusions…' I deliberated to myself. Edward must have seen that his words had beaten my better judgement, and reached over to grab his glass. "I'll consider that you agree to my requests. Let's toast then to our new contract." He refilled my wine glass and waited till I picked it up before clinking our glasses together.

I remember I took a rather big gulp as I wanted to ease my nerves. I was still overcome with his requests, and then he made another distrustful comment. "Remember that a verbal contract is still a binding contract Jane." I could see that a slight glint was in his eye which signalled that he was teasing me.

"I'm quite suspicious about this arrangement already," I admitted. While I was trying to keep the atmosphere light, hints of my true feelings still managed to come out. I don't think my dinner partner noticed as he went back to focusing on his meal. He continued his candid dialogue in-between mouthfuls.

"Have I done anything to make you suspicious of me? Do I look untrustworthy to you?"

I'll blame it on the wine, but I was enjoying having dinner with my employer. I was relieved to have a conversation that was so honest and… blunt. There have been so many people who I've met that I couldn't be sincere with. People who couldn't be forthcoming no matter how hard they tried. I know it sounds funny, especially when he was hiding a request from me. But he told me his thoughts and wasn't afraid of what my reaction would be. He wasn't going to pretend to by my friend when he wasn't. He wasn't going to praise something when it was rotten, or vice versa. I thought my employer was as clear as glass or fine crystal; what you saw is what you got. Edward was always so clear cut and forthright with his topics and thoughts. I know that others thought of him as offensive, vulgar or even indecent, but I really admired his sense of honesty. I loved how he knew how to get to the heart of a topic and assess it on viewpoints that he wouldn't comprise. He could from time or time, but it took careful evaluation and calculation before he did.

There I go rambling on how great a guy he was. Maybe I am still in love with him? Where was I?

I believed I told a joke then about how I read an article saying how men with brown eyes were seen as more honest and reliable than others with blue eyes. Thank goodness that he found that funny. Again, I blame the wine. It made me remember that brown eyes were also considered more handsome and I stole a few glances over the table.

"Are you staring at me Jane? Do you perhaps like more of me than just my eyes?"

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