Chapter 16

Kat

I SAT AT THE SMALL kitchenette table, staring blindly outside. The project was over, and it had been destroyed by the King family. I still couldn’t believe it.

The door to the dorm room opened and Layla quietly entered the room.

“You okay, Kat?”

Nodding, I grumbled some unintelligible and vague response.

“I heard about what happened at Ginger.” She sat down across from me. “I’m so sorry, Kat.”

“The Kings have made it impossible for us to open on time. I can’t believe they would play so dirty. This is so unfair.”

“Are you sure, Kat? Are you sure that the Kings are behind this?”

I shrugged. “Their name was written there in big, bold letters. Errol King wanted to make sure we knew he’d done it.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense, Kat.”

“And yet, there it is.” I clasped and unclasped my hands. “And there’s more.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kobe and I were working on that project together.”

“Yeah. You told me about that.”

I looked into her eyes, my own filling with tears. “We had finally broken through the barrier that had kept us apart for so long and we were... well, we were getting along. We were really getting along.”

“Oh.I see.”

I snorted and pressed a sad grin. “I mean, he came over here to make breakfast for me this morning; Oyster omelet.”

“Hmm, sounds delicious. Sorry I missed it. I went out for an early jog, and you were gone when I came back.”

I shrugged and reached for a tissue to wipe my eyes. “None of that matters anymore. It’s over. Hell, it was over even before it began. I should have seen this coming. The Kings would do anything to get on top. Errol just can’t stand playing second fiddle to the Lee family.”

“Kat,” she said as she laid her hand over mine. “I really don’t think the Kings are behind this. Think about it. It just doesn’t make sense. Errol King wouldn’t risk his reputation by destroying a new restaurant, and he certainly wouldn’t put his name to it. That would be commercial suicide.”

I considered her argument. She was right. Why would Errol King put his name to such vandalism? But I couldn’t find another culprit.

“Excuse me,” I said as I stood. “I’ve been putting off calling my dad, but I think I’m ready now.”

She stood and gave my shoulder a sympathetic pat. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

I pressed a smile. “There’s some of that oyster omelet left in the fridge if you want to try it.”

I went to my bedroom, sat down on the edge of the bed and made the call to my father.

“I was wondering when you were going to call,” he said before I could say anything.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I didn’t know what to say.”

“You must be devastated,” he said.

“I just don’t get it, Dad. This was a school project. And it was a school project that his own son was a part of. Why would he do this?”

“Errol and I go back a few years. We have differing views on how to run an establishment. I just happen to have a view that make Lee restaurants a hit.”

“That’s still no reason.”

“Listen, a few years back I opened a restaurant in this one neighborhood. It just so happened that one of King’s friends owned a place in that same neighborhood. King maintains that his friend could no longer turn a profit once I opened my restaurant. He blames me for his friend shutting down.”

“And he’s been feuding with you ever since?”

“He’s certainly been acting that way. From my end, I wish him no harm. I have nothing against the man. I’m just doing what I do best. If that rankles his fragile ego... what do you want me to do about it? Besides, I thought all this silliness was over when he accepted you into his Academy.”

I shrugged. “Maybe he’s not aware that I’m even here. I mean, there are thousands of students.”

“No,” my father calmly said. “He knows. When I heard of the projects that the students were going to be asked to participate in, I’m the one who called to offer up Ginger. He knew it was me. He knew it was a Lee restaurant, and he accepted.”

“Do you think he accepted just so he could do what he did?”

“It’s hard to say what goes through that man’s head. If he thinks that this is a way of getting ahead, he’s dead wrong. This is just a minor hurdle for Lee Family restaurants. We’ll get through it. There will be a delay, but we will open, and we will be a success.”

I nodded. “I know we will, Dad. Thanks for talking this out with me.”

“Don’t worry about anything,” he said. “Everything will work out... you’ll see.”

“Bye, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Kitty Kat. Bye, honey.”

I stared at the phone for a long time, trying to figure out what my next move should be.

Find Kobe, I finally decided.

I marched out of my room to find Layla enjoying the oyster omelet.

“Did you say that Kobe made this?” she said, pointing at her plate with her fork.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

“He’s more talented than I thought.”

“Yeah.”

“You okay? Did your talk with your dad shed any light on this?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Kobe is, would you?” I said, side-stepping her question.

“Axel said he wanted to throw the football around, but Kobe was working on his project. Now that the project fell through, maybe they’re both out on the field...”

“Thanks,” I said before she could finish. I hurried out, eager to confront him.

I marched across campus, rehearsing in my head what I would say to him. As I neared the football field, all my muscles tensed up. What would he say? How would he explain what had happened?

Reaching the edge of the field I saw them. The football flew through the air, spinning as it reached Axel who quickly threw it back.

“Kobe!” I called out.

The distraction was enough for him to miss the oncoming football that landed on his left shoulder. He ignored the football and rushed over to see me.

“Kat,” he said with a tentative smile. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“How long have you known about this supposed feud between your father and mine?”

“Wait a minute. What?”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about Kobe. Is that the reason you ghosted me? Is that why you’ve treated me like dirt these past years?”

“Kat,” he said as he reached for my elbow. “Let’s go sit down and talk about this.”

I pulled away from his touch. “There’s no need to sit down. Just answer me. Is this silly feud the reason you welcomed me to this academy – your father’s academy – with a plateful of food on my head?”

He huffed, looked around, then met my gaze. “My father can be quite forceful when...”

“Bastard!” I shouted. “That’s why you were so nasty when we were teamed up. But then what had you going soft, Kobe? Was it all part of the trap? All part of your sick game? Yeah. Let’s reel Kat in. Make her fall for a King, just to play her like a fool? Let’s ruin her chances of a good grade at Dad’s school. And then let’s humiliate her in front of the entire school. Was that it? Was that your plan all along?”

Gaping, he stared at me.

“Well, you can go on with your little game, Kobe. You can try to humiliate me by letting the school know how gullible and na?ve I was to trust you. To think I almost fell for you.” I poked his chest with my finger. “But I won’t be here to be humiliated, Kobe. I’m quitting this shitty little academy. You and the rest of the Kings can just shove this crappy school up your ass!”

Fists clenched, I turned and walked away.