Chapter 4: Cole Donovan
2128 Words
“Oh, don’t be so shocked, Mr. Donovan. Please, have a seat,” Kathryn smiled.
Cole Donovan blinked his eyes and sat down. He looked alternatively at Kathryn and Abby who sat at the side. He was expecting someone much older in age to be the boss, not this young.
“It is indeed me who asked for your presence… As you can see, I am planning to attend the annual cooking competition at Frostclaw’s Culinary School and Arts, but not as a participant. I’m going to join as a sponsor.”
“You mean—”
Kathryn nodded. “I’m going to sponsor you to join that competition. From your tuition, living expenses, training, and the like, I’ll handle all of them. What do you say?”
Kathryn didn’t bother going in a roundabout way, instead, she dove right in and asked him.
“Huh?”
“Don’t be surprised. Before I approached you, I had someone who did some digging about you. And, based on the reports, you are among the top in culinary skills, even better than the famous Chris Moe. It’s just that, he was being backed by someone powerful, which gives you a disadvantage.”
To be exact, Cole Donovan didn’t get formal training since young, but his talent for culinary is inborn. His ability to distinguish flavors just by tasting them is a superb skill that only a few have. This was his greatest advantage among his peers. And this type of talent cannot go to waste.
Cole could only stare at her, he felt like a bomb was suddenly dropped on him.
Seeing his dazed look, Kathryn thought of a better way to put what she wanted into words.
“Well, let’s put it this way. I have bought a restaurant. It has already been registered and I am almost done with its renovations. However, I am lacking a chef. You know very well that the success of a restaurant depends on its chef. And the fastest way for a chef to be known is to win that culinary competition. To summarize, I am betting the success of my restaurant on you.”
Cole nodded as he started getting back on track.
“I know it isn’t simple winning the competition. That’s why I am here to help you. I help you, you help me. It’s a give-and-take relationship. You need a sponsor and I need a chef.”
“Why me?” the first question he thought of was this.
“It couldn’t be just because I am a skilled cook at the university. There are other students out there who are much better than me who received formal training and won many awards. Unlike me, who was just a nobody.”
“Indeed, there are so many students who received more awards than you but, I needed someone who had a strong eagerness to win. Mr. Donovan, you wanted to win not just because you wanted to continue your studies at the university, but to also investigate what happened to your brother, right?”
“Ho- You— I—”
Kathryn smiled upon seeing his reaction.
“I didn’t pry at things I shouldn’t have. I only looked at the necessary things that I must know about the person I’m interested in working with. Mr. Donovan, your brother, is one of the best students in the university and his death was unjustifiable. You believed it wasn’t suicide. I do as well. So, I will help you investigate it.”
Indeed, one of the reasons why Cole joined the university was to know the truth about his brother’s suicide. Many people believed that his brother died because he couldn’t accept defeat when the award was given to Arion Hook. But he knew very well that it was not the case.
His brother had never shown interest in fame and winning. For him, cooking was the thing he loved the most, and as long as he could make people smile because of his dishes, it would bring him happiness and satisfaction. So, a person like that wouldn’t commit suicide just because he lost the competition.
But, all the investigations into his death lead to the same conclusion, that it was suicide. Even his family believed it. It was only he who knew that there was more to it. However, he knew very well that someone powerful must have done it.
Even with his abilities, there are so many things he can not do. And with his humble background, how could he easily investigate the case of his brother when he, himself, was having a hard time continuing his studies at that prestigious university?
“This is…”
“I have my own way of knowing things. But don’t worry, aside from me and my secretary, Abby, whom you have already met, I didn’t divulge this matter to other people.”
It was for his safety as well. Cole was fortunate that the people who caused his brother’s death didn’t make things too difficult for him. Although they were giving him a hard time, just like depriving him of working at any of the restaurants, which led him to work in that dangerous place.
If not for Abby investigating the matter further, she wouldn’t have known that someone was stopping Cole Donovan from being hired.
“Don’t worry, I am not pressuring you to make your decision now. But, I want you to have your decision before the competition starts… Abby, give him the envelope.”
Abby took out a brown folder from her bag and placed it in front of Cole.
“Enclosed inside the contract for our agreement. Read it carefully and if you have any questions or suggestions, you can call Abby. She will discuss it with you.”
Cole slowly took the folder from the table and asked, “Is there already a name? For the restaurant?”
Kathryn was first lost in her thoughts.
‘I haven't thought about it yet? Hmm?’
Kathryn glanced at the window. The moon was shining brightly as if it was calling her attention. Suddenly, a memory popped into her mind.
‘Kathy, do you know the meaning behind our names?’ Kassidy once asked her one night.
‘No, I haven’t thought about it.’
‘Kassidy means clever while Kathryn means pure. Clever and pure, it’s beautiful, right?’
‘Hold on, me, pure? It suits you more than me. I think being clever suits me better than being pure.’
Kassidy laughed at her remark and shook her head, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter. We have the same face anyway, it could interchange.’
“For the restaurant’s name, it would be Caiside Palace.”
“Caiside?”
“The reason, let’s just leave it as a mystery.” Kathryn mysteriously smiled.
Abby, after hearing the name, raised an eyebrow. The reason why is very obvious, since Caiside means clever in English, and Kassidy also means clever in English.
“Then, Miss Jones, I will surely give you a reply as soon as possible.” That’s all Cole could answer.
“Okay, I hope I will have the chance to work with you.” Kathryn extended her hand and shook Cole’s hand.
Not long after, he left the room.
“Miss Jones, won’t the Dalton Family be able to notice the restaurant with its name?”
After Cole left and the door was closed for about a minute or two, Abby finally asked worriedly.
“Don’t worry, they wouldn’t be able to connect that with Kassidy. After all, Kassidy for them had long died.”
“Miss Jones, about Mr. Donovan, do you think he will accept the offer?” she further asked.
“He will… His thirst for revenge is the same as mine.”
***
Although Kathryn had tried to keep things discreet, especially her meeting with Cole Donovan, what she did not know was this news had already reached Calvin Stanford.
As the CEO of the Reign Enterprise, one of the top banks in the werewolf kingdom, Calvin had his way of finding Kathryn Jones’s itinerary.
His team had done a good job of investigating. They had managed to find out everything that had happened in Kathryn’s life for the past years. And he had also proved that Kassidy Jones was her twin sister and she was only borrowing it from her.
There were still some things that Calvin couldn’t figure out but, more or less, he had a profound understanding of what she was about to do.
“President Stanford, Miss Jones had a personal meeting with Mr. Cole Donovan,” Secretary Collins said, his confidence dwindling as sweat started to trickle down his back.
Calvin’s face was so dark that Secretary Collins’ soul almost left his body.
“Didn’t you tell me that she had already sent her secretary to approach that man?” Calvin said, “Why is she meeting him personally then?”
Secretary Collins did not know whether to cry or laugh at the boss's words. Why did it seem like his president's IQ had dropped today? “President… I believe it is perfectly normal for Miss Jones to have a personal talk with Mr. Donovan. In the end, she was going to work together with him and she was going to be her sponsor for the competition. Miss Jones just wanted to know Mr. Donovan, more that’s why she set up this meeting.”
“Why does it have to be her personally? She also has other staff she could send!” he reasoned. His voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for his secretary to hear. However, the latter chose to remain silent.
Secretary Collins decided that he would ignore what his master had said and act as if he had not heard anything. For some reason, ever since Miss Jones arrived, his master had been acting like a female with a hormonal imbalance. He had been very moody and was always talking to himself.
The worst thing was, Calvin seemed to overthink everything. From the choice of his suit to his tie, the color of his shoes, and his hairstyle. It was as if he was trying to look his best if by chance he encountered Miss Jones.
Secretary Collins could only watch as his boss continued to talk to him. He mentally made a note to send a text message to his president's best friend, to let him know of Calvin Stanford’s unusual behavior.
Though he was aware of how his president had done everything in his power to find Miss Jones, Secretary Collins still found his boss’s actions unbelievable. He never would have imagined that Miss Jones’ arrival in the kingdom would turn his cunning and cold boss into an insecure mess. He couldn’t wait to see how President Calvin would behave when he was in the same room as Miss Jones.
“When the day comes when Kathryn Jones asks for an appointment. I want you to cancel all my meetings and schedule an appointment with her on that same day.”
“What? But President, how sure are you that she will call for an appointment?” Secretary Collins asked.
‘Was President Stanford becoming a fortune teller now?’
The temperature in the room instantly turned a few degrees colder after Secretary Collins asked that question.
“I apologize, President… I will take note of it. How about I find out more about what Miss Jones went through during her stay outside the werewolf kingdom?” Secretary Collins instantly suggested, in an attempt to pacify Calvin Stanford.
Seeing that he nodded and signaled him to leave, the poor secretary did not hesitate to leave the office immediately.
It was unimaginable for Secretary Collins, who had never witnessed this side of his president. He knew the president as someone logical and cunning about every situation except when it came to the woman in that photo.
At that time, his boss had asked him to do everything that he could just to find Reina. But with just a photo and a first name, it was impossible to search for her, so it always became a failure.
Seven years… Calvin took it upon himself to look for a woman who might have been dead. However, he never once saw his president lose hope in his quest for Reina. He even named his company after her.
Although Secretary Collins did not know about Miss Jones's history with his boss, he knew that she was extremely important to him. Now that he had witnessed what Miss Jones’ presence in the kingdom could do to him, he couldn’t help but ask himself if her arrival had been a blessing or a curse.
- Writer
