The Billionaire's Recipe For Love

Chapter 4: Taste of Reality

The scent of freshly brewed coffee and buttery pastries filled the air at Café Verona, a small, tucked away spot that had become a refuge for Andrea George over the years. It was far from the high end restaurants where she worked, but that was exactly why she loved it. The warmth of the place, the hum of conversation, the way the baristas knew her usual order before she even had to ask _ it all felt like home.

Seated across from her, Naomi Andrews leaned forward, stirring sugar into her cappuccino with a smirk.

"You’ll never find real love with all that matters, Andrea."

Andrea, who had just taken a sip of her own coffee, nearly choked. "Excuse me?"

Naomi rolled her eyes. "You know exactly what I mean. You are so focused on getting your restaurant that you don’t even think about relationships. It’s like men don’t exist for you."

Andrea let out a dry laugh, setting her cup down. "That’s because men don’t exist for me, Naomi. Not right now. Not when I can barely afford to live in this city, let alone think about love."

Naomi folded her arms, arching a brow. "Right. Because it’s impossible to have both?"

Andrea sighed, running a hand through her dark curls. "I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m saying I don’t have time for it. You know what I’m up against. Investors don’t exactly line up to fund a no name chef with zero connections. I need every bit of focus I have."

Naomi studied her for a moment before shaking her head. "You know what your problem is?"

Andrea rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her coffee. "Oh, please enlighten me."

Naomi smirked. "You think love is a distraction. You think that if you let yourself care about someone, it will take you away from your dream. But Andrea, love isn’t the enemy. It’s just... another ingredient in the recipe."

Andrea snorted. "Now you’re making metaphors about my life. Great."

Naomi laughed, but then her expression softened. "All I’m saying is, maybe if you weren’t so closed off, the right person wouldn’t feel like a distraction."

Andrea exhaled sharply, setting her cup down. “That’s the point! I haven't met the right person. Not yet. And not like I have the luxury of time to go in search of the right person. The little time I have, I intend to utilize it properly, for the growth of my career. That's all that matters to me right now. I don't want to be distracted from my goals”.

Naomi smiled weirdly, raising the two index fingers of her hands up in the air to make a quotation mark sign. “And what if you meet the right person, along the path of achieving your obsessed goals. Will you give him a chance?”

Andrea let the words settle for a moment. Deep down, she knew Naomi meant well, but love wasn’t a luxury she could afford. Not yet. “Probably”, she answered while shrugging her shoulders.

____

Andrea was still lost in thought as she finished her coffee. Naomi had moved on to gossiping about a coworker, but Andrea wasn’t really listening.

She knew Naomi wasn’t wrong. She was closed off. She did see love as a distraction. But that didn’t mean she could change that overnight.

"Andrea, are you even listening to me?" Naomi huffed, waving a hand in front of her face.

Andrea blinked. "Yeah. Something about Chris from marketing?"

Naomi groaned. "Forget it. You’re hopeless."

Andrea smirked . "And yet, you still love me."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Not like I have a choice either.

Andrea Chuckled. “Lest I forget, I wanted to tell you. I met a man…”

Naomi let out a shrill scream, widening her eyes in disbelief. “A what?!!! Andrea!!! You have gotten yourself a man?! You have finally fallen in love? Oh, my ovaries! Congratulations to…”

Andrea chuckled, putting her boths hands on her waist in an akimbo position while abruptly interrupting Naomi. “Oh Naomi please stop! You are so dramatic. I didn't say I have fallen in love with anybody.”

Naomi grinned. “But you just said you met a man. Or are you too shy to open up to me?” Naomi said, grinning from ear to ear.

Andrea rolled her eyes, and scoffed. “Yes, I met a man. I didn't meet him per say. I just saw him from afar. I don't even know what he looks like.”

Naomi gave a confused stare. “Now, you are getting me all confused. What do you mean you don't know what he looks like? Weren't you both involved in a conversation? Or have you suddenly developed amnesia?”

Andrea took a deep breath. “Far from it. Just listen to me, let me give you the gist in details ”.

Naomi sat upright, nodding her head like an agama lizard. “Alright, I am all ears.”

Andrea fixed her gaze into space. “I saw him yesterday at my place of work. I didn't see his face because he was sitting across from me in the restaurant and was facing the other side. I only saw the face of his blonde hair friend. I wanted to approach them and talk to them about my business proposal to see if they would be willing to invest…”

Naomi sighed in disappointment. “Oh Andrea, this is not what I was so curious to hear. Your investors issues again?”

Andrea let out a dry laughter. “So what were you expecting me to say?”

“Andrea, I was expecting to hear that man asked you out on a date, and not some business proposal and investors shitty gist.”

Andrea smirked. “Come on, you are my friend, and you are supposed to support me, my career especially.”

“Naomi, you know I support you. But your love life is more important to me. Anyways, I will send you an email. It's a job vacancy about a house needing a live-in-chef. Maybe you should go through it and know if it suits you well. You can see this as an opportunity to save up more for your restaurant.”

Andrea smiled, carrying her jacket on the chair while standing up. “Thank you my girlfriend. I will definitely go through it and consider it, especially if it is better than my present job.”

Naomi smiled. “You are welcome. Just promise me one thing?"

Andrea raised a brow. "What?"

Naomi’s voice softened. "If someone actually makes you feel something, don’t run from it."

Andrea forced a smile, but deep down, she knew she was already running.

And she had no idea she was about to collide headfirst with the one man who could change everything.