Oli

Gabriel picked me up from Janice’s house, his truck was full of the groceries I couldn’t get from our vendors. He came out to greet Janice and I as we said our goodbyes. 

"I'm going to miss you so much this week!" I whined as I hugged Janice. 

"I'll miss you too!" 

I grabbed my suitcase full of fresh laundered clothes and handed it to Gabriel.  He grabbed the bag in one hand and extended his other hand out to help me get in the truck.  I ignored his hand and did the best I could to get in the truck gracefully.

"Did you have a good weekend?" he asked, buckling his seatbelt in and I was startled at his attempt to make small talk, he was more of a “Still waters run deep” kind of guy. 

"It was okay, I just rested and got a few new books and DVDs," I confessed. That was the extent of the conversation as he shifted and turned on the radio. 

Matteo was waiting for us in the kitchen with a tall blond guy when we arrived.  My eyes widened at the gorgeous man leaning against the kitchen counter.  His arms were muscular, and he bore the tell tale burn marks of a beginner cook. 

"Ah, here they are," Matteo called, "This is Mr. Mason, the big boss, and this is Harper, your boss" he finished with a wide grin. 

The blond extended his hand to Gabriel but made no attempt to greet me. Gabriel’s frown deepened and he looked from me to the new guy. 

"My name is Oliver, but everyone just calls me Oli" he greeted with a charming smile. "I have some excellent ideas for meals this week, I was wondering when I could put in an order for the things that I need for the week?" Gabriel looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh, uhm, Oli," I began, "the menu for the week is already set and we have all the groceries here, I pointed to the bags Gabriel and I were carrying. "But if all goes well this week, you can help me work on next week's menu." 

"Well that's okay, where can I find the menu of the week, I’d like to get started" he said enthusiastically without sparring me a glance. 

"We will start tomorrow, you can meet me here at 4:30 and I will walk you through what we do" 

"Matteo, can you show him to the men’s lodging?" Gabriel said in a low voice. His dark gaze never left Oli’s.  If our new guest was uncomfortable he made no outward sign of it. Matteo gave us a nod and led Oli out of the kitchen. 

"4:30, be here" I called after him. Gabriel started unpacking the groceries and putting them away which not only confused me, but made me feel uncomfortable. I shifted aimlessly in the kitchen as I watched him. Probably sensing my tension,  he turned to look at me and gave me an interrogating look before I snapped out of it and put the dry goods away. 

"If you have any trouble with him, you let me know. I’ll drop your bag in your room. Goodnight Harper" Gabriel said before he left the kitchen all business and absolutely no fun. I organized the fridge the way I liked it so that everything would be handy in the morning and made my way to my room to unpack. 

It was 5:30 before Oli showed up the next morning. Luckily I was fairly efficient on my own and most of the work was done. 

"Can you get the milk and cream to the coffee station?" I asked Oli over my shoulder as the first of the men arrived for breakfast. I could have sworn he rolled his eyes at me but did as I asked. "You can start chopping the onions and cleaning the broccoli for lunch, and once the men are done we can have breakfast" 

"Uh-huh" he said. 

"Morning bestie" Matteo called as he entered the dining hall. I swatted a dish towel at him with a smile. He grabbed his plate and sat down with his coworkers. I showed Oli the menu for the week as we ate, he shared some of his ideas and I agreed to give him the reins the following Thursday if he was able to prove to me he deserved it. 

"But if you don’t show up when I tell you to and you continue being disrespectful towards me, forget it." I said sternly.  He lowered his head and nodded. I didn’t enjoy discipline and I never really had to do it before but I felt really belittled by his actions. Someone cleared their throat in the kitchen and I looked up to see Gabriel beckoning me to him with a nod of the head. 

"I got a call from your doctor.  You have a biopsy and ultrasound Thursday at 3 p.m." 

"Crap! It's really not a good time" I said looking back at Oli.

"I can see if Janice can come in for the day," he suggested. 

"Thanks, I’ll see if I can borrow someone's truck" 

"I'll bring you" he frowned, looking at me as if I had lost my mind. 

"I don't want to impose" I started

"It's fine," he said before filling his coffee mug and leaving the kitchen. 

Oli turned out to be excellent with the chopping knife but lacked the experience of a seasoned cook when it came to eyeballing ingredients.  That was completely normal, but he tried to freestyle recipes and they rarely turned out well. He burnt the rice for lunch because he hadn"t measured the water to rice ratio, his cakes were dry and crumbly from adding too much flour and he overcooked the stir fries. 

Janice showed up just after breakfast on Thursday and I filled her in on Oli’s progress.  She let out an exasperated sigh, grabbing a tea towel to help me dry the dishes. 

"You know I hate teaching right?" 

"Hey! You taught me!”

“Yes, but you are a natural honey” she said in an attempt to mollify me. 

“It’s just for two meals, I'm really sorry"

"It's fine, now go, you’ll be late" 

I took a quick shower and changed into some jeans and a t-shirt and walked over to Gabriel’s cabin. I knocked on the door and a gruff voice called for me to come in. 

"I'm ready when you are," I said cheerfully.  He was reading something on the computer and paid no attention to me, just nodded to say he had heard me. He was wearing a button down blue shirt, with jeans, his black hair was wet and in its usual state of disarray. I was surprised to see that he had shaved as he usually only did that on the weekends. I looked around his cabin and noticed it was in better condition than last time. His bed was made, there was no clothing on the ground and a delicious smell emanated from the bathroom, a mixture of manliness and spices. My face turned red at the thought of him having just come out of the shower and I stepped outside to sit on the front steps of his cabin. 

He came out about 10 minutes later and offered me his hand again to get in the truck which I accepted. His hand was rough and hard from manual labor, his finger ran over the callus under my right index making me shiver. 

As soon as we were in range for the cellphone towers I began researching what I should be expecting for the biopsy. It sounded as though it would be fairly painless but I couldn’t help feeling nervous about the procedure. 

I arrived at the hospital half an hour before my appointment.

"Harper" Gabriel called out as I jumped out of the truck, I turned to him expectantly. He handed me a small white card, "Call me or text me when you’re done I’ll come get you" he said.  

“Thanks, Mr. Mason” I said with a sincere smile while taking his card. He nodded and drove off as soon as I entered the hospital. I looked around to get my bearing, I had never been to this hospital, or any hospital for that matter.