Family Man

softly as an olive skittered out from under the knife. It rolled off the cutting board and onto the floor. Zeke ambled forward to eat it.
    “This is a real treat for me,” Katy continued. She hid a smile as another olive rolled off onto the floor. Zeke quickly devoured the evidence. “I can't remember the last time someone cooked a meal for me. Matt's idea of cooking is to stick a frozen pizza in the oven.”
    “Kids,” Luke said indulgently. “Victims of the fast food mentality. You gotta feel sorry for 'em. Wonder who's going to do the cooking for the next generation.”
    Katy grinned. “Maybe everyone will eat out more often. That'll be good for Gilchrist, Inc. and Pesto Presto.”
    “Good point. Damn.” Luke dropped the knife and went to the stove.
    “What's wrong?”
    “Nothing. The water's already boiling. I'm not ready to cook the pasta.”
    “So turn the water off. Luke, I had a long talk with Justine today.”
    “Yeah? So did I.” Luke switched off the pasta water and picked up a notebook that was lying on the counter. He frowned over it intently.
    “She seemed somewhat upset.”
    “She's always upset. It's in the blood.”
    Katy blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
    “Forget it. Hand me that pan, will you?”
    Katy picked up the skillet and gave it to him. She watched as Luke put it on the stove and coated the bottom with olive oil. A great deal of olive oil, she noticed.
    “The thing is, Luke, she doesn't seem to feel she can trust you completely. She wants to believe you're going to save Gilchrist, but a part of her is still afraid you're only here to take revenge.”
    “That's her problem.” Luke went back to the notebook, scowling darkly. His scowl deepend as he glanced back over his shoulder at the oil in the skillet.
    “Have you told her that you've solved the problems at Gilchrist Gourmet?”
    “No. I didn't get around to it. When I saw her yesterday she wanted to talk about another matter.” Luke dumped the minced capers, olives, and anchovies into the skillet.
    “So what it boils down to is that you never gave her a logical explanation for what was wrong in the case of the two restaurants that were losing money, and she has no idea you've stopped the sabotage of Gilchrist Gourmet.”
    “Computer problems, remember?”
    “I don't think she bought that.”
    “Too bad. There is no logical explanation for what was happening at the two restaurants except the truth. You said I couldn't tell her that her granddaughter was skimming cash to pay off a blackmailer, so that was that.”
    “Of course you couldn't tell her about Eden. But what about the troubles at Gilchrist Gourmet?”
    “As far as Gilchrist Gourmet is concerned, I just haven't had a chance to tell her about Stanfield's sabotage.” Luke eyed the vinaigrette fixings as if they were components for a batch of nuclear fuel. He gingerly picked up the whisk. “Would you mind if we discussed this some other time? I'm kind of busy at the moment.”
    “No, but I think this explains why Justine is worried about your intentions toward Gilchrist, Inc. Luke, if you would just try to communicate with her and let her know that you're not out for revenge, it would relieve a lot of her anxiety.”
    “Who says I'm not out for revenge?” He held a bottle of olive oil in one hand and tried to drip the oil into the lemon mixture. He was whisking madly with his right hand. Oil and lemon juice spattered the countertop. “You know something? I'd like to throttle a certain chef right now.”
    Katy smiled. “I know you're not out for revenge, Luke.”
    “Is that right?” He shot her a surly glance. “How do you know that?”
    “Because of what you did for Eden and Darren, among other things.”
    “Don't bet on it. Saving Eden's and Darren's rears might have been part of a much larger plan. Hell, I might be plotting to bring all of Gilchrist crashing down.”
    “Come on, Luke. Stop making a joke out of it.”
    “No joke. I'm serious. Even if I told Justine the truth, she probably wouldn't believe me. It's possible the only reason I pulled my cousins' bacon out of the fire was to buy myself time to carry out my own schemes.” Luke broke off abruptly. He inhaled sharply. “Damn.”
    He leapt for the stove and yanked the skillet off the burner. The smell of singed capers, olives, and anchovies rose from the pan. Luke glared at the smoking mixture.
    Zeke watched hopefully as Luke carried the skillet over to the sink.
    “It's too hot