Worth the Risk

right. Monsieur Broussard hasn’t liked me since the first round.”
    Lexi shook her head. “Don’t blame him. Rick Fullerton is angry that Brad now gets his produce from us.” She slipped her arm around her sister. “Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter 10
    A week later, Lexi arrived home and pushed through the front door. A cool wave of air indicated the ceiling fan was on low. It was a welcome relief from the heat outside.
    Lexi was late—again—and she was exhausted. It was apparent the accounting firm saw the summer interns as little more than indentured servants. The work they assigned the interns always required overtime. Since they were paid a base salary, the interns didn’t earn any more money for the extra hours.
    “Amber, I’m home!” she called.
    There was no answer. Lexi shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on the hall tree. She shouldn’t be surprised Amber wasn’t around. The house was silent. Where was she?
    Amber hadn’t been bitter about not winning. She’d taken the loss in stride, proud of missing by just one vote. Lexi had to give her credit. The contest had matured her sister. In another week summer school would begin. With luck, Amber’s transformation would carry over and she would take summer school seriously.
    As she opened the refrigerator to see what she could throw together for dinner, she heard Amber blast through the front door. “Lexi, are you there?”
    From her sister’s upbeat tone, Lexi decided something good must have happened.
    “Sit down,” Amber said, her cheeks flushed.
    Lexi slowly lowered herself into a chair at the kitchen table. After tossing her purse on the table in front of her, Amber took the seat opposite.
    “Please, just listen. Don’t say anything until I’ve explained.” When Lexi nodded, Amber continued. “I brought up my grades, right?”
    A warning bell sounded somewhere deep in Lexi’s brain.
    “I baked all those goodies for the contest but didn’t risk triggering a diabetic episode by eating them. I had the seniors test for me. True?”
    Lexi nodded. What was Amber leading up to?
    Amber pulled a packet of CDs from her purse. “I want to bring up my math grade next year by studying algebra this summer. That’s why I borrowed these Learn on Your Own CDs from Joey Tran. I can work in my spare time on the computer.”
    Now Lexi got it. This was Amber’s way of getting out of summer school.
    “I’ve got a job! A real job that pays way more than minimum wage!”
    Great. Lexi had alienated Brad for nothing. Amber had gone out and found a job. From her glow of exhilaration, Lexi realized it would be a knock-down-drag-out fight to convince her sister to give it up.
    “Aren’t you going to ask where?” Amber inquired.
    “Am I allowed to talk?”
    “Of course!”
    “Where are you planning to work?” She emphasized the word planning so Amber would know she wasn’t agreeing to anything.
    “Guess,” Amber said, her blue eyes sparking fire.
    Lexi knew Amber loved being in a kitchen. She might have checked local bakeries for a job, but she doubted she would have found one so quickly. The fast food places had tremendous turnover. There were always openings at them. “Bronco Bill’s?”
    “Nope!”
    The way Amber’s eyes gleamed, Lexi figured she was on the right track. “Chicken Bucket.”
    “No way. Yuck. Fried food.”
    “I give up.”
    Amber smiled the sly smile that said she was up to something. “Where’s the last place you’d think I would find a job?”
    Lexi crossed her arms and stared at her sister for a moment. “You didn’t go to Brad, did you?”
    “Of course I didn’t ask your boyfriend for a job. Not when the contest winner is working there with Charmayne.”
    “Sorry.” Lexi tried for a casual tone. “I give up. Where did you find a job?”
    An expression of smug satisfaction crossed her features. “I start tomorrow morning at…Marché.”
    Lexi stared wordlessly at her sister. One of the premier restaurants in the city had hired Amber. How could that be? Rick Fullerton had seemed upset with Lexi since he’d met them at Black Jack’s. Amber had lost the contest by one vote—Rick’s vote. Or so they’d assumed.
    “Say something,” Amber said.
    “That’s…fabulous,” Lexi sputtered. “I’m so thrilled for you.”
    “There’s more.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I’m working in the pastry kitchen with Monsieur Broussard.”
    Lexi was helpless to smother her stunned gasp. “You’re