Page 7 of Mine

With my mouth closed, I stare at the swinging door to the dining room, over Emily’s shoulder. Emily’s comment about Jared shattering one of our glasses doesn’t even phase me. I’m too consumed by the stranger who came into my restaurant and asked to speak with me.

Nerves getting the better of me, I try to delay seeing who the man could be. “Do you mind telling him I’ll be out in a minute? I just need to show Natalie where the paperwork goes.”

Emily’s mouth drops open, ready to speak but Natalie stops her. “Actually, if you don’t want to keep him waiting, I can put these papers away for you.” She’s still holding on to the papers, her bright eyes staring up at me.

“Are you sure?” I try to tone down the nervousness clearly laced in my voice. I really need to keep it together. Despite my nerves, I resign to let Natalie do this simple task so I can do my job properly.

“Of course.” Natalie grins, pointing back to my office. “You said the file is on your desk?”

“Yes, it’s to the right of my computer. Thank you.”

“That’s what I’m here for, right?”

I lightly laugh. “Right.”

Natalie spins around on her heel. She walks with a bounce to her step as she rounds the corner and down the small hall leading to my office. Once Natalie has disappeared, I turn to find Emily has left me too. I stand in the kitchen listening to the quiet knife cuts coming from my prep cooks, readying myself the best I can before pushing open the swinging door. My foot lands against the polished hardwood, the sounds of the kitchen muting as the door closes behind me. I grab on to the bottom hem of my chef jacket, pulling it down to straighten out any wrinkles. I’m nervous and I can’t help it. My shoes pad across the floor with a dull thud but every sound is sharp to my ears. I’m being ridiculous and I know it.

The closer I get to the host stand, the more my nerves race. I wish I hadn’t left my pack of Tic Tacs back in my office. The four chambers of my heart work harder, the beating drowning out the sharp sound of my feet. A tall, slim man is standing by the host stand, the jacket of his suit stretched across the planes of his back. He’s turned away from me as he stares at the busy downtown Seattle street. My anxiety only ramps up the smaller the distance becomes between me and the man in the too perfect suit. A piece of me cracks, remembering the only man I’ve ever known to wear suits practically every day of his life. The same man who tried to kill me. The same man who can’t seem to let go of my wife.

I don’t have the chance to speak when the man suddenly turns around. He must have heard me coming over the hushed tune of music pouring from our speaker system throughout the dining room. My breath catches in my throat, studying the man’s features. I’m expecting to find those familiar blue eyes, the ones that burned with fire to drain the life from my body. Instead, I’m met with dark brown eyes and a grin.

My whole body deflates in relief, immediately recognizing who the man is. The blood returns to my body, pumping through my veins at a normal pace. My chest swells, relishing in the air that’s now returned.

The man reaches out his hand. “Logan Moore. It’s good to see you.”

“Mr. James.” I return the gesture. I can feel myself smiling at the sight of him. “It’s good to see you as well.” I swallow. “What brings you down here?”

Gavin James is Seattle’s top architect and one of the richest men on the entire west coast. He’s also our biggest client. Nine months ago, he conducted a fundraiser for underprivileged youth throughout the world, declaring it a passion of his to help the less fortunate. Luckily, he’d hired our restaurant to cater it for him. Catering for Gavin had basically put us on the map with the west coast and our revenues have skyrocketed ever since. Max and I have also been forced to put in a strict reservation-only policy from the surge in customers.

“Well,Logan, I was hoping you and Max would be interested in catering another event for me. My firm will be throwing a fundraising gala in three months. I figured the last event went so well, I’d love to hire you again.”

“Three months?” I say, knowing three months isn’t typically enough time to prepare for an event like the kind Gavin tends to arrange.

“Yes, I hope that’s okay.” His eyebrows knit in concern, but his eyes remain soft. His kindness surprises me considering the field of work he’s in. “About twice a year, I try to put on a fundraiser and hold some sort of event. This one will be a bit more formal as I’m looking to put on a silent auction as well.”

I blow out a surprised breath, shocked that Gavin wanted to hire us once again. I maintain my composure, knowing Max wouldn’t pass up on this opportunity. Regardless, I know that when it comes to Max, you never assume. “I’ll have to speak with Max about it, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t agree to it.”

“Great.” Gavin grins. He pulls out his phone and starts tapping away at the screen. “I will let my secretary know to send you and Max both an email with the details of the event.” He hasn’t once looked back up at me, his fingers moving at a rapid pace. “You know, what style of cocktails and theme I’m looking for this time around. That sort of stuff.” Once Gavin’s fingers have stopped, he finally looks up from his phone, lifting his arm and flicking his wrist to look at his obviously way too expensive watch. “Oh, I’ve got to run.” Before I’m able to utter another word, Gavin quickly shakes my hand and starts backing up toward the front door. “Like I said, Logan, it was great to see you. I look forward to hearing from you and Max.”

Once I’msure Gavin has left, I head back to the office to check on Natalie. I reach inside my pocket for my phone but when my hand comes up empty, I remember how I left it on my desk earlier.

When I reach the doorway to my office, I hear shuffling papers and the familiar squeak of my office chair. I stand in the doorway and find Natalie sitting in my chair. She sits up, straightening her back at the sight of me. “I—” she stutters nervously. “I’m sorry, Chef. I wasn’t sure what you wanted me to do so I figured it was probably best if I stayed in your office. I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation in case it was someone important here to see you.”

“Oh. It’s fine.” I sigh, spotting my phone beside my computer. Natalie’s eyes follow me as I reach out to pick it up, turning it over in my hand. The screen is already lit up. I figure it must be from a notification but when I type in my four-digit passcode, there are no new notifications. None. Instead, my phone is already open to my text thread with Lena. I must not have closed it out before I put my phone down to take inventory with Natalie earlier.

Beneath the last text I sent to Lena are five messages and all five are spaced out in fifteen-minute increments. Worried, I look at the time in the top corner of my screen. It’s after noon.

“Shit.”

“Is everything okay?” Natalie asks. She’s still sitting in my chair, her arm resting on my desk.

“I have to go.”

“Wait.” Natalie sits up, her eyes spread wide. “We’re done?”

“For today.” I swipe my Tic Tacs from my desk along with my keys. I promised Lena I would be home for lunch and I don’t want her thinking I completely forgot our date.

“But...”

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