Page 9 of The Cask

“For you.”

A chill ran down my spine.

I was left sitting in stunned silence as he strolled off, back to his bar. It took me a full minute to realize that I still had his jacket wrapped around my shoulders.

“Ebony?” Diana, one of my full-time waitresses, called to me, pulling me out of my daze.

My head whipped around toward the door as I jumped to my feet. “Yes?”

“There’s a table who would like a bio of the wine while the band is taking a break,” she informed me.

“Of course.” I followed her inside and we made a beeline to the table she was referring to. After an introduction, Diana stepped away.

Once I finished the bio, I smiled at the five gleeful faces. “Any questions?”

“This is my fourth time here and each time, the selection seems to get better and better,” the woman closest to me gushed. “The pairing of the cabernet and the sliders, oh my God!”

I grinned. “I’m so glad to hear that!”

“And our waitress is the best,” the other woman chimed in, looking around for Diana. “She took our orders without writing a thing down and she got everything right.”

Diana had a great memory and people skills, so I made her a full-time employee a few years ago when she joined my team. She was a rare find and I often received compliments regarding her service.

“Diana is a treasure,” I agreed.

I left them to go check on other guests and then I went to the kitchen to check on my staff.

“How’s everything in here?” I asked in general before my eyes landed on Louis.

The head chef was staring at me with a peculiar expression. “Everything is fine. How is everything out there?”

“I just got a rave review about the sliders,” I informed him. “The food has been a hit.”

“I’m not surprised. Our food is like that,” the less than modest chef boasted.

I laughed along with a few other members of the kitchen staff.

“What’s going on with the jacket?” Louis inquired, giving me a suspicious look.

“Oh!” I shook my head and started to take it off. “I forgot I had it on. I—”

“Ebony!” Alexis exclaimed, interrupting my sentence as she walked into the kitchen. “That’s the jacket that sexy man was wearing!”

Everything seemed to stop, and all eyes were on me. Claps, catcalls, and cheers rattled the kitchen.

I folded the jacket over my arm. “Back to work,” I instructed, turning on my heel. I made a point to glare at Alexis on my way out.

She didn’t take the hint.

Following me to the bar, she asked, “How did everything go with the big baller shot caller?”

My brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“A man who looks like he stepped from a movie screen comes in here and asks for you, drops more than a thousand dollars on a bottle of wine, and you’re asking me what I’m talking about? Really?” Alexis put her hands on her slim hips. “Tell me what happened!”

I rolled my eyes. “He was a customer.”

“He asked for you by name and asked if he could be seated in your section. So, he’s not a regular because he had no idea you are the owner,” she pointed out. “I didn’t correct him because I didn’t know who he was to you or what you wanted him to know.”

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