Page 22 of It Will Always Be You
“Oh, is that what they were doing?” I lean back in my seat as Idrawl the words, watching her eyes track my every move, once again admiring the view in front of me. She truly is beautiful without even having to try, a classic Hollywood beauty if I ever saw one.
“You know it is. Do you make it a habit to fuck your employees?”
“That’s an ugly accusation, one that doesn’t suit you, Helen,” I rebuke.
“Well, you can thankAmyfor that.” The venom dripping from her voice when she says the other woman’s name says it all. As much as teasing her is fun and seeing her riled up has me hard as steel, I’ll be damned if I fuck this up on the first date. Time to switch gears and do damage control before this spins out of control.
“You know, my dad has always encouraged me to date, to make time for something other than work and my responsibilities. Up untilveryrecently, I’ve always scoffed at that idea. I can assure you, Amy has no reason to be flirting with me. As the owner of this place, I will be sure to handle this. But for now, can we forget about her and focus on us?” The anger simmering in my veins makes my words come out in a near snarl, but despite the harsh edge to my tone, my words have the desired effect of softening her defences. Her mouth parts, her pupils blowing wide as she struggles to come up with a response. Before she can, we’re interrupted by Amy returning with the drinks.
She places my drink in front of me, making sure not to spill a drop, before practically throwing the wine at Helen. Having had enough of her shit, I snarl a demand to speak to her manager. While she struggles to come up with an answer, I turn to Helen.
“I’m sorry about this. I’ll just be a moment. Why don’t you look over the menu, and when I’m back, I’ll see if I can’t guess what you’ve picked out?” Standing, I cross the table until I’m beside her. Leaning down, I press a kiss to the side of her head. “You look absolutely ravishing tonight. Jealousy suits you, sweetheart.”
With that, I straighten my jacket as I stride after the positively quivering Amy as she leads me to the staff room. Entering it, I spy a middle-aged man scrolling his phone, his half eaten dinner in front ofhim. At the sound of the door closing behind us, he glances up, only to grow pale when he sees me.
“Jimmy, how’s things?” I ask as he comes over to shake my hand, his confused glance flickering between myself and Amy.
“Things are good. Business is good. How can I help you?”
“Well, that’s the thing, Jimmy. It seems we have a slight attitude problem going on.”
“An attitude problem?” He frowns.
“You know I booked this place out tonight, correct? And asked for the candles and flowers? That would imply it was a romantic occasion, would it not?” With every word, he gets more and more nervous. Good.
“Why yes, of course! Did we not deliver?” He frowns, looking thoroughly confused.
“Everything is wonderful, but do you care to explain why two members of your staff thought it appropriate to not only openly flirt with me, but this one nearly threw my date’s wine at her? That’s after blanking her existence and handing both menus to me.”
At that, Amy starts to stutter out excuses and denials, but Jimmy is having none of it. His eyes cut to her, and he snarls for her to shut up before turning to me. “I’m so sorry, sir. Please accept my sincere apologies. I’ll handle this immediately.”
“See that you do. I’d hate to have to look for a new manager as well as a new waitress and hostess.” With that, I spin on my heel and make my way back out to Helen. From this moment on, I will not stop until Helen Montgomery is mine, and I’ll fight anyone and anything who tries to come between me and my woman.
Chapter 18
I’ve always thought a man taking charge was the epitome of attractive. So, seeing him not only reassure me that these women were meaningless, but take action here and now to cut out the bullshit, has me so distracted, I don’t so much as even open the menu in the time he’s gone. I’m far too busy fantasising about him taking control in other areas. Does he like to command in the bedroom as well? Please say so.
This whole evening so far has been a fever dream. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’d read my mind to discover what makes me tick before making it a reality. It’s making me second-guess my resolve to disappear after this. But no matter how good this date is going; it’s not worth the risk. I can’t afford to fall for anyone right now, least of all the heir to the Four Points, who is closer to taking over than I first anticipated, if his dad’s health is any indicator.
“Sorry about that. Now, where we?” I’m shaken out of my thoughts by Jonathan’s return.
“Hmm, I believe we were reading the menu.”
“Funny. I thought we were discussing the reason for my veryrecent desire to date. But if you’re sure…” His words are taunting and deliberate, but I don’t rise to the occasion.
“Oh, I’m very sure. You were saying you liked the,” I quickly scan the menu before blurting out the first thing I see, “feta cheese salad.”
“Ahh, yes. I’m a big fan of it,” he jokes before shifting his gaze back to the menu, glancing over it and then snapping it closed.
“You already know what you want?”
“Perks of owning this place. I crafted the menu, which means I know what’s best and what’s just middle of the road,” he answers as he lifts his drink to his mouth.
“Care to share with the class?” I enquire, taking a sip of my wine. God, this is the good shit. Before he can answer, a man comes over to take our orders. In comparison to Amy, this man is all smiles and has a welcoming aura as he addresses the table.
“I’m Jimmy, and it’s my pleasure to look after you two tonight. What can we get started for you?”
“We’ll do the seafood sharing platter to begin with, and then a medium rare steak for me and a truffle pasta for the lady,” Jonathan says, handing Jimmy our menus, once again taking swift control and making my knickers wet. At this rate, it will be a wonder if I don’t leave a damp spot on the leather chair. As Jimmy leaves us, Jonathan turns his attention back to me.
