“I ordered ahead,” he explained as the bread basket was placed in front of us. “I got you the new crab cakes. We just added them to the menu.”
“I love seafood.”
“I know.”
I wanted to ask how he knew that, but I turned back to my previous question. “So, the restaurant business…” I trailed off.
He gave a one-shoulder shrug as he took the first sip of his drink. I watched as his pink tongue came out to lick the remnants of the brown liquid off those full lips. I squirmed in my seat a little, trying to get rid of the thoughts of where I wanted those lips on me.
“I started working when I was fifteen at a fast food joint not too far from my house. I was always looking for a way to make money. That’s how the fight parties at my crib started,” he began. “Anyway, my mother used to do taxes for local businesses on the side. One of the guys was a local entrepreneur, owning fast food spots and laundromats throughout the city. She told him I was looking for a job and he hired me as a cashier. I was too young to work in the kitchen, but not the register.
“Anyway, I constantly asked him questions. Asking him how he ran his business, what other spots he owned, how he acquired the money to purchase the franchise, how franchising worked. All of that. He saw my ambition and took me under his wing. Taught me everything from customer service to how to hire good employees, taxes, and franchising. I worked there throughout high school and college, working my way up to the number two spot by the time I completed my degree. I got my degree in business management and hospitality. By the time I graduated, I’d owned and sold a few properties and was ready to buy my first franchise. So, when he offered me the store manager position, I turned him down, but offered to buy the store from him. He was older, and I could tell he was looking forward to retirement. He took me up on it. It just grew from there. I always wanted to own actual sit-down restaurants and clubs though, not just fast food places.”
I shook my head. “You make it sound so easy,” I grinned.
“It was anything but.”
“I can imagine.”
“I had a lot of help along the way. Nothing was done on my own. My mom allowed me to take money out of my college fund to buy my first house. I told you, Jim, my mom’s client, was a mentor to me along the way. Even your father gave me some excellent legal advice.”
“He always looked at you like a second son.” That was the truth. My father loved Xavier, which was why I remained confused as to why he’d tried to warn me off Xavier the other week. I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone except Gabby. She said it was probably my father being protective, given Xavier’s clout and rumored numerous conquests. But I doubted that reasoning. I swore the last few weeks had been crazy with estranged men in my life suddenly taking an interest in me. First, my father, then that damn letter from Ethan. I still hadn’t done anything about that. And it was still in my desk drawer, untouched.
“Hey,” I heard from across the table. I looked down to realize our waiter was bringing our dinner.
“Where’d you go?” Xavier asked, once the waiter left us with the compliments of the chef.
“Nowhere,” I lied, picking up my fork. I could feel his gaze lingering on me as I cut into my crab cake.
“You get a look.” His serious tone pulled my eyes up to his. “When you’re thinking about something serious, or sad maybe? I don’t know, but you get this far-off look. Like you’re a million miles away. I saw it the night you came in here by yourself and sat at the bar, drinking your amaretto sours.” He tilted his head to the drink in front of me.
I lowered my gaze to the glass, feeling overwhelmed. No one watched me that closely.
“So, you can say it’s nothing, but that look says otherwise,” he ended.
“I was thinking about my father,” I blurted.
Xavier waited for me to continue.
I sighed, feeling like I was about to sound like a petulant child who couldn’t get her way. “It’s nothing. It’s just that my father was a great mentor to Jason, and to you, and even to Jamal, but…” I sighed, hating how needy this all suddenly sounded. “Never mind.”
“No, but he didn’t—”
“Can we drop it, honestly? We didn’t come out to talk about my daddy issues. Let’s move on. How was your business trip?”
He paused, giving me a sideways look. I took a bite of my crab cake and savored the delicious flavors.
“These are delicious.”
“You like them? We’re thinking of adding them to the menu.”
I paused, the second forkful halfway to my mouth. “I thought you said they’d just been added.”
Another one-shoulder shrug. “I lied. We’re just testing out a new recipe to make them. Our old recipe sells pretty well, but I thought these tasted better.”
“So, I’m the tester?”
He nodded and smirked, making the dimple on his left cheek appear.
