“What do you mean you’re good? You don’t have a car. You ride the bus. Let me take you home and save you some money.”
“I like riding the bus.” I did, too. It gave me a chance to unwind, and I liked people-watching. “And not that it’s any of your business, but I can afford the fare.”
He sighed, the corner of his mouth turning up in the sexiest smirk I’d ever seen. Butterflies danced in my stomach at the sight, and I struggled to remember why his remarks during the interview had seemed so insulting. Maybe my nerves had made me overly-sensitive.
“Sorry, I’m handling this all wrong,” he said. “I’m in charge of security for the restaurant, and the manager asked me to make sure you got home okay. There’s been some crime in the area lately, and he’s a pretty old-fashioned guy.”
“Collin sent you to offer me a ride?” I asked.
“Collin, yeah, that’s the manager,” Dominico replied.
The few brief times I’d seen him, Collin hadn’t seemed overly concerned with my safety, but with Brandon’s comment about my predecessor disappearing… I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to the story. “Is this about the chef who bailed?” I asked.
Dominico’s eyes narrowed. “Who told you about that?”
Not wanting to sell Brandon out, I shrugged. “I can’t remember. Maybe I heard about it on the news or read about it in the paper. I didn’t realize he worked at this restaurant, though. Did he ever pick up his check?”
The way Dominico watched me made me feel a little uncomfortable. “Do you know him?” he asked.
“No.”
“We haven’t heard from him.” He rolled his shoulders, not looking me in the eye. “We don’t think it’s connected to the restaurant—the guy had a gambling problem and probably split to get out of paying—but just in case, I’d like to take you home.”
“So hediddisappear. I thought he just quit.”
Dominico snapped his mouth shut and shook his head. “Look, I’m trying to make sure you get home safe. Are you gonna let me give you a lift or not?”
I glanced down the street in time to see the bus pulling away from the stop, which meant I’d have to wait twenty minutes for the next one. I didn’t know if my aching muscles could handle five.
“We can go in and Collin can vouch for me,” Dominico offered.
I couldn’t decide if it would make me feel more comfortable or like a paranoid idiot. After all, he’d been in on the hiring process and therefore clearly worked for the restaurant. He did seem legitimately concerned for my safety, and there was a fine line between independence and recklessness. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to my predecessor’s disappearance than he was letting on.
“You promise you’re not some sort of psycho killer or rapist or something?” I asked.
His sexy smirk widened into a full-fledged toothy smile as he held up his hand. “Scout’s honor.”
Nothing about him said Boy Scout, but I let the pledge slide and accepted the ride home. He led me to a sweet-looking black Porsche convertible and opened the passenger’s side door.
“Thisis your car?” I asked.
He nodded. “Like it?”
Of course I liked it; it was sleek and shiny with tinted windows and what I’m sure were custom rims. Who wouldn’t like it? “I love it, but I thought you said you worked security. How’d you end up with a car like this?”
He cocked an eyebrow at me and as I replayed the question in my head heat crept into my cheeks.
“Sorry, that was rude and it’s none of my business. I suffer from a broken filter and have yet to learn what I should and shouldn’t say out loud.”
He gestured me into the car and shut the door before hurrying to the driver’s side. The car’s interior was even swankier than the outside. I snuggled into the leather seat and checked out the dashboard full of gauges.
“I like it,” he said when he climbed in.
“The car? Me too. It’s gorgeous. I’ve never ridden in a ragtop before.” I studied the roof, wondering how it worked.
“No. Well, yes, but that’s not what I was talking about. I like that you speak your mind. People don’t usually do that around me. It’s refreshing.”
“Why? You some sort of royalty or something?”
