“Fingers crossed.” Anne readied a bread basket and headed toward her table.
Hailey reached into her apron for her chapstick and found nothing but her change.
What the fuck? Ijusthad it!
She let out a quiet growl thinking about all the tubes she’d lost. Hailey had to buy them so often she considered buying them in bulk. Of course, that took money so she didn’t. She needed to keep saving up for things like food and shelter. Damn basic necessities.
“Hey guys, 86 asparagus. We’re all out,” Mike called from the front of the kitchen. Hailey figured that was no one’s loss. Gross vegetables.
Movement in her section broke her out of her thoughts: she was getting a table. Half relieved and half disappointed because that meant work. That was until she took a better look at who was sitting at the table, then she was excited.
After grabbing a bread basket and bread plates, Hailey made her way over to the table to see a familiar face with that gorgeous grin she had known for years, sandy brown hair and eyes she always wanted to avoid getting lost in, but she tried not to think of that. This was Avery after all and she had no business checking him out. But, then she noticed he was wearing a button-down shirt with a tie and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Dammit, why did that look always do it for her? Fucking forearm porn.
“Avery, hey! What brings you in?” she said before turning to the other man joining him. “Hi, I’m Hailey, how’s it going?”
The fifty-something-year-old gentleman in a suit asfancy as Gage’s tailored ones smiled at her before turning to Avery. “Oh, so you’re Hailey. So nice to meet you.”
They both turned to Avery who was getting a bit red in the face and glaring at his friend.
“Yeah, I talk about soccer a lot at work,” said Avery, quick to change the subject. “This is Jeff. He’s the lawyer that works with some of our kids at the social work program I’m in. We just came from a hearing so we figured we’d get lunch to talk more about our case.”
Hailey nodded in understanding. “Gotcha. Nice to meet you, Jeff. Hopefully it’s not a tough one. Luckily it’s dead in here so you don’t have anyone else near you and I’ll give you guys lots of privacy so you can talk shop.”
Avery looked up at her with a smile, “It’s not that intense, but thank you.”
“No problem, what can I get you guys to drink?”
They both ordered draft beers so Hailey gave them a few minutes to browse the menu while she went up to the bar. By the time she got there, Frankie the bartender already had the frosted glasses sitting there ready to go. “Thanks, Frankie,” she said before walking back to Avery’s table.
Hailey wasn’t sure why she was nervous. Maybe because nobody ever really visited her at work besides family. The place wasn’t fancy enough for Gage’s tasteso he never bothered either. So that fluttering in her belly was just because she was excited to have a friend. That was what she was going to tell herself, anyway.
As she approached the table, Avery made eye contact with her and grinned. She walked up to the men and put their glasses in front of them.
“Here ya go,” she said, hoping Avery didn’t notice the slight tremble in her hand. “Do you guys know what you want to eat or are you sticking with just drinks for your meeting?”
“Oh we’re going to eat. We missed lunch since the hearing went a lot longer than it was supposed to,” said Avery. “We’re gonna share the sausage and ricotta pizza.”
“A fine choice, good sir,” Hailey giggled and faked a British accent. “Patrons everywhere should bow down to your wisdom.”
“Thank you m’lady,” said Avery, playing along with Hailey’s silliness. They both chuckled and Jeff just stared at them with a shit-eating grin on his face.
As Hailey turned and walked away toward the kitchen she heard Jeff say, “I see what you mean. You’re in trouble.” He barked out a laugh that drew the attention of other diners in the restaurant. When she looked back she saw Avery throwing a balled up napkin at him.
Hailey wasn’t sure what to take from that interaction. What did he mean Avery was in trouble? Maybe it wassomething to do with the case they were working on.
Throughout the rest of their meal, anytime she approached their table they quickly stopped their conversation before Hailey could hear. She assumed they were talking about the case that was definitely none of her business.
Avery worked with troubled kids, helping them get their lives back on track. He’d told some crazy stories about his job over the years, including one kid who threw a chair at him during a house call with their family. Hailey respected his work. It was important and he was making a difference in kids’ lives. He wasn’t just helping rich people get richer like Gage. Geez, why was she comparing them like that?
At the end of their meal when Hailey brought their check, she realized she was disappointed he was leaving.
“Thanks for coming in!” she said. “No one ever visits me here.”
Avery gave her a knowing look before he took a deep breath and asked, “Not even Gage?”
“No, not even him.” She looked at her feet for a moment before picking her head back up to Jeff. “It was nice to meet you, Jeff. Keep fighting the good fight with Avery here.”
“I’m so glad I got to meet you. You’re even better than I expected.”
