“A chef. A good alpha. A good person. A man of my word. Trustworthy. A lion in the bedroom.”
We chuckled. “Well, you’ve got all of those covered,” I answered truthfully.
“What about you, omega? What do you want out of this life?”
I got myself a cup of coffee after asking him and sat at the table. I didn’t want to go into details but also wanted to answer. “I’ve been through some things, Evander. When you’ve been through stuff, all you dream of is peace and normalcy. Work at my job. Pay my bills. Have food on the table. Take a walk. Have a peaceful home. That’s all I aspire to.”
“Those are all good things. Okay, breakfast is served.”
I laughed as he served up beautiful omelets filled with cream cheese and green onions. Sourdough toast with homemade strawberry jam. Slices of fried ham. Fruit salad with poppyseed, yogurt dressing, and seared slices of leftover meatloaf.
A breakfast fit for a king.
“This is great. Thank you.”
We made more small talk while eating, and my resolve sank in more by the minute. Evander would be so easy to fall in love with. He was easygoing and kind. I didn’t think he had it in him to belittle anyone.
Not a yeller.
Not a screamer.
Just easy.
And that was why this might be the last time I ever saw him.
Chapter Eleven
Evander
As an alpha and a dom, the club was a very important part of my life. I enjoyed my work there as head chef and often went to there on my evenings off to socialize or engage in one of the kinks my soul craved. But since meeting Hudson, I hadn’t visited any of the stations on the main floor, merely visiting with new friends in the conversation area when not working.
But there hadn’t been much of that because things were moving fast with the omega. We had spent an incredible night together at my home, and after several days of clashing schedules, we would be spending one at the club. Although I was technically off duty, I had asked Hudson to meet me there because the manager, Gatlin, had asked me to pop into his office for a moment before I went out onto the floor.
Unsure what he might want, I was concerned. He never had much to say about how I ran the kitchen, but the ultimate responsibility for the club lay on his shoulders. Maybe he needed me to be more careful with expenditures? Or he’d had feedback that the members would prefer different dishes or… I just didn’t know.
Hudson would be arriving shortly, so I hurried up to the manager who was also an owner’s office. Rapping on the doorframe, I entered. “Gatlin, what’s up?”
“Have a seat.” He waved me to the seat opposite his desk. “I know you’ve got a date coming, so I won’t keep you long.”
How did he know? I hadn’t told anyone, but Gatlin had great powers of observation. And there was no point in denying it, since it was the truth. “Thanks.” I leaned back in the chair, ready to listen to whatever he had to say. If he wanted changes, we could discuss them.
“I had a meeting yesterday with Talon and the others, and they asked me to bring up a topic that we aren’t sure you’ll be interested in.”
“I’m intrigued. I will admit, I was a little worried that you had some negative feedback for me.”
“Just the opposite.” He reached into his top drawer and drew out a sheaf of papers. “Look these over and tell me what you think.”
I took the pages and laid them on the desk in front of me. Halfway through the first paragraph, I looked up to see him watching me with anticipation. “Is this what I think it is? Are you and the others offering to let me buy in to the clubs?”
“That’s right. You mentioned one night that you’d been saving to open your own restaurant down the line, which would mean we’d lose you. So, we thought perhaps we could solve both our problems. Let you become an owner here and keep our top-class chef.”
I continued to read, and to me, it looked like a very generous offer. I had enough money, but was it what I wanted to do? “I am grateful for the invitation, but would it be all right if I took a little time to read it all over and consider what you suggest? It would be a different direction than I’ve planned, and, of course, I’d like to have my attorney review it.”
“It’s a big decision. Take all the time you need.”
A huge decision, but when I left the boss who might be my business partner and arrived in the foyer just in time to greet Hudson, it fell into the background.
I could not discuss the offer with him at this point, but we had other things to do tonight. To experience. “Welcome.” I held out my arms and brought him into my embrace. “It’s good to see you.”
