“Let’s not talk about that disaster of a place. I thought this place might be a better fit for a date. And they do halal.”
I smiled.
Someone was trying to outdo himself and make up for our first date, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate it. Not that the first date had been bad. Then again, I didn’t have much of a barometer on this sort of thing.
“Perfect,” I said and looked at my menu.
This was definitely no Crown. It didn’t have pages upon pages of food or an overwhelming number of dishes to choose from. It was simple yet elegant with four appetizer options, five entrees, and three desserts.
“Mmm, the beef bourguignon sounds just about right in this weather,” Cole hummed, and I nodded.
“I quite like the sound of the roast lamb.” Though everything seemed equally mouthwatering.
“I think I’m ready,” Cole said and put the menu down.
“Um… there don’t seem to be any prices anywhere.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Cole waved me off.
“I can’t let you pay again,” I said.
“You can and you will. You paid so much money at the auction. It’s the least I can do.”
“Yeah, but it was for charity.”
I didn’t tell him Alina and Zainab had helped with that particular check. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, and I didn’t wanthim feeling guilty for anything. Besides, it was my friends that made me bid so high. Offering to split it threeways was the least they could do.
“Don’t worry, Samir. Besides, you’re doing me a favor.”
“A favor how?”
“Well, this place is a strong competition for the Grill, and I’ve always wanted to check it out, so our date was the perfect excuse.”
“Well, if it’s for research, then okay.” I chuckled. “What’s so special about this place? I wouldn’t have thought it’d be competition.”
He sighed.
“Every restaurant is competition.” He pointed out. “But this place is different. They change their menu almost daily. They don’t have a theme. They could be doing Italian one day and steaks and fries the next. Their chefs have total control to do whatever they want. To create art. Hence the name.”
I nodded.
“I guess their unpredictability can be dangerous,” I said.
“Yeah. Or we could learn something from them. Not all competition is bad competition. My parents taught me that.”
“I wish I’d met you two years ago.” I sighed and sat back, smiling.
“Why?”
“I spent so much time stressing about the bookstore, about other bookstores popping up, or any place adding books to their offerings that I gave myself hives.”
“Oh. That’s awful,” he said.
“I’m kidding, but it’s not far off from the truth.”
“I would have thought the cat shelter side of the business would be your edge on anyone else though.”
“It is. But that was before we opened. I wasn’t sure if the fundraising side would be enough to cover the cats, so I thought I need the book side to do exceptionally well to make it possible to care for the cats.”
