Elizabeth looked at her like she had an orange for a head. “I’m sorry. It wouldn’t be fair. There’s someone ahead of you. How do you spell your name?”
Bethany wrinkled her nose. “B-E-T-H-A-N-Y.”
“Spell your last name.”
“P-A-R-K-E-R. What’s this for?”
Elizabeth wrote her name on a sticky note and gave it to Bethany. “Give it to Hank. Here’s paper.”
Bethany clenched her jaw. “I don’t want his autograph. I need to talk to him.”
“Well, now’s your chance.”
The couple in front of her moved to the side, and like the parting of the Red Sea, there stood Hank in all his god-like glory.
“There you are.” He smiled as if he’d been waiting for her the whole time and not the other way around. “I’ve been hoping to talk to you.” He took the piece of paper, his eyes lighting up like twin sparklers. “You want my autograph?”
“No, I don’t want your autograph.” She snatched the paper from his hand. “What I want is for you to leave the premises. Now.”
His smile dissolved. “And here I thought you’d be happy to see me.” He waved a hand at the crowd. “I know this is a little wild, but it’s got to be good for business.”
“Hank, a crowd of people this size is gonna want to be fed.”
His smile reappeared, triumphant. “Right.”
“Our restaurant isn’t equipped to feed a crowd this large.”
“Oh.” His face fell. “Sorry, I didn’t think about that.”
“You need to get out. Fast. Take your fan base elsewhere or tell them you’re done, and they should go home.”
“Elizabeth’s not going to like this.”
“Tough.”
“Smile.” Elizabeth pointed a cell phone in their faces.
“No.” Bethany shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Don’t be a spoilsport. Hank’s Instagram account gets millions of hits every day. Think about how good all this is for your business.”
Hank put an arm around her. Bethany opened her mouth to argue, and Elizabeth snapped the picture.
“Next,” she said.
Bethany did not move. “You need to end this now.”
“Yes.” Hank’s eyes glittered, and Bethany realized she had underestimated him again. “If you have dinner with me tonight. We can talk about the repairs I’m making to the building, and I’ll give you the lease agreement I promised.”
“Next!” Elizabeth shouted.
“Move, woman, you’re holding up the line,” someone behind her shouted.
“Well?” Hank asked with a grin. “Shall we end the chaos in exchange for one measly meal?”
“I’ll have dinner with you, Apollo honey.”
Bethany turned to see Daphne Miller in a set of four-inch-high electric-blue heels, skimpy shorts, and a bikini top that showed off her recent boob job.
