Chapter 15

LACEY

The steam rose from the grill and filled the kitchen. The beads of sweat on my brow weren’t enough to distract me. No, they were the motivation I needed to keep going. When I was in the zone, there was nothing that could snap me out of it.

“I need a small stack, two sides of bacon and a couple eggs, over-easy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Got another order for a bowl of soup and a side of wheat toast. And then I need a burger, extra mustard, extra mayo, extra rare.”

I glanced at Ruth but kept busy on the grill.

“I’m not supposed to be serving rare burgers,” I said.

“You’re still new around here. Sanford likes his burgers rare.”

“Sanford?”

“The old man who’s always in the corner. That’s how he gets ‘em. If you can’t accommodate him…”

“Right, right… If an old man wants a rare burger, who am I to say no?”

I gave Ruth a grin and she smiled back at me before getting back to work.

It was a busy day at the diner. Busier than usual. For whatever reason, people decided to come out when I was dealing with a slight hangover. All of the work was enough to distract me from any headache that might’ve been there. But it wasn’t enough to make me forget about the night I had with Ezra.

I still remember it clearly. Fucking him in the building he’d bought. Drinking with him at Finn’s. Moving on the dance floor and grinding up against him. And then the fight outside in the parking lot.

It all felt like some wild, crazy dream that was still real.

It was strange. There was no question that it wasn’t like anything I’d ever been through. I wasn’t about to let it bother me though. I still worked the grill and whistled to myself because things were pleasant. I’d only been in Ivory for a few days but it already felt like I’d already found what I’d been looking.

“Lacey!”

Ruth’s voice was loud but not enough to distract me.

“Give me another burger, well done, side of fries with extra salt.”

“Piece of cake.”

I whistled as I threw another patty on the grill. I got busy tending all of the food then started plating everything that was already ready. Ruth eyeballed me as I put the first plate up.

“There you go,” I said. “Afternoon breakfast…”

“Right…”

Ruth disappeared and came back quickly to pick up the rare burger that I’d just finished.

“You seem to be in a good mood today…”

“Do I? How do you figure?”

“For one thing, I’ve never heard you whistle before.”

“Whistling,” I said. “That’s how you tell someone is in a good mood?”

“People don’t whistle when they’re in a bad mood. But that’s beside the point.”

“Yeah, well…”

I sighed and smiled, my attention still on the grill but my thoughts wandering to Ezra.

“…I am in a good mood.”

“Hmm… The only reason I can think of anybody being in a good mood around here is because they’re quitting.”

“Ha! Don’t worry. I’ll be here for a little while longer to keep you company.”

“Don’t hang around for me. This place is dead. Girls like you come and go. It’s just another pit stop before they get to where they’re really headed.”

“Speaking of which, you might wanna give the old man his food.”

“Good catch.”

She winked and spun around to take care of the order.

I lost track of time in the kitchen as I worked. I kept expecting Ruth to eventually run out of orders but she didn’t stop. It was the busiest day in the diner ever since I’d arrived. By the time things started to finally slow down, I was almost disappointed because it felt like I was only just beginning.

I got busy cleaning things up and getting ready for another possible rush.

“Lacey.”

Ruth stood near the entrance to the kitchen and leaned up against the door.

“What’s up?” I said.

“There’s someone here who wants to see you.”

Ezra…

My thoughts immediately shifted to him and I couldn’t fight the smile that came to my face.

“Ezra?”

“Who’s Ezra?”

“The guy who came in the other day. In the suit. He wanted to compliment me on the BLT I made for him—”

“Oh. Him. No, not that guy. But he is wearing a suit.”

“Who… Who is he?”

“Didn’t say.”

“And is there a reason he wanted to speak to me?”

“Said he wanted to compliment the chef. You know, in all my years working at this place, I’ve never heard someone want to talk to the cook. You’re special, Lacey.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Or maybe he just wants to complain about the food.”

“There’s only one way to find out. Don’t worry. I’ll clean up around here.”

I took my apron off and stepped out of the kitchen. I immediately noticed how much cooler it was in the rest of the diner. I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand and looked around. There were only a few other people but even if it was crowded, it wasn’t hard to spot the man that Ruth was talking about.

I slowly walked toward him and got a better look. Middle-aged. A pair of sunglasses to hide the rest of his face. Greasy gray hair slicked back over his head. He looked like one of those assholes who made a lot of money and enjoyed flaunting it.

“Hello,” I said.

He was looking out the window and slowly turned toward me. He took off his glasses and narrowed his eyes. The sly grin forming on his face made me uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t describe.

“Are you the chef?” he asked.

“I’m just a cook.”

“Cook. Chef. What’s the difference?”

“Cook just makes the food that people order. Chefs do a lot more preparation. They…”

I cut myself off and laughed when I realized what I was saying.

“…You didn’t ask to speak to me so that I could explain the difference to you.”

“No, I didn’t. What’s your name, sweetie?”

“…Lacey.”

“Lacey. I’m Jamie. It’s nice to meet you. Why don’t you have a seat?”

“I don’t think I should—”

“It’s important. It’s about our friend.”

“Our friend?”

“Ezra.”

My throat shifted with a swallow as soon as he said it. The grin left his face. I knew something was wrong. The serious look in his eyes was enough.

“How do you know Ezra?” I asked.

“Have a seat, Lacey.”

He held his hand out. I reluctantly took a seat across from him in the booth.

“Are you from Ivory?” he asked.

“Answer my question—”

“I’ll answer all your questions,” he interrupted me. “It’s very important what you say to me now.”

What’s this guy up to?

I thought about pulling my phone out and sending Ezra a message. Maybe he could tell me what the hell was going on. But as suspicious as Jamie looked, he wasn’t going to try anything. At least, I hoped he wasn’t.

“What do you think of Ivory?” he asked.

“It’s… nice,” I said. “It’s different from the big city.”

“I agree. I didn’t know what to expect when I came here. Figured it was some small town with a bunch of backwater hicks who still haven’t discovered electricity. Turns out that it’s just a quaint town. You know, there’s a place… Golden Hills. That’s where all the rich folks hang out. It’s kinda funny that there are still rich folks in a town like this, don’t you think so, Lacey?”

“I suppose,” I said without laughing.

Jamie nodded and leaned forward.

“I’ll tell you a secret,” he said. “I came here because I plan on being one of those rich folks living in Golden Hills. The same goes for Ezra.”

“How do you know Ezra?”

“I work with him.”

“You work with him how? Are you in real estate?”

“Real estate,” he said with a chuckle. “I guess we’ve all got a little bit invested in real estate. Nothing better than some diversity in your portfolio. But no, I wouldn’t say I’m in the real estate business.”

Jamie was telling me so much without saying it exactly. I was clenching my jaw so hard that it started to hurt.

“What did Ezra tell you?” he asked.

He widened his eyes but I didn’t respond. He sighed a deep breath through his nose and shook his head.

“Listen,” he said. “I’m sure he told you some story about wanting to open up a restaurant. The truth is he didn’t come to Ivory to do that. He came here to make some real money.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because it’d be good for you to get away from him while you still can. It’d be good for him to get away from you so he can focus on his business, his real business.”

“And what is his real business?”

An obnoxious smirk curled on the corner of his lips that I wanted to slap off of him. He slowly started to nod.

“He never told you,” he said.

“He never told me what?”

“I know him well. He is a business partner after all. You two have gotten quite close. Spending late nights together. Drinking. Dancing. Probably fucking—”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Let me make one thing clear, Lacey. I care about Ezra. And if you care about him, too, you’ll stay away. I mean, you don’t know the man like I do. After all, he never even told you what he does.”

The grin on his face grew so wide that it was frightening. He leaned back in his seat and spread his arms across the cushions.

He still wasn’t telling me what Ezra was up to. He was just letting it simmer inside of me.

Calm down, Lacey. Don’t let him get to you.

“You’re lying,” I said.

“Why would I lie?”

“Maybe you’re not Ezra’s business partner. Maybe you’re some asshole from the city with some vendetta against him.”

“Maybe I am. But there’s an easier way to find out.”

“And what’s that?”

“Ask him yourself.”

He moved forward, that big, stupid smile still on his lips.

“Ask him what he’s really doing in Ivory. Ask him what kind of man he really is. You’ll get your answers—”

“Get out.”

“Lacey. I don’t think you should—”

I jumped up from my seat and pointed toward the exit.

“I said get the fuck out.”

I breathed hard, trying to maintain my composure.

Jamie sighed as he got up from his seat.

“All right, all right,” he said.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small wad of bills. He left a few dollars on the table then straightened his tie.

“The food was really good,” he said. “I did want to compliment it. I figured it would be nice for you to hear the truth from someone for once.”

I wasn’t looking at him. Just the thought of what he was suggesting made me sick.

“If you ever come near me again, you’ll regret it,” I said.

I could feel his eyes on me. A disgusting stare that made me tremble on the spot.

“I can see why Ezra likes you so much.”

Jamie whistled to himself. I waited for the whistling to stop and the door to close.

I closed my eyes and sighed a deep breath to gather myself.

“What the hell was that all about?”

Ruth suddenly appeared next to me.

“Lacey, you all right, honey—”

“I’m fine,” I said as I put my hands up. “I’m fine. I’m… I’m gonna go finish cleaning up the kitchen. Take care of this table for me.”

“Yeah… Sure…”

I headed back to work but I was too distracted to get my thoughts off of what Jamie said. I considered calling Ezra right now to get some answers but I didn’t want to do it over a phone call or a text. I needed him to tell me to my face. The truth was waiting for me tonight.