Chapter 4

LACEY

The people. The buildings. The streets. Even the weather. Everything was so strange to me. Compared to the big city, living in Ivory was like being on another planet.

If that wasn’t weird enough, the man sitting across from me made everything feel like even more of a dream.

Brown hair styled neat on his head. A face that hadn’t been shaved in a few days. He had these almond-shaped blue eyes that made his stare that much more striking.

If that wasn’t enough, everything else about him made him stand out. He wore an expensive black suit. At least, it looked expensive. I never cared enough to learn the difference. The same for the watch on his wrist. He wasn’t wearing the tie I saw him in earlier in the day, his collar unbuttoned, revealing some ink around his neck and chest.

Yes, Ezra was hard to get a read on. Like someone out of a strange dream. Hopefully, this dream wouldn’t turn into a nightmare.

“You’re a strange one,” I said.

He sat across the table from me but didn’t take much offense, his head down as he examined the menu in front of him.

“I think it’s strange to call someone you barely know strange,” he replied without looking up at me.

“Sorry. I just… I like to call it out how I see it.”

“And how exactly am I the strange one, Miss…”

“Nolan.”

“Lacey Nolan. Enlighten me.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something about the expensive suit and the tattoos.”

He shifted his gaze up toward me. The dim lighting of the restaurant made his stare more striking than it already was. He narrowed his gaze at me.

“I see,” he said. “It is strange that a man who wears a suit has tattoos.”

“It’s not just that,” I said with a laugh. “There’s the chopper, too.”

“I haven’t been in Ivory for very long but there are a lot of bikes riding up and down the street. Did you notice that?”

“I did. Ruth talked to me about the motorcycle clubs in this town. Said they’ve got a lot of clout. Mentioned the names. Reapers or Snakes or Rats or something. I don’t know. I didn’t pay too much attention to it.”

“From what I’m hearing, I’m not so strange as much as Ivory itself is a strange town.”

“Seeing as how I’ve only been here a few days, that’d be a fair assessment.”

“So…”

He kept his eyes locked on the menu in his hands.

“…Tell me something about yourself, Lacey.”

“Oh, no.”

“No?”

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I’m not telling you a thing,” I said. “There’s no telling what you’re up to. You first.”

He paused for a moment. At this point, I would’ve expected anything from him.

“All right,” he sighed.

Ezra placed the menu down on the table and leaned back in his seat.

“Ezra Grant,” he said. “I’m new in town. Just arrived yesterday.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Up in the city.”

“I see…”

I leaned forward and propped my elbow on the table, resting my chin in my palm. I smirked at him. For some reason I was eager to hear whatever story he was coming up with.

“…Go on.”

“I came to Ivory to start a business. I’m looking into opening a restaurant.”

“Ivory’s a small town. You could open a restaurant in the city.”

“Along with a thousand other people. The majority of restaurants fail. There’s too much competition.”

“So, you decided you wanted to be a big fish in a small pond. That’s not very admirable, Mr. Grant.”

“I’m not looking to be a big fish in a small pond. I’m looking to be a big fish in every pond.”

He gave me a blank stare.

Damn…

I had to give it to him. If he was lying, he sure had a good poker face. I figured I at least owed it to him to keep playing along.

“Are you in the restaurant business?” I asked.

“No. Never been.”

“You seem pretty well off. Your money had to have come from somewhere.”

“My parents owned some farmland not too far from here. They did well, shipping their products to the cities nearby. I made some money in the family business before I went to the city to get into real estate.”

“Real estate. I know how much rent is in the city. You must’ve made a killing.”

“Then you would know that there aren’t many people willing to buy property.”

“You look like you’ve done all right for yourself.”

“I’ve done okay.”

He smiled slightly at me. I was still trying to get a read on him. I couldn’t tell if he was hiding something from me or if he really was just giving it to me as blunt as he could. The tattoos. That look in his eyes. The suit and the watch.

I found myself staring at him to the point that all I could do was laugh and shake my head.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” I sighed. “I just…”

“You’re just trying to see whether or not I’m lying.”

He gave me that half-smirk of his. The way he looked at me…

What am I thinking?

He was a stranger. Ezra Grant could’ve been some made up name. But there was a part of me that was telling me to keep going. I came to Ivory for a reason. Maybe… Maybe Ezra was the reason.

The restaurant was quiet. The lights were dim. There was some soft music playing in the background. Most of the other patrons were minding their own business, so it felt like I was alone with him.

He leaned forward and whispered to me.

“That’s my story,” he said. “It’s the truth. Even the part about me telling you it’s the truth. It’s up to you whether or not you want to believe it.”

“You’re not exactly giving me any reason to believe you.”

“Perhaps. But if there’s one thing you should believe, it’s this… What if I made it all up? What if I wasn’t in new in town and I was only looking for an excuse to have dinner with you?”

He widened his eyes at me and leaned back in his seat. I thought about it for a few seconds then shook my head.

“You didn’t even know what I looked like,” I said. “I was in the kitchen the whole time you were in the diner.”

“And I still told Ruth I wanted to compliment you on the food. All the more reason for you to believe that I’m telling you the truth.”

He raised his eyebrows, his grin so smug that I couldn’t help but laugh back at him.

“All right, all right,” I said with a nod. “Ezra Grant. Parents grew up on a farm. Moved to the city and worked in real estate. Now you’re in Ivory trying to open up a restaurant.”

“That’s my story. What’s yours, Lacey?”

There was still a part of me holding back. If these were some lines he was giving me, they were certainly unique to say the least. If nothing else, he had a certain charm about him. And he was handsome, in a rugged sort of way, though I’d never admit that.

Just tell him…

I sighed, knowing that I wanted to tell him.

“I’m afraid my story isn’t as interesting as yours,” I said.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“I lived in the big city all my life. I started working at restaurants when I was about 18.”

“You were cooking.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I bussed tables. An old Chinese restaurant. I worked there long enough that they eventually let me start cooking the food.

“The cooking part was fun. I learned a lot. The place was run by Triads, so nobody ever gave me shit about the food being bad.”

I kept waiting for Ezra to interrupt me but he just stared at me like he was actually listening.

“I… I eventually moved to another restaurant. Some run-of-the-mill bar and grill. Learned a little more in the kitchen. Faked my credentials and got away with it. Then I worked my way to one of the nicer restaurants in the city. A fancy steakhouse. Became a line cook and I’d been working there ever since.”

“Until you came to Ivory to work at a diner.”

“Arrived just a couple of days ago. Figured I would work part-time while I got settled.”

“Part-time? Then that means you’re available.”

“Yes, I’m available to work for your restaurant. If you are opening a restaurant, I think you’ll have to do a little better than BLTs though.”

“I don’t think so.”

I shook my head, unable to contain my laughter.

“Then it’s clear you don’t know anything about opening a successful restaurant,” I said. “Look around. The people in Ivory want more than diner food.”

“I don’t need to look around. I think I’ve found exactly what I’m looking for…”

He stared right at me, his eyes unblinking. Those blue eyes of his… They were so intense that I lost my train of thought for a second. I unknowingly swallowed to clear my throat.

Who is this guy?

I blinked my eyes and shook my head to regain my composure.

“All right,” I sighed. “You want to open a restaurant, it’s a free country. You can do what you want.”

“Then you’ll agree to work for me. Executive chef.”

“W-what?”

I put my hands up and took a second to gather myself.

“Executive chef?” I said. “I’m…”

“You’re what?”

“I’m… I’m not qualified to be an executive chef. I don’t…”

“Why not?”

“I’ve been a line cook for years but that doesn’t mean I’m qualified—”

“You know, Lacey…”

He leaned forward across the table and propped his elbows up on the table.

“…You told me your story but there’s something you left out. An important detail that I gave you but you didn’t give me.”

“Which is?”

“Why did you come to Ivory?”

I thought about it for a second then immediately felt embarrassed.

“What’s wrong?” he said when I didn’t respond. “Is it personal?”

“It’s not personal. It’s just… It’s not as interesting as your reason.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Ezra had been listening to me this whole time. Right now didn’t seem any different.

“Humor me,” he said.

Just tell him.

I hesitated for a second then sighed again, knowing that there was a bigger part of me that wanted to tell him even though I barely knew him.

“I was working at that restaurant for years,” I said. “I made ends meet. I was even able to save a good amount of money. It was a good job. I had good friends. I had all the free time I needed. I enjoyed the work. But…”

“It’s all right, Lacey. I understand.”

“You do?”

“I do.”

He nodded softly to me. I didn’t know if he actually knew what I was getting at or not. But even with his stare as intense as it was, there was something strangely comforting about Ezra. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

I suddenly felt a rush of embarrassment. The heat in my cheeks forced me to look away from him. Thankfully, the waiter arrived to take our order to cut through any tension that was building.

“So… Why’d you pick a place like this?” I asked.

“I’m new in town. I figured this would be as good a place as any. Maybe I can take you somewhere else next time.”

“Who said anything about a second date?”

“Date? Is that what this is, Lacey?”

“I…”

He smirked at me. I closed my eyes and bit my tongue but I could still see that smug grin on his face in my mind. I sighed through my nose and shook my head.

“…I don’t know what this is,” I said. “But thank you for inviting me out. I… I don’t know anybody in Ivory.”

“That makes two of us.”

He reached forward and took his glass of wine in his hands.

“So, Lacey… What do you say?”

“What do I say about what?”

He took a sip from his glass. He smacked his lips with satisfaction then placed the glass back down on the table.

“What do you say we get to know this town a little better… together?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. I still couldn’t get a read on him.

Dammit, who is this guy?

There was something about him. A complete stranger who didn’t seem like all he was cracked up to be. Or maybe I was trying to read too much into things.

Whatever it was, I’d already decided a long time ago that I was going to give him the chance he was asking for.

I gave him a nod then picked up my wine glass from the table.

“Okay, Mr. Grant. Let’s get to know Ivory better… together.”