by Jade Kuzma
He stared at me. No frown. No smirk. Just an intense gaze that made me forget about how ludicrous his whole idea was.
I was so distracted that I jerked when he took his hands in mine. He looked down at me, those blue eyes of his as intense as they always were.
“I meant what I said, Lacey. I’m new in town. I’m here to start a business. It’s a strange coincidence that you happen to be new, too. But is it really that unbelievable, what I’m trying to do?”
“I…”
I had trouble speaking. I managed to break the spell his hypnotized stare put me under and shook my head. I sighed then laughed as I looked away from him. My hands dropped from his as I turned my back to him completely.
“I had a friend in the city,” I said. “Madeline… I had a good job. I had good company. I had all the freedom I wanted. But there was still something missing. She tried to talk me out of it but I told her that I was coming to Ivory anyway.”
“And what did you tell her when she tried to convince you otherwise?”
I looked back and Ezra. He stared at me like he actually gave a shit about what I was about to tell him. Maybe it was because he saw how willing I was to sleep with him already. But there was something else I saw. Something sincere even though he was still mostly a stranger to me.
“I told her that I needed to do this. I told her that I wouldn’t want to live the rest of my life wondering if I’d regret it.”
I nodded to him, unable to stop the smile from coming to my lips.
“Then you understand exactly where I’m coming from,” he said. “I might dress a certain way or act a certain way. I drive a bike unlike most people you know… But I understand, Lacey.”
“I still don’t know who you are,” I said. “For all I know, this is all some scheme to try to get to know me better until you find someone else more interesting. I’ve met a lot of men in my life. Maybe this is all about the sex.”
“And so what if it is?”
He raised an eyebrow. I swallowed and shook my head, biting my tongue to stop from smirking even though my cheeks were undoubtedly red.
“It could be something more,” he said. “You don’t know who I am. Maybe something better will come along for you. Aren’t you curious to find out maybe if there’s something here?”
Damn…
I sighed, knowing that there was only one response I could give him and it was the one he wanted. There were plenty of reasons not to give him the time of day but I was throwing them all out the window. Something inside of me compelled me to keep going.
I stared at him, giving myself one last chance to walk away. When I looked into his eyes, it suddenly hit me.
It wasn’t the opportunity he was giving me. It wasn’t the chance meeting that two people new to Ivory just happened to run into each other. No… It was something that would’ve driven any woman to do the same thing I was about to do.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Ezra Grant.”
“Ezra Grant… I don’t want anything you’re offering me.”
“You don’t—”
“I want to know who Ezra Grant is. If you can’t do that for me, then there’s no chance this opportunity you’re giving me will ever work.”
He turned and looked into the abandoned storefront next to us. That cocky smile slowly returned to his lips.
“This is the spot,” he said. “This is the spot where it’ll be. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to convince you to come work for me.”
“All I see is an empty building with nothing but rats and mice for tenants.”
“We all have to start somewhere. All that matters is where you finish.”
I sighed a deep breath and gathered myself. The conversation with Ezra had gotten so heavy suddenly that I didn’t notice how tense I’d become.
I took a step back from him and put my hands up.
“Listen,” I said. “I’ve got a shift at the diner today. Let me give you my number. Call me later and we’ll meet up.”
I couldn’t deny that there was a warm sense of anticipation building in my stomach.
“Take me out for a drink,” I said.
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
“It looks like there’s a place right there.”
I looked just down the street at the only building that seemed to have living people inside of it.
“Hades Pub,” I said. “That sounds like a fun time.”
“Hades…”
Ezra stared at the bar in the distance. His eyes narrowed slightly. His mouth half-open like there was something lingering on his tongue. I wouldn’t have thought much of it if he weren’t so silent all of a sudden.
“Ezra?”
He slowly turned back toward me and smiled.
“Ivory seems like a nice town,” he said. “I’m sure I can find a better place to get to know you than a bar called Hades.”
“You know I haven’t been here for very long. Your guess is as good as mine.”
He walked back over to his bike and got onto it. I watched as he revved his engine and raised his eyebrows at me.
“You need a ride?” he asked.
“Sure… I could use a ride…”
I got onto the bike and squeezed my arms around him.
As we sped down the streets, all I could think about was tonight. My shift at the diner couldn’t be over soon enough. I couldn’t wait to figure out exactly who Ezra Grant was.
Chapter 7
EZRA
I didn’t wanna admit that Lacey was on my mind but she was. It didn’t help that there wasn’t much else in Ivory to distract me from thinking about her. But there was more to her than that. I might’ve found some dame in the city who was as good-looking as her but Lacey looked like she wasn’t about to put up with any bullshit. Even though I’d already slept with her, she still had her guard up. And for good reason. Some stranger walks into a diner and tells you he wants to hire you… If I was her, I’d tell that guy to fuck right off.
She was giving me a chance though. There was no telling where it would go.
My thoughts started to wander as I looked out the window of the place. Some small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Ivory. Every place was a hole-in-the-wall. I distracted myself with the scenery when a sudden voice interrupted me.
“You order yet?”
“I ordered,” I replied.
“Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“You’re late. You said you’d be here 30 minutes ago.”
“Yeah, well, I got a little lost. It’s tough getting around in this place.”
“What’s wrong? Too much traffic?”
“Not enough. You head one direction and start to think something is wrong because there’s nobody around.”
I slowly turned toward the man who sat across from me.
Navy blue suit. Tie straight like it always was. Silver-hair slicked back over his head. Skin tan. Face wrinkled and blemished like every other middle-aged man you’d ever come across but a smile with the youthful exuberance of someone a decade younger. A seriousness in his eyes that he couldn’t hide very well, even with a big grin on his lips.
I made assumptions about the bastard when I first met him and spending more time around him only proved them right.
“You feeling all right, Grant?”
“What are you talking about?” I replied.
“You look… You look a little different.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It just means what the fuck I said.”
I sighed a deep breath and looked back out the window.
“How are things going?” he asked.
“They’re going just fine. I only got here a couple days ago. You can’t expect me to do everything at once.”
“Ivory’s not a big place. You should’ve at least been able to start looking.”
“I’ve been looking. I think I’ve found a good spot.�
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“You have? You sure about that?”
“I’m sure. It’s perfect. It could use a little renovation but that’s not something I’m unfamiliar with. I can handle it.”
“Good… And have you decided on what you’re going to do with this spot?”
He raised his eyebrows at me. He always had a condescending way of talking to me. I never thought too much of it. It was just another price of doing business with a man like him.
“I’m opening a restaurant—”
“There you go again…”
He reeled back in his seat and sighed. He stared at me, shaking his head like a disapproving teacher. I did my best not to roll my eyes at him.
“You know what the deal with restaurants is,” he said. “They’re a tough business—”
“It’ll work.”
“Just because some new fancy place pops up every week in the city doesn’t mean it’s gonna be a success in a town like Ivory.”
“It’ll work,” I repeated. “I’ll do everything I can to make it work.”
“…All right,” he sighed. “I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with a restaurant.”
“And what would you do?”
“A bar. A nightclub. There are plenty of better ideas than opening a restaurant.”
“Shitty ideas,” I muttered. “I’m opening the fuckin’ restaurant. What difference does it make to you, anyway?”
That familiar smirk came back to his face. I wasn’t in the mood for having a cordial conversation with him even though I knew this was important business.
“Fine, fine,” he said. “Restaurant. Bar. Strip club. Whatever. Find your spot and get it open as soon as you can.”
“It shouldn’t be much trouble. I’ve already filed all the paperwork with the county clerk. All I need are the licenses and I can buy the property outright. I’ll start renovating and the place’ll be open in a few months.”
“It sounds like you’ve got everything under control.”
Hearing him say it gave me a bit of relief. Everything was going according to plan. But there was still part of me that was unsure about everything going down.
The waitress arrived and greeted my guest with a cheery smile.
“What do you recommend?” he asked.
“Everything’s good,” the waitress responded.
“Is that right? Grant… What’d you get?”
I stared back at him but didn’t give him a response. He smiled back at me then turned toward the waitress.
“You know what?” he said. “I’m not too hungry. Why don’t you just get me a cup of coffee?”
“Sure thing…”
The waitress left and disappeared into the back. There weren’t many other people in the restaurant, so there was enough space for us to talk without drawing too much attention to ourselves.
“Not hungry all of a sudden?” I asked.
“This place doesn’t look very appetizing,” he said. “Just a small restaurant making ends meet. Nothing special. That’s something you gotta understand, Grant. But it doesn’t matter. You and I are gonna make a lot of money once things get settled in.”
He rubbed his hands together and grinned at me. His teeth shined like he was salivating. I wasn’t as happy as he was and I was trying to figure out why that was.
“What’s wrong?” he said as he stopped rubbing his hands.
“What are you talking about? Stop asking me that.”
“I’ll stop asking you that when you tell me what the fuck is going on. Something on your mind?”
“I was just thinking,” I sighed.
“About what?”
I leaned forward across the table and hesitated for a second. I knew the motherfucker wasn’t gonna listen to me but I had to say it anyway.
“With the restaurant I’m opening, I was thinking… I was thinking that it’s gonna be a real success.”
“It’ll be a success. Once you get it up and running—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the restaurant itself. I think I can do legitimate business here in Ivory.”
He gave me a blank stare, his mouth half-open. The dumb look on his face only started to make me angry.
“What?” I said.
“You’re serious,” he said. “You really think you can operate a legit business.”
“I’ve been here a few days. People in Ivory are not like in the city. Everybody knows each other. Everybody’s honest. They’re supportive and loyal. They’re always looking out for each other.”
“Pfft! Ha!”
He reeled back in his seat again and rocked his head back as he cackled. He was loud enough that some of the other people in the restaurant started to look in our direction.
“You’re dreaming,” he said.
“I can do this,” I said. “I did it with the real estate. Everybody said I couldn’t make any money flipping property but I did it. What’s the difference between that and opening a restaurant?”
“The difference? You really want me to explain the difference to you?”
He rubbed his fingers together.
“The money, Grant. That’s the difference. There isn’t a restaurant in the city that makes as much money as we can make on this deal. There’s no business period that makes that kind of money. Even when you were flipping houses, you weren’t making the kind of cash we can make now.”
I looked away from and stared out into the street.
“Hey, don’t do anything to fuck this up,” he said.
I ignored him and kept staring out the window.
“Hey!”
He banged his palm on the table to get my attention. I turned toward him, my eyes narrowed as he stared back at me. I hadn’t seen him angry very often and he still wasn’t now. But I knew he was only just hiding it.
“Don’t fuck this up, Grant,” he said. “Don’t forget where you came from. I made you. I won’t hesitate to—”
“Are you threatening me?” I responded.
I clenched my jaw and kept my eyes locked on his. I did my best to maintain my composure the best I could.
He was breathing hard through his nose. He raised his index finger and pointed it at me.
“Don’t forget where you came from,” he repeated.
He got up from his seat and looked down at me.
“I’ll contact you in a few days to make sure that things are going smooth on your end,” he said as he straightened his tie. “I’m in the middle of negotiations right now. I don’t imagine that they’ll last for much longer. The man in charge is looking to expand his portfolio and I’m the right man for the job.”
I didn’t look at him but I could feel his eyes still on me.
“Don’t screw this up, Grant. It’ll be the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in your life.”
I didn’t respond to him. I just kept staring out the window while he walked away.
I didn’t have much time alone with my thoughts when I felt someone else standing next to me.
“Where’d your friend go?” the waitress asked as she put a cup of coffee down on the table.
“He… had some business to take care of,” I said with a smile.
“I’ll bet. Fancy suit like that. We don’t get too many men like him in here these days. What’s his deal?”
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to pry. I was just curious—”
“His name is Jamie Silver,” I said. “He’s… a businessman doing business in Ivory.”
She smiled politely at me and bowed her head.
“Businessman,” she said. “You’d think he’d at least have the decency to pay for what he ordered.”
She reached out to pick the coffee back up but I stopped her.
“It’s all right,” I said as I put my hand up. “I was in the mood for a cup of coffee.”
“…Your food will be out shortly,” she said.
She excused herself t
o the back and left me alone with my thoughts. I sighed as I looked back out through the window.
Everything was proceeding just as we’d planned it. Even though Jamie was the last man I wanted to do business with, I couldn’t deny what kind of an opportunity it was.
I didn’t want to think about any of that shit at the moment. Sitting alone in my booth, my thoughts shifted back to Lacey. I was embarrassed that I was still thinking about her. Whatever she was up to, I couldn’t wait to see her again tonight. I’d worry about the business I had to deal with in Ivory later. For now, the only thing I was concerned with was figuring out if there was more to Lacey.
Chapter 8
LACEY
I sat at the bar with Ezra standing right next to me. Even underneath the dim lighting of the dingy bar, I could still make him out. He still looked just as I remembered. The hair. The scruff on his jaw. The intensity in his stare. He was dressed differently but it was only another suit. And it made him stick out from everybody else.
“You don’t have to dress like that,” I said.
“What?”
“Your suit. You’re a little overdressed for a place like this. Have you ever thought about wearing something more comfortable?”
“I’m comfortable right now.”
“Comfortable for a suit. Think about it though. A pair of jeans. A t-shirt. A nice pair of sneakers. You’re…”
I cut myself off when I realized what I was about to say. Ezra didn’t let it go though, widening his eyes at me.
“I’m what?” he said.
“You’re… still…”
“Still…”
“You’d still be handsome even if you weren’t in a suit.”
He didn’t look as cocky as I would’ve expected after a compliment, so I wasn’t as embarrassed.
“You don’t have to flatter me,” he said. “I already know how you feel.”
“So humble…”
He leaned close to me and whispered, his breath warm against my cheek.
“I already fucked you. You don’t have to pretend like you’re not interested.”
He pulled away from and nonchalantly took a sip of his vodka. I had to admire his confidence. Most guys I’d talked to would say something just to try and impress me. Not Ezra. He wasn’t going to play any games.
