Bistro Bachelor: Working Man Series - Book 2

by Rose, Elizabeth

  The woman giggled as Noble first sniffed it, then swirled it around in the bottom of the goblet, before bringing it to his mouth.

  “I guess this’ll do,” decided Noble, but Jack could see in his eyes that the man was impressed. Jack proceeded to serve the wine to his guests.

  “Why are you out here, Eden?” he asked as she watched him. “I thought Tisha was making the salads.”

  “I made them,” she answered. “I sent Tisha home.”

  “What!” Jack stood upright so quickly he nearly lost his grip on the bottle.

  “She looked like she was having labor pains,” explained Eden. “And then when her kids ran into the kitchen covered with mud and dragging along that skinny old cat, I –”

  “That’ll be all for now, thank you,” Jack cut her off.

  “Did you say a cat?” asked Noble. “In the kitchen? And what’s this about someone birthing a baby and filthy, dirty kids?”

  “Enjoy your wine,” was all Jack said before taking Eden by the arm and dragging her away from the table.

  “Jack, slow down,” complained Eden. “Where are we going in such a hurry?”

  “You’re going upstairs and I’m locking you in the room before you cause any more trouble.”

  “Trouble?” She truly didn’t understand. “What did I do wrong? Martin Noble seemed to like the wine and salads. And I’m sure he’ll like his steak as well.”

  “Jack!” Ruthie walked by with a tray of food. It actually looked good. The steaks were done just the way his father liked to serve them, and not overcooked at all. “Problem in the kitchen.”

  “It’ll have to wait,” he snapped. “I’m busy.”

  “I think you’d better hurry.” Ruthie cracked her gum and motioned with her head toward the kitchen door. “Alfredo burned some food and there’s a small fire in there. He wants to know where you keep the fire extinguisher.”

  “Oh, hell, what next?” Jack let go of Eden’s arm. “Get upstairs and stay there until I tell you otherwise.” He took off at a half-run for the kitchen.

  “Did he just order to you to go upstairs and stay there?” Ruthie balanced the huge tray on her shoulder as she spoke.

  “That’s what it sounds like,” answered Eden.

  “Honey, what’s going on?”

  Eden took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “I just don’t understand that man at all.” She left Ruthie, but instead of heading upstairs, she went out the front door into the busy city streets of Chicago.

  Chapter 10

  Jack extinguished the small fire and headed out the kitchen door back into the dining room, only to bump into Martin Noble, obviously snooping around.

  “Is there something I can get you?” asked Jack. He hid the fire extinguisher behind his back. Of all the rotten luck, Noble would find out about this.

  “Did you have a little fire, Jack?” asked Noble, stretching his neck, trying to see.

  “Nothing I couldn’t handle,” replied Jack.

  Noble tried to see around Jack. Alfredo and Rafael were cleaning up the mess, with Eddie, the dishwasher, helping them. The cooks were explaining to Eddie what happened, and Eddie was talking back to them with his hands. Eddie was deaf, but still they seemed to communicate all right.

  “Maybe you should get some better help,” said Noble. “It seems like you’ve got a circus going on around here. I don’t see any of the staff your father had working here before he left over a year ago.”

  Well, Noble knew more about The Golden Talon than Jack thought. It was true he had let his father’s staff go and hired people who he believed really needed the jobs instead. The people Jack hired were all misfits in a sense but, still, they were real people with real problems of their own. Just like him. They deserved the chance to earn an honest living just as much as anyone.

  “I made a few changes around here,” Jack explained. “My father left the restaurant in my care, and I do what I think is best for the business.”

  “Really?” Noble chuckled. “Well, I’m glad to hear that, although I can’t say you’re doing what’s best for the restaurant. You’re not a businessman, Jack, and you know it. You should have gone back to school instead of trying to make it in the real world.”

  “Noble, what I do is none of your concern.” Jack was furious and about ready to punch the man out on the spot, but tried to be calm, and handle things with finesse the way Eden had. “Now, please go back to your table because customers are not allowed in the service areas.”

  “We were just leaving. I’m waiting for Missy to finish up in the little girl’s room,” said Noble.

  “Leaving so soon?” he asked, glad the man was leaving, even if he hadn’t finished his lunch. “Well, please wait for her by the front door.”

  “With pleasure.” Noble took one last glance through the kitchen door and headed back out to the dining room. Jack put down the fire extinguisher and followed the man just to make sure he really left.

  Noble’s friend, Missy, came out of the washroom and said goodbye to Ruthie who was just finishing ringing up their bill on the register.

  “Oh, Jack.” Noble snapped his fingers and turned around. “I forgot to tell you. The Ruby will be having it’s grand opening next weekend. You, and of course your little entourage here, are all invited. I thought maybe you’d like to come see how a five-star restaurant is supposed to be run.”

  “I’ve no intention of wasting my time in your place, Noble. I’ve got better things to do.”

  Noble made a deliberate gesture of looking the place over from ceiling to floor. “Yes, I’d say you do.” He held out his arm for his companion. “Come on, Missy. It’s time to go.”

  “Wait, Sugarplums,” said Missy with a pout. “I want to say goodbye to that charming girl from – where was it she came from?” asked the blonde.

  “Peru,” said Jack. “And she’s not here, but I’ll tell her you said goodbye.”

  “Thanks, Jack.” She batted her long, fake eyelashes and headed out the door with a sway of her hips as she held on to Noble’s arm.

  “Well, how do like that!” Ruthie watched them go and snapped her gum.

  “I don’t,” answered Jack. “And if Eden hadn’t seated them, I would have thrown them out. Noble saw enough today to write up a bad review of The Golden Talon in tomorrow’s paper.”

  “Eden looked a little upset after you dragged her away from there,” Ruthie told him.

  “I’d better go talk to her.” Jack headed for the stairs, but Ruthie stopped him.

  “Oh, I don’t think she’s up there, Jack.”

  “What do you mean? I told her to go upstairs and wait for me.”

  “I guess she didn’t like being sent to her room. I saw her heading out the front door right after you went to the kitchen to put out the fire.”

  “Why didn’t you stop her?” asked Jack.

  Ruthie shrugged. “She’s a big girl. If she wants to go for a walk, it’s none of my business. Besides, I don’t want to get involved.”

  “Go for a walk?” asked Jack. “She doesn’t know her way around the city. If she’s lucky enough to even find her way back, she’ll probably get mugged before she gets here. It’s getting dark.”

  Jack hurried into the office and grabbed his jacket from the hook on the wall. He slipped it on and fished the car keys from his pocket.

  “Where are you going?” asked Ruthie.

  “I’m going to find Eden.” Jack headed for the kitchen exit. “And when I find her, I’m never letting her out of my sight again!”

  Chapter 11

  Eden was lost. She had no idea how to get back to the restaurant. Every time she tried to ask someone, they ignored her and looked the other way. Chicago wasn’t a very friendly city at all. It was nothing like Cuzco, where everyone was nice. But then again, they may have seemed friendly because she was from their surroundings. Here, she was a stranger and an outcast.

  When she’d started out, it was midday. In the light, it was easy to find
her way around. She’d found some money lying on the ground and used it to hop aboard a bus that took her to the beach. She’d walked along the shore of Lake Michigan and watched the bikers, skateboarders, and crazy sunbathers who sat on the beach in swimsuits though it was too cold to bare that much skin. Eden felt more at home by the water. The fresh air hit her face and she’d even unbraided her hair to let the wind blow through it.

  She’d gotten many strange looks from people about her outfit. Of course, she looked at some of them oddly, too, since these people were very different from her. She saw some with green hair, spiked hair, pierced body parts, and outfits even stranger than hers.

  She couldn’t get used to all the traffic and decided to go back to the restaurant. When she’d hopped on another bus, the bus driver asked for her fare. She’d purposely spoken in the Quechua language telling him she didn’t have any more money. When the people behind her started complaining they were in a hurry, the bus driver waved her on, not wanting to bother with someone like her. She had taken her seat on the bus next to a sleeping old man. As the bus rounded corners, she watched out the window, amazed at the amount of people, stores, restaurants, taxis, and tall buildings there were.

  She decided Chicago was a lot like Lima, although Lima never seemed so big or as crowded as this. Something else that surprised her was that so many people roamed the streets after dark. There were times back home when soldiers stood on the streets with machine guns. She doubted Chicago had anything like martial law. If one went out after eleven p.m. in a group of more than two – they were shot. Simple as that.

  Here, she’d seen groups of tough-looking kids around every corner. Maybe they needed martial law here, she thought.

  The bus didn’t go back past the restaurant, and Eden was getting concerned. It came to its last stop, and the driver told Eden she had to get off. There were two other women on the bus who exited also. They were dressed in high heels, very short skirts, and very low-cut tops.

  Eden was going to tell the driver she was lost, but decided not to. If he knew she spoke English, he was sure to charge her for the ride, and there was no way she could pay him.

  So instead, she climbed down from the bus and stood on the curb, listening to the doors swish closed behind her. The bus took off in a rumble and a cloud of exhaust. Eden looked around and wondered how far she was from the restaurant. Nothing seemed familiar.

  “Hey, who are you?” asked one of the girls from the bus.

  “Yeah,” said the other. “Dominick didn’t tell us he was sending another girl to work the streets. This is our corner, so get lost.”

  “I’m lost,” she said. “I was hoping you could help me find my way back.”

  “Back?” asked the redhead. “To where? The way you’re dressed, I couldn’t even imagine where to send you.”

  “I’m from Peru.” Eden smiled. “But while I’m here, I’m staying with a friend of my father’s.”

  “Yeah, well, we can’t help you,” snapped the blonde. “We’re working.”

  Eden didn’t need to ask what they did. At that moment, a car pulled up and a man stuck his head out the window. The blonde ran over and leaned in the window to talk to the driver. She gave him a good view of her cleavage, as well as a good view to anyone on the street of what was beneath her skirt, which was nothing.

  “You’re never going to pick up a guy dressed like that,” said the redhead. “You’ve got to take off some more clothes and get rid of that ugly hat.”

  The comment about the hat reminded her of Jack. How she wished right now she were back at his apartment with him yelling at her. She longed for him to rip off her hat the way he always did. It was beginning to be a comforting thought.

  Eden walked over to an empty doorstep and sat down in the dark wondering what to do. The blonde jumped into the car with the customer and zipped away. The redhead leaned against the lamppost.

  Eden heard a car horn and the sound of tires squealing on the pavement. She caught sight of a little blue convertible skidding to a halt in front of the hooker. Then she heard a man’s voice.

  “Trixie, have you seen a girl with black braids down to her waist? She’s wearing sandals, colorful clothes, and a ridiculous, tall white hat.”

  Eden couldn’t mistake the voice of Jack. She jumped up and would have run to him, but the sight of the redhead leaning over the car to talk to Jack stopped her. He’d called her by name. He must be one of Trixie’s customers. Eden didn’t like the idea of Jack bedding the woman. Not after she’d been in his arms and he’d kissed her the way he had.

  She then remembered how he’d treated her. Like a child. He’d sent her to her room, and hadn’t even thanked her for trying to help out. Instead of going to Jack, she turned and started to walk down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Maybe she was better off on the streets than with him if he wasn’t going to treat her better.

  The car’s motor got louder as he came down the street after her.

  “Eden!” he called out, but she refused to look at him. “Eden, don’t make me come out there after you. Hop in the car now before you get into trouble.”

  “I’m nothing but trouble, Jack. Haven’t you figured that out by now?” Eden kept walking, and Jack drove slowly to keep pace with her.

  “I didn’t mean that, Eden. Hell, I don’t know what I meant. Just get in the car and we’ll get some dinner and talk this whole thing over.”

  “I don’t want to talk. I just want to go home.”

  “Me, too. Jump in and I’ll take you home.”

  “Not your home, Jack. Mine.” She stopped in her tracks and looked directly at him.

  “Is that really what you want?” he asked.

  “Well, I don’t want to stay around here anymore. There’s no place for me. I don’t fit in and there’s nothing for me to do.”

  “Get in and we’ll talk about it, I promise.”

  “It won’t do any good.”

  Eden saw Jack’s eyes open wide as he looked down the street. Then she heard him curse and he jammed the car into park. The convertible top was down as always. He jumped over the unopened door, leaving the motor running, and ran over to Eden. Before she could protest, he’d scooped her up and thrown her over his shoulder.

  “Put me down right now!” Eden held on to her hat before she lost it.

  “Work with me here,” she heard Jack grumble. “Do it, or neither of us will make it back to the restaurant in any shape to talk.”

  He dumped her into the back seat, and hopped over the closed door, quickly putting the car in reverse. Eden started to sit up but fell backwards when he squealed his tires and did a U-turn, heading in the opposite direction. When she emerged from the back seat with her hat in her hand, she realized a large gang of men with bats and what looked liked broken bottles were running after them. The lamplight glimmered off something shiny in the leader’s hand.

  “Who are they?” she asked, climbing over the front seat as they drove.

  “Just the fiercest gang in Chicago,” he answered, looking into his rearview mirror. “They don’t like outsiders on their turf.”

  “Was that a gun they had?”

  “Well, it wasn’t a badge of honor!”

  Eden slipped over the front seat, buckling in beside him, and let out a deep breath. If it hadn’t been for Jack, she would have been in trouble over her head. He’d come to her rescue in the nick of time. Maybe she couldn’t survive out here alone after all. This wasn’t the mountains of Peru, and she didn’t belong here.

  “Thank you for coming to get me, Jack,” she said in a low voice.

  “Thanks for your help with Noble this afternoon.”

  She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Do you mean that?” she asked, pulling her hat onto her head.

  With tongue in cheek, Jack kept his eyes on the road and nodded, but didn’t say anything more.

  “Was he pleased with the service?” She tried to sound optimistic.

  “We’ll find out
in tomorrow’s paper, won’t we?”

  Eden felt a knot in her stomach. She didn’t want to see that review because, somehow, she knew it wasn’t going to be good. Appearances were everything to Jack. After all, he hadn’t had a hair out of place since the day she met him. Even his clothes were always neat and clean. He’d changed them at least twice a day.

  They rode in silence the rest of the way. Jack pulled into the garage and Eden followed him out into the yard. She then noticed, for the first time, stairs and a door on the outside of the garage, leading to a second level.

  “What’s up there?” she asked.

  “It’s just a room,” he answered.

  “Does someone live there?”

  “As of tonight it’ll have an occupant.”

  When he offered no other explanation, Eden decided to drop the subject. “This yard is so barren,” she said. “Why don’t you plant some flowers or a garden?”

  “Who has time for that?” he asked. “Besides, no one’s interested in a bunch of flowers.”

  She was, but heck if he’d ever know. She was dying to plant and terrace the land like she did back home. It was such a shame to let the good soil go to waste.

  “How about some dinner?” Jack held the kitchen screen door open for her.

  Eden entered the room and realized it smelled like leftover smoke from a fire. Alfredo was already gone, and Eddie was mopping the floor. She didn’t see Ruthie or Nathan anywhere and decided she didn’t want to be alone with Jack just now.

  “I’ll just grab some bread from the drawer.” Eden walked out of the kitchen into the waitress area. Jack followed. She snatched a roll from the bread drawer, keeping her back to Jack.

  “Eden, we really need to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “About us.” Jack came up behind her and gently lifted her hat from her head and put it down on the counter. He ran a hand through her long, black, windblown hair, then wrapped his arms around her and held on to her stomach.

  “Us?” she asked and licked her dry lips, hoping Jack didn’t notice.