Page 62 of New Year
Zack slowed once the restaurant was in sight, so he didn’t arrive a sweaty, panting mess to his own establishment. Instead of the front door, he went down the alley to the kitchen door, and went inside. Returned familiar greetings on his way to the bathroom, so he could check his appearance. If Austin was here by chance, Zack didn’t want to appear overly hostile.
Yet.
Marie met him in the hallway. “Shelton has his table,” she said. “So far, he’s ordered an espresso martini and is considering an appetizer.”
“Thank you, Marie. I’ll take it from here.” Even though Zack had yet to meet Austin in person, Nat had showed him an online video clip of Austin. Zack knew the bastard’s voice.
He smoothed the front of his shirt then strolled through his restaurant. A regular guest was in the Italian Veranda room, so he lingered at her table and chatted for a few minutes. Her entrée arrived, which gave him the perfect excuse to gravitate toward the French Garden room. He hovered by the entrance. Four of the six tables were occupied, but only one had a single man wearing a black golf cap—a hat indoors, like the pretentious asshole he was. Even if that wasn’t Austin, it was damned rude. This wasn’t a McDonald’s.
The hat-wearing man was sitting angled toward the window, so Zack only had about a quarter of his profile in view. Shelton passed Zack with the espresso martini. The guest ordered something that Shelton wrote on his pad. His cell was out, and as soon as Shelton walked away, he picked it up to do something. Probably take pictures or start filming. They didn’t have a no-filming policy, as long as the person doing it wasn’t being obnoxious or trying to film other guests.
Zack shifted out of sight, and when Shelton passed him again, Zack flagged him down.
“When his appetizer is ready, I’m going to deliver it,” Zack said softly.
Shelton frowned. “Do you think it’s the guy in your picture? Marie told me she called you.”
“It could be. I’ll know when I bring his food and speak to him.”
“Can I be a nosey nelly and ask what he did?”
Zack debated his response for about two seconds. “The man in our dining room? Maybe nothing. The guy in the picture I posted in the kitchen? He hurt Nat.”
Shelton stared at him blankly, then glared. “He’s Nat’s ex?”
“Yes.” Zack was not one to ever discuss his personal life at work, so no one except Chase knew about his relationship with Nat. But the staff had seen Nat accompany Chase to the restaurant on at least a dozen occasions, Shelton included, so they knew Zack and Nat were friendly. “He told me enough about his ex that I want to stick the guy’s dick into a pencil sharpener and grind it into meatloaf, but I’m not going to do that. I’m more useful to Nat out here, not in jail.”
“Okay. Thank you, sir. I’m glad Nat’s got you watching his back.”
“You’re welcome, and I’m happy to do it. Better put your ticket in.”
Shelton nodded and headed for the kitchen. Zack hovered for a while, but the man in the hat didn’t turn his head. Around the time the app should be ready, Zack went into the kitchen. When the ticket was called, Zack picked up the plate of today’s flatbread special and carried it into the French Garden room. Carefully placed it on the table in front of his guest with the ramekin of dipping oil at exactly ten o’clock.
The hat-wearing guest looked up and smiled at Zack. “Thank you, this looks amazing.”
That voice.That voice.Zack swallowed his rising rage and said, “You are very welcome. Are you a new guest to River Bistro?”
“Not completely new. I was here about a year ago. I heard a rumor that the place was under new management, so I thought I’d see if the menu had improved.”
The slight insult didn’t pass Zack’s notice. “The owner has stepped back quite a bit in the day-to-day, but yes, I’m the new GM. Zachary Matteson, at your service.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Matteson. I appreciate the personal touch.”
“Our mission here at River Bistro is to provide an enjoyable experience to go along with excellent food and service.”
“Well, I look forward to testing that mission statement.”
There it was. The slight flicker in Austin’s eyes, the way they went darker, like a predator who’s spotted their prey. It sent a chill down Zack’s spine, but his smile never wavered. “Please, enjoy your appetizer.”
“We’ll see.”
Zack swallowed back all the things he really wanted to say as he walked away, and redirected his negative energy into chatting up the guests at the next table. He was ninety percent sure Austin knew exactly who Zack was, but until he was completely sure, he needed to observe Austin. As much as he wanted to make sure all his cooks spit in Austin’s entrée, Zack had more pride and professionalism than that.
He was also very aware of Austin’s love of social media, and the last thing Zack wanted was for his restaurant to go viral over a confrontation. Even though everything inside of him wanted to haul Austin to the door and dropkick him into the street, preferably in front of an oncoming car, Zack had to be the bigger man.
He didn’twantto; hehadto. He couldn’t protect Nat if he ended up in jail for assault.
Zack went into the kitchen and made sure Austin’s entrée was plated perfectly, grateful it wasn’t a steak that had to be cooked to a specific temperature. Too many people thought they knew how they liked their steaks cooked and were just plain wrong. Or they were assholes who liked watching servers go back and forth to the kitchen like windup toys. He gave the plate to Shelton, who quirked his eyebrow as he took it, asking a silent question. Zack didn’t confirm anything. He didn’t need Shelton saying or doing something to tip Austin off.
