Page 15 of That Kind of Guy

“Great. Thanks, buddy.”

We hung up, and I headed back into the restaurant as a few people were leaving.

“Did you hear that Keiko is moving to the mainland?” a woman asked her friend. “She’s going to sell the restaurant to Avery.”

The other woman shook her head. “No, Avery tried to get a loan this morning, and they rejected her. She doesn’t have a high enough income.”

The other woman’s mouth dropped. “That poor thing.”

I watched the women walk away, and I remembered my mom mentioning this inside the restaurant.

Avery Adams wanted to buy this restaurant but couldn’t get a loan.

Huh.

My eyes narrowed.

I didn’t know much about Adams, besides the fact that she couldn’t stand me, but even I knew how hard she worked. Back when she was a server, everyone wanted to be seated in her section because of how attentive she was, how the food always showed up quickly and exactly as ordered, and how personable she was. Anyone could see she loved the restaurant, the way she thrived on keeping customers happy, how she took pride in the place.

I thought again about what she had said inside, how Isaac Anderson had a perfect wife and perfect family, and how she said I should hire someone to play my wife.

My skin prickled with that funny feeling I always got at work when I was onto something. When I could sense an opportunity. I didn’t build Rhodes Construction to what it currently was by ignoring my instincts. They always told me when there was an opportunity in front of me.

Avery Adams needed to buy this restaurant, and she didn’t have enough money. I needed to win this election, and I didn’t have a dutiful little wife to make me look responsible.

She was perfect. Cute, hard-working, independent, and well-liked in town. She was exactly the kind of person people would believe I’d date.

A big grin spread across my face.

* * *

The next day,I returned to the restaurant. “Is Avery here?” I asked Max.

He shook his head. “Nope, she’ll be back soon.” He pulled out his phone and checked the time. “In about an hour.”

I couldn’t wait an hour, I wanted to talk to her now. “Any idea where I can find her?”

“We forced her to go to a movie.”

My eyebrow ticked up. “You forced her?”

Max nodded. “Sometimes, she needs encouragement to take a break from this place.”

So, Adams was a workaholic. Zero surprise there. I thanked him again and made my way down the street to the theater.

“One, please,” I told the teenager working there.

She blinked at me with a bored expression. “The movie’s half over.”

I nodded. “That’s fine. I won’t be here long.”

She rolled her eyes and took my money before handing me a ticket.

It was dark in the theater, and an old movie from the sixties flashed across the screen. There weren’t many people inside, so it didn’t take me long to spot her.

“Hi,” I said, taking a seat beside her, and she flinched behind her giant tub of popcorn.

She gave me a look that saidugh, you. I could feel the grin on my face. I loved a challenge.

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