Page 10 of Falling for My Best Friend's Dad
He shoots me a glance. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I made up my mind in the restroom.”
“Great,” he grins. “But I have a condition. You need to quit your other job.”
“Why?”
“Because your new position will be demanding. You must be available anytime I need you. Very possibly after five. I might need you overtime. I might take you to meet clients at dinners. I don’t want you to get distracted by your part time job, especially I’ll be paying you a lot more than you can get from it.”
“But I…,” I swallow as I glance at Richard’s direction. He isn’t paying attention to me. He’s smiling as he speaks to Penny. Penny laughs at what he says and reaches out a hand to touch his face. That intimate gesture feels like a dagger through my heart.
“You got it,” I say, turning to Jason. “But give me about two weeks. I can’t just quit right away.”
He shrugs. “Fair enough.”
Chapter 6
Richard
We’re sitting in a bar next to the symphony hall on Hayes Street. The concert was great, and it brought back wonderful memories.
“I’m glad you had a good time. We should do it more often,” Penny says with a coquettish smile.
“Definitely,” I nod in agreement and gulp down some more beer, feeling young again.
I glance at Penny. She’s done her best to look good for the occasion. Her hair dyed to an intriguing auburn, contrasting her pale skin and blue eyes. She is quite an attractive woman for her age, and the dress is fabulous, showing off her well-kept body. I’m not an insensitive man, and I appreciate her persistence. It’s why I agree to have a drink with her, although I really should get back to the restaurant. Perhaps it isn’t that bad to have a female companion. Friends with benefits. I’ve never given it much of a thought because I don’t believe in sex without emotional attachment. But at the moment, the idea doesn’t sound terrible at all. I’m about to ask Penny whether she’s free Saturday night when the door of the bar opens and I glance up.
When I see the beautiful girl step into the bar in the arms of a dashing young man, the green-eye monster in me nearly breaks its cage. Kayla. What’s she doing here at this time? She’s supposed to be on her way to work in my restaurant. And is she dating?
She’s wearing an elegant low bun with a few out-of-place strands that make her even lovelier. She looks a bit nervous. She doesn’t look around when she’s in the bar, but follows the man to a table near the entrance.
I watch her facial expressions closely across the tables. Who’s that fellow? I don’t like him. He has the arrogant look of a man who has everything and thinks he can have everything by the snap of a finger. His expensive suit tells me he’s probably Kayla’s day-job boss.
“Richard,” Penny says while I can’t take my eyes off Kayla. “Have you thought about hiring someone to manage the restaurant for you, so you get more time off?”
“What? Never,” I say. “The restaurant is my life.”
She sighs. “I know. I know. The restaurant is Olivia to you. Jeez. She’s so lucky. I don’t know I can ever find a man and become the love of his life.”
“It’s not just that,” I say, chuckling a bit. “I’m used to working in the restaurant. What am I going to do if I let someone take care of it?”
“Tons of stuff,” she says. “For example, travel?”
I shake my head.
“Come on,” she says. “You only live once, Richard. You’ve got enough money to spend, even if you close the restaurant all together. You could live off your investments.”
I nod. Penny is my accountant, and my financial assets aren’t a secret to her. Gavin has been my personal financial consultant for years, helping me with my stocks and bonds. But even Gavin wouldn’t have complete faith in the stock market.
“You could invest in real estate, too, you know?”
“I have the thought. It’s a lot of work to manage it.”
“I’m not talking about rental properties,” she says. “I mean a vacation home where you can spend time to enjoy your life. Like a house in Tuscany. It’s where you would like to be, right?”
How the hell does she know?
She answers my unspoken question. “Olivia wanted it, so I assume you share her dreams.”
