Page 54 of The Last Date

Carrie agreed to follow up with a phone call to each restaurant, giving them the authority to dole out free desserts or drinks as they saw fit to keep everyone happy this evening.

Then I left my financial team a voicemail describing the issue, and that it was possibly a direct attack from the president of a bank. For the moment, I didn’t want him charged or outed, I just wanted the problem solved immediately.

By the time I got back to Sasha, she was holding two corners of a sheet of glass, lowering it into position with Everett.

“I’m gone ten minutes and you put her to work?” I laughed.

“Yes, but I get a reward now,” Sasha said with a smile so bright it was practically manic.

She looked over to Everett, who gave her a nod. Walking over to a huge Picasso piece, she paused. Her hand was visibly shaking as she reached out. Then she seemed to stop breathing as her trembling finger trailed lightly along the edge.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not permitted,” I grinned.

“Yes, but Everett said that he’s far too busy to have time to throw me out,” she said, transfixed by the canvas.

Watching him struggle while lifting a few large panes of glass, I dashed over to help for a few minutes, while Sasha studied the paintings on the easels with her nose just inches away.

I’ve never seen her so laser-focused. It was as if she was memorizing the energy of each brushstroke, imagining how they must have layered the paint onto the surface.

I assisted Everett for about twenty minutes while Sasha zoned out, then she came over looking unbelievably calm.

“Thank you both,” she said softly. Then she turned to me. “Did you do this so that I’ll start painting again?”

“I hope that you begin painting, of course. But I brought you here because I’ve known Everett since my company started doing some of the food prep for the museum cafeteria. Since I know you like modern art, and there was an exhibition going on, I thought maybe I could show you some behind the scenes action.”

“I’d hardly call this action,” Everett called out from across the table.

“I feel like my eyeballs are full,” Sasha said. “And my brain, and my soul.”

“Are you ready to go, then?”

She nodded, then went over to shake Everett’s hand again. “This has been completely transformative,” she said softly. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, young lady. I’d be interested in seeing your paintings someday. Keep me posted.”

He snuck us out the back hallway, and we got into the car.

“So, where to now?” she asked.

“That is completely up to you, baby,” I said, reaching out to hold her hand. “I would love it if you came to my house for the night. But if it would smooth things over if you went home, I’ll take you there.”

She squeezed my hand, staring down at our fingers locked together. “I really want to stay with you, but I don’t know if that would make my dad freak out.”

For a solid minute, I wrestled with whether or not I should tell her what her father had done. Instinctively, I wanted to shelter her from anything negative. But I knew that wasn’t conducive to a healthy relationship.

Sasha’s parents had sheltered her too much, and

were now having problems letting her go. If I wanted her to trust me, and I did, I needed to tell her the absolute truth at all times.

“You’re a million miles away,” she said softly. “I hope those phone calls weren’t bad news?”

“They were, in fact,” I said slowly. “All of my restaurants are having credit cards declined this evening. Only cards issued by your father’s bank. My manager checked with other restaurants on the block to see if it’s some kind of computer error in the neighborhood, but it’s only ours.”

I hated watching those pretty pink lips fall open in horror. “You think my dad did this on purpose?”

“My people are looking into it. There’s no other explanation of why my company would be targeted, and nobody else’s.”

Her bottom lip began to quiver, and I leaned in to slip an arm around her. “Don’t cry, baby. It’s being taken care of.”

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