Chapter Seventeen Burgers and Fries
JAYCE
We get outside and head to my car, and as I open the passenger side door for her, I ask, “You hungry? I noticed you didn’t eat anything back there.”
“Huh?” Her slightly surprised expression is kind of adorable. “Uh…yeah. I could eat.”
“Good. I know a place.”
She slides into the seat and I move around the car and get in behind the wheel.
I punch Billy’s Diner into my GPS — Zander swears by the meatloaf, and Carson loves their burgers.
It’s supposed to be a chill, simple place where we can just relax for a while.
Besides, the great debate over the best fried chicken never got settled, from what I could hear, so I’ll stick with a spot I’ve already heard is great.
I drive a few streets down and park. As soon as I turn off the engine, her stomach lets out a loud growl.
“Oh, shit,” she murmurs. “Guess I’m hungrier than I thought.”
“I figured you haven’t had dinner, and food will help soak up some of that alcohol.”
She chuckles. “You’re the one who kept buying me drinks.”
“True,” I nod, turning the car off. “So it’s my responsibility to keep you from getting hungover.”
“Works for me,” she grins. My heart speeds up a bit but I ignore it as we get out of the car and make our way inside the diner.
“Oh, this place is so cute,” Sutton gushes, gazing around at the vintage-looking interior with its black and white tiled floor and red cushioned booths. We claim a table toward the back, by a window, and almost the moment we sit down, a waitress appears.
“What can I get you started with?” she asks with a polite smile.
I glance at Sutton. “You good with a cheeseburger? They’re supposed to be really good here.”
Giving me a small smile, she nods. “Yeah, that sounds perfect.”
“Two cheeseburgers and fries,” I say without looking at the menu. “And two waters.”
The waitress nods as she jots our order down in her little notebook then turns to head back to the counter at the center of the diner.
Once she’s gone, I glance at Sutton again.
She catches me looking at her, her gaze meeting mine, and we stare at each other a moment before we both burst out laughing.
“This is weird, isn’t it?” she asks. “Last time we were together in public, we were drinking champagne and people were eating caviar and crostini with truffle tapenade.”
I chuckle and nod. “It’s like a whole different world. Between you and me, though, I tend to prefer a simple burger to caviar and truffle.”
“Ah, but have you had a burger with caviar and truffle?” She giggles “Mind-blowing.”
I scrunch my nose. “Sounds excessive.”
“Oh, it is,” she agrees matter-of-factly. “Totally unnecessary, but still strangely delicious.”
“Was there gold leaf on it? Sounds like something that would have gold leaf.”
“Of course.” She gives me an overly exaggerated shocked look. “How can you eat truffle and caviar on a burger without gold leaf? Do you think I’m a barbarian?”
I laugh again. Damn, I like this. I like her like this.
Relaxed, at ease. Noticeably less tense than when we were at the gala and her parents were across the room from us.
Still, there’s a nervous energy in the way she taps her fingers on the table and looks around the room, her eyes darting to and from me as we talk.
Did something happen when she met with Romero today?
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
She looks up at me. “I’m fine, really. I can handle my liquor.”
I chuckle. “Good to know. So, how did the meeting go today?”
She hesitates a moment before saying, “Really good, actually. Jackson seemed impressed with me.”
“That’s great news.” I feel a swelling of pride in my chest, though I’m not surprised. After all, she’s brilliant. Anybody with eyes and a functioning brain could see that. However, that nervous energy is still hanging over her. There’s something she’s not saying. “What’s next?”
“Oh, just another presentation,” she quickly answers, suddenly appearing nervous. Before I can ask more about it, though, she switches topics. “You know, I’d never have guessed you’d eat somewhere like this place. I can only picture you eating at high-end restaurants.”
I don’t push the topic of her presentation because she clearly doesn’t want to talk about it right now.
I can tell by the tightness around her lips and the forced cheeriness in her tone, which is so different from when she’s genuinely happy.
It’s overly bubbly and syrupy sweet when she’s usually more cool and warm, like melted chocolate.
Damn, am I getting to know her too well?
I’m not sure, but I slide into this new conversation without pausing.
“Don’t get me wrong, there are some things about having a family like mine that do prove useful.
” I think of my clubs, for instance. “I enjoy the fact that I have more… control over certain areas of my life than others do. Still, I don’t always want to live like that. I like when things are simpler.”
“I totally get that.” She sighs and drops her chin into her hand, just like she did back in the bar. “You know, I used to never really want to go into the family business.”
“Really?” That surprises me, given how far she’s willing to go for it now.
“Yeah. I thought it was boring.” She chuckles. “But when we lost…”
She pauses and swallows and I see a flash of pain cross her eyes. I frown. She clears her throat and continues, but visibly leaves some sort of key information out.
“...when it became clear I was going to have to take over the company one day, I got more serious about it. I studied Digital Architecture in college.”
“Digital architecture? Not business?”
She chuckles. “You sound like my dad, but I wanted to understand the actual heart of my company. The artistry behind it. I’ve always loved drawing, and it was a way to combine that love with my future career. It helped make it easier to give up dance, being able to have that other creative outlet.”
I smile. “I want to hear more about your dancing.”
She nibbles her lip, looking away from me. This is clearly a tender subject, which only makes me more curious. She’s so passionate about her family’s company and her work, it never crossed my mind that she might have had other aspirations at some point in her life.
At length, she sighs. “I started when I was little. Mom thought ballet classes would make me more graceful and coordinated as I grew up. She didn’t expect me to love it so much.
To become passionate about it and dedicate so much of my life to it.
I was Clara in The Nutcracker when I was thirteen, and I dreamed of playing the lead in Swan Lake someday. ”
She smiles, her tone still wistful. Almost dreamy.
“So, what happened?” I gently ask.
A flash of sadness crosses her gaze and she tries to hide it, but I catch it before she can mask it completely.
“I got too busy chasing my other dream of being CEO.” She turns her face and gazes off into the distance. “I miss it, though. It was one of the only ways I could ever quiet my mind. Tamp down the anxiety and stress that’s constantly bearing down on me.”
I feel a surge of protectiveness for her.
I want to wipe the sadness from her gaze and hunt down whoever it was who made her think she couldn’t have both, but I resist. Not sure that closing the physical distance between us is a good idea if we’re trying to keep this as a business partnership.
Don’t think I could stop myself at just holding her in my arms.
Shaking her head, she forces a smile and looks up at me. “Enough about dance. What about you? How’d you manage to balance hockey and your aspirations for your family’s business?”
I’m not used to talking about this side of myself with people, but she’s opened up so much to me, it seems only fair.
“Well, to be honest, hockey has always done the same for me that dance was for you. Luckily, I was able to make a deal with my grandfather to keep playing and take the company over when I’m thirty-five.
It was an easy deal to make because my dad wasn’t ready to step down as CEO anyway.
He’s not a Parker, though, so my grandfather has always planned to have me take his place. ”
“So why the fake engagement? What do you get out of it?”
I scratch at my chin, trying not to let my embarrassment show.
I’m so pissed at Ryan. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have to do any of this, but I refuse to drag Sutton into my family drama or have her worrying about it, so I decide to give her the bare bones explanation.
“I need to prove I’m serious about my future and am not afraid to settle down.
That I care as much about the family and the business as I do hockey. ”
She meets my gaze and tilts her head, studying me for a moment. “If you had to choose between hockey and Parker Global, which one would you choose?”
The question gives me pause. Once, I feared I’d have to make that choice, but I got lucky and was given the chance to do both. If I was forced to make the decision, though?
“I honestly don’t know.” I scratch at my chin as I consider my words carefully.
“I love hockey more, for sure, but my family’s legacy and loyalty…
those are important to me too.” I hesitate a moment before continuing, “My family doesn’t exactly get along.
My parents don’t have a loving relationship, and there’s a lot of tension between my grandfather and my dad.
That doesn’t help things, since it tends to pit Grandfather and Mom against Dad.
My brother, Ryan, and I don’t get along, but my sister Hallie is pretty great.
Sweet and understanding. Still, despite the icy dynamic, I don’t want to let them down.
I want to protect them all, I guess, and ensure their future.
I can do that better as the CEO of Parker Global than as a hockey player, so it’d be difficult to give that future up. ”