14. Jace
My two days of relative peace are apparently at an end. After I made her breakfast this morning, she spent the entire day trying to ditch me and sneak off alone. I have a feeling that it’s because she has started to actually like me a little bit. And why wouldn’t she? I’m awesome.
Soft evening winds swirl down the street, bringing with them the smell of warm asphalt and car exhaust. Since everyone is trying to get home from work at the same time, the cars covering the street are barely crawling forwards. The sidewalks are full of people too, bustling one way or the other. I scan our surroundings for threats while I follow Kayla towards some mysterious location that she refused to specify beforehand.
I also watch her. Watch the way her red ponytail swings across her back. The way her hips sway slightly. The way she walks with her spine straight and her chin held high.
There are lots of other people heading in the opposite direction, but they all shift aside for her. As if that is the natural order.
Kayla Ashford moves through the world as if it belongs to her.
And it’s hot as fuck.
We reach a tall building made of white stone. It’s designed to look like one of those fancy buildings from England’s Victorian era, and I recognize it immediately.
Surprise pulses through me when Kayla starts heading for the front door.
“This is where we were going?” I ask as I follow her.
“Yes,” she replies without even looking at me.
Pulling open the door, she strides inside. She doesn’t bother holding it open for me, but I was prepared for that, so I yank up an arm and catch the door before it can slam into me. Despite Kayla’s nonexistent manners, I find myself getting incredibly excited.
Among other things, this building houses a restaurant called La Fleur, which is one of the best restaurants in town. It has a waitlist several months long. For normal people, anyway. Being a Hunter has its perks. But even despite my ability to skip the waitlist if I want to, I’ve still only been here twice, because I haven’t really had that many occasions to visit.
I glance down at the jeans and t-shirt I’m wearing. Kayla is dressed in chic black pants and a stylish shirt that makes her look like she has just stepped off a fashion runway. Her clothes fit the dress code. Mine do not. I’ll most likely need to pull the Hunter card to get inside.
But it doesn’t matter. I’m still ridiculously excited. If she is here to eat alone, then I might as well claim the second seat at the table and eat too. This is turning into a fabulous day.
The moment that thought has finished passing through my mind, we turn the corner and find a group of people who instantly darken my mood.
Lionel Henderson is standing at the entrance to La Fleur along with Jenn and Aurora Carlisle. Which means that this is probably a meeting for her event planning group. Kayla must have organized this via group chat, because she sure as hell hasn’t been talking about it so that I could hear.
“I’m telling you,” Aurora says to the smartly dressed woman standing at the entrance. “We’re supposed to be meeting our friend here.”
The woman gives her a patient smile. “As I have explained, the waitlist is three months long. Unfortunately, you cannot simply go inside because your friend is here.”
“That’s not what?—”
“Aurora,” Kayla says as she closes the final distance to the four of them.
They all turn to look at her. Jenn and Aurora offer her a smile while Lionel shoots an annoyed look at me. The woman at the front desk startles slightly.
“Ms. Ashford,” she blurts out.
“They’re with me,” Kayla says.
“Oh, of course.” She glances to Lionel and the Carlisle sisters before meeting Kayla’s eyes again. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I didn’t realize that?—”
“It’s fine.” Kayla waves a hand in the air, dismissing the issue. “Is our table ready?”
“Yes, of course.”
The woman flicks a quick glance between the four of them, who are all dressed in at least semi-formal clothes, before her gaze lands on my jeans. An apologetic expression descends on her features, and she looks very uncomfortable, as she raises her eyes to meet mine.
“I’m sorry, but the dress code states that jeans are not permitted in the dining room,” she begins.
Next to me, I can feel Kayla smirking at me in smug victory. She thinks that she is so clever. Bringing me here without telling me beforehand so that I will have to wait outside because I’m not wearing proper attire. And it might have worked. If I had been anyone else.
Saying nothing, I just continue holding the woman’s gaze. She opens her mouth as if to repeat the statement, but then she blinks as if finally recognizing me. Her gaze quickly flicks up and down my body before once again settling on my face. True realization at last floods her features. She remembers me from when I was here last time.
“Mr. Hunter,” she says, sounding a little breathless and worried.
I incline my head in acknowledgement.
“I didn’t realize…” she begins before trailing off. Abruptly taking a step to the side, she motions for all of us to enter. “Please, follow me.”
Kayla frowns deeply at her before shooting a frustrated look at me. I just grin back at her. Her family might be powerful, but so is mine.
We all follow the woman through the elegant dining room. Glittering chandeliers hang in the ceiling and pristine white tablecloths cover the tables. There is a pleasant murmur throughout the already full dining room as the other patrons talk softly while eating. I glance at the food on their plates as we pass their tables. My stomach rumbles.
Then we reach the table, and our guide starts looking uncomfortable again.
“Ms. Ashford,” she begins, and gives Kayla an apologetic look. “When you reached out this afternoon, you mentioned that there were four of you so… well…” She motions awkwardly at the table for four. “But I’m sure we can?—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Kayla interrupts as she strides around the table and takes a seat. There’s a smug smile full of challenge on her beautiful face as she nods at me. “He’s not here to eat.”
“Oh, well, then please have a seat while a waiter brings over menus for you.”
I narrow my eyes at Kayla, who just continues smirking at me while her classmates pull out the other three chairs and sit down as well. Holding her gaze, I shake my head at her. I make her a delicious omelet this morning, and she responds by taking me to one of the best restaurants in town only to make me stand next to the table while she and her friends eat. Damn, she really is a vicious little demon, isn’t she?
“I can’t believe you managed to get a reservation at La Fleur in just a few hours,” Aurora says, grinning broadly at Kayla. “We’ve been on the waitlist for weeks.”
“Oh, it was nothing.” Kayla shrugs casually. “My parents and I come here a lot.”
Lionel frowns at the glittering dining room around him before shifting his gaze to Kayla. “Yes, very impressive. But why are we here? I thought we were going to have our event group meeting in the library. I almost didn’t make it in time since you changed the location on such short notice.”
“Ah, yeah, sorry about that. After class this afternoon, I was just hungry and found myself really craving some food from La Fleur. I hope you don’t mind. It’s my treat, of course.”
Lionel visibly relaxes at that. I watch him. Huh. So maybe he’s not quite as rich as he looks.
“Of course we don’t mind,” Aurora says with a bright smile. “We’re always down with being treated to meals at exclusive restaurants.”
Then she laughs and winks at Kayla as if it’s a joke, but I’m pretty sure that she actually meant every word of that.
I study Kayla again while the waiter appears and places menus in front of the four of them.
Since my family is connected both by money and blood to the Morelli mafia family, which is the most powerful mafia family in the entire state, I’ve grown up surrounded by people who want nothing more than to use my connections for themselves. I learned early how to handle it, and truth be told, I don’t actually mind it. In fact, I find the constant attempts to get into my good graces quite convenient. And fun. I love holding power over other people.
But I wonder how Kayla deals with it. Because she’s the sole Ashford heir, she must be surrounded by people who want to take advantage of her too. I’ve always had my brothers to laugh off the ridiculousness with. But she’s an only child. I wonder if that makes the experience different for her.
“Alright,” Kayla begins once they have all ordered their food. “Let’s get our group meeting underway then.”
“Right,” Jenn picks up and nods. “We need to decide how we are going to obtain the items for the silent auction.”
“Wait, hold on,” Lionel says. “We can’t just start with the items. First, we need to figure out how to get funds.”
“That’s what I meant,” Jenn protests, and gives him an exasperated look. “I said obtain the items. I didn’t say buy them.”
“What do you mean obtain? What are you going to do? Steal them?”
“That’s so not what I said.”
“Then what?—”
Kayla clears her throat, interrupting their argument. Both of them turn to face her. Aurora, who was preoccupied with tasting her wine, does the same.
“Look,” Kayla begins. There is a neutral expression on her face as she meets their gazes and waves a hand to indicate the restaurant around them. “I’m very rich. I can easily front the money for the items.”
Jenn smiles and Aurora claps her hands excitedly.
“That would be amazing,” Jenn says.
Her sister nods enthusiastically. “It would save us so much work.”
Across the table from Kayla, Lionel grimaces and lets out a disapproving sound.
“What?” Jenn snaps.
I’m starting to like Jenn a bit more now, because she seems to be as annoyed by Lionel as I am.
“This is an assignment,” he begins. “We’re supposed to work to solve it. Not take shortcuts that are only available to Kayla.”
My eyes narrow. Do I detect a hint of jealousy in his tone?
However, before I can get a proper read on him, the waiter returns with their food.
Heavenly scents drift through the air as he places the plates full of absolutely delicious-looking food in front of the four Ivy River students.
My stomach rumbles.
Kayla casts me a wicked little smirk that I pretend not to notice.
That God damn little demon. I will get back at her for this.
“Was there anything else I could get for you, ma’am?” the waiter asks Kayla once he is done.
“No, that will be all,” she replies.
“Of course. Enjoy your food.”
Something flickers in Lionel’s eyes as he watches the exchange, and he shifts slightly in his seat while pursing his lips.
It takes me another few seconds to identify the emotion. But once I have, his reaction to Kayla’s offer to front the money for the auction suddenly becomes clear as well.
He is uncomfortable with her money and power.
The realization stuns me so much that I just stare at him for a while.
Lionel was relieved that she was going to pay for his meal today because he probably can’t afford it. But he is also deeply unsettled by the thought that Kayla is both wealthier and more influential than he is.
What a pathetic fucking idiot.
Only weak men get uncomfortable in the presence of a powerful woman.
“Oh, this looks so good,” Jenn says with a grateful nod to Kayla before she picks up her utensils.
That breaks Lionel’s grumpy spell, and he grabs his knife and fork too.
While they all dig into their food, they continue discussing how to get funds and obtain the items for their silent auction. Lionel continues to argue that they can’t use any of Kayla’s money for it. I alternate between scanning the dining room for threats, casting discreet glares at Kayla, and pretending that I’m the one eating the incredible food on the table instead.
“How about this?” Jenn suddenly says, sounding very excited. “What if we do things for people, for businesses, like help them out with stuff, and in return we ask them to donate something to our auction?”
Considering looks blow across their faces.
“Oh, I like it,” Aurora says.
Kayla nods. “That could work.”
“Sure,” Lionel adds. “How about we do it on Sunday?”
“I can’t.” Kayla shakes her head. “Sunday is family day.” Rolling her eyes, she lets out something between a laugh and a sigh. “Dad is very big on that. But what about Saturday?”
“God, no,” Aurora protests, and waves her hands. “We’ll be too hungover. We’re going to that huge costume party tomorrow, remember?”
My gaze snaps to Kayla, who winces.
She keeps her eyes firmly on her group members while I stare daggers at her. A party, huh? She very conveniently neglected to tell me about that.
The others don’t seem to notice because they just continue trying to decide on a day. But Kayla and I will be having a private little chat about this later.
“So, Monday, then?” Aurora at last says.
Kayla and the others nod.
“Sounds good,” she says.
For the first time since they sat down, Lionel’s gaze shifts to me. Disapproval laces every line of his face as he gives me a frustrated look. “Must your guard dog always be lurking like this?”
I flash him a psycho smile that would’ve made even my brother Kaden proud. It makes Lionel flinch. But he recovers quickly and shoots me another contemptuous stare.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Kayla says, and tosses her flaming red ponytail over her shoulder. “Just ignore him. That’s what I do.”
Moving closer, I make sure that I am truly looming over her where she sits at the table. She clenches her jaw in annoyance, but refuses to look at me. I almost chuckle. She can’t throw out that kind of bait and not expect me to retaliate.
I remain there, lurking right behind her, the entire rest of the dinner. Once they’re finished and Kayla has paid for their food, she practically shoots out of the chair and storms away as if to put as much distance between us as possible. I simply slide my hands into my pockets and follow her.
The street is dark and almost deserted when we at last step out of the restaurant. After saying goodbye to the others, Kayla and I start down the sidewalk. She tries to outpace me, but my legs are so much longer that she would need to jog to actually do it. So after a while, she stops trying and blows out an annoyed sigh as she is forced to walk next to me.
When we’re halfway back to her apartment, I break the silence.
“What costume party?” I demand.
She lifts her shoulders in an impressively casual shrug. “I thought I told you about that.”
“Right.” I give her a flat look. “Sure you did.”
We continue walking in silence down the street.
The streetlamps cast warm pools of light on the dark asphalt, and light from the buildings we pass shine out into the warm night.
I let a sly smile slide home on my lips as I glance down at Kayla. “So, what are we going as?”
Her brows furrow in confusion as she looks up at me. “We?”
“Yeah.” I shrug as I continue strolling along next to her. “Since we’re going together, we might as well do a couple’s costume.”
Incredulity pulses across her features. Then she shoots me a hard stare and stalks ahead. Her words cut through the warm night with the sharpness of a blade.
“We are not doing a couple’s costume.”