He was sure but didn’t elaborate.
“There’s the best Chinese food in the states nearby. I can call and get us some dinner. Trust me, you won’t regret it.”
So Ezra wasn’t leaving? If he was right and Hale wasn’t coming back then we did need to eat somewhere. I enjoyed being around him. He wasn’t concerned about Hale, so maybe I shouldn’t be either. He knew him better than me.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Sounds great.” He’d given me his entire day. If he wanted to eat dinner with me, then I should be accepting, not nervous. He seemed to know where Hale would be.
Stepping into the penthouse I was shaky. Not sure how to handle Hale. He might send me packing back to Moulton. But Ezra was right. Hale was gone. The place appeared the same as I had left it. “You’re right. He’s not here.” I then sat my purse down on the table and wondered if I should go change it. Once again, I feared his wrath and I didn’t like that feeling. But you were supposed to want to please your boss. That was the normal procedure. Correct?
“He won’t be back until much, much later,” Ezra replied without concern. How he knew this was true I couldn’t be sure, but he seemed to be secure in the knowing. I forced myself to relax and trust him.
“Would you like something to drink? He’s got everything you could want.”
“I’ll get it. What about you? A glass of wine?”
I hadn’t drunk alcohol since arriving here. I was still under age, though that wasn’t the reason, I didn’t feel comfortable drinking around Hale and I had no explanation for that.
“I’ll go get a glass of water.”
I didn’t wait for him to ask me why or insist I drink the wine.
“Okey dokey,” he casually responded.
Stepping into the kitchen it gave me time to think about what was happening. I’d enjoyed my time with Ezra. There was a touch of something there. Anxiousness, or maybe excitement, neither one an acceptable feeling. He either worked with Hale or in Hale’s vicinity, though I couldn’t figure that out. He was nothing like Hale, but oddly enough, what I thought Hale would be like, the very first time I met him. Today, for instance, he’d liked making me smile, telling me jokes and when I wanted to do something he didn’t frown or suggest something else. We went to it and did it that second.
I got my water and walked back into the living room. Ezra was standing by the windows with a glass of whiskey in his hand. “The wine Hale keeps is excellent. You should try a glass and relax. You’re so pent up, nervous and scared. I wouldn’t stay if I thought it would cause you problems. Trust me on that Sammy Jo.”
He came directly to the point and I liked that.
“Okay,” I heard myself say.
Ezra smiled and the grin made my heart do a stutter like it was trying to tell me something. He was really nice to look at. Now that I didn’t dislike him so much, I could admit the man was beautiful.
“Good!” was his jovial reply. He walked back to the bar and opened a bottle, pouring wine in a massive glass. The liquid was so red it was black.
“I’m not a big drinker,” I admitted.
Ezra smirked this time. “I didn’t exactly peg you as a whorish party animal. The glass is big so you can move it around. Look at it. Shit like that. I’ve never really understood it myself. I’m not exactly a connoisseur.”
He was teasing me and self-deprecating, all at the very same time. That was really hard to do, to make fun of yourself and another without being mean about it. Taking the glass I couldn’t help but smile up into his face and teeth. He made being away from everything that I loved easier, which gave me peace.
Taking a small sip the liquid was rich and expensive tasting on my tongue. You could actually smell the dollars rising from the glass. The only other wine I had sampled was some homemade swill in Moulton. Ben’s dad had made a batch from blackberries with a tart, sour taste. It didn’t have the smoothness of what I was drinking. This was velvet on your tongue.
“I don’t know much about wine, but this sure tastes nice goin’ down.”
“It should,” he replied with a laugh. “It’s four hundred dollars a bottle.” He then nodded his head out to the balcony as I collected myself from the floor. “I’ve already called in our order. They’ll ring me when they arrive downstairs. Let’s go outside and enjoy the evening.”
Although this wasn’t a date or anything romantic I felt like it was becoming that. We’d done things I once imagined I’d do with Hale, but now I didn’t want to be around him.
“When do you leave?” I asked him, once we stepped outside. That suddenly made me sad. The idea of Ezra’s going. I hadn’t been alone today. I liked having him around.
He shrugged. “Never know. When the job calls I move quick and immediate.”
And what job was that exactly?
“Are you ever going to tell me what it is you do?”
He didn’t look directly at me but I could see his shoulders tense.