That I understood. But the actual job scared the hell out of me. Nothing peaceful and safe could come from the answer he’d given in the elevator.
I tried to shake loose the foreboding that had settled in my chest like a worry. Like a fret that had no reason. I wanted to enjoy tonight. Ezra’s answer didn’t make me want him less.
“I can do that.”
He squeezed my hand. “Thank you. It is greatly appreciated.”
The cocky guy I’d met just last week hadn’t turned out to be what I thought. I’d judged two men incorrectly. Hale and Ezra both in a row. I was beginning to think I sucked at first impressions and their meanings as it regarded me. That, or my dreams cloud my judgment. Dreams weren’t a safe reality. Not when you wanted them so badly you didn’t think them through. Hale was someone I thought Hale could never be and the worst kind of man imaginable. I’d come to New York to work for a monster, when his ultimate goal wasn’t to hire me, but to groom me like a dog or a pony. Ezra then patiently spoke.
“I started working for Hale a year ago. What I do isn’t important. But things aren’t always what they seem and I need you to remember that.”
I nodded. I didn’t have to remember that. I’d just had that same revelation. Hale wasn’t what he seemed. Now I had to make a decision to keep this dream or leave it and wait for the real one, though by leaving I’d lose Ezra. I wasn’t sure I could do that. Unless he left and didn’t return. Maybe this was the last thing we’d do together and then he’d vanish forever.
Before I made my decision I needed to find out what it was Hale did for a living. “I guess that means you can’t tell me what it is Hale does with his time? He wasn’t very open and direct about his actual job.”
“That’s because his ‘actual job’ is a gigantic goofy farce. His father gave him money and a title in his business. That’s oil in Texas and Alaska, with a whole bunch of South American interests. Hale wanted more so he bought up other companies. Small businesses mostly, hotels and restaurants, and even a few old bars. He generally plays while his hirelings run it beneath his terrible gaze.”
That was the most information I’d received from either of them thusfar.
“Yesterday he bought the bakery where your mother is employed. And yes, you can read into that. He didn’t do it to improve her working conditions and he’ll use it to lean on you. I’m breaking a rule by telling. You aren’t supposed to know. Hale does nothing if it doesn’t gain him something. He’s not a giving man Sammy Jo.”
My jaw dropped. He bought the bakery? “What could he possibly want with the bakery? He’s not going to tear it down? My mother needs that job to live.” Panic suddenly ate the rest of my emotions. The little bit of money I sent home wasn’t going to meet their needs if she lost her job at the bakery.
“It won’t change anything except maybe the owner. And like I said, it’s to lean on you.”
Frowning, I looked up at Ezra. “He won’t be the owner?”
Ezra sighed. “He has no use for a bakery in Moulton, Alabama. But he does have a use for you. Giving your mother a bakery is his way of controlling the variables. Of buying you indirectly.”
Oh.
I sat there torn between relief and fear. Mother wouldn’t lose her job, but she might own the place because of him. If I made him happy by staying. If I became the ‘Samantha’ he desired.
“What have I done?” I whispered.
He didn’t have a response. “For now, just continue as you are. Let him decide his next move. I’ll know before you and I’ll find you. We can then prepare your reaction.”
This wasn’t how I expected our night to go. But knowing I had Ezra on my side did help ease the fear. He seemed strong enough to help me. Ezra wasn’t scared of Hale’s power. I doubted he was scared of anyone. He had his own secrets I could never know, which should terrify and consume my interest, though they didn’t, not in the least.
“Now you know the worst. Let’s forget it and enjoy our night.”
That couldn’t be the worst. What I didn’t know had to be worse than that. I knew that and he knew that I knew.
The cab stopped and Ezra handed him a twenty. “Keep the change,” he said. He then opened his door to climb out. I took his hand and followed to the curb.
We were headed for the restaurant before I realized I hadn’t even looked around, inside the cab or into the city. There was no memory to tuck away. The interior of the car or its details. My mind had been somewhere else. I didn’t want my entire night to not be recalled in the future, because of what Ezra had told me. I wanted to enjoy his company. When would I see him again?
“I’ve never had Thai food, like I said.”
“You like spicy food?” he asked.
I nodded and then I said “yessir.”
“Then you’ll love it. It can be the hottest.”
I was sure Ezra was right. In Moulton the most exotic restaurant was an Italian place that served pizza. They had red-checkered table clothes and a limited pasta selection. There were candles on the tables with Italian music playing on the speakers, which set the mood. It was owned by a guy named Willy. Willy Joe who also worked as a welder. His wife Fanny ran the place.
The Thai restaurant was like an underground bar with colorful people and intriguing decorations and I forgot about my current predicament. I let myself soak it all in. Filed it away in my memory. It was another dream come true.