Page 45 of Monster Diner

“Are those patties coming?” Clyde said.

“Yeah, on my way.”

Victor hurried into the walk-in, tried not to let his gaze linger too long on where he’d once fucked Lizzy, and went back to the flat top.

Each time he set out a new order, he looked for Lizzy flitting about the dining room. One time when he checked, she was standing with her back to the kitchen window, chatting with a regular. Dave. She tossed her head back, laughing at some corny dad joke Dave had made.

It was maddening to watch from afar like some voyeur, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away either.

“It’s great having you here, Lizzy,” Dave said. “Frank would have been proud.”

“I like to think I’m carrying on his legacy,” she said.

Victor’s heart fluttered in his chest. Please tell him this wasn’t a dream and she wasn’t teasing him with what he couldn’t have.

She refilled Dave’s cup and turned to the window, and their eyes met. Realization dawned on her face, but she didn’t rush to deny it or correct his assumptions. She just smiled, and his knees might have buckled if it weren’t for the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He wanted to abandon the flat top and gather her up in his arms. But he held back because what if he was jumping to conclusions again? That had gotten them into trouble before.

The diner was still slammed, and as quickly as the moment came, she was pulled away by the next customer. Victor felt like he was floating through the next hour or so of the rush. As the day wore on and the crowds thinned out, he bided his time until they were alone and he could talk to her.

Lizzy came into the kitchen. A few white strands of her fringe had fallen out of the bun she’d pulled her hair back into and were plastered against her forehead.

“Can we talk for a minute?” she asked him.

“Sure. You got this, Clyde?” Victor asked.

“Yep,” he replied, not looking up from the flat top.

Victor wiped his hands on his apron and followed Lizzy into the office. The space was tiny, and he felt the heat of her body as they shuffled to find comfortable places to stand. He chose behind the desk, rationalizing that putting it between them would give her more peace of mind. He sat down in the office chair, but rather than sit on the opposite side, Lizzy came around the desk, then sat on it, dangerously close to him, her short skirt riding up over her thick thighs.

He kept his eyes up as she smiled at him with her ruby-red lips.

“What is it you wanted to talk about?” he asked.

She opened the drawer and pulled out the manila folder from the realtor and slid it towards him.

He looked down at it, a perplexed expression on his face.

“You found out? How?” His stomach sank. That was what had her smiling. She was glad that he was selling.

“I saw the folder. I put two and two together.”

“Fair.” He exhaled, bracing himself for their final goodbye. “I can’t buy you out, but I can sell the place, get you your half. It’ll take some time but⁠—”

“We’re not selling,” she said.

He couldn’t have heard her correctly. This had to be a dream, or he had finally lost his mind and he was hearing what he wanted, or…

His eyes flicked up to her. “I don’t want to entrap you, or make you feel obligated to stay here. I want too much. I can see now I was greedy.”

“Victor, your ambitions are what I admire about you most. I don’t need perfection. And not selling is my choice.”

“But—”

Lizzy leaned forward, pressing her fingers to his lips to silence him. She was close enough that he could smell her rose-scented perfume, and his vision was filled with her ample bosom. His heart hammered when she was this close, and it took all his self-control not to reach out and pull her closer.

She leaned back and ripped the folder in half, and then methodically ripped each brochure and document in it until there was nothing left but shreds of paper, which she tossed in the air and let rain down on top of them. Victor looked up at her, startled.

“Frank’s isn’t going anywhere,” she said. “And you’re not buying me out. This place would fall apart without me in a week.”