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“I’m going to stick with water, thanks, but, Kylie, you should order something.”
She rolled her eyes at me. As much as I liked Kylie, she didn’t understand why I chose not to drink in public, as I’d never explained and I didn’t intend to tonight.
“I’ll take a bottle of this.” She pointed at the menu. “Thanks.”
The waiter smiled, and I smiled back at him before he left to put in our drink order.
“Once upon a time, you knew wine better than anyone else. Your sister owns a vineyard. I know you’re not an alcoholic, so is it medical? What happened to you?”
I sighed. “Is it really that important that I drink? I’m not stopping you. You know, we’re having fun. We always do. I just…don’t do it all that often anymore.” I set down my menu. I could always order fast. Tonight, I’d have tuna tartare and the oyster stew the place was supposed to be famous for. I absolutely couldn’t wait.
“So, tell me about Gordon.” If I got her talking about her boyfriend, she’d get off the drinking subject.
“Well…”
The maître d’ who seated us returned to our table. The tall, thin man in his black suit blinked fast before saying, “Excuse me, Ms. Radford?”
I stared at him. Him recognizing me was highly unusual. Maybe Layla got interrupted at dinner years ago, but it never transferred to me. Not really. “Yes?”
“I have to ask you to leave.” He cleared his throat several times.
I opened and closed my mouth. I must have misheard him. He couldn’t have just said what I thought he did. That was…impossible. “Excuse me?”
“You have to leave.” This time, another voice spoke, so I turned to look.Why, it must be the chef himself.I only saw pictures of him previously, but in person, he was such a presence, it seemed all the other people in the room disappeared.
“Why? What did she do?” Kyrie sounded downright hysterical. I didn’t answer her, too busy staring at Max Broadley.
He was tall, dark haired, with an arrogant expression on his face that radiated confidence and not giving a shit about theworld. His gray eyes stabbed all the way into my soul, and I actually rubbed my chest as if they’d injured me.
“Chef, hello.” I put on my best manners. The nannies had done their jobs. I knew how to behave in public. “Is something wrong? I was just admiring your beautiful place.”
Flattery frequently got me where I needed to go. I knew how to make people feel good about themselves to the point that they didn’t even notice me doing it.
“Yes, there’s something wrong. We reserve the right to not serve whomever we want, and I don’t want to serve you, so get your ass out of my restaurant before I physically haul you out.”
I gasped. My security arrived at the table. Theo looked between us. “Everything okay, Ms. Hope?”
I shook my head. “No, I guess I’m being thrown out.”
This had never happened to me in my entire life.I couldn’t… That was… I didn’t?“Why are you doing this?”
He turned without answering me and left me stunned with no answers. In a daze, I grabbed my purse off the side of the chair and exited without another word. I didn’t want to make any more of a scene.
Kylie took my arm and waited until we were outside to speak again. “What just happened? What did you do to Max Broadley?”
I didn’t have a clue, but as I glared at the restaurant, I vowed to find out. No one threw me out of places. Like it or not, I was Hope Radford. That name came with a lot of things that sucked. My father was a fugitive from the law. My sister had been hurt. My mother killed herself when I was a baby. I’d… No, I wouldn’t think about the last one. I wouldn’t even let myself think it.
Regardless, I was a socialite who used my influence to raise money for causes very rich people cared about. I got things done, I made things better. I’d be damned if one temporarily trendy chef took the chance to humiliate me.
“I’m going to find out.”
Kylie hugged me. “What an asshole.”
I didn’t say anything, but I agreed.
I madeit home in half the time it took to get there. After toeing off my heels, I stormed to my computer. As quickly as I could, I typed his name into my search engine.
A lot of things popped up, mostly articles about his restaurant. I scanned page after page until I stopped at one that caught my attention.
