51. Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-One

Beth

G io comes back to the table with a mug of coffee. He looks as good as he did yesterday in another suit that's probably designer like that one was. It's not a waiter's outfit like Jack's.

He looks more like management, I guess because he is.

"I'm thinking I should give you the tour after this," he tells me, as he sits back down.

"The tour?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

He sips his coffee, and then nods.

"Show you around so you can see how we operate. Bring you to the back office so I can cut you a check. You'll want to know how everything works so you can plan out what needs to be changed and how we should go about that."

"Right," I say. "About that, did Jack tell you guys I don't actually have experience in this field? That I'm on a degree to become a librarian?"

He smiles, and I can tell he's amused at the thought of me as a librarian.

Everyone always finds it funny. I guess I can't blame them. It's a little funny to me, too.

"Do you think I have experience?" he asks, before taking another sip of his coffee.

He looks like a professional, for sure, but considering he's the one who made the mistakes with the window glass …

"No," I answer. "I guess not."

"This was Enzo's dream. I wanted to help him achieve it, and I did everything I could. It's not working. You seem to have an idea about what's wrong, and how we can fix it, and honestly, you're the first. None of us could work out where we went wrong. You could."

"So, this is a right time, right place kind of a deal."

"That makes it sound coincidental," he muses.

"It wasn't?" I ask, wondering what that could mean.

"It could be, but the way we met … Don't you think fate might be more likely?"

It's a valid question, I guess. It just makes me a little nervous.

I thought I believed in fate, until I realized I'd been lied to.

Now, it's easier to think it's bullshit.

It would be pretty dumb to fall for the same trick twice.

"You're talking about the lost and found quarter?" I laugh, trying to downplay how I'm feeling.

"If that was a coincidence, it was a pretty big one."

"I don't know," I admit. "I lost a quarter, you found one. It might not have been the same quarter. We're never really going to know."

"That's why you have to have a little trust in the universe."

"The universe is a big place," I remind him. "Not everything can or should be trusted."

"Sure," he says. "Life throws a lot of curveballs, but they aren't what we should be focused on. Everyone has a destiny, and I think part of yours was to meet us."

"You think Jack would see it that way?"

"I know he sees it that way," he assures me.

"Even …"

"Curveball," he cuts me off. "Don't focus on that."

Right. It feels weird to admit, but he's right. I shouldn't focus on Rourke.

He's my past. I thought I'd left him in my dust. Even now that he's here, he shouldn't be what I'm thinking about. Not for one minute.

"So, my destiny was to meet you," I start. "What for, exactly?"

I watch his face, and I can't help but hold my breath.

I want him, but I shouldn't.

A part of me wants him to claim that I'm his.

That he sees me as his destiny in a romantic way.

The rest of me wants to run away at the thought of that.

I wait and he gives me a reserved smile.

"I believe you're here to help us fix what's wrong."

I exhale, a mixture of disappointment and relief washing over me in confusing unison.

This is all about the restaurant. It's a job, plain and simple.

If he's attracted to me, that's all it is. A simple run-of-the-mill attraction.

I'm not his destiny. I'm no one's destiny.

I'm just a Beta who likes to be brought food.

I smile back at him. "When do I get that tour you promised me?"

"I can walk you around now, if you want?"

I get up. "Sounds great."