Predestined Hearts

The tenseness was palpable as Gael lost any and all pretenses.

Quickly, I let him go even though I had more questions. “Okay, keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

The line disconnected. I had a feeling Harris was behind this and I was livid. The incident was too close to him being here and too big of a coincidence that all this would happen in one night. Asshole. I needed to get to the restaurant to help out and do whatever I could. Bastard. Hopefully, I was wrong. With it being Friday, they were about to enter their busiest time of the week within the next two hours. It was going to be a madhouse.

I yelled up the stairs. “Amelia, I need to go to Gael’s Place. Harris has struck again and I need to do what I can to help.”

She yelled back down from her bedroom. “I’m coming too! Let me throw on some clothes and you can catch me up on what’s happening on the way there.”

Putting on my shoes, I grabbed my Aunt Leelyn’s car keys from the hook. Amelia came running down the stairs fully dressed as she dragged a brush through her hair. We dashed to the car and I filled her in on what all happened as the late afternoon sun set.

The only thing I could think of was getting to Gael and helping however I could. With each stoplight we hit, nervous energy radiated at me from not knowing what else was going on. I wondered if Harris sat somewhere watching the scene unfold. He was the definition of a bastard.

Amelia fumed in the passenger by the time she was caught up on everything. “When I get back, we’re getting your stuff out of that shithead’s place. Ashlin, I want to get Daddy involved. We are disconnecting all your ties to that jackass fuckwad.”

Amelia’s father, Winston, was a highly respected lawyer in New York City. He had helped Harris go through his inheritance and explain everything when he first had acquired the beginnings of his empire. At the time, Harris hadn’t trusted all the suits his father had as lawyers since they were corrupted by money.

My, oh my, how the shoe fit him now.

Harris once told me that he never wanted to be on the opposite side of Winston in a court room. Apparently, Winston aimed for the jugular. I only ever knew him as a loving guy who welcomed me into his family. Hopefully an order to get my stuff returned would knock some sense into Harris that I wasn’t playing around.

I had been wondering how I was going to get my stuff back without having to speak to him. “There’s only a few things I need from there.”

She was furiously texting on her phone. “Give me the list and we’ll have it put in the order. Daddy says he’ll do it as soon as I give it to him.”

“All of the boxes in my office that have my client files, my computer, and the pictures of my parents.”

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sp; Fingers flew across her phone. “Got it. Dad is on it. He’ll be served as soon as possible and they’re going to have it delivered to my house. I figured that’d be easier and take you out of the picture in case Harris tried something.”

A car slammed on the breaks and I stopped, cursing under my breath. All I wanted to do was get to Gael as soon as possible. “Sounds good to me. Thanks for all your help. Your family means the world to me.”

Amelia continued to type on her phone. “Well, my family loves you like a daughter. Harris is fucking with the wrong person.”

The parking lot came into site and I quickly parked the car, relieved we were minutes away from being at the restaurant. We jogged to Gael’s Place. Walking through the doors, people bustled about, intent on their task at hand. Clearly, with the patrons already in there, the staff was spread thin. I approached the hostess who was normally a waitress. She recognized me. The nametag on her shirt said Leslie.

She spoke as I made it to the podium while marking on the seating chart. “Gael’s in the kitchen cooking with his dad. The health inspector is back there watching their every move. I don’t know if it would be a good time to go and see him.”

A group cheered from the bar as Steven set five beers down. “Leslie, I’m here to help. What happened?”

Leslie wiped off her seating chart and started making new x’s. I felt bad for taking her away from work, but I needed an idea so I could help the best way possible.

Dropping her pen and counting the menus she responded, “A bunch of us were approached to work at a new restaurant that opened downtown. There was a significant raise and a signing bonus. Most people left.”

I gave a sweet smile. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you stay?”

Handing the menus to a waiter, she responded to him first, “Can you seat them here?”

Leslie pointed to the seating chart. The guy nodded, then walked to the patrons Leslie had pointed to on the char before continuing our conversation. “Gael’s always been good to me. He gave me a job when no one else would. I had no money, no nice clothes and was five nights away from spending my first night on the street. He helped me get on my feet and find a place to live. There’s some things that money can’t buy and my loyalty is one of them.”

Tears were springing to my eyes. I had no idea. I watched the other people who had stayed for a minute. Another person came up and grabbed silverware and took off. I was wasting precious time with Leslie, but I had to know.

Leslie spoke as I kept watching the frantic scene unfold in front of me, “They all have similar stories. Gael’s a good man. One of the best I’ve seen. You’re a lucky lady.”

Looking back at Leslie, I instantly warmed to her. “I know. Now, please tell me what my friend and I can do to help. I don’t care what it is. I’ll bus dishes, serve food, sweep. You name it, I’m here.”