I sit back down and we watch Joe and Gary leaving in silence. When they’re out of sight, I wave Sasha over and ask her for the bill.
“You still pay in your own restaurant?” Kimberley says.
“Sure. It keeps the books right,” I say.
She looks at me like she’s debating whether or not to say what’s on her mind and then she makes her mind up and speaks.
“What changed?” she asks.
“What do you mean?” I snap.
Is she implying I wouldn’t usually be professional?
“You were happy to drag me over the coals through dinner and then something changed. What was it?”
If I tell her I heard Joe chastising her, she’ll get all defensive and the last thing I want right now is a slanging match with her in one of our restaurants. I decide to go with a half truth.
“I realised I was being a dick,” I say.
“Thanks for giving me a way out,” she says quietly.
I just shrug. Sasha appears with the bill at that moment and I give her my card. She hurries off to run it through.
“You know Sebastian, I didn’t realise how good you are at what you do until tonight. You had Joe practically eating out of your hand,” she says. “It’s funny because I remember how reluctant you were to join the family business. You were so sure you’d hate it, and yet you seem to be in your element here.”
“I am,” I agree.
I meet her eye for the first time tonight, letting myself be enchanted by her eyes for a moment. I smile at her, and I know my smile is genuine this time.
“You’re pretty good at what you do yourself. I mean you recognised that we were a good asset,” I tease her.
She laughs and shakes her head.
“A compliment? I think you might be the one who has had too much wine tonight,” she says, but she looks pleased.
“You know something? I don’t reckon either of us have had enough wine yet. And I think we deserve another glass or two to celebrate a job well done. What do you say? A drink at the bar before we leave?”
Kimberley looks like she wants to say yes, but something is stopping her, and suddenly, I realise I don’t want her to go.
“You know you have to stay out a while in case Joe catches you coming back too early. You might as well have a drink as walk the streets.”
She smiles.
“When you put it like that, how can I refuse?”
Sasha brings my card back and we go through to the bar. I order two glasses of white wine and we take a small table beside the bar. I raise my glass.
“To Hunter Benton,” I say.
“I think you mean Benton Hunter,” she grins.
I raise an eyebrow and she laughs. A warm, genuine laugh that I try my best to ignore. I also try to ignore the way her laugh sends a shiver down my spine. The way my eyes are drawn to her lips.
“Relax, I’m kidding,” she says. She clinks her glass against mine. “To Hunter Benton.”
We drink and I sit back in my seat.
“So catch me up on all things Kimberley,” I say. “How did you end up working for Joe?”
She begins to tell me how she left our city and went down south in search of an internship at one of the big financial companies. She soon learned that without a degree, it wasn’t going to happen. She ended up at Benton’s when it was a small company, but even then, she could see the potential. She grew with the firm, and now both the firm and Kimberley are a force to be reckoned with in the financial world.
“And now the prodigal daughter returns,” I say.
“Something like that,” she agrees. “We’ve talked about a merger before, but Joe has never found a company he liked or trusted enough to go through with it. I’ve debated mentioning you guys before, but I always stopped myself.”
“Why?” I ask.
“It sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but I guess coming home after all of these years, it felt like a step backwards. But this time, it felt right. And it’s not a step backwards. It’s a step I needed to take. I know I don’t have to prove myself to anyone except myself, and maybe Joe, but I have to admit it feels good to come back and show everyone who ever doubted me that they were wrong.”
“I don’t think anyone ever doubted that you would make something of your life Kimberley,” I say.
She smiles and looks down at her glass for a moment.
“Maybe not. Maybe that was all in my head. I guess deep down there was a part of me that was worried I would fail. It was easier to convince myself other people thought I would fail than to accept there was a part of me believed that.”
I nod my head.
“I get it. I think that’s why I was so reluctant to join the family business. My parents worked hard to build their empire, and Matt joined the company and found his passion. My dad was so proud of him. I wanted that. But there was a part of me that was afraid I would disappoint him. It was easier to tell myself I didn’t want to join the business than it was to pull myself up and do the hard miles.”
“What a pair of screw ups we were,” Kimberley laughs.
I smile at her, shocked that I’ve opened up to her. I’ve never told anyone that before, not even Bernie and I tell her pretty much everything. Maybe I have had too much wine after all. It doesn’t stop me from getting up and going to the bar for another two though.
“So how long are you staying here?” I ask Kimberley as I
