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“Kelsey, what’s wrong?” His voice is laced with concern and panic, matching my own.
“He…he…” is all I can stutter out before I’m being pushed off Joey’s chest and around to his back.
Chapter 27
My gut twisted when I watched him get up a few minutes after Kelsey. I should’ve gone to wait for her outside of the bathroom. When she came back in tears with blood on her hand, I knew something had happened. The panic in her voice as she tried to tell me what happened said more than her words — I knew I had to protect her at all costs.
“Stay behind me, Angel,” I whisper over my shoulder.
This moron clearly has a death wish with the way he stomps toward us. “You fucking bitch! You broke my nose!” Grant shouts at her, loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear.
“I suggest you go back to your table before I break more than your nose,” I grunt through gritted teeth. If we were not in a nice restaurant, I wouldn’t have even given him the courtesy of a warning. I’ve already hit him once — I’d have no problem doing it again.
The restaurant manager interrupts our spat. “Is there a problem here, gentlemen?”
I don’t break eye contact with the asshole in front of me. “I don’t know, do we have a problem here, Grant?”
“Yes, we have a problem. This woman broke my nose!” Grant whines like a little bitch.
“Is this true, miss?” He looks over my shoulder at Kelsey, who emerges to my side.
“Yes, I was defending myself after he slammed me into a wall and cornered me.”
“Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” I’m so sure that he’s talking to me that I’m about to argue. But when I look at him, I see that he was addressing Grant.
The look on Grant’s face when he realizes he’s not going to be able to talk his way out of this is picture-worthy. His jaw is hung open while his eyes squint at the manager.
“This is bullshit! Do you have any idea who I am?!” He continues his tantrum, explaining how he works with the Oak Park District Attorney. He drones on that he knows people who can have this place shut down, and blah, blah, blah. He’s really trying to play the power card, but the manager is not having any of it.
“Sir, I don’t care if you’re the President of this country. We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to the harassment of anyone in the confines of this building. Now, kindly pay your bill and exit my restaurant, or I’ll be forced to call the police.”
Grant mutters something I can’t quite make out under his breath and storms off. I fight back the urge to smile at justice being served.
“Miss, are you alright?” The manager asks Kelsey. She doesn’t say anything, but nods quickly. “I hope you both will accept my deepest apologies for this situation. Your meal will be on us tonight for the inconvenience.”
Kelsey’s eyes damn near pop out of her head. “Oh God, no, you don’t have to do that. It wasn’t any fault of the restaurant that this happened.”
“Please, Miss, I insist. I never want anyone in my restaurant to feel uncomfortable for any reason. I wouldn’t want an experience like this to prevent you from coming back and dining with us again.”
“Kelsey, don’t insult the man,” I whisper to her. “Thank you for your hospitality, and for taking care of the problem for us.” I shake the manager’s hand.
“My pleasure, Sir. You two enjoy your meal.”
Once he’s walked away, I take Kelsey back into my arms. “Are you okay, Angel?”
“Yeah.”
She’s lying — I can still feel her body shaking as I hold her. The thought of that fucker putting his hands on her has my blood boiling.
“Where are we going?” Kelsey asks when she notices we’re driving in the opposite direction of the highway.
“You’ll see.” I bring her hand up to my lips and gently kiss them. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah…” There’s a somber tone to her voice as she speaks. “I’m just trying not to let him ruin my night.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ll perk up in a few minutes.”
When I made our dinner reservations tonight, I also planned a walking tour of the Chicago Botanics Lightscape. I’m glad she isn’t wearing high heels. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise of what we were doing tonight, so I didn’t think to tell her to wear sensible shoes.
