"You were pretty fast yourself," she said and leaned back, giving me side eyes. "I take it your sessions with Mr. Manuel didn't quite satisfy your needs."
"I have many needs," I said and kissed her again. "You are one of them and I can't ever seem to get enough. But right now, I need a thick juicy steak and a glass of beer and a nice warm bath and then more of you in my bed."
"I'll take it."
We kissed once more and then left the apartment for the restaurant.
We got a seat near the window and sat holding hands across the table. The restaurant was busy, but not too busy so I got my favorite table. I hadn't taken Ella there yet and so she was in for a treat. I knew she loved beef, so she'd be in heaven for the chef bought only grass-fed and pastured beef and aged it extra-long. It was a carnivore's paradise.
We ordered and while we waited for our food to come, I saw a man walking by who seemed familiar. I then remembered seeing him earlier in the day at the airport and outside Ella's apartment building, for he was wearing the fedora with a feather in the brim. Now, I knew for certain that it was too much of a coincidence that I saw him before and then outside the restaurant.
He walked by our window and I saw him glance inside. Our eyes met briefly but he kept walking and didn't show that he recognized me, but I recognized him.
What the hell? Manhattan was a huge city. There was no way he was there coincidentally.
"Excuse me for a moment," I said and stood, leaving Ella and slipping out the front door. I checked the direction he'd been walking but couldn't see him because of the thick pedestrian traffic.
I went down the street about a block, looking for him but he'd disappeared completely. He may have gone into one of the stores but if so, I didn't see him when I walked by, checking inside through the windows.
Foiled in my attempt to find him, I went back inside the restaurant and sat back down across from Ella.
"What happened?" she asked and squeezed my hand when I took hers.
I saw someone," I said. "Someone I saw outside your apartment last week and then again today at the airport. It was just too big of a coincidence to see him outside this restaurant tonight. He glanced inside and saw me. I felt like he recognized me and then looked away a bit too quickly. Almost guiltily."
"That's strange," she said. "You saw him outside my apartment? You’re sure it’s the same man?"
"Same black hat and raincoat." I shrugged, trying not to make too big of a deal of it. "I'll talk to Mark in Security and see if he has any ideas."
For the rest of the evening, I put the man out of my mind and focused on Ella. We discussed the accident and Terry's death, how David was doing and how he wanted to meet her.
"Let me take a picture of us together," I said and held out my cell. We leaned in together and I tried to get a good perspective.
"Can I help you with that?" the waitress asked on her way by.
"Yes, thanks," I said and handed her my cell. Ella and I leaned in together, still holding hands, and we smiled for the camera. The waitress snapped a couple of pics and then handed the phone back to me. We checked the pics out and I sent on to David, with a message that read, Here we are, enjoying a nice steak at Mandy's in Mid-Town.
I knew he'd be happy to see us together.
About half an hour later, I saw the same man walk by again. This time, I ran out, not even saying anything to Ella. I almost tripped over the stairs on my way out, but once again, by the time I got out on the sidewalk, he was nowhere in sight.
I stood in the
middle of the block, watching, but he didn't appear out of any storefront.
Whoever he was, I was sure he was following me...
I went back inside and sat back down.
"Did you see the man again?" Ella asked, her brow furrowed.
"I did," I said. "But I lost him again."
"Maybe he knew your father and wanted to say something but didn't want to interrupt your dinner. If he's an old friend or something, he'll come by."
"Could be."
It was just too much for me to think it was accidental. Whatever the case, I was unnerved by it. I'd never hired a bodyguard before, but I was considering it now. The very last thing I wanted was some nutcase to target me -- or Ella. My father's television empire and news channel had been a target before of disgruntled viewers who didn't approve of our political leanings. Ella's own father had a grudge against my father because of past news coverage of his former business partner.