Hiding From The Tycoon

Part 10

Ten Years Ago

I entered the restaurant slash bar with anxiety brewing heavily in the pit of my stomach. I really hoped no one had made a mistake of hiring me here as well. After the eventful morning that I had I just wanted a bit of normalcy. Just for once in the entirety of my day I wanted things to go my way.

The owner of the restaurant, Harris, was standing behind the bar area and wiping the counter. He smiled when he saw me and I gave him a brittle one in response.

"Uh hello, I—I'm here for my shift? My name is Saylor... we spoke on the phone... you said..."

"Yes, yes I know who you are. And you're right on time. You can go to the back room to change into the uniform which has been set aside for you. Orwell will show you the ropes," Harris said, his no-nonsense attitude instantly putting me at ease. I wanted to throw my arms around him in joy that he gave me a job. I just had to look for one on campus now. Hopefully something would open up for me.

"Thank you. I'll do that," I said and hurried to the back of the restaurant before he could change his mind.

Once I was ready I stepped out to find a guy no older than me standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He wasn't muscular by any means but there was something about him that told me he took care of himself. He had a piercing in his left ear with a silver hoop dangling from it with curly blue hair and brown eyes.

"Hi. I'm Orwell and you must be the new girl," he said in a friendly tone.

"Hello Orwell, I'm Saylor, the new girl," I introduced myself. "You're supposed to show me the ropes according to Mr. Harris."

He nodded. "That I do. Come. Today you can shadow me to get the hang of things and from tomorrow you can have your own section for serving. Does that sound good or do you already have experience and want to start serving today?"

I shrugged. "I've worked part time before but I'm willing to learn. So I don't mind starting tomorrow." If I had to shadow someone just so I could do a better job and not get fired I was willing to do it.

"Alright then, let's go," he said and that's how I spent the first thirty minutes of my shift. I followed Orwell as he went from table to table taking and delivering orders. Some of the customers were nice and tipped us well, while others acted as if we didn't exist and barely tipped him, let alone me. Orwell also allowed me to take the lead sometimes, telling me to take the orders from the customers, which I had no problem doing.

As the minutes sped by I found myself becoming comfortable in my new job and I knew I would enjoy working here. That was until the door opened and Hunter walked in with his gang of rich, elitist tycoon heirs. I froze as I watched him scan the entire restaurant before his eyes came to rest on me.

And that's when the change happened as darkness entered his eyes.

I was grateful for the lighting in the restaurant because it allowed me to see his eyes turning from a warm brown to a dark gray, causing alarm bells to ring in my head. Whatever Hunter was feeling, it was not good and I had no idea what to do about it. I couldn't run away even though that's exactly what I wanted to do every time he was around.

Orwell went to greet Hunter while I stood back, frozen in my spot. "Welcome. Table for five?" Orwell asked.

"What's she doing here?" Hunter asked, his voice slicing through my consciousness like a whip.

Orwell turned to look at me before focusing on Hunter once again. "She's the new waitress."

I swallowed hard as I watched Hunter's chiseled face harden to resemble granite. Before he could say anything to Orwell—and by say I was pretty sure he would try and create a scene—I stepped forward and stood in front of Orwell in a pathetic attempt to protect him from the Devil in front of me.