You are mine

Chapter Twenty

“Bonjour, François,” I say hello to my boss as I sit at the booth in front of him.

“Ah, ma chérie. Even no, you don’t know a word in french. I’m happy you’re giving the effort to greet me in my language.” He smiles at me.

I return his smile, but mine isn’t genuine.

Francois looks at me with concern. “Ça va, Taylor? Is something bothering you?”

I let out a sigh. “My parents came to my place yesterday. While they were there, I learned something that bothered me.” I play with the napkin, nervously.

“They are parents. Sometimes, they will do that to you.” He pats my hand to give me some comfort.

“I guess.” I breathe out.

He folds the journal. He was reading before I interrupted him. “Do you want to talk about it?” Francois looks at his watch. “We still have time before we open the Dinner.”

“Well basically, I learned that my father cheated on my mother a long time ago.” I clear my throat. “I thought they had the perfect marriage.”

Francois rubs his mouth. “L’amour sometimes makes people do stupid things. And other times you do things that make you lose that person forever.”

Is it me, or did Francois was emotional when he said the last part?

“I don’t want to pry, but are you okay, Francois?” I ask uncertainly if he’s going to answer me.

“Ma chérie, your concern for me warms my heart. You see, I had a wife before I came to this town. J’ai toujours comment dire? I always put my work before her. One day, life a décidée to take her away from me. I needed changes. So I came here and à ouvert my little Dinner.

Normally, I would have hugged him. But since we are at work, I take his hand instead. To show him that I am there for him. Just like he did with me just now.

“Maintenant.” He clears his throat. “Since you are here. I have something to discuss with you. Molly, ma chérie. Can you bring us coffee, please?”

She nods. “Right away, boss.”

Once I have my coffee in front of me. I put one brown sugar and two cups of milk. I hate cream in my coffee. I find that the cream gives a weird taste to the coffee.

I take a sip of my coffee. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“You see, bientôt, I will have to go back to Canada for a couple of weeks. I don’t want to close my Dinner while I’m gone. I would like you to supervise the place while I’m gone. Ne t'inquiète pas. Don’t worry, I will make sure you know everything before I leave.”

My eyes widen, hearing his proposition. “You want me to take care of your baby while you’re gone?”

“Oui. Don’t worry. I know you can do this.” He says with certainty.

Am I ready for this kind of responsibility?

I bite my lips nervously. “Can I have a couple of days to think about it?”

I certainly wasn’t expecting this when I woke up this morning.

Francois gives me a reassuring smile. “Mais bien sûr. I’m not leaving before next month, so don’t take too much time. Okay?”

Wait, didn’t he just tell me that he will wait for me to be ready before he leaves?

“Can I ask you why you chose me?”

“You are my longest employer. I see the way you work around here. I’m telling you, you are ready.”

I nod my head. “I will think about it and come to you with an answer as soon as possible.”

I take one last sip of my coffee. As I stand up, I take both cups in my hand to put them in the dishwasher.

He wants me to run the place during his absence. I have to think this through before I make a decision. I can’t take this lightly.

As we wait for the Dinner to open, I look around my section, making sure that everything is perfect and nothing is missing.

“Taylor, someone is here to see you,” Molly informs me with a smirk.

I look around and my heart leaps up as I see Owen. He had already taken his seat in my section.”Thank you, Molly.”

She grabs my arm. “Wait. Wait. Wait. Not so fast, missy. This is the third time he came by. Has something happened between you two?”

If I say yes, she will want details. I will have to tell her that our relationship is only casual and nothing more. I love working with her, but if I tell her she will tell everything to her husband. I’m not ready yet for them to know about my business.

“I’m sure it’s a coincidence. We do live about fifteen minutes from here.” I try to find an excuse as to why he’s here again.

“Oh, please. I see the way he looks at you. The way he acted when that man slapped you on your but. He went ballistic.” She looks at him. “If you aren’t ready to talk about it, that’s fine. It’s your life.” Molly walks away without another word.

Shit. I hope I didn’t offend her.

I go to grab a menu to bring it to Owen.

“Good morning, sir. Here is the menu. I will give you some time to choose what you will want to eat. I will come back and take your order.”

“I would like to eat you up.” He says, smirking as he sees my reaction.

My cheeks are all red by now. “Owen!” I panic, looking around to make sure that no one heard him.

“What?” He plays the innocent. “You asked me what I wanted to eat and I responded truthfully.

I think I just wet my panties a little.

Great.

Stupid Owen!

I can’t lie to myself. I want to take him on that offer. I can’t right now, I’m working.

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid that it’s off the menu. Maybe if you stop by later tonight I can make an exception for you.”

I can’t believe I just said that.

I clear my throat. “Do you want some coffee?” I change the subject before he decides to add something else.

Owen chuckles. “Yes, that would be great.”

As I go to prepare Owen’s coffee. I look at Molly. She keeps avoiding me.

I let out a sigh. I will have to talk with her. I won’t tell her everything, just enough for her to believe me. I know I don’t owe her an explanation. I don’t want things to be awkward between us. Especially if I’m going to accept Francois’s offer.

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