Here's a picture of Olivia as I imagine her. But you can imagine her however you want :)
I shifted my weight back and forth as I watched the clock impatiently. Thank god my shift was almost over. I smiled politely at the last couple of the night before turning around and rolling my eyes. You'd think working at a fancier restaurant would be easier, but nope. Not only were the people ruder, but the pay was basically the same. People didn't even tip well.
"Olivia, come help clean up back here!" I sighed tiredly. I was already working 14 hour shifts, 7 days a week, but obviously that wasn't enough for Mr. Porter. I grimaced as I turned to face him; whenever we were alone, his hands... wandered a lot and he was constantly leering at me.
Just as I was about to head to the back, the small bell near the door chimed, signalling that someone had entered. Groaning, I turned around to inform them that the restaurant was closed. "Excuse me, but the..." I trailed off as I looked up at the most handsome guy I had ever seen, with dark hair, deep gray eyes, and a chiseled jaw. Next to him was another man just as good looking, but the first one was... breathtaking.
Flustered, I struggled to maintain my professional attitude. "I'm sorry, but we're closed," I informed them, avoiding eye contact. Neither of them looked very happy when they came in and I didn't want to get them any angrier than they already were.
The hot guy glared at me. "What do you mean you're closed?" He demanded. "It's only 9:00, for fuck's sake! Do you know who I am?" I cowered away from him, praying to god Mr. Porter wouldn't fire me like he did the last girl.
"N-n-no," I mumbled quietly, staring down at my feet. Damn, rich people act so entitled.
"Let me speak to your manager!" he yelled. Oh shit, I was so done.
His friend grabbed his shoulder. "Damon, calm down. Don't take your anger out on her, you're scaring her."
He, apparently his name was Damon, pushed his friend's arm away and growled, "Does it look like I give a shit?" But when he looked at me his eyes softened a little and he seemed to calm down.
I sighed a breath of relief, but tensed up again when I saw that Mr. Porter had come out from the back. "Oh, Mr. Blackwood, Mr. Everson, welcome! Is there a problem?" How did he know who they were?
Damon rolled his eyes. "Apparently your restaurant is closed."
Mr. Porter glanced back at me furiously and I shrunk away from his gaze. "No, no, we're open." He glared at me before facing the men. "Our waitress here is a bit incompetent if you'll excuse her. She's new." My mouth dropped open. I'd been working here for months.
He seated them before pulling me to the back. "You will serve them, I don't care if your shift is over. Are you stupid? Do you not know who those men are!" He whispered in my ear, making sure no one could hear.
I kept quiet until he went into the kitchen, where the chefs were. I was the only waiter here, since all the others had left an hour ago. I walked over to them with a menu and gave them a polite smile. "Hello, my name is Olivia and I'll be your hostess tonight. What drinks can I get you."
Damon's friend, I still didn't know his name, smiled at me. "Two waters please, ice." Damon ignored me completely, too busy on his phone. I smiled and nodded at the other guy before turning around. "Oh, and Olivia?" I turned around, surprised he even remembered my name. "I apologize for any inconvenience we might have caused you." My mouth dropped in shock. In the past few months that I'd been working here, I couldn't remember a single time that a customer had apologized to me.
I smiled softly at him. "It's no problem."
Walking to the back, I grabbed their waters and rushed back to their table. I gently placed the water on their table before stepping back. "Do you need extra time for your order?" I addressed the two men.
Damon looked up at me for the first time. He looked at his watch and gruffly told me, "Five minutes."
I nodded and stepped away. In my head, however, I was panicking. The buses only ran until 10 and there was no way they would be done before that. And then I would still need to help clean up in the kitchen. Not only did it take an hour to get home, but my shift started at 7 tomorrow. And I needed to visit Matthew before coming here.
"Olivia!" I heard a voice call me. I turned around to face Mr. Porter. "The chef is leaving early, so you'll be taking his place." I opened my mouth to protest, but chose not to when I saw his face. I nodded reluctantly before going back to the booth to get their orders.
When I reached their table, they were stuck in a heated discussion. I stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. The friend argued with him, "She would be perfect! And your dad would love her. Come on Damon, you don't really have a lot of time to find someone else. He's coming tomorrow."
Damon rolled his eyes. "After all the people I've been with, he would never believe I even went near her."
The boy groaned. "She looks perfectly fine. Pretty, even."
"Eh-hem" I coughed awkwardly, interrupting their conversation. After being a waitress for so long, I'd learned to ignore the weird conversations people had, but this one still intrigued me a little. They both looked up to stare at me, I blushed. "Umm, you told me to come back in 5 minutes." I look over at Damon when I said that. He was giving me a once over while I talked. His eyes roamed over my body, causing me to shift uncomfortably.
Damon gave the other boy a look. "Olivia, right?" I nodded my head, glancing towards the clock on the wall. 9:15 already? "Well, Liv, I've got a proposal for you." I flinched at the nickname, but didn't protest. According to Mr. Porter, the customer is always right. And you never make the customer mad.
"Yes?" I questioned in a quiet voice, running my fingers through my tousled hair.
"Quit your job," He said.
I gaped at him. "Excuse me?" Quit my job?
The other man stood up abruptly. "Damon I think this can wait until after we eat." He turned to me apologetically. "We'll just take grilled cheese." I nodded and turned around, trying to forget about Damon's demand. Why did they come to fancy restaurant just for grilled cheese anyway? Who cared. It was easy and quick. I used to make it for Ma-- No, I didn't want to go there right now.
Adding my secret ingredient to the sandwich, (A/N, don't know how you can have a secret ingredient in grilled cheese but just go with it😂) I finished making them in less than 10 minutes. Heading back over to their table, I placed their meal down on the table and smiled. "Enjoy your meal!"
As I turned to walk away, the second man stopped me. "Wait." I turned out, hoping I hadn't messed anything up.
"Yes?" I asked hesitantly.
"Come sit with us," he motioned to the extra space next to him.
I frowned a little. That was a strange request. "I don't think I'm allowed to do that," I muttered quietly, trying to get out of it.
Damon snorted. "Angel, we could buy out this place right now if we wanted. So I don't think your boss would mind. Now sit." He was so authoritative and demanding, it was a bit scary.
I sat down. Damon narrowed his eyes a little when he saw that I chose to sit next to his friend instead of him. His friend was just less intimidating.
"My name's Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe," the man next to me said.
"Okay Gabe." I gave him a small smile. I could not figure these two men out. Why had they even told me to sit with them. Why was I here? I intertwined my fingers, awkwardly waiting for them to finish eating.
Suddenly, Damon straightened up. "Who made these sandwiches?"
I cowered away. Did I mess something up? "Umm...it was me." Before he could say anything, I rambled on. "I'm sorry if there was any sort of problem, our regular cook had to leave early and I was the only one available. Someone else can make them if you don't like them. Or we can give you a-"
I was cut off by him. "No. There's no problem." Then he went back to eating. What the--. I did not get this guy at all.
"Olivia!" A booming voice filled the restaurant. I scrambled up from my seat as Mr. Porter came to face me. "Why are you sitting down with our customers?"
He rolled his eyes at me and pulled me to the side, AGAIN.
"Have you learned nothing? This is the definition of unprofessional. You can expect to be missing a couple hours worth of pay from your tips today."
I gasped up at him. Not again! He always did this, but I especially needed the money today. I needed to make a payment for Matt's hospital bill tomorrow, I was way behind. "Mr. Porter," I stuttered.
I was stopped when an arm was wrapped around me. "What's going on here?" Before Mr. Porter could reply, he continued to talk. "I am going to shut this place down by the end of the week if you say another word." I looked up in shock when Damon's booming voice filled the room. Even though Mr. Porter had pulled me over to the side, they had still managed to hear us.
Mr. Porter's face turned into a shade I've never seen before, and I had to hold back a giggle. "B-b-but sir!" He tried to protest, but Damon gave him the scariest look I have ever seen.
"You can forget trying to change his mind," Gabe told him. "It's only going to piss him off more. He'll make sure you won't ever be able to get a job anywhere in this city ever again."
Mr. Porter stood there, speechless for the first time ever. I knew that when tomorrow came, he would probably take his anger out on me, but I was going to enjoy the moment while it lasted. I spoke up. "I'm going to get my paycheck," I announced, trying to diffuse the situation. Hopefully, he would forget his earlier threat to take my tips.
"And then she's quitting." Damon announced.
"What!" I gasped, turning around to face him. This again?
Gabe came up next to me, "Don't worry, just go with it," he whispered in my ear. I didn't want to, but I also I didn't have the guts to protest.
Mr. Porter sputtered, "I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding. If we could just talk this out."
Damon rolled his eyes. "Olivia is going to go get her paycheck now. And she won't ever be coming back here."
I saw Mr. Porter give me a nasty look out of the corner of my eye, but he nodded reluctantly at the men.
~ ~ ~
AHH I don't know how that was. Can I get some feedback?
Would you like to see more of Gabe?
Should Mr. Porter come back later in the book?
Anyone have any ideas for who should play Damon? If you do, comment here or send me pictures!
Don't forget to vote and comment <3