Samantha avoided eye contact with Nick for the majority of the rest of the evening. Although when she glanced at him a couple of times, she noticed him giving her a bit of a knowing smile, which caused her to fan her face.
What the heck had she been thinking?
She wasthis closeto having sex with a random waiter in the back of a restaurant.
Desperate. She was totally desperate.
And not to mention thoroughly amused by the whole thing. She couldn’t wait to gossip about it later with Jenna.
Eventually, Nick came by and began clearing the dessert dishes.
“How was everything?”
“Absolutely wonderful!” Mom exclaimed.
“Yes,” Dad agreed. “Definitely lived up to the expectations we had.”
“Excellent,” Nick said pleasantly. “Well, the owner would like you to know that your dinner is on him tonight, and he hopes that you’ll come back and join us again.”
“Why, how wonderful!” Mom exclaimed again. “That’s terribly kind.”
“Is he around?” Dad inquired. “I’d love to thank him personally.”
“He’s uh.” Nick paused to clear his throat. “He’s actually tied up in the back, but I’ll be sure to pass the message along.”
Samantha raised her eyebrows in concern, wondering if her little rendezvous with Nick had been seen by the owner and he was now in deep trouble.
“Well, at least let us leave you a little something for your service, Nick,” Dad went on, pulling out his wallet.”
“That’s not necessary,” Nick replied hastily. “I’ve been well taken care of tonight. And it was entirely my pleasure.”
He then turned to leave without saying anything else.
Now Samantha was positive something was up. He probably wasn’t allowed to accept a tip from a patron he’d canoodled with. She suddenly felt an urgent need to speak to the owner and clear up the situation. She’d been as much a guilty party as Nick had, and hoped to potentially save his job.
“I’ll meet you guys at the car,” Samantha called to her family. “I’m going to hit the restroom.”
She made her way to the hostess stand and waited for the young woman to get off the phone.
“Hi, ma’am, how can I help you?”
“I was wondering if I could speak to the owner or the manager, or whoever is in charge. Privately, if possible.”
The young woman took on a concerned appearance. “Of course. Is there a problem?”
“No, but I think there’s been a terrible misunderstanding with one of the waitstaff.”
“Certainly. Follow me, please.”
The hostess led Samantha down the hall and into the office where the canoodling had taken place earlier. Once alone, she dropped her face into one of her palms and groaned quietly at her indiscretion.
You ought to know better, you shameless hussy.
Just then, the door swung open and Nick waltzed in, and he immediately took on a surprised look.
“Uh, hi, Samantha,” he greeted her as he closed the door. “What can I do for you?”
She raised her eyebrows. “What are you doing here? I was trying to talk to your boss.”
