“Tonight’s specials are a five-cheese ziti, or we have the lasagna with our special, signature sauce for nine ninety-nine—that also comes with a side salad and garlic bread.”
“I’m not really all that hungry.”
“We have drink specials too. All of our mixed drinks, featuring top-shelf liquor, have been discounted by a dollar fifty. Or we have all domestic bottles for one dollar off.”
He lifted his glass. “I’ve already got a drink.” He sipped his whiskey.
“Could I possibly interest you in dessert? Our tiramisu is a local favorite. Would you like to give that a try?”
“Only if I get to lick it off you.” He grinned, and my entire body flashed with heat.
I dropped my arms to my side. “Professor West, this is my job. Please, I’m begging you not to ruin this for me. A-Are you just going to sit here and stare at me all night?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Why?” I couldn’t keep the note of desperation out of my voice.
“Because I clearly can’t trust you. I give an order, you don’t listen, and you get punished over and over and over. Each and every time, I think I’ve proved my point, I think you’ve learned,but then you go and do it all over again. If I can’t trust you, I’ll have to keep an eye on you. At all times.”
“At all times?” I repeated, unable to wrap my mind around what he’s saying.
“At all times.”
I shook my head. “Fine, knock yourself out.”
I turned and walked away, deciding to ignore him so I could do my job. I had bigger things to worry about than having him stare at me all night. If I lost my job, I’d have to leave school regardless of the deal we’d struck up. I wouldn’t have had any place to live, and the commute from my hometown was too far to attempt living while continuing to attend school. I couldn’t move in with Gabe. His place was small, which was why he was trying to move.
Kristie had closed out all of her tickets—all of them except for Elliot’s—so I could start fresh. I approached it in my usual manner. I checked all my tables to ensure they were clean and stocked with salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. I refilled the napkin holders and rolled out the silverware until the dinner crowd arrived.
The host would seat people around the restaurant. Those in my section, I would immediately open a ticket for them by getting drinks put in. While I would wait for one table to review the menu, I would start serving drinks for another.
I had learned quickly that the more tables I could handle, the more money I’d make. So, I was the best waitress I could be. When regulars would come in, they’d always request to sit in my section. Some of the other waitresses didn’t like that, but they were always the guests who tipped the best, so I was more than willing to make accommodations for them.
Before the dinner rush started, I checked on Elliot multiple times, and he never needed anything. Once the flood washed through, he was waving me down every few minutes. I couldn’tjust ignore him either, because I couldn’t have him going to my boss. He was already controlling everything related to school. I couldn’t let him take over my workplace as well.
“What? What do you want now?” I didn’t mean to snap at him, but I was beyond frustrated.
“That’s not the proper tone you should have with a guest,” he chastised.
“You’ve been here for nearly two hours. I’ve stopped multiple times to see if you needed anything, and you’ve repeatedly told me no. Now that I’m getting busy, you’ve stopped me twenty different times. What could you possibly need now?”
“Twenty is an exaggeration.”
I just frowned at him.
“I’d like a refill.” He picked up the glass, which had been empty for ten minutes, and set it back down, harder than necessary.
“I’ll put it in for you.” I turned to leave.
“Actually,” he said, stopping me.
I turned back to face him.
“I think I would like to have dinner. It looks like my guest won’t be arriving after all.”
“Shocker,” I muttered, pulling out my pen and wallet to take his order.
“I think I’ll try the Palermo steak, medium-well, roasted vegetables as the side.”
