Life's been hectic...I know I say that often, but it is the truth. Life is a strange thing don't you agree. However I do have a small little bit for you to enjoy...at least I hope you'll enjoy it. And, I do have another song that's really inspiring my writing right now. I'll be posting that as well. Enjoy!
To say that work was easy would be a lie. Never in all my time working at the restaurant had I ever experienced such a hard and weary schedule. Not only were my assigned tables packed to capacity throughout most of the night, but I constantly had Michael breathing down my neck, scrutinizing every movement that I made, and not failing to reprimand me for the smallest mistakes. And, of course, he refused to allow me to forget about my extra shift after the restaurant closed for the evening. It was enough to make me scream. But I held my tongue and did as I was told. The sooner the night was over, the sooner I could escape from this prison.
Many of my co-workers gave me pitying looks as they noticed the particular attention Michael was paying me, though most didn’t dare say anything, not that I blamed them. Why risk losing your job defending someone else? Rachael, however, would shoot Michael glares whenever she noticed his leering stare, but that was all she was able to do. Her hands were full with keeping the kitchen running smoothly, probably through Michael’s sneaking planning. He knew how close I was to Rachael, so any attempt to keep us apart was beneficial to him. Essentially I was on my own. That is until 8:00 when Adam returned to the restaurant and was seated in my serving area. Annoyance and embarrassment washed through me as I realized that I would be forced to take care of his order. The words we had exchanged hours earlier still swam through my head, making me cringe in anticipation for our next meeting. I owed him an apology and I hated to admit that fact.
Rubbing my tired eyes I hesitantly made my way towards the table where Adam sat alone, a small smile on his lips. He quirked an eyebrow at me when he noticed I was making my way towards him. When I reached the table I stared at his face for a few moments, unsure of how to start the conversation.
“Well, aren’t you going to ask for my order?” Adam quipped, smirking at me, his eyes dancing with amusement.
My eyes narrowed in response and I scowled. I wasn’t going to apologize now! “Yes. What can I get you?” I snapped at him.
Adam began to tap his fingers on one another, leaning back slightly in his chair, “Well, what would my lovely hostess recommend? You seem to know what is delicious here. I’d love to hear any suggestion you have.”
I opened my mouth to respond but ended up looking like floundering fish for a moment. In annoyance I snapped my mouth shut again and took a deep breath. Adam laughed.
“I seem to have that affect on people,” he remarked cheerfully. “If it helps I already know what I want to order.”
I sent him a glare and placed the tip of my pen to the pad of paper, nodding my head curtly, waiting for him to continue. I refused to attempt to say anything. He seemed to take delight in provoking me.
“The only thing I’d like is two slices of cheesecake with strawberries, and two forks. And of course I’d love to have a ‘date’ to share it with.” Adam smirked at me.
A wicked smirk appeared on my face, “Let’s see,” I began, “You want two slices of cheesecake with strawberries and two forks?”
Adam nodded his head, his eyes twinkling. He was baiting me.
“And as for the “date”,” I emphasized the term, “I’m afraid that we don’t provide such services at this establishment.”
Adam stared blankly at me for a moment and then burst into laughter. Other customers and servers turned to look at us, “Ah indeed you do not! Brava Jenna.” Adam leaned forward on his elbows, “What about you though? Would you care to be my “date”,” her remarked using his fingers to make the quote signs in the air.
“Unfortunately, I’m not for hire as a date,” I deadpanned.
For the second time, Adam was stumped into silence. His eyes, however, danced with amusement. After a moment he cleared his throat and reclined back into his chair.
“Finally!” he crowed, “You’ve stepped up to the challenge! I was beginning to feel like you’d never catch on.”
Now I was confused, “Excuse me? What exactly am I catching onto?”
“The competition. I knew you weren’t a doormat. You’ve got some spunk in you!”
I was flabbergasted, “This is a game to you?!” I screeched lowly, “You’re purposely being a jerk just to get a rise out of me? What’s wrong with you!”
Adam laughed lightly, “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just need to get a rise out of you. Get the blood pumping. You need to expand your thoughts and try to socialize.”
“So you call socializing patronizing another person you literally run into the day before?” I shot him a glare.
Adam stopped for a moment and regarded my expression and then without a word he nodded his head and smirked.
‘What a jerk!’ I fumed silently as I turned on my heel and swiftly walked back to the kitchen. I refused to speak another word to the man unless I had to.
Unfortunately I had to. No one would switch tables with me. In fact, the majority of the staff thought it was rather amusing that I was being stalked by a complete stranger. The girls, especially thought it was romantic and considered me extremely fortunate to be able to live a fairytale sort of situation.
I had scoffed at the absurdity of the idea immediately.
However, my scoffing didn’t prevent me from having to go back and be subjected to Adam’s grating presence. The man sure knew how to push my buttons. And as I walked slowly towards him, dessert in hand, I saw the nefarious smirk return and his eyes light up. He’d been expecting me.
“Welcome back darlin’” Adam crooned, smiling widely, “I was hopin’ you’d still be my waitress.”
I groaned in frustration, “Yes, well I didn’t really have a choice.” I set the dessert down, “Here’s your order. If there’s anything you need don’t hesitate to ask.” I had to force myself to say the second portion of the generic phrase that all the employees were required to utilize.
“I’m still hoping you’d take me up on my offer and join me for a small break?” He batted his eyes at me in what I assumed he thought to be a charming manner. I rolled my own.
“I can’t,” I replied flatly, “I have to finish my shift and then start the second round.”
I clamped my mouth shut. Why had I even mentioned that to him? I watched Adam’s eyes narrow slightly and the smiled disappeared.
“What do you mean your second round?”
I rolled my eyes, trying to downplay the situation. “It’s not like you don’t already know anyway,” I breathed heatedly, “You were eavesdropping earlier anyway.”
Adam reclined in his chair, all frivolity gone from his face, “Yes well, be that as it may, I seem to have missed that little bit of information.”
“Yes well,” I fiddled with the pen in apron pocket, “I fail to see when it became your job to be concerned with me.”
Quickly, I turned on my heel and started to walk away. Even though things were starting to die down a little, I still had several table to attend to.
“You aren’t staying.” Adam remarked to my turned figure.
I stopped and clenched my fists and an attempt to prevent a groan of frustration from seeping out. Turning slowly, I narrowed my eyes and walked quickly back towards his table.
“Listen, I don’t know who you think you are, but you certainly aren’t a friend of mine. Moreover, you aren’t my father so back off.” I had had enough of these stupid games and with his annoying behavior throwing my life completely upside down. I was sick of it, “I’m finished being so accommodating to your completely idiotic and frustrating behavior. Leave me alone.”
Adam leaned forward, his eyes, blazing slightly, “No Jenna. I won’t leave you alone. I can’t.” He was speaking in a deathly calm whisper and for a moment I wondered what he was really thinking. His cerulean eyes swam with so many conflicting emotions. “Despite what you think, you need a friend. I’m here for you. I am going to be your friend.”
“I don’t want you to be my friend,” I tried to emphasize my emotions, “I want you to leave me alone.”
“Well,” the smirk was back on his face, “I don’t think you have a choice in that matter.”
I clamped my mouth shut, and turned on my heel once more, leaving Adam alone at the table. I made my way back to the kitchen, painfully aware of the looks of adoration and envy I was receiving from my fellow workers. It was ridiculous.
Chapter 7:
To say that work was easy would be a lie. Never in all my time working at the restaurant had I ever experienced such a hard and weary schedule. Not only were my assigned tables packed to capacity throughout most of the night, but I constantly had Michael breathing down my neck, scrutinizing every movement that I made, and not failing to reprimand me for the smallest mistakes. And, of course, he refused to allow me to forget about my extra shift after the restaurant closed for the evening. It was enough to make me scream. But I held my tongue and did as I was told. The sooner the night was over, the sooner I could escape from this prison.
Many of my co-workers gave me pitying looks as they noticed the particular attention Michael was paying me, though most didn’t dare say anything, not that I blamed them. Why risk losing your job defending someone else? Rachael, however, would shoot Michael glares whenever she noticed his leering stare, but that was all she was able to do. Her hands were full with keeping the kitchen running smoothly, probably through Michael’s sneaking planning. He knew how close I was to Rachael, so any attempt to keep us apart was beneficial to him. Essentially I was on my own. That is until 8:00 when Adam returned to the restaurant and was seated in my serving area. Annoyance and embarrassment washed through me as I realized that I would be forced to take care of his order. The words we had exchanged hours earlier still swam through my head, making me cringe in anticipation for our next meeting. I owed him an apology and I hated to admit that fact.
Rubbing my tired eyes I hesitantly made my way towards the table where Adam sat alone, a small smile on his lips. He quirked an eyebrow at me when he noticed I was making my way towards him. When I reached the table I stared at his face for a few moments, unsure of how to start the conversation.
“Well, aren’t you going to ask for my order?” Adam quipped, smirking at me, his eyes dancing with amusement.
My eyes narrowed in response and I scowled. I wasn’t going to apologize now! “Yes. What can I get you?” I snapped at him.
Adam began to tap his fingers on one another, leaning back slightly in his chair, “Well, what would my lovely hostess recommend? You seem to know what is delicious here. I’d love to hear any suggestion you have.”
I opened my mouth to respond but ended up looking like floundering fish for a moment. In annoyance I snapped my mouth shut again and took a deep breath. Adam laughed.
“I seem to have that affect on people,” he remarked cheerfully. “If it helps I already know what I want to order.”
I sent him a glare and placed the tip of my pen to the pad of paper, nodding my head curtly, waiting for him to continue. I refused to attempt to say anything. He seemed to take delight in provoking me.
“The only thing I’d like is two slices of cheesecake with strawberries, and two forks. And of course I’d love to have a ‘date’ to share it with.” Adam smirked at me.
A wicked smirk appeared on my face, “Let’s see,” I began, “You want two slices of cheesecake with strawberries and two forks?”
Adam nodded his head, his eyes twinkling. He was baiting me.
“And as for the “date”,” I emphasized the term, “I’m afraid that we don’t provide such services at this establishment.”
Adam stared blankly at me for a moment and then burst into laughter. Other customers and servers turned to look at us, “Ah indeed you do not! Brava Jenna.” Adam leaned forward on his elbows, “What about you though? Would you care to be my “date”,” her remarked using his fingers to make the quote signs in the air.
“Unfortunately, I’m not for hire as a date,” I deadpanned.
For the second time, Adam was stumped into silence. His eyes, however, danced with amusement. After a moment he cleared his throat and reclined back into his chair.
“Finally!” he crowed, “You’ve stepped up to the challenge! I was beginning to feel like you’d never catch on.”
Now I was confused, “Excuse me? What exactly am I catching onto?”
“The competition. I knew you weren’t a doormat. You’ve got some spunk in you!”
I was flabbergasted, “This is a game to you?!” I screeched lowly, “You’re purposely being a jerk just to get a rise out of me? What’s wrong with you!”
Adam laughed lightly, “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just need to get a rise out of you. Get the blood pumping. You need to expand your thoughts and try to socialize.”
“So you call socializing patronizing another person you literally run into the day before?” I shot him a glare.
Adam stopped for a moment and regarded my expression and then without a word he nodded his head and smirked.
‘What a jerk!’ I fumed silently as I turned on my heel and swiftly walked back to the kitchen. I refused to speak another word to the man unless I had to.
Unfortunately I had to. No one would switch tables with me. In fact, the majority of the staff thought it was rather amusing that I was being stalked by a complete stranger. The girls, especially thought it was romantic and considered me extremely fortunate to be able to live a fairytale sort of situation.
I had scoffed at the absurdity of the idea immediately.
However, my scoffing didn’t prevent me from having to go back and be subjected to Adam’s grating presence. The man sure knew how to push my buttons. And as I walked slowly towards him, dessert in hand, I saw the nefarious smirk return and his eyes light up. He’d been expecting me.
“Welcome back darlin’” Adam crooned, smiling widely, “I was hopin’ you’d still be my waitress.”
I groaned in frustration, “Yes, well I didn’t really have a choice.” I set the dessert down, “Here’s your order. If there’s anything you need don’t hesitate to ask.” I had to force myself to say the second portion of the generic phrase that all the employees were required to utilize.
“I’m still hoping you’d take me up on my offer and join me for a small break?” He batted his eyes at me in what I assumed he thought to be a charming manner. I rolled my own.
“I can’t,” I replied flatly, “I have to finish my shift and then start the second round.”
I clamped my mouth shut. Why had I even mentioned that to him? I watched Adam’s eyes narrow slightly and the smiled disappeared.
“What do you mean your second round?”
I rolled my eyes, trying to downplay the situation. “It’s not like you don’t already know anyway,” I breathed heatedly, “You were eavesdropping earlier anyway.”
Adam reclined in his chair, all frivolity gone from his face, “Yes well, be that as it may, I seem to have missed that little bit of information.”
“Yes well,” I fiddled with the pen in apron pocket, “I fail to see when it became your job to be concerned with me.”
Quickly, I turned on my heel and started to walk away. Even though things were starting to die down a little, I still had several table to attend to.
“You aren’t staying.” Adam remarked to my turned figure.
I stopped and clenched my fists and an attempt to prevent a groan of frustration from seeping out. Turning slowly, I narrowed my eyes and walked quickly back towards his table.
“Listen, I don’t know who you think you are, but you certainly aren’t a friend of mine. Moreover, you aren’t my father so back off.” I had had enough of these stupid games and with his annoying behavior throwing my life completely upside down. I was sick of it, “I’m finished being so accommodating to your completely idiotic and frustrating behavior. Leave me alone.”
Adam leaned forward, his eyes, blazing slightly, “No Jenna. I won’t leave you alone. I can’t.” He was speaking in a deathly calm whisper and for a moment I wondered what he was really thinking. His cerulean eyes swam with so many conflicting emotions. “Despite what you think, you need a friend. I’m here for you. I am going to be your friend.”
“I don’t want you to be my friend,” I tried to emphasize my emotions, “I want you to leave me alone.”
“Well,” the smirk was back on his face, “I don’t think you have a choice in that matter.”
I clamped my mouth shut, and turned on my heel once more, leaving Adam alone at the table. I made my way back to the kitchen, painfully aware of the looks of adoration and envy I was receiving from my fellow workers. It was ridiculous.
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