Page 56 of Falling for the Grumpy Bad Boy

“Oh my,” Clementine said, her voice full of sympathetic concern. “That must be so disappointing for you. What a terrible way to spend your evening.”

The man preened under her attention, clearly pleased that someone was finally taking his side. “Exactly!”

“You know what? You deserve to have the meal you were promised. Can you tell me a little about what went wrong with the fish?”

I watched, mesmerized despite my irritation, as she completely defused the situation through simple human connection. She listened to his complaints with genuine attention and somehow managed to make him feel heard without agreeing that the food was actually bad.

After the man rambled and it became clear the meal was the least of his problems, Clem smiled. “You know what? Let me prepare something special for you. Would that work?”

The transformation was remarkable. The man who’d been red-faced and belligerent five minutes earlier was now nodding eagerly.

“That would be wonderful,” he said. “You know, you should be running this operation. Much better customer service than some people.”

He shot me a pointed look, but I ignored it. I was too busy watching Clementine work her magic, turning what had been a potential disaster into an opportunity to make the customer feel special and valued.

“I’ll have something perfect for you in just a few minutes,” she promised.

As we walked back toward the kitchen, I found myself staring at her profile. The transition from this graceful problem-solver back to the woman who’d been giving me the cold shoulder all evening was remarkable.

“How did you do that?” I asked quietly.

She glanced at me, the first time she’d made eye contact all night. “Do what?”

“Turn him from a screaming asshole into your biggest fan.”

“I listened to him,” she said simply. “People usually just want to feel heard and valued. Even screaming assholes.”

And then the wall went back up. It was frustrating as hell. I was more attracted to her now than I’d been last night in that hot tub.