AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Tell you what,” Jayden said, after a long period of what looked a lot like thinking, “I’ll forget about the damage to the truck if you agree to be a server at our Christmas party.”
“Of course! Absolutely,” I blurted, realizing later I should have at least pretended to think about it.
There really was not an obvious way for me to get the money to pay for the damage, and he was offering me an out. What’s a little servitude to save money?
“We are trying to get more restaurants to carry our brand,” Jayden said, handing me his card, “so it is going to be a very classy party. There is an orientation at the winery on Friday. I expect you to be there.”
“Yes, sir,” I said automatically.
Jayden closed up the emptied truck and got in with the rest of the Clavis family, driving off into the gathering night.
“Move your car and get to work,” Danny barked before turning on his heel and mincing back into the steakhouse.
Things were already picking up when I got out onto the floor, which was only to be expected on a Saturday. Moving with practiced efficiency, I got to my tables as fast as humanly possible. A lot of the customers were regulars, some of them specifically asking to sit in my section. Danny didn’t usually do that but some of them were pretty big spenders, and he cared more about money than convention.
We were allowed a fifteen minute break every couple of hours, coming out to a total of forty-five minutes of my six hour shift. It wasn’t much, but I tried to make the most of it.
“Don’t you get cold?”
I turned and saw Mary Carter standing by the back door. Mary was a bit older than me, at 24, but had never worked as a server before. We quickly became friends and I took on a sort of mentor role. The poor woman had worn high heels her first day of work. I’d loaned her an old pair of sneakers I had in my car until she could get her own. They looked a little funny with the black dresses we had as uniforms but also kept our feet from bleeding, so Danny put up with it. The customers usually only really saw us from the waist up anyway.
“It’s California,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but in December,” Mary said, sitting down next to me.
“I like the quiet,” I replied with a shrug.
“Yeah, a bit of a monkey house isn’t it?”
“Hell yeah. That’s why everyone wants Saturday night shifts. It gets pretty hairy, but the tips are great and there’s usually overtime. It’s your first time, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll get used to it,” I told her gently.
“Are you okay to be working? I heard Danny fuming about the accident. It was kind of hard to miss.”
“Yeah, I’m good. I made a deal with the other guy, so I don’t think he’s going to sue.”
“You or the Red Wing?”
I grimaced. “Either.”
The appointed time too soon arrived, and we went back into the hot, loud chaos of the steakhouse.
I tried to keep my mind on the job, serving all my tables to the best of my ability but I kept finding myself drifting back to the tall, handsome man who had given me his card before demanding my presence. There was no denying he’s deeply attractive. His blue eyes seemed to look down into my soul.
I wasn’t familiar with the name Clavis and wondered if it was Norse in origin. That would certainly explain a lot. I was used to being shorter than most guys, but even Emma towered over me. She had to be five-foot-ten at the very least. Put her in heels and she would be downright Amazonian. I nearly hurt my neck worse looking up at her brothers. He didn’t make a big deal of it, but I noticed Jayden bend a bit at the waist when he gave me the card, getting down closer to my level. I wasn’t exactly tiny at five-seven, but the Clavis family were something else entirely.
Jayden had been a bit of a jerk, but he was also so hot and seemed willing to negotiate. At least after his anger died down and his sister stepped in. Besides, I found his commanding presence to be pretty darn arousing.
Ignoring the wet feeling in my panties, I drove home even more carefully than usual and crashed into bed. I was spent but also nearly two hundred dollars richer. Visions of the costumes I would make danced in my head.
Chapter Two - Krystal
The birds seemed to be singing just for me. It was my first day off in as long as I could remember. The sweet feeling of freedom made the whole world brighter. I like my job okay. It helped keep me with a home and food, but it was also nice to have a day all to myself.
