Page 3 of Watch Her Bleed
“Why Robert?” I ask, giving her my hand. “I dropped the bottle.
“He said he could see that you were shaky. Robert should have let you take a break today. Guests shouldn’t have to get onto the restaurant manager just for people to get treated like humans.”
“He’s your boyfriend,” I frown at her.
“Not when I find a new job he isn't," she says. “I’m sick of him treating the waitstaff like shit and acting like it’s okay.”
“Clock out, Aurora,” Robert says stiffly when he comes back into the kitchen.
“What?” I ask.
“Clock out,” he says. “You’re off tomorrow, yes?”
“Yeah,” I say slowly.
“Alright. I’ll see you Saturday,” he says as he walks past me to his office.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask Maria.
“Do you know who you dumped wine on, Aurora?” Maria asks as she pricks my finger.
“No,” I admit.
“Let’s just say that he’s a very important man,” she says. “Your blood sugar is 61. You need to eat.”
“I will as soon as I get home. The juice should do me fine until I get home.” I stand and put my meter in my bag. I go to the front of the computer to put in my numbers for the night. I can feel eyes on me as I am counting my tips. I will give up whatever he may leave just so I don’t ever have to see him again.
“Ready for me?” Robert asks as he comes up behind me.
“Mhmm,” I say as I hand him my cash-out slip for the day. He looks it over before getting in the register to get my credit tips. He pulls out eight hundred more than what I should be getting and my eyes go wide. “You might want to recount that.”
“No, I don’t. He already left a tip for you,” he says curtly. “Sign.”
“Uhh. Okay,” I say as I sign the slip. Why the fuck did he leave a tip, let alone that much? I don’t question it. I have bills to pay. Before I go back into the kitchen I look up to see all three men are watching me closely. The man I dumped wine on smiles at me and my stomach does a flip in my belly before I run back into the kitchen. Once I have everything gathered, I sigh and lean against the wall.
“What?” Maria asks.
“Is he still out there?”
Maria steps out of the kitchen for a moment then walks back in. “Yes. I think he’s leaving soon. Why?” she asks.
“I just felt the man up, Maria. I’m sneaking out the back,” I say and she laughs.
“Good luck tomorrow,” she says quietly. “Be careful getting home.”
“I will,” I say. before I walk to the back door. I walk out into the warm summer air and stop to take my apron off so I can shove it into my bag. I step onto the sidewalk and I don’t get more than a few feet before I see the men exit the restaurant. I scurry down the sidewalk toward my apartment building before he sees me.
Not only did I dump wine on him, but I touched him. I fucking touched him. Why did I do that? Why did I have to go touch him and his delicious muscles? Fuck, the feeling of his hand on top of mine made me nearly melt into a puddle right there.
Here’s to never seeing that man again. I don’t think I would survive the obsessed look in that man’s eyes.
Chapter Two
Mattia
“All fucking day without a break?” I hiss at Robert. “Is this how you treat the employees?”
“We were too busy, Sir,” he says. “I bet you weren’t too busy to go gold this afternoon with Dad though, huh?”
