15. Evelyn
EVELYN
I was lying in the sun, in the middle of the quad, minding my own business while taking a breather before going to work, and that’s when Chase crashed to the ground beside me. He was close enough that our sides were touching.
The problem was Elliot. He told me to stay away from Chase.
I had planned on it, but it was becoming harder for Chase to stay away from me.
I guess if I had mustered up the strength just to tell him that I wasn’t interested, he would’ve backed off.
The problem was that I was interested, though. At least, part of me was.
“So, dinner tonight? What do you say?” he asked, giving me that flirtatious smirk of his.
“I would love to, but I can’t. I have to work,” I said.
Movement caught my attention, and I glanced away from Chase and toward the sidewalk, where I saw Elliot walking past. His steel-colored eyes were narrowed on me, and his jaw was clenched.
I could tell from that one look that he was pissed.
He thought I wasn’t taking his warning seriously, but I was.
I wish there were a way to make him see that.
I knew that the punishment would be even worse the next time I saw him, but I had no idea what he had up his sleeve.
I didn’t know if it would be a punishment I liked or if it would be degrading like the way I spent my morning: being stripped and then positioned on my knees as I did nothing but wait to be dismissed, only to have my panties torn away from me.
Even though Elliot had already walked by, he turned back to look at me, almost like he was giving me a final warning. I took a shaky breath and looked at Chase.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I lost track of time and now I’m running late.” I pushed myself up.
“Late for what?” he asked.
I didn’t answer in my rush to gather my things.
“Sorry, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, backing away before turning and rushing off in the opposite way that Elliot had gone.
I made it home and changed into my waitress uniform: a shorter, fitted black skirt with a tucked-in white dress shirt.
I pulled my hair up into a high pony and touched up my face before running back out the door.
I replaced my torn panties with new ones.
I got to the restaurant right on time. I locked my things in my employee locker and clocked in.
I rushed out to the main floor to get to work, and that’s when my mouth fell open.
Sitting at the corner booth of the restaurant was Professor West, a drink and a menu in front of him.
He wasn’t interested in looking at the menu, though.
No, his eyes were glued to mine, and he wore a wide smirk.
How did he manage to sit in my section?
I kept my eyes on him, and he watched me as I moved behind the bar to grab my pad.
“How long has he been sitting there?” I asked the bartender, Traci.
She glanced over at him. “Not long. Maybe twenty minutes.”
“And nobody has taken his order?”
She shrugged. “We tried. He said he was waiting for someone. He’s gorgeous, though, isn’t he?” She fanned herself before going back to work, leaving me with nothing to do but move toward him.
“Good evening. Is there anything I can get you?” I asked, pen poised and ready to go, my pulse pounding through my veins.
He leaned back in the booth. “I see that you went home to change.” He looked me up and down. “That’s probably how I beat you here. Did you put on new panties?”
I ignored his comment.
“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’t just 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.”
“You get one more side.”
“A salad with whatever dressing you recommend,” he ordered, handing over the menu.
I took the menu and stuck it under my arm. “I’ll get that put in.”
I finally turned and rushed off. Stopping at the register, I placed his order and then rushed around to deliver the food that had arrived for other guests.
He watched my every step with interest. He studied my every expression as I moved about, talking to one guest and then the next.
I wasn’t sure what he was looking for or what was so intriguing to him.
He seemed like the overbearing boyfriend who was terrified to let anyone get close to me, but I knew he wasn’t watching for my benefit.
He was watching for his own. He was looking for any little thing he could find that would give him the permission he needed to punish me again.
His punishments were becoming something I wasn’t expecting. My knees were still killing me from kneeling on the hardwood floor of his office. I wasn’t sure what the point was. All I could figure out was that he wanted to break me in any way he could, physically, emotionally, mentally.
I wondered what he needed to see from me to consider his job to be done.
Maybe I just needed to follow his every step exactly.
But that was easier said than done. Especially when it came to Chase.
I didn’t want to push him away. I liked him, and I could see a future with us.
But how did Elliot fit into that future?
Elliot’s food came up, so I grabbed everything and took it over to his table. “Steak, medium-well, side of fire-roasted vegetables, and a salad with raspberry vinaigrette,” I repeated his order as I put everything down in front of him.
He looked up at me with his brows furrowed. “That isn’t right.”
“What?” I frowned at him. “What isn’t right?”
“Any of it.”
I knew I was right, but I pulled out my pad anyway and reread what I had written. “That’s everything word for word.”
He pushed his plate away. “I wanted my steak to be medium-rare, not medium-well. I wanted ranch for dressing, not this raspberry slop. You’ve screwed up the entire order.”
“I did not,” I whispered weakly, knowing what he was doing to me. “That is exactly what you ordered.”
“No, it is not,” he said, his voice stern and deep.
“Is there a problem over here?” my manager said, stepping up to my side.
I looked down at Elliot, and he glanced at me. His steel-colored eyes sparkled before he turned them to my manager, James.
“Yes, your waitress is arguing with me. She screwed up my order, and now she’s trying to tell me that I’m the one who ordered it this way.”
“I’m so sorry about that, sir. How did you want your order? I’ll have it remade right away.”
He informed James about the order, and James immediately began removing the items.
“Grab that and follow me,” James said.
I grabbed the plate and followed him to the kitchen, where we both disposed of the dishes.
James turned to me. “That meal will come out of your pay. That was a fifty-nine-dollar steak that’s been wasted.”
My mouth fell open. “You can’t be serious! I can’t afford that. I-I didn’t do anything wrong! It’s him. He ordered it that way?—”
“He clearly didn’t. I suggest you listen a little better to avoid mishaps like this.” He turned to the cook. “Wrap this up for Ms. Ashford. She can take it home and have a late dinner since she just bought it.”
My throat tightened as I tried not to cry. A few of the people on the backline shot me a sympathetic look.
I shook off the tears, knowing I couldn’t stand around and cry even though it was all I wanted to do in that moment. I had to work.
I couldn’t afford a steak at that price, but I couldn’t afford to lose my job either, so I had to grin and bear it.
The moment I stepped out of the kitchen and got back to work, I saw Elliot staring at me again, no emotion on his face. I didn’t want to hate him, but God help me, I was close to it. If I didn’t know the guy he used to be, I’d have poured his whiskey over his head already.
I avoided his table as I waited on the others. Once I could no longer avoid him, I grabbed his fresh order and took everything over to him.
“Is this more to your liking?”
“It is.” He grabbed his rolled silverware. “So, what happened back there?” he asked, motioning toward the back with his fork.
“I got dinner,” I told him. “Next time, I’d like it if you’d just ask me what I want first. A fifty-nine-dollar steak is not in my price range.”
“He made you pay for the meal?”
“Yes, actually. It’s being deducted from my pay. If I’m lucky, he’ll let me use my employee discount.”
He rolled his eyes. “I would’ve fired you.”
“That’s what you were hoping for, wasn’t it?” I asked softly.
He ignored me and started cutting into his steak.
“Why do you want me to lose my job, Eli?”
He glared at me for using the old nickname.
Before I could get him to answer, my manager walked over.
“How is everything, sir?”
Elliot was chewing a piece of his steak. His eyes flashed toward my boss.
“Much better, although I believe you need to reevaluate your staff.” He glanced at me before going back to eating.
“Again, I’m very sorry for the mix-up. I hope you enjoy your meal. I will have Ms. Evelyn add her discount to your bill to make up for the wait. If there’s anything else I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Customer satisfaction is a top priority here.”
Before Elliot could say anything else, he turned and walked away.
I knew it wasn’t likely that he’d fire me.
I’d never had a customer complain before.
Most of the people I’d served came back and requested to sit in my section time and time again.
I could handle more tables than anyone else on staff, and I was able to get things done around the restaurant while keeping my guests happy.
I was a valued employee. Nonetheless, I didn’t like that Elliot was trying to make me look bad.
“Let me know when you’re ready for your check.” I went to take a step, but he stopped me.
“I graded your paper today.”
I turned back to him. “And?”
“Much better. You organized your thoughts clearly, and it was easy to read; I enjoyed your point of view. I gave you a ninety-eight to keep from raising suspicion, but just so we’re clear, I expect everything you turn in to match the quality.
Now that I know you can do the work, I expect the effort. ”
I turned and walked away. So, he wasn’t going to give me the pass as he had promised. He was still going to make me work for it.
Despite all that, he’d praised me. He’d liked my work. I smiled at that because it was the only silver lining I had to keep going.