Chapter 1 – Scarlett #2
We went back to work, and for the next two to three hours, everything was fine—nothing out of the ordinary. Until, of course, they arrived.
I was serving a table when the doors opened, and they walked in: four huge men in impeccably tailored black suits.
In all my time working at Josie’s, I’d never experienced such immediate silence.
The second these strange men walked in, the entire restaurant fell silent, and heads turned toward them.
Their presence commanded attention so effortlessly, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. But what was more disturbing was the fear etched in people’s gazes—staff and patrons alike.
They scanned the luxurious interior for a while before the manager approached them. Even he seemed concerned—afraid—but he forced himself to stay composed. He welcomed them and led them to our finest table.
Whoever these men were, they must be important.
I didn’t take a good look at them, but one thing was for sure: They exuded quiet luxury, influence, power, and control. Crazy how everyone else in the restaurant knew who these men were except me.
“Hey, Audrey,” I called her softly, looking back in her direction. “Who are these people?”
She leaned in and whispered, “You don’t know?”
Girl, if I did, I wouldn’t be asking you, I thought, then replied, “No, I don’t.”
“Trouble,” she answered. “That’s what they are. You might wanna avoid their table, trust me.”
While we were still speaking, Derek, the manager, approached us at a hurried pace.
“Audrey!” he called her quietly.
“Yeah, I’m not doing that,” she murmured under her breath, then dematerialized without a trace.
Confused, I stood there, wondering what the hell was going on.
“Scarlett, where’s Audrey?” Ethan asked, halting before me.
“She…left…” I stuttered, unsure of what to say.
“No worries, you got this,” he said, glancing around.
“Got what?” I asked him.
He directed my attention toward where the men were sitting. “See that table over there? That’s yours tonight.”
My eyes flicked toward Damon and James at a distance, and they both shook their heads at the same time.
No, they mouthed, gesturing with their hands.
When Ethan turned toward them, they stopped, each pretending to be busy with something.
“Serve our guests with your usual grace,” he said to me, his voice low and almost suspicious.
In fact, everything and everyone around me was now suspicious.
He tapped my shoulder. “Play nice, and you just might earn the biggest tip of your life. Now, go.” He inched me forward.
I sensed the negative energy emanating from these newcomers as I drew closer to their table. I glanced back at Ethan, and he gave me two thumbs up with a weird grin on his lips.
I felt like the sacrificial lamb being given up to be devoured by a pride of lions.
The men were talking among themselves when I arrived at their table, notepad in hand and a courteous smile on my face.
“Hi, welcome to Josie’s,” I greeted them, my voice soft and polite. “What would you like to order?”
For a moment, silence fell at the table, and all eyes turned to me. Their gazes were intimidating, and I could feel fear slowly rising from my feet.
This was my job, and I was good at it—that said, I wasn’t going to let them intimidate me. They might be trouble or maybe even monsters, but here, they were nothing more than customers.
“What do you have?” one of them asked, his husky voice drawing my attention.
When I met his gaze, my heart skipped a beat—I wasn’t sure why, but it did.
He stared at me with a blank expression, his steel-blue eyes unblinking and merciless.
His tailored black suit matched the color of his hair, kept short on the sides with the faintest traces of silver beginning at his temples.
He looked rugged, as if forged from the fires of war.
“A menu, sir,” I answered, sliding the leather-bound menu on the table before him.
The closest man to him chuckled under his breath as if amused by my response.
The man with the steel eyes wouldn’t stop looking at me, even after I handed him the menu. “Speaking for myself, what would you recommend from this?” He gently tapped the menu.
“Um….” I hesitated for a moment, unable to take my eyes off him. “It depends. What’re you looking for, something heavy, or something light?”
He paused, then asked, “What do you think?”
I squinted, my head tilting slightly to the side. “I’m sorry, I don’t—”
“What do you think I’m in the mood for?”
His colleagues exchanged glances among themselves but said nothing.
There was no way I could shake this man off; he obviously wanted to get an answer out of me. So, I took a shot. “Well, you don’t strike me as the salad type. Steak then?”
He paused, his expression still as blank as a sheet of paper. “Raw.”
I gave him a curt nod. “Roger that.” My gaze shifted to his associates, drinking in the ruggedness etched on their faces. “Gentlemen?”
One by one, they placed their orders with the arrogance and confidence of men who always got what they wanted. These men were scary—cold eyes, deep voices, and the steel gazes of monsters in suits.
However, the longer I lingered around their table, listening and taking down their every word, the more my fears gradually dissolved into thin air.
“Anything else?” I asked them after reviewing everyone’s orders.
They exchanged glances among themselves, and then the first man looked at me and answered, “That’ll be all for now.”
My lips curled into a polite smile, and I quietly left their table.
“I like this one. She’s different,” one of them said to the others before switching to a language I assumed was Russian.
Behind me, their voices were low and even as they resumed their discussion. I let out a soft sigh of relief, and my pulse steadied by the second. Even though I never looked back, I could feel someone’s gaze on me.
My best guess was the first man—the handsome one with the piercing steel-blue eyes.