16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Cora
It’s been two days since I’ve spoken to or heard from Kaison. Worried doesn’t begin to cover how I feel. I go back and forth from angry to scared to worried to furious. After the last time this happened—just a few days ago—he promised he wouldn’t do it again. That he would let me know what’s going on and where he’d be. I understand he has things going on with the club, but if I’m important to him at all, shouldn’t he let me know? Even if it’s something he can’t share the details of, at least let me know you’re going to be off grid. Because that’s exactly what he is. I’ve texted and called many times. Texts won’t go through and when I call, the voicemail picks up right away. I’ve wondered if he skipped town and changed his number. I’ve considered going to their clubhouse to ask if he’s okay. But then I was worried about what I’d see… or what I’d learn.
What if he’s with one of those girls who hangs around the club? I know what those guys do. They have a reputation. What if he’s like Mark Wahlberg as David McCall in Fear and he has two different lives? I’d be devastated, and that’s a scary thought. This is still new, and I shouldn’t care so much.
Maybe he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore. Maybe the night we spent together wasn’t as good for him as it was for me. It hurts more than it should, considering I hardly know him. Still, if that’s what he wants, I’ll respect it. The least he could do is tell me, though.
I have too many things to worry about in my life to deal with someone who doesn’t want to be in it. And even though he said he did, he’s acting the opposite… and I’m wondering if I’m going to have to call this quits. This is too much stress. It was supposed to be fun. Good for me. And it is when he’s present, but when he’s gone? It’s hell. Here I am in a near panic, wondering if he’s dead in a ditch or bleeding out in the woods somewhere. It’s exhausting and unnecessary. It could all be fixed with a simple text.
“Cora!” I whirl at my name being shouted across the restaurant, nearly dropping the pot of coffee in my hand.
Norman is standing in the doorway to the kitchen, staring at me as if I better hurry or else—
I meet Fia’s concerned look across the room and raise a brow. She gives a small shrug and goes back to her table. I sigh, topping off the coffees of the table I’m at, replace the carafe at the machine, then go to the back where I find Norman in his office.
Knocking on the open door, I say, “You wanted to see me? ”
“Next week? You requested to work Sunday and take off Monday and Wednesday.”
“Yes,” I say, stepping into the office.
“I can’t approve it,” he says, leaning back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.
He can’t… but why not?
“But my father is having surgery. A procedure for his heart. I have to be home. I found my own coverage.”
He’s shaking his head while I’m talking. “Fia can’t work that many hours.”
Like hell she can’t!
“She’s done it before,” I say carefully.
What I want to do is shout in his face. But if I show even an ounce of annoyance with him, he’ll buckle down. He’ll make it worse for me later. That’s always what he does, and I learned it the hard way.
“That was before. This is now. You can’t have those days off.”
“But, Norman, my father—”
“Is there anything else you need?” he asks, leaving no room for argument.
I stare at him, trying to work past the vomit crawling up my throat. I need this time off. I need it. There is no way I can send my father to this surgery, a surgery I am nervous as hell about, all by himself.
“Is this because of the other day?” I ask quietly.
Norman grits his teeth, sitting forward and putting his hands on the desk .
“Are you suggesting this is retaliation?” he asks, raising a brow.
“No!” I answer quickly, taking a step forward. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I—”
“Then what are you saying, Cora?”
My jaw drops open and though there are a million things I should say, I can’t find the words. This is an issue I’ve always had. When I’m put in tough situations like this, I freeze. My brain stops working, and though I know what I should do, I just can’t. There’s flight, fight… and freeze. I’m a freezer, and I’m not proud of it.
I need to rearrange my schedule for my father. I need those days off to be with Dad during the procedure in case anything goes wrong, and at home with him after for the same reason. Irene will be there too, but I’m his daughter. I should be there.
I made sure to talk to Fia about the switch after getting a date from the doctor’s office. I put in the request on my next shift. There’s at least a week’s notice, which is what’s required. Norman has no reason to deny my request, other than he’s angry that Kaison told him off. Which only angers me. I feel sick. Because this is retaliation, but if I start calling it that, Norman is going to make a big fuss!
The job options in this town are far and few. It’s not like I can quit and go to another diner down the street. There isn’t one! My work experience ends and begins with food. First it was the grocery store and now it’s the diner. It’s all I’ve done and all I know .
“Nothing,” I mutter.
“Then I suggest you get back to work before we lose customers,” he snaps.
With my shoulders drooping, I walk to the front, unsure how I’m going to get through the rest of this shift. And things only get worse when I walk into the dining room and lock eyes with Kaison.
My heart does a little flip, then it burns with rage. He’s just going to show up here after ignoring me for two days? I don’t think so.
He smiles at me, but I scowl and pull my pad from my pocket, noting the table that was just sat in my section. I walk toward them, feeling Kaison’s gaze on my back the entire time.
I force a smile. “Morning, folks. How are you today?”
“Living the dream,” the man mutters.
Well, lucky you.
The woman across from him huffs out a laugh. “You always say that in public, yet you’re miserable at home.”
There isn’t any anger in her voice, seems she’s just joking around. It’s cute, sort of.
“Oh, come on, Lydia. I’m not that bad.” The man grins at her. She grins right back, shaking her head.
“Twenty years of marriage,” she says with an eye roll.
I force another smile, and this one is harder to maintain than the first.
“What can I get you to drink? ”
My voice is raspy, my throat tight. The sudden realization that I’ll never sit in a diner across from my husband of twenty years has me unable to breathe.
What is my life?
“Miss?”
I shake out of it. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I just got a sudden headache. Could you repeat that for me one more time?”
“I tell my wife to drink more water. Helps with the headaches,” the man says. “We’d both just like some coffee.”
I nod, then head to the coffee machine to grab the pot.
“Can we talk?” I recognize the voice as Kaison’s, which causes my spine to stiffen.
“I’m busy,” I answer quickly, then rush off to my table.
After pouring them coffee, I do rounds to top off others. When I get back to the machine, I dump the small bit that’s left and start a new pot before grabbing the decaf and going to fill up the two tables that wanted that. I return the carafe, then go to my new table and take their order. It’s non-stop as a waitress, which is something I like about it. The shifts go quickly because of it. I don’t wonder what I’m going to do all day and how to keep busy.
Sure, I walk out of here smelling like grease and coffee, m feet hurt and my back aches, but the money is decent. And I don’t hate what I do.
The breakfast crowd slowly dwindles, and I have a moment to breathe as I put in some orders. Tyler goes around clearing tables, wiping them down as I restock napkins and other stuff behind the counter. Kaison is now sitting at the bar, staring at me with nothing in front of him. He didn’t come here to eat, he just wants to talk. I don’t want to talk to him, but something tells me he won’t leave until I do. Norman is already on my case, and I’m not trying to do anything to get further on his bad side. I have to come up with something that will make him change his mind about taking the time off. Taking a break when it isn’t my time to do so won’t go over well, even if we are slow right now—so it’s not an option.
I take a step to walk away but pause. I turn to Kaison because maybe he is here to eat and Fia assumes I’ll take his order. Or maybe he told her he’d wait for me.
“Do you want something to eat?”
He may not deserve my attention in a personal way, but I am a waitress, and he is in a diner.
“Just want to talk.”
I give him a small smile, nod, then go check on my tables. The entire time, I wonder if I should put food in for him anyway. He must be hungry, right? He’s been here at least two hours already, though I guess he could have eaten before he showed up.
“Cora!” I startle, dropping a fork onto the table when clearing a plate.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, picking up the fork and putting it on the plate. I dump it into the bus bin on my way to the kitchen. What in the world could Norman want now? I’d love to give him a piece of my mind for shouting my name like I’m a five-year-old in trouble—especially in front of all these customers. Disrespecting your employees only lets patrons think they can do the same thing.
“I would really appreciate it if you stopped shouting for me like that,” I say when I find him just outside his office door. “What must the customers think?”
“Are you telling me how to do my job?” he asks, stepping closer to me. I step back.
“No, I’m just saying—”
“You’re working, Cora. You are being paid to be here, meaning you’re on my time. Tell your boyfriend to get the hell out of here before it’s a problem.”
“He isn’t my boyfriend,” I say firmly.
He scoffs. “Oh, please. Everyone in town knows you're screwing one of those merciless few assholes.”
My eyes widen at his words. Norman has been a jerk since day one, but I have never, never heard him say something like that before. Now he’s getting into personal stuff, and that is so not okay. I’m so stunned, I don’t even know what to say.
“Party of ten!” Fia shouts through the window, giving me wide eyes when I face her. I scurry away, still shocked by Norman’s words.
“What is his problem?” Fia asks in a hushed tone.
“I d-don’t know.”
“Hey, where are you going?” Fia says loudly. I look up and see Tyler walking toward the front door.
“Home,” he snaps. “What’s it look like? ”
“You still have tables to bus.” Fia gestures to a few tables full of dishes. “Your shift doesn’t end for another four hours, just like us.”
“Nah, Norman said I could go early today. It’s my girlfriend’s birthday.”
Leaning onto the nearest empty table, I take in a breath to ease my stomach. He’s letting Tyler go home early, without finishing his duties, because it’s his girlfriend’s birthday but he won’t let me get a day off, after I found coverage, for my father’s surgery?
What is wrong with that man?
“I’m going to be sick,” I say quietly, hand on my stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Fia says, moving close to me and putting the back of her hand on my head. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut.
“He denied my time off,” I say.
“He what ?” she barks. I wince. “Your father is having surgery and he won’t give you the time off?” She glances toward the door. “But he let him go?”
She moves toward the door to the kitchen, but I grab her arm.
“No, please don’t. It’ll only make it worse.”
“No way, Cora. This guy is a jerk and what he’s doing is illegal.”
She’s furious on my behalf, and I appreciate that, but saying something to him about it will make it worse. That’s the last thing I need.
“I need this job,” I say forcefully .
“I’ll handle it.” A shiver runs up my spine at those growly words coming from Kaison, who is walking into the kitchen. Even if I tried grabbing him, I wouldn’t be able to stop him. Not now, not when he’s like this. This is going to be so bad.
Kaison pushes through the kitchen doors like he owns the place. I swear I see Christian smirking at him as he cleans the grill, but the door swings shut so quickly I can’t be sure.
“I can’t let him do this,” I say, grabbing onto Fia’s arm. He’s going to make me lose my job, and I need my job. Kaison may think he’s helping, but he’s not. I’m the one who has to deal with Norman when Kaison leaves. So, I hurry into the kitchen, needing to stop this however I can.
“—going to go, you got me, you little prick? You’re a scared little man who hides behind his title, but that ain’t happening anymore. Wanna know why?” He moves closer to Norman, who is cowering in the corner. “Because you’re done here. So get the fuck out. This diner belongs to the Merciless Few now, and if you got a problem with it, you can take it up with Dunner.”
“You c-can’t do that!” Norman shouts. “I own this place!”
“Oh no? You gonna stop me?” Kaison says so low, so lethal, it scares me. “You have one minute to get your shit and get the fuck out. If I ever see you around here again, I’ll bury you in the parking lot.” Kaison jerks toward him like he’s going to hit him, and Norman squeaks out a terrified sound. He scurries to his office to grab his things, then bolts out the back door. It slams heavily behind him .
My eyes are on Kaison as he turns toward me, pushing his sleeves up.
“Tell me what you need me to do, sweetheart.”
“What?” I breathe out, still staring at the door that Norman ran out of like his ass was on fire.
What just happened? He left, and he isn’t coming back? This can’t be real.
The diner belongs to the Merciless Few now? How? How is that possible? Kaison can’t do that… can he? What about the legal stuff? The paperwork?
“What do you need me to do? You want me to bus tables? Take orders? Dishes? Trash? What?”
Wait… what?
Kaison steps to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. He lowers to get eye level with me. “Tell me what you need help with.”
I blink a few times, snapping out of it and looking around the kitchen.
“Um, dishes and tables,” I say, though the words feel weird coming out of my mouth. Like someone else said them, not me.
He leans in, pressing his warm lips to my forehead before walking past me and going through the door that leads to the dining room. I follow after him, frozen in place as I watch him grab a bus bin, tucking it to his side with one hand and put dishes into it with the other. He smiles at customers and does all the polite things. It’s… absurd .
“Hey, you can ogle that sexy hunk of man meat later. Right now, I need help.” Fia nudges me gently with her arm, and I can’t help but smile.
Over the next hour, more bikers show up. People I’ve never seen before. All big guys in vests smiling at customers, cleaning tables, washing dishes, and taking out trash. The lot is full of bikes, and the office is taken over by a few guys looking through the books. This is all really insane, but my god… I think Kaison just saved my ass.