Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Robin
Iget back to the kitchen with the tray of scattered appetisers, my body shaking from the shock of bumping into one of the actually attractive Alphas. It’s a terrible impression to make on my first night, and I can only hope he doesn’t make a complaint against me.
Putting the tray down on the counter, I take in a deep breath.
“New girl!” Chef Harris calls out. “Was something wrong with those appetisers?”
Shaking my head quickly, I try to compose myself.
“Um, no. I just … I almost dropped the tray,” I admit, voice low.
He moves around the counter to where I’m standing.
My new boss. I barely know him. I hold my breath, waiting for his reaction on seeing his perfect little pastries in such a broken disarray.
I wait to be chastised, to be yelled at, but it doesn’t happen.
“No use crying over spilt pastry,” he says, as he picks a piece up and swipes it across the smeared sauce dots.
I glance up to see him popping it into his mouth.
His expression turns to satisfaction quickly. “Mm. Now, we mustn’t let good food go to waste, but I must get back to work. You will take a break and sit down. You need to put more meat on your bones. I will get you a glass of milk.”
I blink as he moves away, whistling.
This place … it’s a whole different world.
I had no idea things could be like this.
It’s all so easy, so calm.
Pulling out one of the stools from under the counter, I take a seat in front of the tray of food.
There are three broken pastries left scattered across the plates.
It still feels completely wrong to eat something that wasn’t supposed to be mine.
When my boss puts a glass of milk down beside the tray, I give him a smile.
“Thank you.”
“It is no trouble. I remember what it was like to be young and new to things. You’ll make mistakes, but the important thing is to move past them, yes?”
I nod slowly. “I’ve never been one to dwell on mistakes.”
“That is a good way to be. Now eat before Chatty Kathy comes back. She doesn’t need an excuse for a break, and she eats enough of my food when she thinks I’m not looking.”
He leaves me to go back to his preparations.
I look at the tray, and I tell myself this food is mine.
It’s not perfect enough to serve now, and he already told me to eat it.
Still, I hesitate.
I take a sip of milk.
I’m not hungry, really, but they do look good.
I put my glass down and pick up a small piece.
The guilt I feel when I put it into my mouth grows as I chew.
It tastes as good as I suspected it would, but I’m not sure I can handle eating the rest.
Despite knowing I won’t get in trouble, my body’s still reacting as if I’m about to be punished.
I take my time with that first piece, sipping on the milk again after and silently hoping for Katie to appear and help me finish this food.
I know she would eat it in a heartbeat.
The chef is right, it would be a waste not to eat every bite.
I’m talking myself into eating another piece when there’s a creak from the other side of the room. Looking up, I see the entrance door is opening, being pushed inwards.
The chef glances over, and nods at whoever’s there.
I wait, knowing there isn’t another member of staff due to start working tonight.
The bar staff don’t enter the kitchen, and we don’t go behind their workstation, either.
I drop the pastry back onto the plate as Lana walks into the room.
She’s starting to talk to the chef, when she glances around and sees me.
“Oh, there you are, Robin!” she exclaims. “I was looking for you.”
“You were?” I ask, a little concerned.
The chef made it seem like the destroyed pastries weren’t a big deal, but I suppose he didn’t see how that happened.
I guess I was right the first time. That Alpha must have reported it to Lana after I bumped into him.
I should have been more careful, and I definitely shouldn’t have been staring at him so brazenly when he instinctively put an arm around me to keep me upright.
“I was,” Lana says. “Do you have a minute?”
I nod, because that’s the only answer I can give.
My mouth has dried up, and my hands are getting shaky.
If I lose everything over this, I don’t know what I’ll do.
“You can use the laundry room,” the chef says. “No laundry is being done until later.”
“Thanks.” Lana nods at me and I get up.
I smooth my hands over my clothes, brushing off imaginary crumbs as I follow the head of the school into the adjoining laundry room. It’s brightly lit and eerily quiet in the room with the empty machines.
I stop walking a few steps away from the door, and Lana takes a step and stretches her arm out to close it behind us. My nerves start to multiply, so I fold my arms under my chest, and I focus on the woman who’s been nothing but nice to me ever since I got here.
She’s not going to fire me over something so small.
It wouldn’t be like her. I might not know much, but I know that.
She gives me a wry smile. “How’s your first shift going?”
I press my lips together, wondering if it’s a trick question.
“It was going good,” I start, clearing my throat. “Until I bumped into one of the Alphas and ruined a tray full of pastries.”
She nods slowly. “I heard the Alpha bumped into you, actually. I hope he wasn’t an asshole about it?”
I blink at her. “What? No. He just kept me from falling.”
“Good. You know you can come to me if someone is behaving in a way that isn’t okay, right?”
She watches me carefully.
She’s still just looking out for me.
I let out a relieved breath. “I know.”
“Good. Don’t forget it.” She pauses, and purses her lips before she goes on, “Someone’s here who would like the chance to visit you.”
“Oh,” I murmur, staring back at her while I try to take that information in.
All I can think about is that picture she showed me of my father.
“Is it him?” I ask. “My dad?”
“No,” she says. “It’s an Alpha who claims he helped rescue you.”
“He helped rescue me?” I echo, trying to imagine it.
For weeks, all I can remember of that night has been the moment Colleen shoved me into the hallway and closed the kitchen door. That felt like the instant I was ejected from my old life and thrown into this strange new world.
I was full of fear and confusion.
I didn’t understand what was happening.
Everything cut out after that moment of intense emotion.
It was all I could remember when I thought back to that night.
“He only wants to be sure you’re doing well,” Lana goes on. “But you don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to.”
I don’t remember him. Maybe that’s what I should have told her.
But the words that come out of my mouth are, “I want to meet him.”
I’m not sure I really feel that way.
There’s just this nagging thought that maybe meeting him will help me to remember more of that night.
I don’t know if that’s a smart move. I’m doing well here in this new place.
Memories of the past are unlikely to help me let go of everything I used to be, but I don’t have much else to cling to, so I have to try.
“You’re sure?” she asks. “I can take him back a message if you’d prefer it.”
“I’d rather see him,” I insist.
She nods. “Okay. It doesn’t have to be tonight …”
“It can be, though. The boss said I could take a break.”
“I’ll go get him. You can wait in here if you like.”
She moves past me and leaves the room.
Something about waiting around makes me anxious, so I start wandering around until I find a way to occupy myself, organising the laundry detergent boxes and bottles on the shelving unit in the corner.
It’s probably pointless to have everything lined up perfectly but it’s an easy way to distract myself.
Too easy, maybe.
I barely notice Lana’s back until the door is all the way open and she’s speaking my name.
Turning around quickly, I take a few quick steps back into the centre of the room.
“Robin …” she says. “This is Johnny Falcone. He’s the Alpha who wanted to see you.”
The man that steps into the room is familiar because he’s the one my eyes were first drawn to out in the ballroom. I remember the hit of recognition I felt then, and I still feel it now, but it isn’t awakening any memories inside me.
“Hi,” I murmur, as his presence seems to fill the empty room.
He’s tall, and he’s even more attractive in close-up.
Despite the imposing Alpha vibes he’s giving off, I don’t feel afraid of him.
He’s not like the men who frequented the place I used to live.
Of course he isn’t.
The Alpha Alliance is trying to stop those men, and he works with them.
He’s the polar opposite of those men.
That reasoning doesn’t explain my immediate comfort with him, of course, but considering he’s a passerby in my life I’m not going to waste too much time thinking about it.
“My friends call me Falcon,” he tells me, his voice soft but with gravel to it.
“That suits you better than Johnny,” I admit, though it’s not my place to have an opinion on what his name should be. “Thank you for what you did for me.”
I doubt I fully appreciated it at the time, not being aware of what was going on, but now I know the hell I was trapped in. I’m glad the Alpha Alliance came to the house, and I’ll forever be thankful that Colleen made certain they’d find me.
His gaze stays on my face, and when I dare to look into those deep-set gray eyes, I can tell he’s concerned. I can’t be certain why, and it’s definitely not my place to ask, so I wait for him to tell me what’s on his mind instead.
The few seconds that pass while I wait for the silence to be broken feel like a lifetime.
He follows up a heavy sigh with a question. “Are you feeling better?”
I can’t believe it. He’s worried about me.
Speechless, I nod slowly.
I don’t understand.
He’s an Alpha, and he barely knows me.
How can he care this much?
I don’t have an answer, and the longer he studies my face, the harder it is to pretend my heart isn’t starting to beat faster from standing here in his presence.
I’ve heard about the effect Alphas can have on Betas.
It’s in so many movies, I lost count.