Chapter 4 - The Woman Behind the Uniform
At 10:17 p.m., Vincent was waiting outside.
Emily looked at his sedan.
“Where are we going?”
“Dinner.”
“I just spent eight hours serving dinner.”
“Then somewhere without tablecloths.”
Twenty minutes later, Emily stared at a tiny twenty-four-hour burger restaurant.
“You eat here?”
Vincent opened the door.
“I contain multitudes.”
She laughed.
They sat in a corner booth.
Emily ordered a cheeseburger.
Then she hesitated.
Vincent noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Emily.”
She looked at the menu.
“Tyler used to make comments whenever I ordered something like this.”
Vincent leaned back.
“What do you want?”
“The burger.”
“Then order the burger.”
“That simple?”
“Yes.”
She studied him.
“You really don’t care?”
“About what you eat?”
“About my weight.”
Vincent’s expression became unreadable.
“Do you want to know what I noticed first about you?”
Emily braced herself.
“What?”
“You were kind to an old man.”
She blinked.
“What?”
“My second morning at the restaurant. An elderly customer couldn’t afford his breakfast.”
Emily remembered.
“He forgot his wallet.”
“No. He had six dollars.”
Her eyes widened.
“You saw that?”
“You paid the rest.”
“It was twelve dollars.”
“You also packed him a sandwich.”
Emily shrugged.
“He looked hungry.”
“That’s what I noticed.”
Vincent leaned forward.
“Then I noticed you remembered every employee’s birthday.”
“That’s creepy.”
“I’m observant.”
“Creepy.”
He almost smiled.
“You bring leftover desserts to the overnight security guard. You call your mother during every break. You once spent twenty minutes helping a little girl find a stuffed rabbit.”
Emily stared at him.
“You really were watching.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Vincent hesitated.
That hesitation frightened her more than anything.
“What?”
“My mother was a waitress.”
Emily became still.
“She raised me alone until I was fourteen.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Most people don’t.”
“What happened?”
“She died.”
“I’m sorry.”
Vincent nodded.
“She worked double shifts. People treated her like furniture.”
His voice hardened.
“I learned very young how much you can tell about someone by how they treat a person wearing a uniform.”
Emily understood.
“Tyler.”
“Yes.”
Silence settled between them.
Then Emily asked, “Why did you never ask me out?”
“Because you deserved a normal man.”
She laughed softly.
“Normal men aren’t exactly doing great this week.”
Vincent smiled.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Speak.”
His expression changed.
Emily immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
Vincent ended the call.
“Tyler contacted a tabloid.”
Her stomach sank.
“What did he tell them?”
“He claims you pursued me while dating him.”
“That’s insane.”
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“He says you used him for money.”
Emily laughed bitterly.
“Tyler owed me three thousand dollars when we broke up.”
Vincent went still.
“What?”
“I paid his rent twice.”
“Can you prove it?”
“Bank transfers.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
Emily pointed at him.
“No mafia solution.”
“I wasn’t going to suggest one.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I was thinking several things.”
“Legal things.”
He sighed.
“Fine.”
Emily leaned forward.
“I want to handle this.”
Vincent nodded.
“How?”
She smiled.
“Tyler wants attention.”
Vincent recognized the look.
“And?”
May you like
“Let’s give him some.”
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