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"Carina, don't you recognize me?" he asks.

Hearing my name, I stop walking and finally turn to look at the man. He’s vaguely familiar but I see so many people from working at the restaurant, that he can be anyone.

"I don't need a ride," I say before I continue walking.

"Now don't be ridiculous. Get in. I'd like to talk to you. It's the least you can let me do after firing you."

Slowly, I come to a halt as recognition of who he is hits me. In the kitchen area, on the wall next to the doors to the dining room hangs a picture of the owner of John’s Bar and Grille, Alexander Winterbourne.

It’s there so we recognize him if he ever comes in. In all the years I have worked there I never once saw him.

So why is he here now?

"So you fire me and now all you want to offer me is a ride home? That doesn’t seem like a fair deal.”

"It's the least I can do”. He smirks like the cat who ate the canary. “Plus, I want to talk to you."

"Talk? The only thing I have to talk to you about is getting my job back. You gave Antonio a bullshit reason for firing me. I'm a waitress, I don't make too much money."

I start walking again, more determined to get away from him and get home than ever. I need to be up early tomorrow to see my grandmother, and then start looking for a job. We don’t have any savings. And lately, things have gotten so bad with all of her medical bills that I’m barely making ends meet.

The car door opens. Mr. Winterbourne steps out and quickly catches up to me. He’s thin and tall in a fitted navy blue three-piece suit. His shoes click on the uneven sidewalk as he matches my pace. Everything about him spells money.

“If you won't let me drive you home, then I'll just have to walk you home."

I stop and turn to him, the feeling of angry heat rising from my neck and into my cheeks.

“What is your problem? My grandmother is in the hospital, and I just lost my job! Which was the only way I was even paying rent. We have no savings, no family to bail us out, nothing. So what do you think is going to happen now that I don’t have a job? Did you ever think that maybe I just want to be alone?"

“Carina, really,” he says, still smirking. “You think I don't know that? Why do you think I'm here? I'm a very busy man, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we could help each other out. So while you're upset right now, and rightly so, I think you should give me a few minutes of your time.” He pauses as he gauges my reaction. “You probably look at me and think I’ve had it easy my whole life. I haven’t. I know what it's like to lose everything. I know what it’s like to not know where your next meal is coming from. But I’m not here to talk about me. Let's just say I'm here to be your fairy godfather."

"My fairy godfather? Great, so not only are you an asshole, but you're crazy on top of it all? Figures. I've heard all you rich people have a few screws loose. Probably the smell of all that money goes to your head and damages your brain cells."

"You have every right to hate me for losing your job. I don't have a problem with that. But I do have an offer for you. If you do just one thing for me, one little thing. Something that you might actually enjoy. I’ll give you $20,000 in cash.”

He can’t be serious. As much as I want to keep walking, I stop. He finally has my attention.

"Fine, I'll hear you out. But if this involves anything from your sick, perverse mind, like anything sexual, or something I can't even imagine that someone like you might think of, then I'm out."

He nods. "Fair enough. I promise you it's nothing like that." He turns to the limo that has been following along beside us and opens the back door. He waves his hand with a flourish towards the car. "As you can see there is no privacy shield in this car. Reggie can hear everything we say. He can see everything we do. And you have my word that Reggie will never let anything bad happen to you."

The driver turns to look over his shoulder at me. His curly grey hair peeks out from under a black chauffeur’s cap.

"That is correct, Miss," Reggie says as he tips his hat towards me. His accent is unmistakably British. He smiles and his bright blue eyes twinkle.

"So please, I would appreciate it if you would let me drive you the rest of the way to your apartment. These shoes are not made for walking.” He grins as he points to his expensive brown leather shoes. “All I ask is that you hear me out. And if you're not interested, that's fine. I will set you up with interviews and give you the most glowing recommendations a person could ever get. But right now, I think this is something you should listen to."

We get into the car and Reggie begins to drive. I consider telling Reggie where to go, but I don’t have to. It’s clear to me that Alex knows everything about me. While that worries me, I can’t ignore the possibility of enough money to make my grandmother and I comfortable while I look for a new job.

"So what is this amazing offer you have for me?” I ask.

“You've heard of the Carnival Masquerade Ball, right?”

He leans back against the car seat looking pleased with himself, but I have no idea what he’s talking about. I shake my head.

His jaw drops from surprise before he laughs softly. "I should've expected that. One of the reasons I chose you for this is because you don't seem to care at all about things like that. Our meeting tonight is a perfect example. Most people who meet me fall at my feet. Actually, most people know who I am as soon as I walk into a room.” He nods slowly as he studies me. “I like that about you. It's refreshing. The Carnival Masquerade Ball is the most elegant, famous, in-demand party in town. No one knows who hosts it, but there's been a ball every month for the last three years. I want you to attend."

"Wait. You want me to go to some fancy ball? I didn't even know balls were a real thing.” I think about it for a couple of minutes and decide that I must be misunderstanding him. Why does he want me to go to a ball? Maybe he wants me to work at the ball. “Is this some kind of catering job?"

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