Page 23 of I Am Lioness

Manny shrugged. “It’s early and they’re hungry. You know how they get. Just ignore ‘em, baby girl.” He said, excusing their child-like behavior.

Throwing an arm around my shoulders, we trailed behind the grumps in easy conversation through the hotel until the four of us were seated at a table.

There was a palpable stiff vibe circulating in the air around us, mostly between Jason, Bernie, and myself, but having Manny there made it bearable. He gave me a knowing nod as the hostess passed around the menu’s and I flashed him a small smile, thankful to have one person who always remained neutral, no matter what the circumstances were.

The waitress appeared several minutes later, placing napkins and coasters around the table as she introduced herself. Hayley was her name and her initially sluggish mood shifted dramatically the second she laid eyes on Jason.

It was like a burst of caffeine hit her and she perked right up, standing a little taller with a seductive tilt to her hips. She raked a well-manicured hand through her dark tresses and bit down on her bottom lip, drinking him in for a long moment before reluctantly returning her attention back to the task at hand, namely her job.

Despite being easily distracted by Jason while taking our order, it turns out that Hayley was actually one hell of a server. She was polite, friendly, quick on her feet, and also very observant. While it didn’t take a rocket scientist to notice Bernie’s crabby mood, Hayley seemed to pick up on the dead air radiating from his end of the table almost immediately, and she tried her best to butter him up.

Bernie remained stoic for the most part, but unlike Jason, he couldn't resist her charm for long, especially when she returned with serving tray in hand and laid down a fluffy chocolate croissant beside his plate. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and suddenly, all was right in world. At least for now.

“Is there anything else I can get you all?” She asked sweetly as she distributed the rest of our meals.

Jason slid his mug to the edge of the table and peered up at her pretty face. “More coffee, please, sweetheart.”

Whether it was the term of endearment or just Jason himself, Hayley flushed a bright crimson. “Yes, sir.” She said, fumbling to fold the serving stand, her hands visibly shaking. “Let me just get this out of the way and I’ll be right back with that.”

He waved her off. “Not a problem. Take your time.”

She nodded graciously, a hopeful smile hiking up the corners of her mouth, and scampered off to the back, lugging both the tray and stand beneath her arms.

“Poor girl.” That was Manny, who was already nearly done with half his plate.

Beast.

Jason glanced at him with a confused expression. “What?”

“Are you blind or just ignorant?” Bernie asked as he drenched his waffles in maple syrup.

Manny and I choked back a laugh in tandem, the sound drawing out an unimpressed scowl on Jason’s face.

“It’s too early for this.” He muttered.

“Apparently not for her.” I teased behind a snicker.

Jason's glare was evident long before I even saw it. I shrugged it off coolly and shot him an equally lethal glare in return.

Hayley reappeared at our table with a pot of piping hot coffee. It smelled delicious which only lead me to assume it was probably freshly brewed. The thought had me chuckling silently in my corner. She sidled close to Jason and refilled his mug, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence.

I could see how desperately she just wanted him to noticeher but he didn’t bat an eyelash in her direction, other than a curt nod by way of thanks. Hayley’s face fell a bit and I found myself feeling both amused and sympathetic for the poor girl, draping a hand over my mouth to hide the smile stretching my lips.

The entire scenario was comical to say the least, mostly because watching different women fawn over Jason was always was. I couldn't say I blamed them, though. He was very good-looking. Average in height, probably about six-feet even, butverygood-looking.

A man well-kept described him best; hair perfectly styled, defined edges of his face clean-shaven, and hard lines of lean muscle apparent beneath his finely-tailored suits. Tie that in with the Ray Bans perched atop his nose ninety percent of the time and his somewhat gruff personality, and you had one intimidating yet intriguing man.

It was hard not to notice Jason and that alone brought him a lot of attention, but he never acted on it and I always wondered why.

When Hayley finally discerned Jason wasn’t going to snatch the bait, she excused herself to go check on another table in her section. Once she was out of earshot, Manny wiped his mouth and stared at Jason in disbelief.

“Throw the girl a damn bone, Jay. You can’t tell me you don’t think she looks good.”

“Not my type.” Jason said dismissively, digging into his pancakes.

Manny arched a brow. “Really? Then what is your type ‘cause I haven’t seen you with one chick in the two years we’ve worked together.”

Three sets of eyes latched onto Jason, waiting to see how exactly he was going to dig himself out of this one. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked between us all, huffing when he realized his only way out was to answer.

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