Page 56 of Ramsey & Emerson

“Then, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” I replied evenly. “The tables are reserved for paying customers only.”

I watched in both horror and disgust as Ramsey pulled out his wallet, then removed two one-hundred-dollar bills, tossing them on the table. Never having taken his eyes off me, he said, “Now I’m a paying customer.”

Looking into his deceptively perfect face, I could feel myself losing it. Hate, rage, regret, sorrow, love, humiliation…all of them were going to war inside me. Why was he here? Why couldn’t he just leave me the hell alone?

I was about to tell him to go fuck himself when he spoke again. “What time does your shift end?”

My hands tightened around my pen and order pad, but I was proud that my voice was steady. “That’s none of your business. Now, are you going to place an order or not?”

Ramsey stared at me for a few seconds, and then let out a deep breath. “Emerson, I’m here, so that we can talk.”

I let out a humorless laugh.

He could not be serious.

“I have nothing to talk with you about,” I snapped. “Now, if you’re not going to order anything, you can just sit there with your money, because Ihave otherrealcustomers to attend to.” It looked like pride trampled on all those other emotions that I was struggling with, coming to my rescue again.

Ramsey surprised me when he said, “Fine. I’ll let you get back to work.” However, I was less surprised when he added, “But I will be waiting for you when your shift ends. We need to talk, Emerson.”

I turned away from him without even acknowledging his last statement. We didn’t need to talk. I had nothing to say to him, and there was absolutely nothing that he could say that I wanted to hear. Nevertheless, I wasn’t unaffected by his presence. A small part of me-the part that still cared-was curious as to what he had to say. However, too bad for that small part bastard, because all the other emotions were overruling her.

I shook off Ramsey’s arrival, then went back to checking on my customers. I wasn’t terribly busy since we were in the lull between lunch and dinner, so I decided to try my hand at some cowardice. After making sure that all my tables were taken care of, I headed towards the back to find Muriel, and I found her in the storage room, looking over the inventory.

“Hey, Muriel.”

She turned around, then smiled at me. “Hey, Emerson. What’s doin’?”

I hated to ask since I just started working here and all, but I wasn’t ready for a confrontation with Ramsey. My emotions were still beaten and raw from our last encounter, and it was all that I could do not to fall apart.

“I was hoping that I could sneak out of here a few minutes early,” I admitted, then cringed at how unprofessional that sounded.

Muriel lowered her notepad next to her thigh as she cocked her head. “Are you okay?”

That question.

That one question filled with so much genuine concern became my downfall.

The tears started to fall, and I instantly found myself in Muriel’s arms. “Oh, Emerson, what’s wrong?”

I wasn’t in full-blown sob mode, but the tears were making swift progress down my face. “The short version is that I’m experiencing my very first teenage heartbreak, and the cause of that heartbreak is waiting for my shift to end, so that he can torture me some more,” I admitted.

Her expression was pure understanding. “Of course, you can leave early,” she said soothingly. “I can take care of your tables until Adam comes in for the dinner crowd.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist. “Thank you, so, so, so, so much, Muriel.” This sweet woman that had no obligations towards me was showingme more love and concern than my own remaining family. I’d yet to receive one call or text from my aunt or my cousin, not that I expected one, but still.

Muriel disentangled herself from my hold, then said, “Honey, there’s not a female over the age of thirteen that hasn’t experienced heartbreak in some sort of fashion or another. God, men are such fascinating creatures, but they sure do know how to ruin everything that’s good in the world.” She looked into my face, and I knew that she could empathize with how I was feeling. “You get going now, girly.”

I smiled through my tears, then nodded because she didn’t have to tell me twice.

Chapter 33

Ramsey~

I’d stood outside the diner for an hour before I realized that Emerson had left.

I’d been playing around on my phone, trying to kill time, and every time that I looked up and through the diner windows, it seemed as if I kept missing Emerson. I had finally put my phone down, then watched the hubbub of the diner through the windows, and it hadn’t been until I’d seen an older lady making her rounds in Emerson’s section that I’d realized that something might be up.

At first, I’d thought that Emerson might be on break, or that she might be helping out in back, or something along those lines. However, an hour later, and with no Emerson sightings, I knew that she’d left work already.

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