Page 2 of Sizzling Nights

“Got it, Marco,” she called back.

He turned his head to see Theresa watching him from the doorway. He nodded and received a smile again. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was beginning to warm to him. He liked her. She was smart, always on the ball, never a problem. She showed up on time and got the job done. She was what you’d call a dream employee. Yeah, he liked her. Plus, it didn’t hurt that she was a looker.

He pulled the slip from the spring above him and glanced at the next order. Three more steaks and a lobster. He quickly grabbed the food from the cooler next to his grill, placed the steaks on the fire, and double-checked their doneness. Then he looked at the next order in line.

It was a good night.

He glanced over his left shoulder as Theresa sauntered into the kitchen to grab the plates. She caught his eye and grinned. Yeah, she liked him. He'd almost place money on it.

Marco kept cooking, calling out orders, not really barking, just clear and steady. Before he knew it, the end of the night was near.

As the kitchen staff cleaned up, Marco worked on his grill. He was particular about how it was cleaned, so he performed this task rather than leave it to someone else. From the corner of his eye, he watched Theresa hustling back and forth. She brought in condiments, refilled jars, and wiped everything down. She was meticulous. Always meticulous.

Her phone rang, and she reached into her apron. When she glanced at the screen, her brows furrowed. She tucked the phone back into her apron and took a deep breath. Marco found it curious, but he didn’t know much about her life. A little, maybe. They talked some, but she was always secretive about the details. He wondered about that. She didn’t wear a wedding ring. She never mentioned a man—or a woman—at home. She didn’t talk about her life much at all. Come to think of it, he probably didn’t share much about his own life either. He didn't want to bore anyone with his life's issues.

Her phone rang again. This time, Marco turned to watch as she pulled it out. Her lips tightened, and her shoulders straightened.

“You okay, Theresa?” he asked.

She looked startled and quickly tucked the phone back into her apron. She nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

He nodded, but he didn’t believe her. He felt again that she was hiding something.

The kitchen cleared out, leaving just him and Theresa. Marco looked around and then walked to the end of the counter where she was filling ketchup bottles for the next day. He leaned against the table; arms crossed.

“Hey, if you need anything, you let me know, okay?” he said.

She tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. It barely creased her lips. “Okay, I will.”

She was lying again.

When she finished her task, Marco busied himself with his own work. He was planning to follow her out to her car to make sure she was okay. But following her home? That was probably off-limits.

Right?

Maybe he should follow her home. He'd do that.

2

Theresa tucked her telephone back into her apron and took a deep breath. It was stupid to think she could hide for long. She'd let her guard down a little bit. She'd been here six months, and she felt pretty safe, but things were starting to fall in on her.

She looked up and saw Marco watching her. She tried to smile. She knew it didn't reach her eyes, but right now, she was trying to process it all. Was she scared? Fuck yeah, she was scared. Did she know how bad this was? Well, possibly. They'd threatened her. She should have made sure she had better protection before she released that exposé. Now it was out there, so it was too late. And now she was having to worry about protection on the fly.

Maybe she'd ask Jace for a couple of days off, kind of lay low. And she'd probably have to get a new phone since they seemed to have found her number. Fuck. Just when she thought things were going all right.

She picked up the tray of ketchup containers and put them into the walk-in cooler. As she stepped out, Marco stood leaning against the table, his arms crossed, which was a nice sight. He had beefy, big arms. He was built, and strong. She always knew that about him. She enjoyed watching him work at the stove. For a bigger man, he made his job look effortless. He was nimble and quick. He could manage thirty-six steaks on the grill and get them all done to perfection. It was like he had a weird sense about him with that.

But she'd enjoyed him from afar. And sadly, that's where it would have to stay. She brought too much trouble with her. She couldn't bring it to Marco. It wasn't fair to him.

Her phone chimed again. This time it signaled a text. Her fingers rubbed her brow, and she decided to ignore it. But it chimed again. She lifted her head and let out a deep breath and saw Marco watching her.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked her.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it's okay. It's just some shit at home."

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