Page 12 of Fight For Us
“What now?” I huffed. I left the restaurant less than an hour ago and everything was fine.
“That new waitress quit. Walked right out in the middle of her shift.” My father didn’t handle much with the business. Not anymore. Kelly must have called him since I left my phone inside. I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. “Shit. I’ll have to go back.”
I couldn’t leave the rest of the dinner rush to Kelly and my bare bones kitchen crew. Derek was already struggling to get orders out on time and needed the servers to be on his ass.
“I can help,” Olivia offered. Her dark eyes widened as if she too was surprised by the words that came out of her mouth. My father and I both looked at her like she’d just offered us a million bucks.
“Do you have experience?” my father asked.
She squeaked out a noise that sounded like a balloon releasing air while tilting her hand side to side in the so-so gesture. “But how hard can it be?”
I chuckled and kept my tongue tied. It wasn’t a difficult job, but it was fast paced. “You’re hired, Tiger. Dad, you got the kids?”
“Oh, you meant right now?” she asked.
“Yup. Pizza will have to wait. Let’s go.”
Chapter 5
Olivia
I knew the lookin Wes’s eyes. He was about to lose it. Whatever his ex said must have triggered him because in the few months I’d known this man, I’d never seen him look so furious before. Pissed at some of his kitchen staff for fumbling an order or annoyed at his parents, many times. But he’d always kept that slight tilt in his lips and gleam in his eye.
After making sure Walt would be okay with the kids for a few minutes, I followed Wes into his office. He paced the length of his desk, head down, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. What could I say or do to help him? I tried to put myself in Mia’s shoes. She was always good at helping people through a crisis. She’d probably coo over him and offer hugs. I loved that about her. But that wasn’t me or my way.
“Wesley,” I said his name in a clear, firm tone. “Stop pacing and look at me.” He froze and looked up. I took a tentative step closer and decided to throw caution to the wind and say exactly what I was thinking. “I don’t know what happened outside or what was said. I don’t know anything about this situation.” The way he pinned me with his intense gaze should have rattled me. Instead it emboldened me to go on. “But I know the look in your eyes. You’re about two seconds from losing your shit.” He released a breath and leaned against his desk. “And I know you well enough to know you’d never want Lilly to witness that. Or your customers. But most importantly, Lilly. So talk to me if you want to. I’m here. Or if you want to throw something, I’ll help clean up the mess. Just whatever happened outside, don’t keep it in. That shit will be a ticking time bomb.”
I waited on a response while my pulse pounded in my ears. I had no right to talk to him this way. Hopefully he wouldn’t fire me. I thought of Lilly sitting out in that booth and stood firm. I was being tough on him for her. Just like the first time we met when I’d given him a piece of my mind.
The seconds ticked by and Wes’s shoulders sunk. His lips settled into a hard line, but the rest of his features seemed to sag. “You’re right.”
“I usually am.” I managed a grin, hoping to lighten the mood. He focused his gaze on the ceiling and shook his head. “Want to talk about it?”
“Is throwing things still an option?”
I grabbed a stack of Post-it notes from his desk and passed them over. “Have at it.”
The corner of his mouth creeped up. “Don’t think these will give me the release I’m looking for.”
My cheeks flushed.Don’t go there, Olivia. That is most definitely not the type of release he implied.
“Sorry, your office is fresh out of glassware.” I came to his side and knocked my thigh against his. There was so much about this man that was a mystery to me, yet I felt like I knew him. Like we were kindred spirits. Not in most of the outward ways we went about our lives, but deep down, where it counted. “So, your ex seems like a peach.”
He made a sound like he was trying to clear sand from his throat. “If that peach grew from hell and was rotten and infested with parasites.”
“Damn. Tell me how you really feel.” That got an actual laugh out of him, and dry as it was, I’d take it.
“Savannah, my ex. She dropped Lilly off so she can fulfill a modeling contract overseas.”
I let his words sink in, but even when they did, I still couldn’t believe what I’d heard.
“She left? Like poof, she’s gone and not coming back?”
“Not for a few months.” He pressed his tongue into his cheek. “I gotta call her, see if there’s another way. It’s not that I don’t want Lilly…” He trailed off.
“Calling her sounds like a good plan. Lilly must be upset to be away from her mom for that long.” My heart was breaking for that little girl. “Wait. Does Lilly know what’s going on?”
“Apparently she does and knew this was coming. It’s all news to me though, in case that wasn’t obvious.”
