by Lacey Silks
“No, it wouldn’t. But it’s a very long story, and” – she looked at her watch – “and your appointment is in half an hour.”
She knew about my interview?
“One of my duties here is to ensure the house functions well. Mr. Wagner doesn’t like to be late, and it’s my job to help him with time-management.”
She answered what must have been a puzzled look on my face.
“The car is ready outside when you’re done, and if you need anything, anything at all, I can be reached at this number.” She handed me a business card.
The car was here already? My gaze flew to the front door.
Shit! I better not make the cab wait. I shot off the chair, waving. “I gotta go.”
I grabbed a pancake off the plate and rushed toward the front.
“Wait, Mr. Wagner insisted you eat!”
“I will.” I waved the pancake. “Thank you, Ms. Avery.”
I stepped out of the house, my eyes searching for a yellow cab, and instead found Charlie standing with the door wide open to the stretched limo.
This was what Axel called a cab? This ride was suitable for a president.
“Is this for me?” I asked.
“It is, Ms. Summers.”
“I’ve been told to drive you to Olivier’s and then remain at your disposal until you’re back at Mr. Wagner’s residence.”
Wow!
I settled into the cushioned seats, taken aback by… well, pretty much everything. It had been a long time since I’d allowed myself any form of luxury, never mind the kind that Axel was treating me to. This couldn’t be an everyday thing for him, could it?
We arrived at the restaurant with three minutes to spare. Olivier, the owner and chef, was already waiting for me.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. When can you start?”
I returned his firm handshake with a somewhat confused look. “Wait, aren’t you going to interview me?”
“You’re a friend of Axel’s, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but…”
“I’ve already checked your references and I won’t get a stronger recommendation than the one from Axel. He’s never steered me wrong in the past. If you want it, the job is yours. Marie is the head waitress. She’ll go over the security details with you. Most of our clientele is very wealthy and expects a certain level of discretion, so whatever you see or hear at this restaurant, it needs to remain here. No one gets inside this restaurant without an appointment so you don’t need to worry about your ex-fiancé coming in.”
“Axel told you about him?”
“Yes, he did. And we’ll make sure that you feel as safe here as any of our customers.”
“Thank you, Olivier. That means a lot.”
“This is your starting salary, which will increase after six months. Any tips you receive are yours to keep.”
I had a salary? Not a per-hour pay?
“I may also need you on some weekends for exclusive catering services. Otherwise, I go by one motto: a smile can win over the coldest of hearts. Some celebrities can be… how can I say this politely? Bitchy. Just smile and nod, and you’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Olivier.” I looked at the scribbled numbers on a paper he gave me. “But this is too much.”
“It’s as much as I would give anyone else I hire.” He reached out and closed my hand around the paper. “Is there any way you’d be able to start now?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And, Trish. We like to think of our staff as family. Anything you need, just ask. I know that if my staff is happy, they’ll do their job that much better.”
“I can’t even tell you how much that means to me. Thank you so much.”
After introducing me to Marie, Olivier left. I followed the head waitress around as she showed me the three different dining areas, some private booths, two bars, secluded tables, nooks and the hallways that reminded me of a labyrinth. None of it seemed as intimidating when I had dined here with Axel, but then again, my focus had been completely on him. At least the restaurant didn’t open until eleven for the lunch hour, so it was still empty, giving me a chance to familiarize myself with the floor plan.
“How do you not get lost here?”
“You will,” she laughed, “but you’ll get used to it with time.”
“I should make a map.”
“If you ever need help, just ask.”
By the time Marie had prepped me with the evening’s menu and showed me which tables I’d be responsible for, it was already lunch time. I was to shadow her for the first three days and then go on my own, and would hopefully have memorized the entire menu.
“I believe you’re already busy for lunch.”
I am?
“But when you don’t have gorgeous hunks taking you out, we usually get together in the staff room.”
She pointed to one of the booths where Axel was sitting, looking over the menu. Was he waiting for me?
“I’ll see you in an hour.” She gave me a gentle shove in his direction.
I strolled toward him with confident steps.
“Hello, my name is Trish, and I’ll be your waitress today. To start off, can I get you something to drink, sir?”
He gave me a bemused smile and slapped the pages he was holding closed.
“Unfortunately, what I want is not on the menu.” His husky voice sent shivers down my spine, and I had the urge to grab that menu off the table and write my name as one of the appetizers.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Hopefully, having a nice lunch with you.”
Detecting a hint of nerves in his tone, I narrowed my brows before sitting across from him.
“Anything you’d recommend?”
“Axel, anything you get from this restaurant will have your taste buds humming for hours. I can’t thank you enough for this. I mean, I’d be fine at my old job, you know.”
That was a huge stretch and we both knew it, but it was the polite thing to say.
“With Brad on the loose, we can’t take any chances.”
“Do you think it will take long to catch him?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I need to talk to you about as well.”
“What’s going on?” I leaned in, cocking my head to the side, somewhat concerned about the sadness I saw in his eyes. At the same time, a waitress brought over two cups of coffee and five giant plates of what I thought was everything off the lunch menu.
“Who’s gonna eat all this?”
“You. Next time, don’t skip breakfast.”
“How did… wait, I had a pancake.”
“One flab of dough doesn’t count as a proper breakfast. Now eat.”
“I see Ms. Avery is a spy as well,” I grumbled, as I stuck my fork into the fresh fruit at the side of the eggs Benedict.
“She was only doing her job.”
“Okay, so are you going to tell me why the glum look on your face?”
“I’m leaving for Europe this evening and won’t be back for a week. Brad opened accounts there under the business’s name that need to be cleaned up.”
Nerves contracted in my stomach at the mention of Brad’s name, but knowing that Axel would be so far away made me sad.
“Okay, ahm, I can get my stuff to the new apartment after work.”
“The bed’s not there yet.”
With all the resources Axel had, I wondered whether the delay in furnishing my new home was coincidental or not.
“I’ll figure something out.”
“I didn’t mean that you have to leave, Trish. I’d like you to stay at my house, with my mom and Trevor.”
“While you’re gone?”
“Yes. This way I’ll know that you’re safe.”
My heart drummed in that weird way it only knew how to do around Axel.
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t. I already talked to them both, and they’re very excited.”
“Really?”
His smile was melting my heart because the warmth I felt in my chest was unbelievable.
“Thank you for doing this, Axel. For opening your home up to me and for caring when honestly, I don’t deserve it.”
He reached across the table and took my hand. “You’re wrong. You deserve much more than you give yourself credit for.”
Except that he didn’t know what I’d done. He didn’t know that my past didn’t justify any merit.
From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw someone heading our way, and while at first I thought it was a waitress, the body build was way off. A young man, bearing similar tattoos to Axel’s on his left arm, sat down beside him. The resemblance was unmistakable.
“This is my brother, Ace, and here’s his number.” He passed me a card. “If you need anything, if you see Brad or even get a whiff of him, call Ace.”
“Thank you, Axel. For everything. I should get back to work now.” I stood up.
“Trish?” He looked at me from below his heavy lashes, wiggling his finger for me to come closer. I did, and then Axel leaned in and kissed me, sensually, right in front of his brother.
“Hurry back,” I whispered.
I spun on my heel, feeling my heart race at top speed. For the first time since I’d met Axel, I began wondering whether our relationship could last longer, even after Brad had been caught.
Chapter 9
Living with Beth and Trevor was like hanging out in a funhouse full of love. I mean, who else could make you feel more welcome than a loving grandmother and an innocent five-year-old? After three days, we had a routine. Beth would get Trevor ready for pre-school in the morning, we’d have breakfast together, I’d go to work, and then come back home. We’d played all of Trevor’s favorite games, including hide and seek in the backyard, while pretending to be dinosaurs. We’d built a tent underneath the dining room table, performed fights with first his stuffed dinosaurs, then his plastic ones, and finally the robotic ones he’d received last Christmas.
This little boy was stealing my heart like a professional burglar. Axel skyped with us everyday. Watching him interact with his son was stirring up all kinds of emotions inside me I couldn’t quite comprehend. I missed my old friends, my parents, and most of all my sister. While they’d all opened their hearts to me to return home, I couldn’t – because one of them wouldn’t be there to welcome me back, and it was my fault.
Each time I looked at Trevor and Axel together, I asked myself the thousands of what if questions. They forced me to think about the future and whether it would include them, because the more I became involved with this family, the more I couldn’t imagine not being in their life. And that wasn’t even it. There was a special connection I felt with both Trevor and Axel; a bond that I couldn’t explain or understand. It was as if I’d come into their life by some miraculous force, because they needed me and I needed them.
“Trish, do you mind if I go home for the night? Frank hasn’t been feeling well, and I’d like to keep my eye on him. Ms. Avery will be in the guesthouse, and if you need anything we don’t live far away. I’d be back in the morning.”
“That would be fine. What do you think, Trevor? Can you pull an all-nighter with me?” I winked at him.
“What’s an all-nightew?”
“Maybe one day I’ll get to show you, honey. Say goodnight to grandma, and we’ll get you in your PJs.”
They hugged and kissed before we went upstairs and began our evening routine of brushing teeth and swooshing all the goodness in this world into the room with our arms, the way I’d seen Axel and Beth do before bed. They made a spectacle of waving their arms around, pretending to push the stars and rainbows and flowers and family and love all into Trevor’s room. I tucked him in, kissed him on his head, and held him a bit longer than usual; but he felt so good in my arms, it was difficult to let go.
“You smell like Mommy,” he said out of nowhere.
“How did your mommy smell?”
“Sweet.” He smiled. “I was little when she went to heaven. Daddy says I couldn’t walk yet. But she was as wawm as you and I wemembew hew heawt going pom-pom like youws.” He put his head closer to my chest, listening to the beating of my heart and smiling.
“You must miss her a lot,” I whispered, feeling a lump form in my throat.
“I do, but she’s watching us fwom thewe.” He pointed to the window, up to the sky.
If she was watching, I hoped I wasn’t disappointing her with how I’d been taking care of her son. I hoped I could give him a fraction of the love he’d miss his entire life by not having a mother. Thinking about it now, I missed my own so much.
“Twish, awe you going to be my new mommy?”
I stilled at the unexpected question. What was I supposed to say? I barely knew Axel, and while it had been three weeks since I’d first run into him, and it didn’t seem nearly long enough to make plans about the future, somehow I wanted the answer to be yes. I wanted to tell Trevor I’d be with them to watch him grow, put Band-Aids on his scraped knees, give him high fives for aced tests, and see him finish school, find a special girl then get married. I wished I could tell him that maybe we’d get him a sister or a brother. All these feelings were swelling inside me, and I didn’t know where they were coming from nor how to deal with them.
“Twish?” He nudged me.
“I… I don’t know, Trevor. I love you very much, and if you’d like and if your daddy would like it as well, I’d like to stay with you for as long as possible.”
“I’d like that vewy much, because… because you feel like my mommy too.” He snuggled in closer, curling his little body to me. I wrapped my arms around him, spooning him and kissing the back of his head.
“Twish, will you stay with me all night?”
“Yes, honey. I will.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Trevor.”
I did love him. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of his innocence or the connection I’d felt to this boy since the day I met him, but I loved him as if he were my own.
It was a few hours later that I woke up to hear Trevor crying. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes.
“Baby, what’s the matter? Come here.” I turned on the night lamp and reached for him. “Did you have another nightmare?”
He nodded.
“Was the T-rex chasing you again?”
Trevor sobbed a weak yes.
“Well, did you show him your teeth?”
“I did, but he wasn’t scawed.”
“What about your claw?”
“He pulled out his claw and it was biggew.”
“You know what, honey. I have another trick I never told you about. It’s a camouflage blanket. Tomorrow after work, I’ll go get it from my apartment and you can have it. It’s very special because it’s kept me safe from a bad man and it led me to your father, so it’s definitely a good luck charm. We can cover you up and you can hide from the dinosaur. It will make you invisible. Would you like that?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay, now can you close your eyes for me?” He nodded, snuggling back into my body.
“Will you stay with me?”
“I won’t leave. I promise.” I hugged him tightly, securing his body in my arms, radiating calmness from me to him. This moment felt more right than any other did. His head was on my chest as he listened to the beating of my heart. I saw his eyes slowly close as he drifted off with a smile on his face. I wanted to be there and protect Trevor from all his nightmares, from future troubles, bullies, and broken hearts. It felt surreal.
When he woke up in the morning, he didn’t remember getting up at night. When Beth arrived, we said our goodbyes, and I told him I’d have a surprise for him after work.
The day was overcast and the first of the many that I was grateful I didn’t have to take the bus to get to work; instead, Axel’s luxury limo was waiting for me at the front door, as it had been every day.
Working for Olivier was a blessing as well. I thought I’d get star struck, but I never did. In fact, Olivier praised me for my professionalism and hard work — which honestly wasn’t that difficult at all. After the first two days, I had memorized the menu. I made sure to come in before my shift to go over the specialties for the day, put on the uniform, and familiarize myself with the reservations and any clients’ specific needs or preferences. One of the waitresses had called in sick that day, so we all divided her work area among ourselves. By the time the afternoon break rolled around, I realized I’d missed lunch.
My phone buzzed. “Hello?”
“How is my favorite waitress doing?”
“Axel? Hi! It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“It sounds like you’re having one of those days.”
“How did you know?”
“Need a break?”
“Yeah, I was about to go on one.”
“Do me a favor?” He didn’t wait for me to reply. “Step outside and get in the limo. Don’t ask any questions.”
“Why?”
“Because I need some time alone with you.”
“What time is it over there?”
“I’m six hours ahead of you. It’s nine in the evening, and I’m wishing you were with me at this hotel.” His voice deepened with need. “Beds this big aren’t meant for one person. I keep searching for you with my hand at night, and you’re not there.”
Swoon! My heart was doing that funny dance again, inadvertently lifting the corners of my mouth.
I entered the limo and closed the door. The partition between the driver and me was up.
“Okay, I’m in the limo. Now what?”
“What are you wearing?”
“Am I going somewhere? Because it’s a busy work day.” Knowing Axel, he could have arranged a day off for me with Olivier and not told me. “Should I have changed?”
“No, Trish. Just tell me what you’re wearing. And then touch yourself.”
