by L. B. Reyes
This time, I laughed louder, nearly spitting the water out. The man was confident. “It’s good to believe in yourself.”
He shrugged, clearly amused at my reaction. “Do you believe in yourself, Hannah?”
I raised an eyebrow. Something told me this was going to end up being a dare, and whatever it was, I was ready.
“Do you think you can handle the next hour or so on your own?” A smug grin crept on to his face, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “Hm, if you do take on the hour without incident, I’ll take a shift of yours whenever you need for the next four months.”
I extended my hand to him to seal the deal.
“A deal is a deal,” I said with a smile.
The day hadn’t been half as bad I thought it would be. It was in no way easy, but everyone was nice, and all the co-workers were incredibly supportive. It wasn’t until a few hours before that I realized that everyone working there was trying to get back on their feet.
Derek had taken it upon himself to hire people with different types of problems; some of them were recovering addicts or former inmates, some of them were former homeless people, and some of them were even the kids Evie had counseled for the past couple of years. They were all a great big family and cared for each other very much.
They’d taken me in without hesitation.
They didn’t ask why I worked there. They simply said I was welcome to the family, and it meant more than I could explain. As strange as the circumstances were, I could say and mean every single word when I said that this was the place where I was meant to be. I had no doubt about it even though things were weird between Derek and me.
“I think it’s enough with the talking.”
I jumped back, too stunned, and far too shocked, when I crashed into a hard chest.
“Hannah.”
A very unhappy and impatient Derek uttered my name with annoyance, and I turned around hoping he would see some humor in the situation.
He didn’t.
Derek was dead serious. I swallowed, mesmerized by green eyes so intense they took my breath away. I still wasn’t used to seeing him, still awestruck every time I was close to him.
“Do you really think joking around on your first day is a good idea? You’ve got a lot to learn.”
“We’re only taking a break,” Blake said with a confused expression. It was clear Derek wasn’t one to usually be mad.
Derek pressed his lips together, his eyebrow raised in disapproval. “Why don’t you give me a moment alone with Hannah, hm?”
Blake appeared to want to say something, but I glanced at him, silently pleading that he didn’t make things worse. He nodded and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Derek and me alone.
“Come on,” I groaned, rolling my eyes in annoyance. “You can’t possibly tell me you’re this serious all the time.” I should have stopped at that, should have kept my mouth shut, but part of me wanted him to react. I wanted him to hate me, to love me, anything. “Or are you only a prick when I’m around?”
Derek glared. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying you can’t stand having me around.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You hired me. I didn’t force you to. Now we can either get along for this job or because we have Evie in common, but I refuse to keep walking on glass when I’m around you, Derek. We’re both adults. We can behave as such.”
“Then do the adult thing and don’t flirt on the job, hm?”
Incredulous, I turned around and walked off to the dining area. How he’d dared accused me of doing that infuriated me. Besides, even if I had flirted, Derek had absolutely no reason to care. We had ended things years ago.
“You survived.” Blake stood next to me. “I don’t know what’s up with him. Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” I replied. “What side are we splitting?”
“You take that table over there and we’ll go from there.”
Determined, I straightened my shoulders, ready to wait on my first table by myself. I plastered the realest fake smile on my face and thought exactly about what I would say. I was going to win over the hearts of all customers so that I could show everyone that I could do it, that I was going to be the best because I was trying.
I approached the table with confidence, ready to conquer.
Or so I thought.
My face drained of all color when I saw who sat there. And when he turned with a smug grin, all my confidence disappeared.
“Well, well, well…how the mighty have fallen.”
I had done a lot of things, hurt a lot of people. But never did I think I would have to serve one of them. The problem with having run a marketing company before was that everyone knew me.
I forgot what I had to say, my hands trembling with nerves.
Working here had been a bad idea, after all.
“Aren’t you going to ask what I want, Ms. Carson?”
Eugene Calvin smirked, sitting back, clearly enjoying the shock on my face. I’d fucked him over too, though not in the same way. Still, I knew I was in trouble. He’d lost thousands, especially when Evelyn had run the company and I had guaranteed his name wouldn’t be damaged. I’d lied.
I cleared my throat, trying to hide my shame. “I-I can get someone else to help if you want.”
He seemed to think about it, but when he spoke up, I knew my fate was sealed.
“You know what…I think I’m going to enjoy working with you. Why don’t you get that little pen and paper ready and ask me what I want?”
Chapter 8
Hannah
“How’d you get a job with the brother of the sister you fucked over? Seems like a pretty stupid thing to do. Sleeping with him again?”
The embarrassment must have shown clearly on my face. He’d spoken loud enough for others to hear. Everyone’s eyes were on us, and though I tried my best to remain composed, I knew that he wasn’t going to stop. I didn’t want this to mess up what Derek had built so far.
“Do you want to order something?” I asked, trying but failing at keeping my voice steady.
“Oh, don’t shy away, Hannah. You never shied away from anything. Why start now?” My heart beat hard. This couldn’t be happening on my first day. “You must be a good fuck if he’s hired you back again.”
“Eugene,” I hissed after hearing a shocked gasp. “Eugene, please don’t do this. We can settle this outside later.”
“Settle, hm? You cost me thousands. Same for Derek. Then I heard he hired you and I just had to see it for myself. Didn’t think he would be so stupid. Guess I was wrong.”
“I’m not…can we not?”
He stood, reminding me how much fucking taller he was than me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Blake approaching us, his brows furrowed. Eugene’s threatening posture brought back memories of the time he noticed some of the deals were going to fall through when Evie took charge.
Evie had fired people left and right, including him. I had guaranteed he would receive money from a client he’d signed up, but all of that went to hell when I went to prison.
“I can’t believe Derek has such a bitch working for him. Treacherous and a snake, that’s what you are.”
Every one stopped and stared. Blake pulled me to the side, and I saw Lisa rushing towards us while I tried to keep from crying. It was just another cruel reminder of the things I’d done. It seemed like they would never end.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Lisa said sternly.
“Gladly,” Eugene sneered, his cruel gaze fixed on me. “Good luck with that. Quite a mistake you’ve made taking her on. And you, Hannah,” Blake stood in front of me, not allowing him to get close to me, “you have plenty of shit to pay for. Remember that.”
Murmurs filled the restaurant as everyone stared at me. Lisa told me to go back to the office as she tried to control and calm everyone down.
Thankfully, Derek wasn’t in there. I took a breath and let it out slowly, willing the tears to rema
in at bay. I refused to cry over the humiliation. It was my fault, after all; the things I had done were always going to follow me.
But the emotions were overwhelming.
I took a seat on the sofa in the office, placing my face in my hands and closing my eyes. I wanted to disappear. It wasn’t fair to ruin Derek’s life once again. He deserved better—always had—and I’d taken that way from him once. I wouldn’t do it again.
The door to the office burst open, and my head snapped up only to find a completely livid Derek. Lisa walked in behind him, clearly concerned with what he may do.
“I need a word with Hannah.”
Lisa shook her head. “I said I’d handled it, Derek. Besides it’s not her fault, he was—”
“I said I need a word with Hannah alone.”
Lisa shot me an apologetic look before walking out and closing the door behind her. Derek didn’t bother sitting. He simply stared at me for a few seconds before he began pacing.
“Tell me exactly what the hell happened.”
My lips parted, but no words came out. Derek stopped, glaring at me.
“I knew it wasn’t a good idea to take you on.” Unable to look at him anymore, I turned away. His words stung more than I thought possible. “There was no way no one would recognize you here.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, wishing the earth would open and swallow me. Yes, what Eugene said was cruel, but Derek reminding me was much worse. This was shameful—no—humiliating.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. What happened?”
I couldn’t help it. A tear escaped, a tear that I quickly wiped away in hopes that he wouldn’t notice. It failed. His jaw clenched and his throat moved as he swallowed. Briefly, he glanced away, maybe hoping I also wouldn’t notice.
The last time I’d cried in front of him was the time our relationship ended. My mind traveled quickly to that memory while struggling with the immense regret I had felt when I had seen the pained look in his eyes. My hand ached to caress his face, erase whatever he felt, but I couldn’t. There was no way he would ever let me.
Once upon a time, he’d loved my hand on his face; he’d said it brought him comfort. He’d loved my smile, said it brought him peace. Now, however, being around me only hurt him. It was stupid to even be there.
Finally, I cleared my throat. Trying to keep my voice even, I spoke up.
“I was going to wait on the table, but then he saw me and he brought up…things I’d done.” I paused, paying close attention to Derek’s reaction. When I got nothing more than an impassive glare, I continued. “I told him if he wanted to discuss anything, we could do that after—”
“Why the fuck would you do that?” Derek interrupted, genuine confusion etched on his face.
I shrugged. “I just didn’t want him to make a scene here. I’ve caused enough trouble as is.”
“What else did he say?”
I refused to tell him. It was embarrassing enough to have Eugene saying that in front of everyone there; I wasn’t about to repeat it. It’s not like Derek would care anyway.
“Hannah, tell me what else he said.”
“Does it matter?”
Impatient, Derek took a couple of steps forward until he stood directly in front of me. Mesmerizing green eyes stared back at me with an emotion I couldn’t place, and honestly, I didn’t want to. Part of me hoped that the bit of longing I saw wasn’t just something in my imagination. My heart thudded in my chest at his proximity, more so when I saw his hands ball into fists, as if he was stopping himself from doing something.
Or maybe he was just angry.
“I’ll be the judge of whether it matters or not,” he replied. “Tell me what he said.”
I bit my lip, thinking carefully of how I would word what Eugene had said without it sounding so vulgar. “He said we were probably doing stuff.”
Derek’s gaze darkened. “What stuff?”
“Fucking.”
I blushed again, this time for a different reason. Like a movie, the things we’d done in the past replayed in my mind. His lips on mine, the way his touch had felt, the way he’d always looked at me like I was the only woman in the world.
He seemed to be thinking something as well, because for that moment, Derek was left speechless.
His gaze dropped to my lips, and my breathing hitched. He was thinking the same thing.
“What?” I whispered, wishing he had the courage to say exactly what he thought. Better yet, wishing he would act on it. I didn’t want anything else other than to feel him close to me. A part of me held on to some hope he’d still feel the same way about me as before. “Derek…”
The door flung open, and Derek stepped back immediately, the connection between us lost.
“You can’t get mad at her, she…oh…” Lisa’s eyes widened, understanding what she’d just interrupted. She cursed, sighing before she turned around. “Please, please go back to whatever was going to happen. Act like I wasn’t even here, okay?”
Lisa closed the door once again, rushing out as if there were any way things would be less awkward if she wasn’t there.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble—”
Derek narrowed his eyes and sighed, seemingly frustrated. “Sorry for what, Hannah? You did absolutely nothing wrong here.”
For the second time in the last few minutes, I was shocked. Sensing the flood of thoughts making their way into my mind, Derek ran a hand through his hair, his eyes set on me.
“He attacked you and had no reason to do so, so I don’t see any why you should apologize. I am frustrated because you didn’t defend yourself. You had every right to say something to him.”
I tilted my head to the side, still completely in awe that he wasn’t blaming this on me. “I didn’t want to cause more problems or a scandal. I—”
“I’m not your mother,” Derek spat, his forehead creased.
Ouch.
I physically winced at his statement, though he didn’t mean it in a harmful way. Noticing the impact of his words, Derek softened his gaze, giving me a glimpse of the man I still loved.
“What I mean is I don’t care if there’s a scandal. You have the right to stand up for yourself when someone is offending you. It doesn’t matter if you’re here or somewhere else.” He paused, thoughtfully. “Everyone here knows I help people with a past, and they know good and well I don’t tolerate any sort of disrespect toward my staff. Now, I know what you did in the past, and for the record, a lot of people do. But that doesn’t give them the right to bring it up and humiliate you that way. Had I been there, I wouldn’t have allowed it.”
My lips tilted up ever so slightly. “I’m sure this won’t be the last time I run into someone I know.”
He smirked. “No, it won’t. But know that you can stand up for yourself, Hannah. I won’t mind.”
“So next time I can tell them to fuck off?”
“I’ll be disappointed if you don’t.”
I saw a little light of hope flickering in the distance, a bit of an olive branch being extended to me. It didn’t matter what it was, whether it was pity he felt for me or that he genuinely wanted everyone to believe in themselves. The fact that he cared enough to let me know I had the right to stand up for myself meant everything.
It was an olive branch I’d take and hold onto forever.
Chapter 9
Hannah
A couple of months passed since my release from prison. And to say I was free was an understatement. There was nothing tying me to my old life—I was a new person and thoroughly believed it. While I wanted to make up to Evie for the hell I had put her through, being around Lily was the one thing that kept me going. She made everything enjoyable, and it was obvious why: she was Evie reincarnate.
The little girl had as much energy as her mother when she was her age. She came up with the craziest ideas and had every single person she knew wrapped around her finger. Truth be told, I learned more through her and enjoyed my life more than I ha
d…ever. Every second with her was pure joy.
Nathan and I were now on friendlier terms. Being around him wasn’t as awkward and we could actually hold normal, adult conversations. Carter, Evie, and I ate breakfast every Sunday morning, and for that reason, it was my favorite day of the week. We’d sometimes just eat at a local donut place Evie was fond of and then we’d walk through the park. I was learning at this stage of my life how to enjoy the little things, and I did. Now I knew what mattered.
In the weeks working at the restaurant, I was lucky enough to have befriended Lisa. She was the type of person that kept me grounded and wasn’t afraid to tell me things exactly how she believed them. Most of the time, she kept annoying me with the whole Derek situation, but lately, her attention had shifted to another man.
Blake Miller.
Lisa dropped the whole Derek affair, making it her life’s mission to set me up with Blake. He was attractive, yes, but I wasn’t interested. My focus was getting my life back together and bettering my relationship with everyone.
There was no point in ruining the friendship to try something when neither of us was ready for a relationship. Not only had he been clean for two years, but he was also raising a six-year-old son who came from an unhealthy relationship. I didn’t want to get involved. He was getting his life together also.
Part of me believed she was the one with feelings for him.
And things with Derek…well, they just were. We were civil, but that was about it. We hadn’t had any meaningful conversation since the day Eugene stopped by, and I started growing desperate.
It was uncomfortable to be around him so often and not be able to talk to him or hold a normal conversation. I hoped to change things tonight.
For whatever reason, Lisa left early and other than one other waitress I was training, Derek and I were alone. He thought I didn’t notice, but I could feel his eyes on me every now and then.
