by Tee, Marian
Thud!
Two pairs of eyes immediately snapped to her direction.
Oh God.
"H-Hi." Kady's voice came out in a squeaky little whisper, the words barely audible even to her ears with how loud and hard her heart was beating.
"Who the hell are you?" the man growled.
And he sounded more like Lex Luthor x Ted Bundy this time, Kady thought with a gulp, rather than gentle and polite like Clark Kent.
Swallowing hard, she tried to get some words out. "I...uh..." But oh dear Lord, the man terrified her so, and in the end Kady could only point at the job ad posting, stammering, "H-hire...w-waitress...me?"
Tiny. Pale. Blonde. Like a toothpick version of his baby sister Lace or a shyer version of Farica. Either way, it was clear to Slade the girl was damn near petrified of him. She was shaking like a leaf, and if he had her speak, he hadn't any doubt the girl would end up stammering again.
So, yeah, petrified.
Petrified.
And when Farica turned to look at him over her shoulder, her wide-eyed expression told Slade that she had come to the same conclusion as he did.
The girl was petrified, just that.
And for both of them, that changed everything.
Farica quickly pasted a smile on her lips just as Slade got rid of his scowl, and throughout this they had also swiftly made their way to the newcomer, both of them intent on not letting this heaven-sent opportunity slip past their fingers.
OMG, finally, Farica was thinking. A girl who wasn't bowled over by Slade's looks!
Let this girl be the fucking last, Slade was thinking at the same time. He had gone through five waitresses in the past three months, and he was getting fucking tired of having to go through the whole recruitment and training process over and over.
"I'm so sorry you had to see us at each other's throats like that," Farica said ever so sweetly even as she determinedly took hold of the other girl's arm, just to make sure the latter wouldn't have any chance of escaping.
"It's mostly my business partner's fault, of course," Slade inserted smoothly as he pulled a chair for the girl he was determined to have working for him.
"Yeah right," Farica muttered.
Ignoring this, Slade flashed a wicked smile the other girl's way, just to see how she'd react. "You believe me, don't you?" The simple banter would've made most women titter and come on to him, but instead the girl was fighting against a visible urge to shrink away.
Perfect.
Farica tried not to roll her eyes at the way her billionaire friend was practically purring in a mixture of satisfaction and fiendish amusement as he continued to question the girl, who was now seated between her and Slade.
What's your name, sweetheart?
K-Kady Abrams.
Do you have your résumé with you?
Y-yes, sir.
Please call me Slade.
S-S-S-S-S-S...
Taking pity at the way the billionaire had Kady near tears, Farica said quickly, "You can call him Mr. Wyndham, too, if it makes you more comfortable."
This had the girl throwing Farica a look of relief, and Slade, seeing this, said silkily, "I won't like it, though."
Kady looked like she was about to cry again, and Farica was torn between exasperation and irritation. Dammit, Slade. She shot him a look that silently demanded an explanation. Couldn't he see how out of sorts Kady was around him?
But when Slade's massive shoulders only moved in a lazy shrug, Farica knew it would be no use arguing the point. The man could be annoyingly mercurial when he wanted to be, and for whatever reason, it seemed as if he had developed a sudden but rather sadistic fondness for their future employee.
Turning back to Kady, Farica explained the rest of the specifications of the job and was surprised when the girl actually accepted her offer of free board and lodging. "Are you sure about that?" she couldn't help asking. "I'm not always here, you know, so there'll be times when it's just going to be you and Slade---"
"Making me sound like some sex-starved maniac won't benefit anyone here." The billionaire shot his business partner a warning look. Do you want this girl to start working for us or not? Because the way Steel's woman was painting him to look like some monstrous perv, the still adorably jittery Kady Abrams might just end up bolting out of their sight and never return.
Shit, Farica thought with a mental wince. Slade was right. If she wanted Kady to work for them, she had to focus on making the girl feel at ease rather than giving her more reasons to run away. She turned to face Kady, intending to apologize, but was instead taken aback when the other girl seemed even more horrified.
"I w-would n-never..." While the other girl's face had completely been without color a minute ago, her tomato-red cheeks now seemed fit to burst in what seemed like shock and mortification. "I'm...me...and Mr. W-Wyndham...never...never..."
It took a while for Slade to make sense of the girl's unique way of speaking, but a smile slowly curved over his lips as understanding eventually dawned. Apparently, this girl thought he was so out of her league it would've been a mortal sin for her to even think he'd look her way.
Farica could feel her confusion growing as she saw the way her friend's blue eyes gleamed at how the girl was fidgeting under his lazy gaze. While Kady's words absolutely made no sense to her, it was as if Slade had not only understood her but whatever those words meant had also caused the billionaire to take immense pleasure from the girl's obvious discomfort.
The man was enjoying himself a little too much, Farica observed uneasily. Hopefully, though, this was just a momentary diversion, and his interest in Kady would eventually wane.
He was Slade Wyndham, after all, and while he played the role of small cafe owner to perfection, it didn't mean anything about him had fundamentally changed. Outside Hartland, Slade was still the cynical, womanizing billionaire that he had always been.
And as far as Farica knew, a girl like Kady had never appealed to him.
Never.
And yet---
Farica tried not to be too conspicuous as she studied Slade, who was now (torturing) talking to Kady again, which of course had the other girl back to squirming. The whole thing almost seemed like a prelude to flirting but...
I'm probably just imagining things, Farica told herself. Right?
Chapter Two
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
* * *
"We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
* * *
OOOOOH...EEEEEH!
On her first day at work, Kady was abruptly roused from her sleep by animal cries blasting from some close but unknown source, and when she heard a boar snorting from somewhere her room, Kady shot up in her bed, her disoriented gaze sweeping her surroundings.
What was happening? Where am I?
Brick walls, a super comfy bed with fluffy white covers, and a window that showed the outline of the wooden hand-carved sign of Redwood Cafe.
Oh.
Right.
But---
♫ A-WEEMA-WEH. A-WEEMA-WEH. ♫
A moment later, she heard a masculine and completely vivid voice roaring from down the hallway. "For fuck's sake, Farica."
The music was suddenly placed on pause, and Farica's laughing voice came in loud and clear. "Rise and shine guys, training starts right after breakfast today. And now, back to regular programming: The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Nylons."
As the still-loud but strangely soothing chants of 'a-weema-weh' resumed in the background, Kady's continuous but somewhat befogged search for the source of Farica's audible antics finally bore fruit: a Dolby surround-sound speaker, mounted on one of the upper corners of her bedroom's walls.
A small-town cafe with its own P.A. system?
This new job just kept getting weirder and weirder...
And thank God for that, Kady thought happily.
She couldn't help humming along, couldn't help s
miling and reminiscing as she made her bed up and rummaged through her clothes, which were already neatly hung inside the antique whitewashed armoire next to the vanity dresser.
Last night had been pretty amazing, with Kady wanting to constantly pinch herself as the two extremely beautiful owners of Redwood Cafe carefully went over the ins and outs of the business, like she was already an integral part of it.
(Almost like you're family.)
Supper (both of her employers had taken pains to explain that supper was for evening and dinner was for midday meals) had even been more peaceful, with Mr. Wyndham having to leave for some meeting.
(Don't forget the part when the boss winked at you on his way out!)
Finally, Farica had taken Kady upstairs, and she had been unable to help gasping in awe at her first glimpse of her bedroom. It had a pink rocking chair next to a small fireplace and its window boasted of magnificent town views of Hartland.
(But isn't the most exciting thing about this was Slade Wyndham sleeping right next door?)
Kady caught her reflection in the vanity mirror and gave herself a good, hard glare. Shut up, Bad Kady. Her sly-as-a-fox inner imp had been on a roll since last night, but it was time to put an end to all those dangerously stupid thoughts.
Eric, who had confessed to liking Kady, had still ended up with another (prettier) girl. That should be lesson enough for her: boys out of her league would always stay out of her league.
By the time Kady finished with her shower, Farica's playlist had already blasted out two other versions of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and it was now *NSync oohing and eeehing in the background as Kady slowly ran her hand over the leathery texture of her brand-new apron. The new chapter of her life officially began now, and while the thought still filled her with trepidation, she simply started chanting more of John Wayne's wise words in her mind as she changed into a shirt and jeans.
A man's got to do what a man's got to do.
Farica was seated by the bar when Kady came down, chatting and laughing with a young couple, who - Kady couldn't help noticing - also happened to be as extremely attractive as the cafe's co-owners. And come to think of it, wasn't the man on horseback she saw yesterday just as good-looking?
Kady tried not to grimace as she considered the possibility of all of Hartland's locals to have somehow descended from Aphrodite.
Seeing that the couple was also wearing the same apron she had on, Kady realized that they were probably the two other employees Farica had told her about last night.
Farica caught sight of Kady hovering at the foot of the steps and waved gaily at the younger girl. "There you are." Seeing Kady's shy look, she said with a smile, "Come here and join us. I promise we don't bite---"
"But I do," Slade purred, standing right behind their newly-hired waitress, and when he started to lower his head as if about to take a chunk off Kady's shoulder---
Farica did her best to smother her laugh as Kady virtually tripped over her own feet in her haste to get away from the billionaire. And Slade being Slade, the conceited oaf didn't even appear the tiniest bit bothered as Kady seemed to dither like a headless little chick, bumping into tables, chairs, and even into their huge-ass-jukebox before finally arriving at the bar, looking dazed and exhausted.
Poor Kady. It just wasn't like Slade to have such fun torturing a girl like this, and Farica was doing her best not to think why it was so.
Slade deliberately avoided Farica's disapproving look as he sauntered forward and took the bar seat that would once again place adorable little Kady between him and his business partner. His proximity had the younger woman practically wilting in her chair, and Slade nearly smirked. A less experienced man could've easily mistaken this as a sign of Kady's secret attraction to him, but Slade had fucked too many women to harbor the same delusions.
Incredulous as it may seem, Kady was immune to him, almost as if the billionaire didn't even register as a man in her eyes.
The realization chafed somewhat, but since he needed her waitressing skills more than he needed her presence in his bed...
Kady tried her best to ignore the way Slade Wyndham seemed all too fond of staring at her as Farica introduced her to the two other members of their team.
"This is Elizabeth, our sous chef---"
The brunette gave her a smile. "Hey there."
"And this is our head cook, Arden---"
"Howdy, ma'am," the other guy greeted her with a grin.
Kady was just about to smile back when it hit her, and her eyes widened.
She was Elizabeth...and he was Arden?
Everyone suddenly burst into laughter, and when Kady blinked in confusion, Elizabeth raised her hand as if admitting to a crime. "You can put the blame on me," the other girl said cheekily. "When he transferred to my high school, and I found out his name was Arden, I kinda thought to myself, wouldn't it be funny cool if I ended up with this guy?"
"And now we live happily ever after," Arden finished mockingly.
Everyone started snickering, and even Kady, despite still feeling shy and not quite a part of their gang yet, found it impossible to hold her smile back. This really was the life, she thought blissfully, and as conversation turned towards cafe matters, Kady was content to simply listen and take everything in, doing her best to learn as much as she could.
As Slade and Arden discussed next week's debut of their fall menu, Farica couldn't help but notice how Kady was studiously following the men's conversation as if determined to mentally store every collected byte of data. She looked every inch the diligent apprentice and nothing at all like her predecessor Penny, who, at her first sight of Slade, had not stopped throwing herself at the billionaire at every opportunity.
Most girls should have been, at the very least, crushing on Slade by now, and even Farica had to grudgingly admit that she herself might not be as immune to her friend if not for long having lost her heart to someone else---
"Oh my God!" The words, followed by Farica's gasp, had everyone turning to her in surprise. "I just figured it out," Farica exclaimed.
Slade regarded his friend dubiously. "If this is going to be another infatuation-fueled commentary on Steel---"
"I'm actually talking about you," Farica retorted.
The billionaire arched a brow at this. "You've figured out something about me?"
"Technically, it's you and Kady---"
All eyes swung towards her, and Kady could feel her cheeks turning red under their scrutiny.
"I've been wondering why she seems to find you as attractive as a toad---"
Slade grimaced while Arden choked and Elizabeth suddenly found her nails a fascinating object to study. Kady, however, was valiantly trying for the impossible as she willed herself to shrink into nothing.
"I mean, it totally makes sense now..." Farica, oblivious to the impact of her words, was still busy mulling her thoughts out loud. "If you consider Elizabeth and me...it just figures." She swung her seat around to face Kady, and eager to find out if her theory held water, she didn't bother gently leading up to the matter and simply blurted her question out. "You're in love with another guy, aren't you?"
Chapter Three
All I Wanna Do
* * *
"Love is not in our choice but in our fate." ~ John Dryden
* * *
"Eric Von Humbug," the billionaire read from the report hand-delivered by one of his Laramie-based messengers.
"Sorry, what's that?" Farica lowered her salad fork in confusion.
"Eric Von Humbug."
She saw her friend's lip curl, and her confusion grew. Maybe she wasn't hearing him right over Sheryl Crow's song playing in the background. "Did you say Eric Von...what?" Because as far as she could remember, the local roaster Leander had referred them to and they had just finished meeting with was named Erwin.
"The idiot Kady dated," Slade drawled as he carved a small slice of his steak and popped it into his mouth.
Farica blinked. "Seriously?" And why wa
s he bringing it up out of the blue?
The billionaire cast another glance at the document he had set aside next to his plate. "Ah, my mistake. It's Von Humboldt, apparently."
She watched her friend take another bite of his steak, acting oh so casual even though it was unlike him at all to talk about a girl - any girl - that wasn't related to him by blood. Oh my God. Farica started laughing. "I never thought I'd see the day---"
"You're not making sense."
Her friend's voice was bland, but she totally wasn't buying it. "Once I tell Lace about how her big brother---"
Slade shot up in his seat. "Do that," he warned, "and I'll tell Steel the truth about---"
Shit.
"You win," she grouched, but a moment later added under her breath, Wimp.
"I heard that."
"I wanted you to." Farica leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms over her chest as she eyed him calculatingly. "This whole thing about Kady finding you ugly has really gotten under your skin, hasn't it?" And this being the same guy who, having once been forced to comfort a bawling Farica, had told her that men like him and Steel didn't really give a damn about the women they fucked.
I don't even bother to remember their names most times, he had continued philosophically, and I'm betting March's the same.
But the words, which the billionaire had clearly seen as some sort of advice, had only made her more miserable.
I don't even get what you're saying, she had wailed at him.
To which the billionaire, wincing at the shrillness of her tone, had responded, I'm saying you should know Steel thinks you're different, since not only does he remember your name, he spends time with you, too, even if he thinks you're off limits.
Slade couldn't help grimacing at the way Farica was suddenly looking at him like she had suddenly turned all-knowing in the last five minutes. "Whatever it is you're thinking," he dismissed, "you're wrong." He took another bite of his steak, thinking that his business partner was fast devolving into one of those stupidly whimsical plots in KC's extremely popular but utterly baffling shoujo manga.