by K. J. Dahlen
He’s the reason I’m sitting in the Black Bar. The reason I’m watching him like a hawk. From the moment I rented my overpriced room outside the city, I had to figure out how to get close to him. To make him pay for what he did to my family.
My plan had been simple at first. Get some money, come here and destroy him. I’ll make sure he pays for what he’s done to my family. But I found out that rent prices are great online, but in reality, if I wanted a decent place to stay I’d have to pay a lot more.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t look where I’m going. There’s been more than one man attempt to touch my ass or even worse, my breasts, but I’ve avoided them. Without looking and avoiding the creeps that have been trying to buy me a drink in exchange for a night, I hop off my bar stool and—
Smash.
My soda drops to the floor, and I bump into a girl who drops to the floor. I didn’t realize my actions would lead to something magical. Something that would make coming to the bar worth every penny from the dress to the overpriced soda and I was just about to find out what it was and I’ll know my trip to New York had been far from in vain.
2
Marco
One Week Later
I’ve been coming into the same diner for the last few months and I’ve never seen such a sweet gem in here until now. I’m the type of guy that loves a forbidden fruit, one who’s clearly not been touched and I can tell she’s one of them. I never used to have such a craving, I used to only want women that were established, successful and knew what they wanted in and out of the bedroom.
I soon changed my mind when I found that one perfect woman. The ideal one for me, became my wife. Not only did she know what she wanted, but she did whatever I wanted in the bedroom and fulfilled all my needs. Or so I thought until I put the ring on her finger and discovered that what she appeared to be on the outside was completely different from the inside.
I used to come and visit my new business venture only once per week. As soon as I sit down in my usual spot that I’ve been occupying for the last few months, I change my mind and start making my way to another booth, when I see the waitress’s long legs stride my way.
Even if she’s in a hurry, she has a way about her that makes her flawless. As if nothing’s going to stop her from doing what she needs to do in a way that’ll make you think she did it with such little effort.
I found out her real name the other day. Just her first name, Leah and I find myself getting obsessed with her and I’ve been trying to find out more. It’s as if she is a ghost, there are a few details about her, but everyone has a past. Especially someone like her. Why such a beauty is just working in a diner is beyond my comprehension. It seems as if she’s a ghost as I’ve had my PI follow her a couple of times and all he knows is that fake ID badge attached to her apron saying, Dana is a front. Her real name is Leah and she doesn’t want people to know her real name, that sparked my interest and I want to know the reason why. Women only do that when they’re on the run. She’s trying to hide from something, or someone and the question is what, who?
She lives with the daughter of the owners of the diner. It seems that she’s paid in cash and doesn’t use a card to pay for anything, which is even stranger in this day and age. I stay clear of women I can’t keep an eye on because they tend to be the ones that are so unpredictable.
Fuck!
What the hell am I doing? This is supposed to be all fun and fucking games, yet I’m thinking about it too much as the next picture in my mind is if there’s too much thinking and judging involved that it takes away all the fun. I should walk away from this situation instead of indulging in it. Things like this always get me in trouble and then problems begin.
I have enough of that with the casino, the one my dad gave to me as a gift once I walked away from my family. Death was something I’d been living in for so long. My family was immune to it until someone close died; that was when we started to grieve. We didn’t care who was killed as a result of it.
The last time it happened, the person killed was my wife. That was three years ago, but it still hurts as if it was only yesterday. I walked away and became a legitimate businessman with a conscience. I helped a couple of people that I felt helped solve the mystery behind why my wife was killed, all the time I thought it was to get to my dad. I never knew I’d become a monster. One that my wife was trying to get away from and I vowed never to go down that road again.
I stand up before she has a chance to come to my table. For a split second, I think she looks saddened by not giving her the chance to serve me. I’m not in the mood as memories of my wife flood my mind. I don’t know what’s upsetting me more, the idea that she was going to leave me. Or the fact that she never got the chance, because they killed her before she even had the chance. She asked the wrong people to help her out. She thought they were her friends, she never knew that in this business there is no such thing. Everyone was just in it for themselves and that even included my old man.
They carried the family name as if it was something to be proud of, but the only symbol it portrayed was blood, after all the lives it’d claimed like it had a given right to take without warning.
She holds the door for a second; I didn’t see her moving so fast. I smile at her as I wonder if maybe I should make my move today. The problem is I’m not sure yet. She could be part of my old life. A trap set-up by old enemies. Until I know for sure, then I’ll either ask her out as a matter of courtesy before I claim her for my own. Or I’ll never come back here again.
I nod my head. “Thanks, Leah.”
She smiles back, and I can almost predict the words that are going to come out of her mouth.
“How did you know my name?” She looks at her badge which displays Dana.
I don’t know if it’s a deliberate mistake. Either way, I want her to know that if she intended to get my attention. She’s caught it. How long she holds it, is a completely different question.
3
Leah
It’s as if I wanted to go after him; he knew my name. How the hell did he know my name? I’d been so careful to make sure Olivia gave me a badge with a different name when I told her I didn’t want the customers knowing my real name. She laughed at the idea of it; she thought it was all part of some game. It seemed like a good idea at the time when I moved down here, but after trying to drum up every penny to even get the ID, I soon realized that maybe it wasn’t a good idea. I knew someone like Marco would check up on me.
He would only do that if he were interested, there would be no other reason for him to do it. Which meant my plan was working, yet he left without me serving him, and it bugs me why.
Does a man like him have a conscience?
I shake my head about maybe scaring Marco away with the way I was acting only yesterday.
Desperate.
Shocked by his revelation about knowing my name, I dismiss the idea of scaring him away for a split second, but then a wave of panic enters my mind as I drop a plate, “Crap!”
I look at the time. I heard the clock chime above the counter and he hasn’t come back today.
Where’s Marco?
He always comes in at two. He used to come in on Tuesday’s only. The same time. The same table, but lately he’s been coming in both Monday and Tuesday, always at the same time. He left the other day and hasn’t been back in since. He didn’t even wait for me to serve him. It’s Friday afternoon, and I’m worried that he’s not going to come back again this week. I don’t think that I can bear the idea of working here any longer and not going ahead with my plan.
Now, he’s not here. I don’t know if the last few weeks of serving him and giving him an extra slice of apple pie may have chased him away. I’ve been biding my time, but maybe he doesn’t like women talking to him. He only likes to take, but not receive anything from anyone including a blonde waitress in a diner.
“Leah you okay?” Olivia’s blue-eyes shine as she looks at me.
She
’s worried about me, I know that she is, but I can’t help it. I’ve got too much on my mind, and it starts and ends with Marco Raco.
“Sure. I just thought I picked up the plate, and then the clock scared me…” I’m rambling as I talk to my roommate and explain my actions when what I should be doing is cleaning up the steak and fries that I just dropped on the floor. I stand frozen in time as I focus on the door wondering if he’s coming in or not?
Shoot!
The other day, he came in and walked out again, I should have done something to stop him. Anything, maybe give him an extra pie again. I should have diverted my attention to him the moment he walked through the door. That must have been it. One minute I was treating him as if he was my favorite client and the next as if he wasn’t important. I’d heard it so many times in the diner. The only way to get a man’s attention was to make sure that he thought he was important 24/7. Men whined about their lack of attention from their wives, and the women moaned about the men always wanting attention.
“Leah?”
I blink my eyes and see Olivia on the floor picking up the plate that I dropped, and she’s looking up as if she’s waiting for me to do something. But, I’m so confused. I put on more rouge than I usually do every single day that I work in the diner. Apart from the days that I know Marco will come in. He’s the reason I’m working here. I didn’t expect to make a friend. I knew it would cause a complication and blow my cover. Not only did I make a friend for the first time in forever. I’m treated like a second daughter by the owners. Who just happen to be Olivia’s parents. I just wanted to get close to him. He’s the reason I work every day, waiting for him to make his move.
Cheryl shouts from the counter, “Leah why not take a break?”
“No!”
I turn to face Cheryl, Olivia’s mom. Her expression turns from a smile to a frown.
“Well, get the brush and help me clean it up. I’ve got tables to serve,” Olivia says as if she’s losing patience with me.
I don’t blame her. I blink my eyes expecting the faces in the diner to change. They stay the same. Like a robot, I get the brush and start helping her clean the mess. I don’t even apologize to the customers near me. I just want to see him. I even spent a little more time than usual having a shower, and I bought an expensive perfume. Just to get noticed and I wonder if it was all in vain.
Why isn’t he here yet?
The diner has a seventies theme going on, Cheryl thought that by making her diner have a unique look that customers would flood in. There’s a lot of coffee shops and they all compete by selling different types of coffee. Cheryl didn’t want to do that; she’s been running the business before I was born and has stuck to the themes of the seventies.
“Sorry!”
I find myself speechless as I start cleaning up and trying to act normal. The friendly gal who always has a smile on her face.
Olivia smiles back at me as we get back to our station.
“Cheryl, I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier.”
She fingers her peroxide hair with her chubby fingers. “Well, you have been working too many shifts lately. I even thought that maybe they doubled your rent or something?”
I shake my head. “No, it’s just that I want to send money back home. My mom’s sick.”
Crap, another lie. They seem to be flowing from my mouth like water these days. I came to the city three months ago on a personal mission. Cheryl and Olivia never featured in my plans. I never thought I’d make a friend who turned into my roommate and I never thought I’d end up working for her parents.
“Oh no. Olivia never told me.”
I sigh. “I haven’t even had the chance to tell her yet. I just found out last night, and she was on a date with Trevor.”
There’s an awkward silence, and I know what’s going to happen next. Cheryl’s going to ask me what’s wrong with Mom and I can’t answer. Too many lies. This is not in my nature. I’m upfront and tell people exactly what I’m feeling all the time. I’ve been here for three months, and it’s just been one lie after another all because of one man.
I hate him even more for making me lie to everyone that cares about me. Cheryl and Olivia have taken me in as if I’m a part of their family, but I know that one day I’ll have to leave. For now, I’m still working on my plan, and at times it feels as clear as day. At other times, it’s so foggy as if I’m way out of my comfort zone and there’s no turning back.
“Can I have another steak and chips for table seven? The one that I just dropped.”
She nods her head as if she’s been brought back from her sorrow. The thing that’s probably running through her mind, she wants to offer me money or even worse time off to visit my sick mom.
The lie I just told and regretted in a heartbeat.
“Sure!” She turns and tells Fred to stop what he’s doing and get the order ready again.
I make a quick dash to table seven and tell the widower who comes in every Friday. The same thing he used to do when his wife was alive, that I’ll be a little while longer with his order.
“It’s okay Leah, I saw you drop it. I know you work too hard. Maybe one Friday I’ll come in here, and you’ll have the day off.”
He smiles at me, and I want to tell him that I’ll never take the day off on a Friday especially seeing, as that’s one of the two days when Marco comes into the diner.
“Maybe?” I wink at him and then I start darting around the diner, trying to distract myself from the time and the fact that Marco still hasn’t turned up.
It’s not long before Cheryl calls me for my order and I put my notepad in my back pocket and get back to work.
I don’t know how long I’m cleaning tables or planting the smile on my face, but the day seems to drag on, and I give up wondering if giving Marco the extra slice of pie last week was a mistake? Maybe he thought that I was coming on to him and it made him want to steer clear of here. I need to leave the place that I’ve known as home and try and find another angle. A different way to get near to the man who ruined my family and my life. The one I need to see one way or another.
I take a deep breath as Olivia calls me to take a quick break with her. Then I hear the door chime, and as I turn, he walks in this time not in a suit, but black pants and matching shirt. He looks as hot as sin. I have to take a minute to catch my breath between when he walks in and when the door closes behind him.
“Leah you coming?”
I bite my lip as I start heading toward his table, and then I turn to her for a second. “No, I need to serve table six.”
Then I don’t hear what she says after I start making my way. I may not look the picture of perfection as I did earlier in the day. It’s tourist season, and even some of our regulars shy away from coming here during that time. They don’t want to come into the diner this time of year. That’s what Olivia told me when I noticed that some of them stopped coming.
I haven’t worked here longer than three months to assess any of the regulars—only one.
I walk up to him with all the confidence in the world and put on the biggest smile in the world. One that I know he won’t be able to turn down. “Good evening, how can I help you today?”
I’m not going to mention that he’s late or that I’ve even noticed he looks different to the way he normally does.
He seems more relaxed. Refined and he even has a new haircut too. It’s spiky at the top, not as long as he normally wears it. Even his musk has changed and seems a lot stronger than normal.
He takes off his sunglasses, looks up at me. “I wouldn’t mind another slice of that apple pie, like the one you served me on Monday.”
He was paying attention, and that means I’m getting to him. Just the same way he got to me, the moment I found out his name.
4
Marco
I take a deep breath as I go back to the diner, the one I used to visit only once a week, and now I’m going there three times in a week, with only one thing on my mind. I c
an’t help myself once I got the green light from my PI, I saw no reason why not to take things to the next level. I’ve been living in the dark for too long. The boys club, the one that I go to play at times is great once in a while, but doesn’t satisfy my needs. I know that Leah can do that. I watch as she walks back to the counter.
Her wide hips and perky breasts are enough to make any man want to eat at the diner. But not the food, just suck on those nipples that seem to be erect every time she comes to my table. I’m sure that it’s not the fucking air-con making them that way, but me.
Fucking Marco Raco!
Who wants a slice of her pie, not the one she insists on serving me whenever I come in here. Then I always sit at the same table so I can watch her swing her ass as she leaves. There’s something about her that’s familiar, and I got my guys to do a check on her. So far. they found nothing that should keep me at bay and I want nothing more than to taste her pussy. I want to know if it’s as sweet as the pie she gave me on Monday.
“Here you go,” she says as she comes back with not only the slice of pie, but a coffee too.
I’m trying to concentrate on the messages flooding my phone today. The shit hit the fan with the deal, and I’m not happy. I don’t even like coming to this side of the city, but I’ve been doing it regularly ever since we tried to take over the building.
I hate fucking construction like the plague. The business does my head in, there’s so much red tape and it fucking drags. Even if the lawyers and everyone else tells me there shouldn’t be an issue. No matter what, there always is with construction. It’s as if it’s a part of the business that’s doomed to fail from the word go.
I’ve spent three months coming here, and I’m not the type of man to fail. Especially when it comes to business.