When they returned to their station Dominic was waiting for them. He didn’t look happy.
“Your dumbwaiter is untidy, and we’ve already got the first four covers in,” he told them firmly. “This is not good enough. Summer, you have spilled Parmesan on your skirt. Get in the kitchen and clean it immediately. April, your serving cloths should be neatly folded at all times. Do it now. Then you need to set table twenty-two up for six covers. Your guests are due in five minutes.” He stalked away leaving the girls blushing.
“Get cleaned up quick. I’ll sort this out,” April said hurriedly. She rolled her dark brown eyes heavenward, smiling conspiratorially at her new friend.
Summer rushed into the kitchen, bumping into one of the sous-chefs just by the door.
“I’m so sorry,” she gasped, feeling flustered and embarrassed.
“Slow down,” the guy told her calmly.
She went over to the tap and quickly ran a cloth under it, which she then used to rub her skirt. The cheese smeared across the fabric.
“Oh no!” she cried, feeling her face go even hotter as she began to tremble.
“Calm down.” Heaven was beside her in an instant.
“But I’ve got customers in five minutes and look at this mess.” All her resolve to do well and not get embarrassed tonight had already flown out of the window, and they hadn’t even started service yet!
“Here.” Heaven took a knife and gently scraped the gooey mess from her skirt and then dabbed it down.
“Thank you so much.” Summer felt near to tears.
“Less haste more speed. Don’t let it get to you. Just calm down and you’ll be fine.” Heaven gave her a friendly hug, and Summer took a deep breath before going back to the restaurant.
She noticed April had already seated their guests at table twenty-two, which was now laid for six covers, and she was joking with them as she explained the menu. Feeling totally inadequate, Summer looked over to see Dominic scowling at her from his position across the room. This was going to be a long night.
The service was busy again, as promised, and Summer felt quite tired by the time they had got the last of their guests seated. She forced herself to smile as she chatted with them and served their meals.
“You’ve got two covers coming in five minutes,” Dominic murmured in her ear just as she was serving coffee to her last guests.
She must have looked as annoyed as she felt, because he appeared a little taken aback by her expression. She sighed without thinking. She wanted to say, “Fancy coming this late… Can’t you tell them we’re closed?”
“And lose the attitude,” he whispered through gritted teeth.
Summer felt herself glow red hot again, and she clenched her jaw tightly before she could answer him back. She still hadn’t forgiven him for tearing into them for an untidy station earlier when it was him who had allowed guests in five minutes before service was supposed to start. He had then told her off for having spilled Parmesan, when, in her opinion, the kitchen staff should be preparing cheese. He had told her twice tonight to hurry up when she was waiting for food to be passed over in the kitchen as if it was her fault. Now he was allowing customers in after closing time!
Her mood only got worse when she saw her guests arrive. Brad Dexter looked dashing in a smart tuxedo, and his date wore a gorgeous low-cut red dress that showed off her slim figure beautifully. Summer felt a thud in her gut. She hadn’t managed to apologize to Brad yet for not joining him in the Bottom Bar last night, and now here he was already with someone else. Not that she had actually considered their arrangement last night to be a real date as such, but she felt this was rubbing her nose in it a little.
“I’m sorry about…” she began as she handed him the menu.
“What’s the soup?” He cut her off as though she hadn’t spoken.
“Um…minestrone. Look, about…”
“And the vegetables?” He still hadn’t taken his eyes off the menu, let alone acknowledged her.
Summer felt anger burn in the pit of her stomach, and she gritted her teeth. April must have noticed her tense up as she stepped in quickly and went through the menu with them.
“Thank you, April.” Brad looked up when she had finished and nodded to indicate that he had finished with her services.
“What a prick!” Summer whispered when April joined her at the dumbwaiter.
“Shh.” April put a finger to her lips. “Do you know who he is?”
“Unfortunately, yes. He’s Brad Dexter.” Summer sneered.
“That’s right. Son of Roland Dexter, the guy who owns this place,” April explained as they polished more cutlery.
Summer gaped. She looked back over at Brad who was sharing a joke with his date. The boss’s son asked her out? As she was gawping at him, Brad turned to face her. He was a very handsome guy, and she could see why he would be pissed at her for not turning up last night. Shit. She could also see that he was in no mood to listen to her explanation or apology though, so she nudged her friend.
“Will you take their order? I don’t think he likes me.”
April chuckled, pulling her order book from her pocket. “Of course. What happened—did you say something about why he’s not married?” The black-haired girl giggled and went to take the order.
Summer finished with the cutlery and tidied up an already tidy cupboard just to keep herself busy.
“Two filet mignon coming up,” she heard April say cheerfully as she took the menus from the guests.
“Did you say filet mignon?” Summer whispered as her friend placed the menus on the shelf of the dumbwaiter. “They’re eight-six.”
April frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. They told me in the kitchen earlier.”
“Damn!” April sighed and took the menus out again. “This is going to go down like a lead balloon.” She went back to the table where Brad was deep in conversation, although Summer got the impression he was just making April wait in order to be awkward.
“I’m really sorry. I’ve just been told that the filet is off the menu. Would you like to choose an alternative?” She handed back the menus.
“No I would not!” Brad’s raised voice caused everyone to turn and stare at him. “If a dish is off the menu shouldn’t that have been explained before the guests made their choice?”
Summer felt herself go hot as she realized that this was her fault. She walked over to the table. “That was my fault, I’m afraid. I forgot to mention it.”
Brad gave her a disgusted look and sneered. “You forgot? You seem to have a very short memory, don’t you?”
“What seems to be the problem here?” Dominic’s calm but firm voice broke in, and Summer felt herself go even hotter.
“You seem to be hiring some very incompetent staff these days, Ray,” Brad told him disparagingly.
Summer felt her knuckles tense, and she was ready to deck the smarmy bastard right then and there.
Dominic looked questioningly at Summer, who was seething.
“It was just a mistake, sir. Summer forgot to mention that the filet mignon was eight-six before the guests ordered. I didn’t realize and took the order,” April explained in a sweet voice.
Dominic stared at Summer. “Who told you the filet was eight-six?”
Summer felt a thud in her stomach. Something wasn’t right here. “Th-the exp… Oh no!” She put her hands to her mouth as she suddenly remembered that this was a message she had been given last night, not tonight.
Dominic was still gaping at her questioningly.
“I’m so sorry. I got muddled up with last night. The filet was off yesterday, not today. I made a mistake.” Summer felt physically sick now.
Dominic swiftly took the menus from the guests. “So there isn’t a problem. April, get the order to the kitchen right away. Tell them we want it on the fly.”
“Yes, sir.” April threw Summer a sympathetic look and scurried off.
“Sorry about that,” Dominic told Bra
d and the woman, with a smile that Summer guessed wasn’t real.
She opened her mouth to apologize again, but Dominic threw her a look that made her reconsider. He handed her the menus and stalked off. Summer placed the menus neatly on the shelf and, keeping her back to the table, busied herself with tidying up the cutlery again. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room boring into her, and she made a conscious effort not to look at anyone. Her heart was pounding, and she felt hot and flushed. She fought back embarrassed tears as she forced herself to keep busy.
“Don’t you have a wine list to offer us?” Brad’s sarcasm ripped into her thoughts, and she turned around quickly. She had completely forgotten to offer them drinks! He and his date sat staring derisively at her.
“Of course.” She carefully took the lists and offered them over.
“What would you recommend?” Brad asked without even opening the drinks menu. “It’s to accompany filet mignon. Or at least we hope it is!” The woman in the red dress giggled, and Brad sneered.
Summer took a deep breath as her ire inched up yet another notch. “Châteauneuf-du-Pape would be perfect,” she informed him without studying the wine list.
Brad raised his eyebrows in obvious surprise. “Good choice,” he murmured. “All right, we’ll have a bottle.”
“Thank you.” Summer gave them her sickliest smile and retrieved the menus just as April arrived with their appetizers.
“Everything OK?” The dark-haired girl asked as she joined Summer back at the dumbwaiter.
“Yeah. I just have to get the wine,” Summer said with a sigh.
“Right.” April smiled as Summer rolled her eyes and went to the bar.
“Châteauneuf-du-Pape?” The bartender looked impressed. “Well done. Even Darren, the sommelier, doesn’t sell much of that—when he can be bothered to turn up for work, that is.”
Summer was trembling so much that she was afraid she would spill the wine all over Brad, so she busied herself with the food while the barman served their drinks. Fortunately they didn’t stay around for desserts, and as Dominic had dismissed the rest of the staff once they had all finished serving, Summer and April were allowed to go without even laying the table afterward.
“I’m so sorry about tonight,” Summer said as April quickly changed.
“Don’t worry about it. Nobody died.” Her friend grinned.
“Brad fucking Dexter nearly did!” Summer told her. “I was ready to kill him with my own bare hands. I mean, it’s one thing to make a mistake, but does he have to be so damn rude?”
“Don’t let it worry you.” April laughed “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“If I’ve still got a job by then.” Summer waved gloomily as her friend disappeared out the door.
Alone in the quiet changing room, Summer took a deep breath as she changed into her jeans. With just her thoughts for company she felt herself sink into a state of depression, and she found tears streaming down her hot face. What a night.
She was beginning to think that Colin Cromer, her ex, was completely right about her being useless. She couldn’t get anything right.
She sniffed and found a tissue in her purse, which she put to good use, before deciding that she had made one big mistake in coming here. She had hoped that getting a decent job in a nice part of the city would be a new start for her, and a great disguise. No one would think of looking for her here. But now she realized this was because she really didn’t belong here. She was way out of her depth.
She quickly popped into the bathroom and washed her face before grabbing her purse and heading back toward the elevator.
As it was well past midnight and most of the staff had gone home, Summer was surprised to hear shouting coming from the corridor near the elevator.
“Well, it looks like you need to start looking for a new maître d’ then.” Dominic’s steady voice stopped Summer in her tracks.
She turned away from the elevator and followed the sound of voices, stopping in the corridor a few doors from where they were coming from.
“Bullshit!” Dominic was clearly angry, but his raised voice was still precise and coherent.
Summer felt her stomach lurch as she feared he was losing his job because of her incompetence. Tears started streaming down her face again, and she felt sick.
“Should you be listening to this?” A deep voice came from behind her, and she shot around to see the blurry face of a rather tall man who had collar-length dark wavy hair and stubble on his chin. He wore a smart gray suit. She blinked as she gazed into his handsome face and noticed his large, warm brown eyes. It was that guy again—the one from the foyer and the restaurant.
“We just seem to keep running into one another,” she sobbed.
“Hey. Are you all right?” He put a comforting arm around her.
She shook her head and snuggled into his embrace as he led her into a nearby office. “It’s all my fault,” she whispered as he handed her a tissue from a box on the desk.
“I doubt that very much.” He chuckled. “Now why don’t you dry your eyes and tell me what this is all about?” They sat side by side on a small sofa at the back of the room while she composed herself. His large, warm hand covered one of hers while she wiped her face with the other.
“I think Dominic is losing his job because of me. He hired me yesterday, and I embarrassed him in the restaurant by telling him that I thought he wasn’t married because he was so scary—which he is—well, you saw what happened, and then tonight I got it all wrong in front of the boss’s son. I think he’s in there getting fired right now.” She wiped her face and looked up into two twinkling eyes.
“This is Dominic Ray, right? Master D? The maître d’ from the restaurant?” His lips were slightly turned up at the edges, but Summer couldn’t see anything to smile about.
She nodded. “Yes. He’s my boss. Or he was. I thought he was going to fire me last night and then again tonight. Only it looks like he’s the one being fired. It’s all my fault.”
“Is that why you were listening to their conversation in the corridor?” His face was kind, but also firm, and she felt herself flush with embarrassment.
She shook her head. “I was coming to find him to resign. I’m not cut out for working here. Only, I heard him shouting and when I got here…”
“I see.” His voice was low and deep and oozed confidence. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think we should talk to Master D, er, I mean Dominic about this.”
Summer stared up at him, wide-eyed. “He’ll hate me. I’ve done nothing but cause trouble since I got here.”
He snickered. “I’m sure that’s not true.”
She wished she shared his conviction but said nothing.
“Come on,” he said, standing up and pulling her with him. “Let’s get this sorted.”
Summer gazed up at the gorgeous hunk. He was a little more rugged than Dominic, and she felt a little easier in his company. He was quite a commanding character, but he had an air of fairness about him that she admired. Her hand was still in his as he led her out of the room, and they stopped in front of the managing director’s office just as the door opened.
“Hey Nathan. What are you doing here? And what in hell is she doing here?” Brad’s face contorted as he caught sight of Summer, and she felt herself shrink back nervously.
“Resigning, I think,” the guy, who was evidently called Nathan, replied matter-of-factly.
“Is that right?” She heard Dominic’s voice in the background and wished she’d just gone home after all. He didn’t sound happy.
The door opened wider, and Brad took a step back to allow them to enter the room.
“Good evening, gentlemen. I’m sorry to intrude. I found this upset young lady in the corridor, and I thought she should come speak with you.” Nathan shook hands with Dominic and Brad as the other guy, an older man with gray hair and glasses, stood up from behind the large desk. He leaned over and shook hands with Nathan before indicating to them all
to sit down.
“Mr. Dexter, this is Summer Marsden,” Dominic introduced her, and she saw a knowing look cross the older man’s face as she shook his large, warm hand.
“So you’re Summer. It’s nice to meet you,” he said with a grin.
Summer flushed and took a seat in between Nathan and Dominic.
“I think you should join us for this, Brad,” his father told him as he paced the floor near the doorway, evidently deciding whether to stay after all.
Brad looked like a petulant child as his father stared at him, waiting expectantly. Finally he took a seat the other side of Dominic.
“Well, young lady. Welcome to Collar and Cuffs,” the older man said, tearing his eyes from his son and settling them on her.
She swallowed hard.
“I hear you’ve been settling in quite well. Even got my son to part with his cash for a bottle of our best Châteauneuf-du-Pape this evening.” He chuckled.
Summer shifted a little uneasily in her chair but didn’t speak.
“Yeah, after botching up my steak order!” Brad sneered.
“She did not botch anything up. She made an honest mistake because she was tired and nervous, that’s all,” Dominic corrected him through gritted teeth.
Summer stared at her boss in astonishment, but Dominic’s straight, calm face was pointed toward the MD.
“Well, I’m not surprised she was nervous. It was only her second night, after all,” Mr. Dexter said kindly.
Summer smiled gratefully.
“It was nothing to do with that,” Dominic interjected. “She was nervous because your son made her feel nervous.” He was still staring straight ahead.
“Oh yeah, and how did I manage that? I hardly spoke to her,” Brad jeered.
“Exactly my point,” Dominic replied coolly. “You broke club rules last night by asking a newcomer to join you for a drink in the Bottom Bar, and when she wasn’t allowed to attend, you refused to allow her to explain or apologize. You did all you could to make her feel uncomfortable tonight. That is not how we treat submissives in this club, and you know it. You were completely out of order.” This time Dominic turned to face Brad, whose face went bright red.
Waiting on Summer Page 3