"Kim." Hector appeared at my elbow. "Booth seven needs service. Big spenders, by the look of them."
Of course, they were.
I grabbed my notepad and walked over, keeping my expression neutral. Blank. The face I wore when I didn't want anyone to know what I was feeling.
"What can I get you?"
Xavier looked up. His eyes widened slightly when he registered who was standing in front of him. Then his expression shifted into something I couldn't read.
"Kim." He said my name like a question.
"Mr. Dubois." I kept my voice flat. "What would you like to drink?"
The redhead frowned, looking between us. "You two know each other?"
"She works for me," Xavier said. His eyes hadn't left my face. "She’s uh…” he scratched the back of his neck. “My secretary.”
Glad to see I was back to being just his secretary.
"Oh." Her frown deepened, then smoothed into disinterest. "Well, I'll have a cosmopolitan. Extra cranberry."
I wrote it down. Took the others' orders. Didn't look at Xavier.
"I'll have whatever you recommend," he said when I finally had to acknowledge him.
"Water," I said. "You're driving."
He had the gall to look amused. I had to suppress the urge to wipe that grin off his face. "Water it is."
I retreated to the bar and made their drinks. When I delivered them, I set Xavier's water down last, a little harder than necessary.
The next hour was torture. I felt his eyes on me constantly, tracking me across the bar, watching me serve other customers. The redhead kept leaning into him, touching his arm. He whispered things that made her giggle.
I kept my face blank. Kept working. Kept pretending I didn't care.
Around midnight, the group started gathering their things. I watched from behind the bar as they headed for the door, the redhead still hanging onto Xavier's arm.
Then Xavier stopped. Said something to mullet-guy. Mullet-guy nodded, took the redhead's elbow, and guided her toward the exit while she protested. Xavier turned and walked back to the bar.
"What are you doing?" I hissed.
"Sending her home." He nodded toward the door, where mullet-guy was now steering a confused redhead into the night. "She'll survive."
"You can't just…"
"I want to talk to you." He settled onto a barstool like he planned to stay awhile. "When does your shift end?"
"That's none of your business."
"Kim." His voice softened. "Please."
I stared at him. He stared back. Those green eyes saw too much. I didn’t like that.
"Two," I said finally. "My shift ends at two."
"I'll wait."
He did wait. For two hours, he sat at that barstool, nursing the water I'd given him, watching me work. He didn't try to talk to me, didn't demand my attention, just... waited. When two o'clock came, and Hector waved me off, Xavier was still there.
