Page 2 of The Playboy and the Waitress

“I will try your trout dinner.”

“Excellent choice. Let me get this in and I will be back to check on you in a few. Just yell if you guys need anything.”

I can hear the woman already nagging at the guy when I walk away.What a shame,I think to myself. My section is fully seated and I'm running around like crazy when I see their food being delivered.

As I was walking past them to get another table their refills, I stop just for a second. “How is the food? Can I run and get you guys something?”

I getthe lookfrom the woman, and I know here it comes. So, before she can say a word, I interrupt, “Give me two seconds to deliver these drinks and I’ll be right back.” I drop the drinks off at the table next to them and return only to see that the woman is furious.

“Sorry about that. Whatcha need?”

“Do you call this trout? What the hell is this half-raw mess on my plate?”

“Oh, I'm sorry… I will take it back to the kitchen and have it cooked longer if you would like.”

Before I can even react to the sudden furious look on her face, she picks her plate up and slings it at me. Hot liquid splatters all over my skin as the large piece of fish hits me square in the stomach, its juices burning my stomach and arm in the process. I scream out in pain and instinctively grab the platter ready to smash it over her head when Playboy jumps out of his seat, stopping me.

He immediately starts trying to wipe the grease off my arm. I push him away. I don’t know who I'm madder at right now, the bitch who threw this at me or him for bringing her here.

He steps back looking at me and I hear him cussing under his breath as he bends down, picking up the mess she made. An older lady at one of my other tables comes over with a wet cloth napkin in her hand, trying to cool the skin down on my arm. I can hear her asking the Playboy's date‘if that was necessary.’

It's complete chaos around me. I can hear Playboy giving the girl Hell and even the older woman who doesn’t know me from Adam is giving her down the road. I’d love to take the time to enjoy this, but my stomach is hurting, and my arm is on fire. I keep fumbling with my apron, but the ties are stuck. I'm one second from stripping right here in front of everyone because I can’t get this wet, hot fabric away from my skin. I’m turning to walk off when I see my manager coming up the steps.

“Jenna, are you ok?”

I shake my head no.

“Go on and get cleaned up. Alecia will bring you a new shirt. I’ll have someone cover your tables until you can get back, unless you think you might want to have that burn looked at.”

I have tears in my eyes and I'm so mad I can’t speak. Shaking my head, I simply walk off towards the bathroom. The second I’m through the bathroom door, I jerk the shirt I have on off, then head over to the sink. In the mirror, I can see that my stomach is red. I rub my fingers across it gently, flinching because my skin is now tender to the touch. Thank heavens, I’m not burnt as bad as I thought I was. I dampen a few paper towels, trying to gently wash the grease off. Tears run down my face as it is taking everything I have not to go back out there and give that overpriced uptown bitch a piece of my mind. After all, I don’t cook the shit… What gives people the right to think they can treat others like that anyway?

Alecia comes into the bathroom with another t-shirt in her hand. “Honey, you ok? I was just finishing up that last piece of silverware when I heard her raise her voice at you. I stepped around the corner just as the whole thing happened. I ran off immediately to get Mary so you would have someone to back you up. You know how this place is, the whole thing would have been blamed on you… like you somehow threw that trout at yourself.

“Let me see.” She bends down and rubs her hand gently across my stomach. “I think if you put some aloe on it tonight it will be better in the morning, but this one on your arm looks a little more serious. Do you want me to tell Mary to find someone to cover for you for the rest of the evening? I know that has to hurt.”

“I think I'm too mad for it to actually hurt. But there is no way I can go back out there right now and wait on her without cracking her skull open.”

“You don’t have to worry about that… Mr. Dark and Brooding marched her ass right out of here only moments after you walked away. I could hear her sputtering the whole way out the door. If I’d been her, I would have called a cab. There is no way I would have wanted to be in a car with him, that man was seriously pissed.”

“Shit, that means I will have to argue with Lex to get their bill canceled. God knows I don’t have the extra money right now, but whatever. Thanks for coming to check on me. Give me a minute to change and I will be back out.”

“Take your time, honey. I’ve got this.”

CHAPTER2

Iwalk back out onto the floor, dreading the next four hours of my shift. With my arm burning like fire and the skin on my stomach so tender I can’t stand to touch it, every move I make hurts right now.

My section is empty, but of course, all my tables are dirty. I go to his table first, expecting a complete mess all over the floor, but someone had cleaned the worst of it up. When I reach for his plate I gasp when I see two one-hundred-dollar bills laying under it. Well, at least this way I’m not out any of my own tip money to pay for their dinner. The older lady even left me a note on a napkin with her phone number if I needed a witness. I thought that was very thoughtful and I have to brush another tear off my cheek.

I clean all the tables up as quickly as I can because I need to get my section back on the seating chart. Hurt or not, I have to work. The bills won’t pay themselves.

The evening drags on and the tips are horrible. I don’t know if I'm growling when I approach a table, but my normal bubbly self isn’t here with me today. I can’t wait to get this shift over with and head home.

An hour and a half before we close, I turn around only to find Playboy standing directly behind me. I think I may have actually screamed a little before I caught myself.

“Damn, where did you come from?”

“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. This whole day has been a huge fuck up. There was no way I could go home until I stopped back to tell you that I was sorry for what happened earlier. I had no idea she would act like that. Did you find the money I left for our bill?”

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