Page 5 of Proposition 1

3. Cadence

“Holy shit! He’s here again!”

I look up at Sharron’s words, following her gaze to the front door. A man in a suit was standing in the doorway, his dark hair styled to look tousled. He seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“What do you mean?”

He was handsome, in that cocky, self-assured way men with money were. The smirk pulling up the corner of his firm lips told the world he knew every woman was staring at him, and he could have anything he laid his eyes on.

“He came in last night. Sat at the corner table for a few hours, but never ordered anything. It’s like he was waiting for someone who never showed. Who would stand him up?”

I ducked my head back to my work as his gaze turned toward us. I made a noncommittal sound as I filled the last glass and lifted the tray. Sharron was still staring at the man, and not being subtle about it, but I was too distracted to pay attention to a stranger, no matter how good looking he was.

My mind was still stuck on how to save my brother, because there was no way I could find over twenty thousand dollars in less than two weeks.

When I went home the night before, I’d gone straight to my room, telling my mother and brother I had a headache. I didn’t even come out for dinner, because there was no way I would have been able to look my brother in the eyes and hold it together.

I wasn’t sure if I would have burst into tears, or ripped his head off, but something would have happened.

He tried to catch me this morning before I left for the office, but I brushed him off saying I was working on it and walked out the door. He was busy with Momma when I went home to change into my waitressing uniform, and I hoped he would be asleep by the time I got home after my shift. I wouldn’t be able to keep the information from him forever, but I wanted to have an idea of what to do before he found out.

Heading to the table waiting on their drinks, I shoved my thoughts aside and plastered on a smile. I couldn’t afford to lose tips because of the flashing sign in my brain telling me I had no chance in hell of fixing this one. I needed every penny I could come up with.

After taking their order, I turned to head back to the kitchen and noticed the man Sharron had been ogling seated at one of my tables. His eyes were locked on me, sending a shiver down my spine. My brows drew together for a second since I shouldn’t have been next on the list, but I flashed him a smile.

“I’ll be right back to take your order.”

He nodded, still not looking away from me as I went to drop off the other table’s order to the cooks.

The feeling of familiarity was still nagging at me, but no matter how hard I tried to place him, I couldn’t come up with a name or how I would know him. It was enough to pull me from the worry that ate at me since I’d left that man’s property yesterday.

I walked back to his table, ignoring the way his lingering stare raised goosebumps along my skin. I didn’t think he’d stopped looking at me the entire time, and I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered, or creeped out.

“So, what can I get started for you?”

His green eyes traveled down my body. He made no effort to hide his appraisal, and my smile turned brittle. I didn’t have time to waste on men on a usual day, and things were anything but usual right now.

“I didn’t come for the food.”

His voice was rich, like thick chocolate melting on your tongue. I felt my nipples tighten as another shiver skated through me. The twitch of his lips let me know he didn’t miss the reaction, and my fingers clenched around my notepad.

“Then how can I help you?”

His gaze returned to mine, the heat in them sending a pulse of shock straight to my core.

“I’m here to help you.”

I felt my brows raise as I looked him over again. His carefully styled hair, the perfect amount of scruff on his face, the designer suit. This man reeked of money and was totally out of place in the diner.

“You don’t recognize me, do you?”

I didn’t want to admit that he had me at a disadvantage, but I still couldn’t place his face to a name. Even the people I worked with at the office didn’t dress as nice as he did, and he wasn’t a regular here. The shape of his dark green eyes is what kept holding my attention, so my best guess was that he worked for one of the office’s partners.

“We’ve never been introduced,” he said as he stood from his seat.

He was a good six inches taller than me, and I had to tip my head back to look up at him. I hadn’t felt it while he was sitting, but the man had an imposing aura. A hint of danger wrapped up in that distracting smile and hungry emerald gaze.

Holding out his hand, he said, “You had a meeting with my father yesterday. I’m Leo Galleon.”

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