Chapter 1
Lillian
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I just moved here. This was a small town; it didn’t seem like much was going to happen here. I was looking for a new start; a place I would be able to start over. This small town in upstate New York seemed like the perfect place to get away from everything I knew. I told my family a month ago that I was planning on moving once I had my degree. I graduated in May with my bachelor’s degree and started to apply to graduate schools before I had even graduated. I wanted to get my MBA and advanced my career to the highest point I could. Moving to New York wasn’t just for a fresh start it was also to go to Graduate School. I was accepted to Syracuse University. I couldn’t believe I was able to get into their business school. It was a week before graduation when we had a few days off that my parents went up with me to consider apartments. We spent most of the first day looking at different apartments in the city but none of them seemed to be in good condition. It wasn’t until we went looking into an apartment in armory square that I was able to find an apartment that was decent and was in my price range. I signed the lease agreement that day and went back to Vermont with my parents to graduate and start packing up my belongings.
I drove up to Syracuse the week after graduating, my parents came with me driving the moving truck. We got everything into the apartment building and they took off the next day back home. They understood why I wanted to start fresh. They gave me a hug and kiss and told me that they would call when they were back home again. Once I was on my own I started unpacking the boxes that were all over the place and finding new homes for them. I didn’t notice how much time had passed but I finally looked at a clock when I heard my stomach growl. I made my way over to the fridge and opened the door, there were a few bottles of water and an apple in there. It was nothing that would maintain my hunger for long. I found my pair of flip-flops and grabbed my apartment keys and headed out to find some where to grab something to eat. This part of the city was beautiful and it didn’t take long to find different little restaurants around the area to grab something to eat. I decided that Empire Brewing Company looked like a nice place to grab something to eat. I walked up to the hostess and asked for a table for one. As I followed the hostess to where I would be sitting I ended up walking through the whole restaurant it seemed. Just before I was able to get to the table I would be eating at I felt someone bump into me.
I turned my head and all I saw was this guy staring back at me like I was the one that did something wrong. I shook my head and continued towards the hostess. I couldn’t believe how rude he was being. I hoped everyone else wasn’t like this. I ordered a burger and fries and waited for the food to be brought out. It took about fifteen minutes for the food to be delivered to my table and I didn’t waste any time clearing the plate, once I got my bill and paid with cash I got up and left to head back to the apartment. I went a different way back to my building so I would be able to get use to all the different roads and ways that I would be able to get home. On my way home I was looking at the different buildings and statues that were around.
“Excuse me miss, I think you forgot to apologize earlier.”
I turned my head around and saw the guy from the restaurant earlier. I decided I wasn’t going to let him get to me. Instead I just kept walking down the road. He was really giving a bad first impression to how people were in Syracuse and I was trying to not let him ruin my first night here.
“I was talking to you.”
He made his way in front of me and blocked my way to keep me from going forward. I was trying to keep everything in but he was starting to push my limits. I tried to go around him but he blocked me again. I tired one more time and when he blocked that way I turned around and started to walk the other way. He stopped me again by getting in front of me. I had finally reached my breaking point.
“Can I help you SIR?!”
I didn’t care if I sounded like a bitch, he had made me break and I hated that. No one was able to get under my skin like this before.
“Yes, you could apologize for earlier when you bumped into me.”
“You mean when you bumped into me. I know you saw me walking to the table when you purposely stood up and got in my way. I have never met such an arrogant ass before. Well thanks to you I know what the guys around here will be like.”
I could see he was stunned so I got around him and walked by him. I was going back the way I came but I figured I could find a side road to cut down to get back to my place. I just needed to get enough space between us before he would be able to stop me again. I was fuming as I made my walk back though the town. I found my way back to the apartment building and made my way to my door. I opened the door and slammed it shut. I knew that slamming the door did nothing to help me but it did let out some of the tension. Unpacking the remaining boxes, it was hard to keep focus, my mind kept drifting back to the guy from the restaurant. He had dark brown hair it was almost black and those deep brown eyes kept pulling me in even with them not being in front of me. I wanted to get him out of my mind but everything I was doing just seemed to make it worse. I finished unpacking what I could that night and headed into the bedroom. I changed into shorts and a tank-top and crawled into bed. It took a while but I slowly relaxed and was able to drift to sleep.
I woke up to my alarm going off. I wanted to get up early in the day to be able to go out and look for a job. I wanted to be able to work while I went to school. I knew that this would be a lot to take on but I knew I had to find a way to get money in my pockets. I had savings that would last awhile but I didn’t want to use that savings for everything. I stopped into a few different stores around Armory Square but none of them seemed to be hiring. I was walking by Empire Brewing Company and thought I could try to see if they needed a waitress. I hadn’t done it before but I was a fast learner and I was great with people. I walked into the building and walked to the hostess.
“Can I please speak with the manager?”
“Just one second.”
The young girl smiled and walked to the back of the building. It took a few minutes and then I saw her walking back up front with an older gentlemen following her. I smiled when he approached the podium and he seemed to be ready for me to say something horrible.
“Good Morning Sir, I was hoping that you would have an opening as a waitress or hostess? I just moved here and looking for a job while I go to Graduate school.”
He smiled and held his hand out for me to shake. He nodded and had me follow him to his office in the back. I was hoping that this would go the way I was hoping. I knew they had good food from eating here last night and they seemed to have a steady flow of people even on a week night. We talked for a while and once the meeting was done he said he was going to give me a try and see how it would work out. I can him a hand shake and made my way back home. He said I could start the dinner rush tonight to see if I could handle the busy time of the night. I was also told to wear black shorts or pants with a white t-shirt and he would provide the apron tonight. I thanked him over and over again. I knew I had some black shorts and seeing how it was summer weather I figured that would be the best to wear.
*********Few Hours Later*************
I made my way back to the restaurant and I made sure I was a half an hour early. I got there and the girl who was going to help me train smiled as she walked up to me.
“Hello my name is Lillian but everyone calls me Lily.”
“Hello my name is Sara. I will help you learn everything you need to know while working here. It helps getting to know some of the customers because then they will become regulars. The same group that comes in most nights are the local firefighters and they tip great.”
She smiled and I followed her as she walked through the dining room. It was still slow but she told me that it will pick up with customers soon and that most nights weren’t this slow. It was around seven when the place started picking up. We were just told that we just had a new table in our section. She grabbed her notepad out and made her way to the table. We turned into the dining room and we could see the table of ten guys.
“Looks like my firefighters are here tonight.”
She put on a big smile and walked over to the table. I did the same with a smile and put up the front like this was the best thing ever. We stood in front of the table and that’s when I heard the voice I froze. It was the same voice that I heard the night before. I followed the voice and my eyes landed on the guy from last night who was so rude. He looked up as Sara started her introduction and our eyes met. I knew in that moment that everything was about to change.
