Valentine's Short Stories

Becca’s P.O.V.

I swear, if I have to serve another group of men who try to grab my ass, I’m going to take one of the steak knives and cut their fingers off. You would think working as a server in a fancy restaurant would mean hands off, but apparently not. Men who pay almost a hundred per plate think the price includes free access to touch the wait staff. If I didn’t need this damn job, I would quit.

“Becca, table four is asking for you to be their server,” Lila, my manager, says as she comes to the bar where I’m getting drinks for another of my tables.

“What? I’m not working that section today. Since when do diners get to choose their servers?” She smiles and crosses her arms.

“When your name is Grady Black, you can have whatever you want,” she replies.

“Who the hell is Grady Black?” I put the drinks onto a tray as I wait for her to answer.

“You’ve never heard of him? He’s a popular singer. He’s with a few other men, one of which said you waited on him last week, and he wanted you again. So, serve those drinks and then go to table four, please.” She smiles, but I can see the challenge in her eyes. She looks like a sweet, older woman, but I know, inside, she’s a snake. When we complain about people touching us, she tells us to get over it because the tips are worth it.

“Sure, I would be happy to.” I walk past her and glance over at table four. I remember that, idiot. He not only tried to put his hand inside my skirt, but he also had the audacity to grope my breast. As soon as I can find a job paying as well as this one, I will be out the door, but for now, I have to serve people with a smile. After serving the drinks and taking the orders for the two older couples at table twenty-six, I take a deep breath and smile as I head to table four.

“Good evening, gentlemen. I’m Becca, and I’ll be your server this evening.” I glance at each man, but I have no idea which one is the singer.

“I told you she was hot. You like brunettes, right, Grady?” I fight the urge to snap at the slimeball who’s sitting on the other side of the table.

“Remind me why we invited him?” the man I’m standing beside asks one of the other men.

“Hey, I’m one of the best music producers in the country,” slimeball says. As entertaining as this is, I have work to do.

“Would you men like me to get your drinks while you look over the menu?” I ask. They each give me their drink orders, and the man beside me looks up at me.

“Please ignore him; he thinks having money gives him the right to be a jerk.” He has messy blonde hair and emerald-green eyes that I guess some women would find attractive. I’ve learned that just because someone has a handsome face doesn’t mean they can’t be a snake.

“It comes with the territory. I’ll be right back with your drinks.” I go to the bar and begin getting the drinks when Lila comes over.

“What did Grady Black say to you?” she asks.

“Which one is Grady?” I ask.

“The good-looking blonde one. I saw him say something to you. What was it?” I feel like telling her that he asked me to have his love child, but she would probably run to the tabloids.

“He apologized for one of the other men who was being a jerk. I’m really busy, Lila. I can’t answer your questions about Grady every time I go to their table. I promise I won’t piss them off.” I smile as I load a tray with the drinks, and she sighs.

“Fine, but I expect a full report on anything juicy before you leave today.” I roll my eyes as I head to the table. Slimeball attempts to touch my leg when I give him his, but I quickly move out of his reach. After taking their orders, I go to the kitchen to get the food for one of my other tables. The night begins to move quickly, and as I’m going to check on Grady’s table, slimeball corners me.

“You have been avoiding me all evening. I pay good money to eat here, and I expect to have the full experience,” he says, stepping closer, causing my back to hit the wall behind me.

“You pay for the meal. The last time I checked, I wasn’t on the menu.” I look around, hoping someone sees us, but most of the diners have left, and where he has me isn’t viewable by anyone unless they happen to come this way.

“I let you get away the last time I was here, but not this time. As my server, you are supposed to make sure all of my needs are met, and you haven’t done that yet.” He grabs my hand and tries to force me to touch his tiny erection.

“Let go of me before I scream,” I warn him. He smiles and tightens his hold on me.

“Not until you do what I want.” He’s suddenly pulled away, and someone punches him in the face. When I look up, it’s Grady.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asks the slimeball who’s holding his bloody nose as he glares at Grady.

“We were just having a little fun, weren’t we, Becca?” I shake my head.

“No, we weren’t. You tried to force me to touch that tiny pencil you call a penis.” His face turns red, and he takes a step toward me.

“You bitch. I will have you fired,” he says.

“What’s going on over here? Becca, did you punch him?” Lila asks as she rushes to slimeball’s side.

“No, I did. He tried to sexually assault Becca,” Grady says. He stands beside me, and I almost laugh at the look on Lila’s face. She wants to blame me, but she doesn’t want to say anything to upset Grady.

“Come with me; I’ll help you clean this up,” she says, taking slimeball’s arm.

“Are you okay?” Grady asks me.

“Yes, thank you. I wasn’t going to let him do anything to me, though. I have to stop men like him all the time.” I should be more grateful, but for all I know, he only stopped his friend so I would owe him. I try to step around him, but he stops me.

“Why do you work here?” I cross my arms and look up at him.

“My bills don’t pay themselves.” I really need to finish my shift and get out of here, but Grady seems very chatty all of a sudden.

“I’m sure there’s something you could do besides wait on a bunch of idiots.” This conversation is beginning to make me uncomfortable. I don’t talk about my personal life to anyone, and definitely not to someone I just met.

“I have to finish working. Thanks for stopping the slimeball.” I walk away and start cleaning off my tables before he can say anything else. By the time I’m leaving at midnight, I’ve almost forgotten about what happened until I get to my car. I shouldn’t have come out alone.

“Hi, Becca.”