Billionaires Don’t Fall For Awkward Girls by Emma Dalton

Chapter Twelve

I blow in through the door to Mikey’s Diner like a storm, sprinting past the diners and into the back, where I sign in, then grab my apron and a tablet.

“One minute late,” my coworker Kyle says as I breeze past him. His eyes dip to my apron. “You tied it wrong.”

“Sorry,” I say as I stop to retie it. “I got caught up with homework.”

He lifts a brow. “Who does homework on a Friday evening?”

“Whatever,” I mutter as I make my way out the door, nearly colliding with the owner, Martha.

She smiles when she sees me, but then her gaze settles on my face. “Can you please do something about your hair, Danielle?”

“Oh, sorry,” I say as I gather it and bind it with a hair tie. “It’s hard to handle it sometimes,” I say with a nervous laugh.

She winks. “You have beautiful hair. What I’d give to have hair like that.” She rubs my arm with a smile before entering the kitchen.

I started working here last week when I noticed a sign on the window asking for another server. The pay’s not that great, but any way I can help my parents, I’m all for it. And it sure beats cleaning toilets. And Martha’s great, so sweet and kind. She sometimes lets her employees take home leftovers, which is awesome because the food here is my life. Comes in second place after Mom’s.

I check myself in the bathroom mirror to make sure I look decent before stepping out into the diner, a large smile on my face. But it quickly vanishes when I take in the table I’m supposed to serve. The guests? None other than Head Witch Teagyn Myers and her evil minions. I groan and turn around, knocking into Kyle, who crosses his arms over his burly chest as he stares down at me.

“Going somewhere?” he demands.

He’s a pretty nice guy, but he can be a real tough cookie sometimes. Yeah, better not get on his bad side.

“Um…any chance we can swap tables?”

His eyes flick to the table in question before returning to me. “Mean girls?”

“Yeah,” I say with a sigh, glad he understands where I’m coming from. “So I’ll take table four and you can have table seven.”

He shakes his head. “Nope. I’m sticking with my tables.”

“But…”

“You gotta learn to grow some thick skin, Dani. How else do you plan to survive in this world?”

“Well, I plan to stick with my own people and avoid people like her.”

He shakes his head. “Grow a backbone, missy.” He takes me by the shoulders, spins me around, and gives me a light push toward the dreaded table seven. I glare back at him, but he’s already taking the orders from table four, which happens to be a table full of super-hot college girls. I roll my eyes.

Then I focus on the table I’m forced to serve. Head Witch Teagyn is in the middle of telling her brainless sheep how her dad bought her the most amazing earrings. She pushes back her hair to show them off. I try not to get upset. I mean, I’m not crazy about jewelry, but I know my dad wishes he could buy something like that for me. I don’t mind, really. I’m just glad I have my loving parents, a roof over my head, and my amazing friends.

Forcing a smile on my face, I march up to their table and hold out my tablet. “Can I take your orders?”

Teagyn stares down at her menu, is about to give me her order, but then she looks up and her eyes get this mischievous glint. “Oh, it’s Invisible Girl Number Two. I didn’t know you worked here. How amazing is it that you’re our server?”

I keep that stupid smile on my face. “Super.”

“I’ll have a veggie burger with curly fries,” she says.

“Great.” I tap it into my tablet.

“Oh, never mind. I’m not really feeling vegan tonight and curly fries are so tired. I’ll have a cheeseburger with spicy fries.”

“Okay. A cheeseburger with spicy fries.” I tap in her order.

“Actually, spicy fries give me a stomach ache. I’ll have cheese fries.”

If this girl doesn’t make up her mind soon…

“Got it,” I say. “How about the rest of you guys?”

Thankfully, her minions are not as terrible and don’t give me any trouble with their orders. I give in the order and then make my way to the next table.

“Excuse me?” Teagyn calls—shouts, really. “Aren’t you supposed to give us drinks or something?”

Oh, shoot. I forgot. I make my way over with water and pour them all a glass. “Sorry about that,” I say with another forced smile.

“The service here was so much better when Frankie worked here,” Teagyn mumbles to her friends. “Too bad he left and was replaced with such an inept and unqualified person.”

How I wish I could give her a piece of my mind right now.

Throwing on another fake smile, I say, “I’ll be back shortly with your food.”

“Try not to drop it on the way,” Teagyn calls after me. “I don’t eat from the floor.”

I bump into Kyle on the way and glare at him. “Got any numbers?”

He grins. “Two.”

“You must love your life,” I grumble as I fill the pitcher with water.

I get back out there and serve the customers, and a few minutes later, Teagyn’s annoying voice says, “Oh my gosh, what’s taking so long? I remember when the service here was amazing. We didn’t have to wait more than ten minutes for our food to arrive. Crazy how just one person can bring a whole team down.”

“Especially when the person is a clumsy oaf,” Macy adds with a laugh.

Teagyn barks out in laughter. “A clumsy oaf! Good one!”

Macy beams like she just got a kiss from the president.

Forcing myself back to their table, I say in a sweet tone, “Sorry about the wait. We’re a little busy today. Let me refill your glasses.” I pour them more water.

“This service is terrible,” Teagyn whines. “Can I talk to the manager?”

“I’m sure it’ll just be a few minutes,” I mutter as I finish pouring their drinks and hurry into the kitchen. “Is table seven ready yet?” I call out.

“Just about.” The cook adds the last plate on the counter and nods to me. “Table seven.”

I place the plates on the tray and leave the kitchen as carefully as possible, lest I trip over my feet and drop the food all over the floor. I’m sure Teagyn would get a kick out of that.

“Here you go,” I say with another fake smile as I place the food before them. “Enjoy.”

“What the heck is this?” Teagyn shrills.

I glance at her plate. “A cheeseburger and cheese fries. Like you ordered.”

She pushes the plate away like she smells something foul. “I didn’t order this!”

“Yes, you did.”

Her furious eyes jet to mine. “Are you stupid? I said I didn’t order this.”

My mouth opens to tell her she certainly did order this, but like usual, the only thing that comes out of me is gibberish.

“Oh my gosh,” she exclaims. “I’ve never experienced such horrible service in my life. I want to talk to the manager. Right now.”

Oh, no. I’ve only been working here a few days. I can’t get fired. We really need the money.

“I’m so s-sorry,” I try to say. “If you’d tell me what you’d like to order—”

“No, I’ve had enough of you. I said I want to talk to the manager. Are you so useless you can’t even do that?”

“I’ll get her,” I mutter before turning away. Every single person in the diner is staring at us—well, me. Even my coworkers. My face hotter than a blazing inferno, I push the back door open and nearly collide with Martha.

“What’s going on out there?” she asks.

Tears pricking my eyes, I babble, “I got her order right. She’s just messing with me because...I don’t know! She’s evil. I’m sorry, I was pleasant to her and her friends, but she just has it in for me. Just a few weeks ago, she was such a jerk to my friend when she tried out for cheerleading—”

“Dani.” Martha places her hands on my shoulders, looking into my face. “Just breathe, honey.”

I take in a large breath, letting it seep out of my nose.

“There you go. Better?”

I nod.

“Now tell me what happened.”

“They’re kids from my school.” I avert my gaze to the floor.

“Oh, I see. Bullies.”

“Sort of,” I mumble.

She sighs. “I’ll talk to them.”

Putting on her own fake smile, she marches up to Teagyn’s table and says in a pleasant voice, “Is there a problem here, girls?”

“Yes there is!” Teagyn cries. “Your server keeps messing up my order. Mikey’s Diner has always been known for its great service. But that inept person is ruining the vibe.”

“I understand,” Martha continues to say in that pleasant tone. “Just give me your order and I’ll bring it to you personally.”

“But what will you do about that incapable server?” She points at me.

“I’ll take care of it,” Martha says.

Teagyn’s eyes twinkle. “Great. I’ll have a veggie burger and curly fries.”

“Coming right up.” Martha smiles at each girl at the table before making her way back to me.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” she says as she rubs my shoulder. “There’s a girl like her at every school.”

“Sorry,” I whisper as I lower my gaze to the floor.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Dani. I know her type. I had one like her when I was your age. Unfortunately, we’re in the business of pleasing customers. I’ll ask Kyle to be their server, all right?”

“Thanks,” I say.

She rubs my shoulder again. “Of course. Get back to work, okay? You’re doing great out there.”

When I enter the diner, Teagyn’s face perks up, like she’s expecting me to walk out the door. But then her gaze drops to the apron I’ve still got on and the tablet in my hand. Her entire face clouds over with disappointment.

I tear my eyes away from her and focus on the middle-aged couple who are perusing the menu. After I take their orders, I meet Martha on the way back to the kitchen, carrying Teagyn’s order.

“Thank you so much,” Teagyn says, loud enough for the aliens to hear on Mars. “This is what I call impeccable service.”

“Can I get you anything else?” Martha asks.

“No, thanks. My friends and I love eating here. But I don’t know if we’ll continue coming if the service will be as poor as it was today.”

“I assure you that you will continue receiving the service you’ve had in the past,” Martha promises.

I sigh. Does this mean I’ll be fired? They can always hire new servers, but keeping loyal customers is the most important thing in a restaurant.

Martha enters the kitchen and gives some instructions to the cook. I untie my apron. “Thanks for the opportunity, Martha. I hope the next server you hire is more qualified.”

“What are you doing?”

I stare at her. “What do you mean?”

“Are you quitting on me, Danielle Wood?”

“N-no. You’re firing me.”

“Why would I do that? Honey.” She takes my hands. “You can’t let girls like her push you around. You’ll encounter many people like her throughout your life. You need to be strong.”

“I know, but…”

“You’re a good kid. High school is hard—I understand. But it will eventually end. Don’t let girls like her ruin what could be a good experience.”

“I know,” I say. “My friends and I usually ignore her. My mom always tells me that people like her will be working for nerds like us one day.”

She winks. “Exactly.”

“Well in my case, she’ll be attending my Broadway debut, and when she sees me on stage? Let’s just say the janitors won’t have to clean the floors because her jaw will take care of that.”

Martha chuckles. “That’s a great attitude.”

“I try not to let her walk all over me. The words just get stuck in my throat.”

“As long as you’re not letting her dictate your happiness, you’ll be just fine.”

“Thanks for the talk, Martha. And for not firing me.”

I get back to work, ignoring Teagyn who every so often makes side remarks, like when I accidentally knock over an empty glass as I clean a table or when I almost crash into one of the cheerleaders as she heads to the bathroom.

Eventually, they leave. I swear the entire staff heaves a sigh of relief.

As I’m cleaning their table, someone walks into the diner and the hairs at the back of my neck stand up. I look at the door and find Easton Knight Jr. stepping inside. Wow, my body has an Easton Knight Jr. radar. He walks up to the counter and gives his order. Then he sits down on a stool and looks around the place, his gaze making its way to me.

I quickly look away and continue clearing off the tables.

Footsteps approach and then his shiny shoes come into my view. “I didn’t know you worked here, Wood.”

I pile the dishes into my arms. “Some people need to earn a living. Excuse me.” I walk past him to the kitchen and place the dishes in the sink.

Since I have a few minutes before my next table’s order is ready, I chat with one of the cooks, Marco, who is an aspiring chef. “You tried out for Top Chef?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says with a laugh as he slices cheese. “Almost made it through. But I was so nervous I burned my sauce.”

“Ugh, what a bummer.”

“Dani?” Kyle calls.

“Yeah?”

“Can you give this order to the guy at the counter? He ordered to go.”

The guy at the counter? He must be referring to Easton.

“No, I’m good!” I call back.

“That wasn’t a request! It was an order.”

“We’re not in the military.”

“Oh my gosh, Dani, I swear if you don’t get your butt out there!”

“Why are you asking me to do it? I have tables to serve.”

“Because I need to call my mom.”

“And it can’t wait until you’re on break?”

“This kid,” he grumbles as he walks further into the kitchen. “No, I need to call her now. She’s going through a crisis.”

“What kind of crisis?”

“None of your business, you nosy girl. Just give the guy his order, okay? I’ll be back in five.” He storms out of the kitchen.

I freeze. I need to hand Easton his order?

Marco raises a brow. “What’s wrong?”

I sigh like the world is falling apart. “Nothing. Just my life.”

“Melodramatic teen,” he teases.

“Life was simpler in your days.”

“I graduated high school four years ago.”

“Exactly my point.” I sigh again before grabbing the take-out bag and making my way out of the kitchen.

Easton is thumbing through his phone. Sheesh, he looks like a model. It’s so irritating because he doesn’t even try—he’s just naturally charismatic. Unlike the Awkward Girl who’s a natural disaster. But I am what I am.

“Just go,” a voice whispers. “Ask him for his number.”

I glance at the group of teen girls huddled at a table a few feet away. Looks like they’ve got their eyes on the heir to the Knight empire.

“Gosh, he’s so gorgeous,” one of the girls squeals. “And so rich. Way out of my league.”

“Maybe you’ll be Cinderella,” another girl at the table says with a laugh.

I’m tempted to ask Cinderella to hand Easton his food—that would be a great icebreaker, right?

Shaking my head, I clutch the bag tightly and head over to Easton. He must be engrossed in whatever he’s doing on his phone because he doesn’t hear me approach or notice me standing before him.

“Your order.” I hold the bag out to him.

His head snaps up from his phone. “Oh.” He slides off the stool, clutching his food like it’s gold. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t make it. I just delivered it.” Ugh, what a silly thing to say.

“Well, thanks for delivering it.”

“Yeah.”

We just stand there.

It looks like he’s about to say something, but I turn around and whisk away.

I look over my shoulder, watching him walk toward the parking lot until he’s out of sight.

Between him and Teagyn, today was one heck of a day. Good thing things are slowing down now and I have a chance to relax. I sneak in some texts with my friends as I work, trying not to laugh my butt off when Charlie enlightens us on the many mistakes the kids at our school make on their tests and assignments.

“Dani, can you please take out the trash?” Marco calls from inside the kitchen.

“Sure.” I tuck my phone into my back pocket and heave the humongous bag off the floor.

I lug the million pounds out the back door, which leads to the parking lot. There aren’t many cars here since the diner has emptied out. I haul the stinky thing into the garbage bin and am about to turn back toward the door, when a black car catches my attention. A familiar black car.

Where have I seen it before?

Then it hits me like a lightning bolt. That’s Easton’s car. Why is it parked out here? I thought he left a while ago.

Wait, someone’s in the driver’s seat. I squint, trying to make him out, but the windows are tinted. Still, I can sort of make out a young person bending over and bringing something to his mouth…

Of course! It’s Easton eating a burger.

Wait a second. Why is the son of one of the richest people in the world eating fast food alone in his car? Aren’t rich people supposed to be super proper and eat at an extravagant table? And where’s his driver?

Even though I can’t see him very well due to the tinted windows, there’s something…I don’t know, strange about the sight of Easton Knight Jr. sitting alone in his car eating fast food. He looks so…well, he looks so lonely.

I just stand there near the stinky garbage bin for who knows how long, watching him eat in solitude.

Until I snap out of it. Shaking my head, I walk back inside.