Mary Wilson - Winning Sara's Heart

“What’s going on out there?”

She turned to the chef, Marv, who was doing prep work on a side table, chopping carrots and celery so quickly that the actions were almost a blur. “An accident,” she said, and took the tray over to the sinks to dispose of the food and the broken dishes.

“Sounded like a bomb went off,” he said.

“A bomb would have been preferable,” she said, dropping the tray into the soapy water in the large sink, then turning to Marv.

The chef was fifty or so, a stocky man with dark eyes and a ruddy complexion. She’d never seen him out of his whites. He’d been kind to her, explaining things she didn’t know about the business, and covering for her when she’d needed it. He stopped chopping for a minute and frowned at her. “What was it?”

She shrugged. “I dropped that last order right on the customer,” she said, trying to make her mouth smile, but it was impossible.

Marv smiled for both of them. “Oh, boy, I wish I’d seen it, although I hate to see my work ruined.”

“You wouldn’t have wanted to see it,” she said. “Hughes is furious.”

“Threatened to fire you, didn’t he?”

She exhaled. “He sure did, and then some customer butted in, and…” She bit her lip, still remembering when she’d heard that deep voice and looked up to see the man standing over her. The way he’d reached out, taken Hughes by the arm—and the anger behind his action. Dark hazel eyes hadn’t backed down from Hughes and his fury, and she’d known if the stranger had said or done one more thing, Hughes would have fired her then and there to prove he could.

“A customer?” Marv said, cutting into her thoughts.

She looked through the small oval pane of glass in the kitchen door and saw the man. He was still at the bar, leaning forward, his elbows on the polished wood top, and staring into his coffee mug. “He’s still at the bar. He said something about talking to Hughes about what happened, but I hope he’s forgotten all about that.” She watched the stranger sit back, turn and look at a man coming into the restaurant.

She recognized the security man from next door. He crossed to the man at the bar, said something, then left. The stranger turned back to the bar, tossed off the rest of his drink, then stood. He was tall and lean, and had an edge to him. A dangerous edge, she thought, then rationalized she was feeling that because he’d darn near gotten her fired.

“A real knight in shining armor?” Marv asked.

She turned as the man put a bill on the bar. “No. He almost got me fired.” She ducked back when Hughes came toward the doors and stepped into the kitchen.

“Sara?” he said. “The tables aren’t ready for the lunch rush. Get them set, then come into my office.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, her heart sinking. Quickly she went past him and out into the restaurant. Her luck was holding and all of it was bad. She barely missed walking right into the stranger, and she had the horrifying thought that he was following Hughes to have that talk with him.

“You,” she muttered, stepping back to look up at him.

His eyes were a rich hazel, framed by fine lines and set under dark brows. Direct, cutting eyes that made her uncomfortable and angered Hughes. “Me,” he murmured.

“What are you doing?” she asked, realizing that her whole body had tensed.

He studied her almost indolently for a long, nerve-racking moment, then tugged at the cuffs of his leather jacket. “I’m leaving.”

“Good,” she said with relief.

She regretted saying that as soon as the single word was out. He couldn’t possibly know how precarious her life was at the moment, or how much this job meant to her. But before she could soften her words, he actually smiled at her. The expression made her tense again, but for a myriad of reasons. His eyes narrowed and something in them softened as his lips curved gently upward. The whole effect gave her a flash of something almost endearing, before it was gone and he murmured, “I’m not used to pleasing a pretty lady simply by getting lost. But I’m doing it now.” He motioned to her hair. “Got some loose strands there,” he murmured, then he turned and left.

She watched the door close and hated herself for being so cold to him. He was a stranger, someone she’d never see again, but if he ever happened to come into the restaurant when she was here, she’d make sure that she at least apologized.

“Sara. You’re not on a break,” Hughes said from behind her.

She headed for the side alcove. She reached for a basket with fresh linen napkins in it and started folding them into individual roses. She worked quickly, soon filling a tray with the soft roses, then went out into the dining area and started setting them out with the dinnerware on the tables.

All she wanted to do was get through this day, finish her lunch shift and go and pick up her daughter, Hayley, at the sitter’s. They’d go back to the tiny house that was barely large enough for her and her three-year-old, and close the door on the world. It wasn’t theirs, but it was home…for now.

Hughes called to her across the empty restaurant. “Sara, my office, now.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, and put down the last napkin.

She brushed her hands on her apron, then took a breath and headed for his office in the short hallway just off the rest rooms. When she stepped into the small space lined with boxes and filing cabinets and anchored by a large desk in the middle, Hughes was changing his soiled shirt. “Close the door.”

She swung it shut, and when he didn’t motion for her to sit, she stood with clasped hands and tried to head off a disaster. “Sir, I’m so sorry about the accident and it really won’t happen again.”

“Do you know who that man was you poured food on?” he asked as he pushed his arms into the shirt-sleeves.

She’d seen him in the restaurant before, but she didn’t know anything about him except he liked his coffee black and his salads dry. “No, sir.”

He buttoned the shirt quickly. “For your information, Mr. Wise is one of the partners in the law firm of Broad, Simpson and Wise. One of the main tenants in this building, occupying two floors, six and seven…the entire floors.”

She tried to pretend to be as impressed as he seemed to be. “I had no idea he was that important.”

“All of our customers are important,” he said as he tucked in his shirt, then reached for his jacket from the back of his chair. “I just hope that I am able to make this right with him and his partners. But one more mistake like that and you are not going to be working here anymore.”

If she could have handed him her job right then, she would have, but she didn’t have that option. Since she and Hayley had moved to Houston two months ago, this was the only job she’d been able to find that had the right hours for her and gave her decent wages and tips. She was away from Hayley too much, but at least she had the second half of the day with her and she was there when she went to bed. “It won’t happen again, sir.”

He frowned at her as he retied his tie, and she knew he wasn’t finished. “And you can tell that boyfriend of yours to keep out of your business. If he pulls something like that again, you’ll both be out of here.”

“My boyfriend?”

He tugged sharply at the cuffs of his jacket. “The man who so rudely interrupted us.”

“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” she said quickly. “I don’t even know who he is. I’ve never seen him before.”

Hughes studied her, then smoothed his tie. “Just get back to work and remember that our customers expect excellent service.”

“Absolutely,” she agreed.

She went out of the office and returned to folding the napkins. The bartender, Leo, called out to her. “Hey, Sara?”

She turned. “What?”

“That guy who was just here? The one talking to you and Hughes over there?” He motioned to where the accident had happened.

Not him, too. “What about him?”

He held up two twenty-dollar bills. “He paid for his drink with these, then left. I hardly think he was so impressed with me that he left me more than a thirty-five-dollar tip. Can you tell him I’ve got his change whenever he wants to come and get it?”

“No, I don’t know who he is.”

“Oh, I thought you and he…” He shrugged and folded the bills, tucking them in his vest pocket. “I’ll hold on to them and see if he comes back.” The phone behind the bar rang, and as Leo answered it, Sara turned to go and check her drawer to make sure it was even before the lunch rush started. But she’d barely turned when Leo called out to her again. “Sara?”

She looked back at him. “What?”

He was holding the cordless phone out to her as he looked around. Then he whispered when she crossed to take the phone, “Hughes is gone. It’s for you.”

She felt her stomach sink. Only one person would be calling her—the baby-sitter. She took the phone and spoke quickly into it. “Marg?” she asked.

“Yes, hello, Sara. I’m sorry to be calling at work, but—”

“Marg, what happened? Is Hayley all right?” Her hand was holding the phone so tightly it was aching. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, no, Hayley is just fine. She’s napping right now, as a matter of fact. But I just found out something and wanted you to know right away.” She hesitated, then said, “I won’t be able to watch Hayley after this week.”

Now her heart sank for a different reason. It had taken her forever to find someone to care for Hayley, someone she trusted and she felt safe leaving her child with. “For how long?”

“Actually, I’m going back to school. I’ve been thinking about it for some time, and the opportunity just came up. I can’t pass it up,” she said. “I’m sorry. I know this is an inconvenience for you, but I have a few recommendations for you, other sitters. I just wanted you to know right away.”

“I appreciate that,” she said, but thought it was more than an “inconvenience” for her. Another sitter? “I’ll be by for Hayley later and you can give me the names?”

“Absolutely,” Marg said brightly.

She hung up, then turned and handed the phone back to Leo. “Thanks.”

“Your little girl okay?” he asked, surprising her by asking since she’d never spoken to him about Hayley.

“She’s…she’s fine,” she said. It’s just me, she wanted to add, but didn’t. She wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity. She hadn’t been fired. Hayley was okay. Things would work out.

“Customer,” Leo said, nodding toward the door.

For some reason she expected the stranger to be coming back, hoping it was, so that she could apologize. But when she turned there was no lean man in a leather jacket with a smile that seemed to see humor where none existed. Instead, she saw a lady whom she’d met the first day at work, Mary Garner, who helped run the day-care center in the LynTech building next door. Mary came in every day at this time to have a cup of tea and nibble on shortbread biscuits. The slender, gray-haired lady smiled when she spotted Sara.

“Hello, there,” Mary said brightly.

The lady was in her sixties, with a gentle, soft voice. She wore simple dresses in grays or navies, and always sensible shoes. “Good morning,” Sara said, and led her to her usual table, one off to the side by the windows. “The usual?” she asked as Mary settled into the high-backed leather chair.

“Yes, thanks,” Mary said, then touched Sara’s hand before she could leave to get the tea and biscuits. “Is everything all right? Your little one’s okay, isn’t she?”