When she picked up his dirty dishes, he looked pissed. She had even re-filled his coffee with a smile, trying to get him to lighten up, but he hadn’t. Elle had no clue what was pissing Nero off so badly.
Eventually, Nero pulled out his laptop from his bag along with some schoolwork. I guess he is staying till I get off. That made Elle nervous. Nero was a complete wild card to her, and he was at her work. What he did in here would affect her, and this job was how Elle continued to go to school.
When the diner started to die down and her shift was almost over, only Nero and a table full of four guys remained. Elle picked up the coffee pot to refill their cups, going to the full table and filling up their cups first.
“Can I get you all anything else?” Elle spoke as she filled a cup.
“No thanks, babe.” the good-looking one of the group responded. Elle figured they were in college by their university attire.
Elle smiled and walked away once all the cups were filled.
“Elle,” she heard her name called from the corner of the room.
Elle turned around and headed for the corner where Nero was sitting. Nero’s face was now beyond pissed.
“Sit.”
Elle looked around. “I can’t.”
“Now.”
Elle looked back at Nero and felt like she only had one option, and that was to sit. She sat down in front of him, tired of his constant glares.
“What is the matter with you?”
Nero kept his voice calm and low so no one could hear their conversation. “I don’t like you pouring coffee and serving food to all these fucking men. The only coffee I want you pouring is mine.”
Huh? Elle was taken off-guard by his response. First, she realized she liked his possessiveness, and then she realized the extent of his possessiveness.
“Nero, it’s not like I enjoy it.”
“Do you think I enjoyed sitting here the whole night, having to see a bunch of old men stare at your tits and ass?” Elle tried to speak but couldn’t get one syllable out. “Then listen to douchebags call you ‘babe;?” Nero’s voice started losing its calmness.
“Hmm, I wonder who that reminds me of,” Elle said sarcastically.
“My fucking point. Tell them to fuck off next time.” Nero was fuming now.
Elle was pretty sure Nero was about to do something very stupid, so she leaned forward and took his hand from the table. Taking a deep breath, Elle said, “Nero, this is where I work, so I can continue to go to school, and unfortunately, I pay most of it with the tips alone. That means putting up with the looks, stares, and babes. I can’t just tell them to fuck off; I could lose my job.”
Nero ran his hands through his hair and flexed his jaw. When he nodded for her to get back to work, Elle stood and started to walk off.
“Are you forgetting something?” Nero pointed to his coffee cup.
Elle went back to the side of his table and decided to place her breasts expertly in front of his face as she refilled his coffee. The lust that had shown on his face before returned, and Elle smiled again. She didn’t know why she wanted Nero happy, or why that part inside of her wanted to please him, but Elle admitted she enjoyed doing so.
Elle scurried away, laughing when Nero tried to reach out and grab her. She saw the smile on his face, discerning he was finally in a better mood. She went ahead and started to clean up for the night; she was closing, of course. She asked the cook to throw away the trash this time. Lesson learned.
About ten minutes before closing, the table with the college students was still there joking around. They weren’t being rowdy or anything, but you could just hear them talking and cutting up with each other. They didn’t look like they had any plans to leave soon.
Elle went over to their table and took away some of their dirty dishes. “We close in about ten minutes.”
The good-looking one smiled at her. “We were just about to head out.” Then he quickly moved his elbow and a fork fell to the ground. “Sorry, babe.”
Elle’s heart started racing. She quickly looked over at Nero, silently pleading for him not to do anything. When the guy didn’t make a move to pick it up and the other guys stared at her in anticipation, Elle had to pick it up.
She quickly squatted down to hurry up and retrieve the fork. When she stood up and grabbed for the rest of the dishes, she noticed their displeased faces. They had clearly wanted her to bend over and get it. No way in Hell.
Elle tried to force a smile as she walked away. She prayed Nero wouldn’t do anything and just leave it be as she went behind the counter and pretended to be busy so she could see if anything were to happen. She could tell Nero was on the verge of going crazy. She hoped he had listened to her earlier.
When the college guys walked out of the diner, Elle stood frozen as she waited to see if Nero would follow after them. When he didn’t, Elle relaxed.
Elle went to the now-unoccupied table and grabbed the tip off the table as well as the little dishes left. Dropping them off at the dishwasher, she headed for Nero’s table, unable to meet his gaze.
“How much?”
Elle kept her eyes on the table. “Ten for the meal.”
Nero stood and pulled out a silver money clip full of cash and handed her a hundred-dollar bill. “Keep the rest.”
Elle looked at Nero finally and started shaking her head. “I’m not taking your money, Ne—” Nero swiftly grabbed her and had her sitting on the edge of the table. How in the hell?
He parted Elle’s legs with his body and pressed himself up against her. His face came close to hers as he harshly spoke. “You are lucky I’m just asking you to take my money after fucking watching that. I am desperately trying to restrain myself right now.” Nero took the folded hundred-dollar bill and touched her chin with it before slowly sliding it down her neck to her chest and under her dress.