Page 9

"Val, start setting the tables for the guests, they'll be here in about two hours." I nodded at my supervisor and made a beeline for the dining area, getting to work.

It was Saturday and I was working at some sort of posh birthday event. My back was aching and my head was throbbing from lack of sleep but I needed the money so I got up to work.

I hadn't been sleeping all that well since that phone call with my brother and I knew that it would be any day now before he called me again. This thought alone made me queasy but I pushed the unsettling thoughts away and carried on laying the tables.

There was about twenty or so tables of ten in this massive hall, in this multi-layered penthouse in the Upper East Side.

In all of my eighteen years, I had never seen wealth quite like this. Sure, Mable was loaded, but her family's money had nothing on this one's.

Frequently, I caught myself gaping at the high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows and the view. God, the view was magnificent. From up here, you could see the whole of Central Park.

I was practically salivating with envy.

I wanted to know what kind of business whoever lived here was in and even considered discarding my dream to become a screenplay writer just to afford a view like this.

Before I knew it, all twenty tables were set and an hour had gone by. I was straightening a chair when I heard a masculine voice say, "Valerie?" I froze, mid movement, my back still bent over the chair. There was only one person that called me Valerie.

I had successfully managed to avoid Thomas since he apologised to me as I needed to come to terms with the fact that he wasn't as much of an asshole as my head had made him out to be. In fact, from what he said and how he apologised, he was quite the opposite.

I knew I couldn't ignore him any longer so I put on a brave face and turned slowly to face him. Sure enough, Thomas, with his dark hair and dark eyes. He was standing close enough that I had to crane my neck to look up at him. He was so tall. It was infuriating.

"What are you doing in my home?" He said as he tilted his head to the side to study me, a small smile on his lips. He didn't look shocked, he just looked pleased. His hair was slightly damp and his skin had a glow that told me he had just been exercising. In his hand was a duffel bag with the school's hockey team's logo on the front.

Then it hit me. This was his house. This multi-million dollar penthouse was his house. I was in Thomas Verner's house.

Fuck me.

"Sorry?" He said, a full smile on his face now. Fuck, I must have said that last part out loud.

"This is your house?!" I whisper-shouted.

"Why are we whispering?" He whispered back. I scowled which only seemed to make him smile more.

"Because this is your house!" I said, like it was obvious. "I'min yourhouse!"

"It's a penthouse, actually. And I've been in yours." He said, smirking.

"Oh, shut up." I said, a small smile growing on my face now.

"Why are you talking to him like that?" Another man came into view. He looked like Thomas except a little older and shorter. "You're the staff and he lives here." He said to me. Right because of course everyone that Thomas associates with are snobs. I needed to remember that even if he apologised, he could still be an arrogant asshole.

"Right, sorry." I said in a small voice, shrinking into myself. I didn't dare to look at Thomas again but I could practically feel the tension radiating off of him. Weird.

Ugh, I'm so dumb. I should have known better than talk to Thomas who was essentially my boss.

The man that told me off, which it now clicked was probably Thomas' brother, turned away from me, dismissing me silently. I took this as my cue to leave and glanced to Thomas before I went. He looked like he was about to say something before his brother cut him off with, "Tommy, you need to get dressed. You're supposed to look somewhat presentable at your own dinner."

Tommy?I stifled a laugh.

As I was walking away, it hit me. This was Thomas'birthday dinner. Jesus, my last birthday consisted of... I couldn't remember.

I swallowed the bile that had risen up to my throat in response to this realisation. If I couldn't remember, then something really bad must have happened.

---

I could feel his eyes on me. Every now and again, he would look at another guest, greet them and then sure enough, his eyes would be trained back on me.

I never looked back though because I needed this job and I did not need his brother having a go at me and getting me sacked.

I wish he would stop staring at me though, it was really throwing me off for reasons I couldn't explain. Maybe it was his fitted suit that sculpted his muscles, or maybe it was the way his soft, dark hair was styled but he was just distracting. Either way, he was clearly staring at me to make some point, that I was beneath him or something.

I was on the other side of the room, tray with champagne glasses in hand. At one rare point when Thomas wasn't looking, a man around my age came up to me, an arrogant smirk etched onto his face. Definitely a relative of Thomas.

He had sandy blonde hair that was cut short, into curtain bangs. He was a tiny bit taller than me, but not much, and had a lean physique.

"Champagne, please." He said, looking me up and down. Slightly irritating, considering my tray was right in front of him but nevertheless, I took a glass off, careful to not drop or wobble the tray and handed it to him.

As he took it from me, his fingers gripped onto mine, for a second too long. Yuck. I shivered from disgust but he must have taken it a completely different way from the way he was looking at me like I was his next meal and not the four course one about to be served.

"I'm Tyler, what's your name?" He asked, once again, looking me up and down.

I just smiled at him and gave him no response. His eyes darted to my name tag before obviously ogling at my boobs and he said, "Val."

I gave him a tight-lipped smile, suddenly unsure of my safety. He licked his lips and looked like he was about to reach for me when an older looking man, in the centre of the room, with salt and pepper hair clinked his knife on his glass, about to make a speech.

As Tyler turned around, I let out a relieved sigh. I did not want this man anywhere near me.

"As you all know, it is Thomas' twentieth birthday today." The older man began and a soft applause rippled through the room.

My eyes followed the noise, noticing that the youngest people in here were Thomas, his brother, and me.

Marcus wasn't here. Weird.

"It is a bittersweet moment for all of us, to be sure. As you are all aware, their father, the late Frederick Verner passed away around five years ago. It was extremely tough on the boys and Julie and I hope I have done a half decent job in his stead." A chorus of laughter makes its way through the room. What an odd thing to say. To suggest he had replaced a dead father.

I looked at Thomas, who was looking at no one. He had his head slightly bent over, while his brother was grinning as if he had won something.

My heart cracked a little for Thomas. Was he an arrogant prick? Yes. Was he a posh snob? Yes. But does he deserve losing a parent? No, of course not. No one does and I understood that most of all.

My mother's letters at home were a testament to that.

The older man raised his glass again and a woman who had dark hair just the colour of Thomas' stood up to go beside him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Thomas turned away.

"We hope you enjoy the meal and thank you for joining us in this moment of celebration as our close family and oldest friends." The man raises his glass and took a seat at a table of white old people.

It was strange to me that it was Thomas' birthday and yet he had none of his friends here. Except maybe Tyler but if they were friends then that would tell me all I needed to know about Thomas Verner.

"Pass me that." My supervisor, Laurel, said to me, gesturing at the tray of champagne that was still balanced on my hand.

I didn't question her and handed it over. "Table number 2 has requested you as their server." She said.

I felt myself go rigid. Because I laid the tables, I knew exactly which one that was. It was the table with Thomas on. Great. He was messing with me. I knew it. He wanted to rub it in my face that I was his server and I was so beneath him.

Instead of relaying this information to my boss, I said, "Sure thing." And from the corner of my eye I saw Thomas get up to go to the bathroom so I decided to make a turn in the same direction, pretending that I was making my way to the kitchens.

As soon as we were in the privacy of the hallway just outside of the loos, I heard Thomas say, "Following me, Valerie?"

He turned to face me and I took a step closer, so there was less than a foot between us before I said, "Yes, I am." If he was surprised at my admittance, he didn't show it.

"Is this important because I really need to piss." He drawled though he made no move towards the toilets. He stayed right where he was.

"Yes, it is." I paused to jab my finger into his chest. "I am working for your family, fine. But that doesn't mean that you can mock me or use the fact to your advantage. I'm a person. I'm working. Get. Over. It."

I expected him to make some snarky comment in return but instead he just furrowed his brows.

"Mock you?" He sounded genuinely offended that I had even suggested the idea.

"Yes, mock me. You requested me as your server?" I said, but my voice came out a little less certain this time.

"I didn't request you. Did someone request you?"

My cheeks flamed in embarrassment and I took a step back, further away from him. Why did I always have to jump to conclusions?!

I seriously needed to remind myself that the world does not revolve around me. I winced at the memory of my father saying those exact words to me and then I shoved those thoughts aside, bringing myself back to the present.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I must look so self absorbed." I was pretty sure I wasn't meant to say that last part out loud but at this point, I was too embarrassed to care.

"Did someone request you?" Thomas repeated, firmer this time and it was then that I noticed that he had stepped closer, after I had stepped away and there was something dark swimming in his eyes.

"Please forget I said anything. You can go... piss now." I said, awkwardly turning away to grab the wine to start serving table 2. Thomas hesitated for a moment, torn between staying to say something else and listening to me but sure enough, I heard the door to the bathroom swing shut behind him soon after.

I sighed and silently vowed to not make another fool of myself for at least the rest of the evening. I grabbed the red wine bottle for table 2 before starting to walk back to the dining room, slightly deflated and very humiliated.

The world does not revolve around you.

However, before I could make it, I caught a glimpse of sandy blonde hair and saw Tyler rounding the corner. I suddenly felt quite anxious for reasons I couldn't explain. I just did not like the guy. As soon as he saw me, like he knewthat I was going to be there, he smirked arrogantly at me.

I decided to listen to my gut feeling that this guy was trouble and ignore him. I gave him a polite smile back that I definitely did not mean before walking past him, my body tense. I did not like this guy one bit.

It happened so fast that I thought that I had imagined it. One of is greasy hands lurched out and before I even realised what was happening, his sweaty fingers squeezed my ass. I jumped back in shock.

I swivelled round to stare at him but he was already walking away, leaving me to question whether or not it even happened. That fucking bellend. Like my night couldn't get any worse I just had to go and get groped by some snobby perv.

I was tempted to follow him and- do whatever it was that I was going to do. I hadn't thought that far ahead. But before I could, he was in the men's toilets and while he was most definitely a pervert, I most definitely was not so I didn't follow him inside.

Shaking slightly, I decided that instead of heading to table 2, I went to Laurel.

"Laurel, can we talk for a sec?" I asked, glancing around nervously.

"Table 2, Val!"

"I know, it's just that I don't really feel comfortable-"

Laurel gave me a bored look which made my statement die down in my throat.

"Look, whatever happened, one of them made some comment, or stared at you in a way or even groped you, it happens. This is just what comes with the job. Now, you can sulk about it, or you can get to work and get those tips, it's your choice." She said, already looking bored of this conversation, like she had given the same speech a hundred other times.

"O-okay." I said in a small voice.

"You're a lovely, young girl, Val, guys in this line like that, you just have to get used to it. Now, get to work, it's going to be a long evening and I really don't need to be bothered with things you can deal with yourself." She dismissed me.

As I walked away, ashamed that I had even brought up something that was apparently so mundane in this line of work, I felt a layer of yucksettle over me. I looked down at the clothes I was wearing. I was covered from head to toe and yet that fucker put his hands on me and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

I felt like I needed a three hour long bath and was disgusted with myself but I put on a brave face and walked over to table 2.

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