Chapter 110: A Once Off
Just a few short hours after Derek ate his meal, and then left her with a sizable tip, Emily had just completed her hand over to the day shift. Even though she was the only one who worked at night ,the day shift had three people. Two waitresses and one waiter. Emily did not know much about them, but that was just the way she liked it, things never got too personal.
After changing out of her truly horrible purple uniform(it was really bad, whenever she looked at it, Emily was still sometimes caught off guard by the awfulness of it), Emily had ditched her Roberta nametag and now she was just Emily once more.
Walking out into the early morning sun, she was nearly blinded by it. The artificial lighting of the diner had nothing on the real thing. As she walked amongst the people, Emily moved slow. Her slow pace completely at odds with the fast movements of everyone around her. A seasoned city dweller would have been able to tell that unlike all of the others who were rushing to get to their jobs, she was getting off work, just from the way she was moving. Going at her own pace while the world was rushing past, Emily let her mind wander. And sure enough her thoughts, when allowed to wander, ended up going to one person.
Derek Haven.
Emily had not expected to ever see him again. And she had promised herself that on the very rare chance that the two of them were to meet again, She would do him some serious damage. Verbal, physical, and emotional damage. But reality had proven her a liar. All it had taken to leech all of the violence and vengeance out of her, had been seeing him again.
The Derek that she had imagined confronting. Had been the one that she had left behind. Strong, cocky, dressed to the nines and looking like he belonged on a magazine cover instead of in an office being the CEO. The Derek Haven that had walked into the diner, only had the smallest things in common with that man.
The most noticeable thing had been the beard. The beard, what to say about it. It was not the stylish one that some men sported, but rather it was a bushy mess that looked this close to developing a life of its own. She had never imagined him with a beard, let alone one that was so unkempt. And after the beard, Emily had noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Something that had very rarely happened when Emily still worked for him. Even when they were working long nights, Derek had made sure to stay moisturized. Using the same product that Emily used to keep dark lines from her own eyes. Most days when she had brought her own product, she had been sure to bring some for him too.
And then just as Emily had been coming to terms with how awful he looked, she had noticed his suit. She’d had that suit laundered for him before. She had seen him wearing it. Back then it had fit him like it had been spray painted on him. All muscles and coiled strength. But it had looked too loose in places at the diner.
What had happened to him? Emily found herself wondering.
But just seeing him like that had triggered the mother hen in Emily. She had taken care of the man, running his day to day life for two years. It was not something that she could easily switch off. And she had discovered that fact when all her energy had gone from wanting to maim him, to wanting to make sure that he was well taken care of.
It had filled her with a great sense of pride when she had come to collect his dishes and had found them empty. The money had also been a very welcome surprise. But still, Derek’s presence at the diner made no sense to Emily.