Chapter 130: Phrasing Is Key
When Derek had come into Bee’s diner, he had expected Emily to not be busy, for him to be able to just say what it was that he wanted to get off his chest and then see how Emily would take it.
But instead, things had not gone as he had planned. For starters, there had been the nosy group that had been there when he had come in. And then after he had grabbed Emily’s wrist and asked her for some of her time so that they could talk. In had come the large group of police officers.
Derek had not liked them at all.
In fact, he had found himself preferring the first group that he had found in the first place. The group of police officers were not polite. In fact, they were downright rude to Emily at times. They were calling on her as though she was somehow beneath them. Some of them even calling her names like sugar or sweetheart. As though they had any right. Derek had wanted to interfere many times, but he had held himself back, not wanting to step in at Emily’s place of work, and make it seem as though she could not handle herself. So despite all of the anger that he was feeling, he had sat down and forced himself to eat the meal that she had brought.
He had forced it all down, making sure to stay in his seat even when he so badly wanted to just walk across the room and punch someone. Most likely all of his money and power would have been able to let him get away with punching a police officer. But he knew that Emily would not like it at all if he did something like that.
So Derek had minded his own business. Focusing on his breathing exercises, whenever the officers got too familiar with her.
He had wanted to leave several times during the presence of the officers. But then he had admonished himself. That would have been just him chickening out again. And this time he had made the decision that he was going to stay until the bitter end. So that was what he did. He stayed. And even when the first group left, all of them chatting and laughing, waving goodbye to Emily, actually calling her by her real name instead of Roberta as her name tag read. Derek stayed where he was, not going anywhere.
To take his mind off the entitled rudeness of some of the officers, Derek turned his focus to Emily. The job was way beneath her. In fact, it did not suit her at all. She deserved better. But to look at her, one would never go out and say that Emily ever did anything half-heartedly. She was doing the job to the best of her abilities. That much Derek could see.
She moved with ease amongst the tables and chairs, bringing in meals balanced on her hands. Never dropping a single thing. Never getting any of the complicated orders wrong. Orders that even Derek himself had trouble remembering and when she did miss out on something she instantly corrected it, before it could become an issue. All the while she was on her feet. Even when she stepped back, it was not to sit down. Instead, she leaned against the counter, waiting to be called again. By the time that the police officers left, Derek was exhausted just looking at her, and he knew that she had to be tired.