Chapter 2 - The First Customer

I walked to the back where I took the edge off with a drink. There was no one else, and apparently, the day was fine for them right now. I had to go home. I gave a small sigh. Home.

I didn't have much of that, and I couldn't even remember the last time I did. Dad had died, and everything had spiralled downhill so fast, I found myself stealing petty stuff to make a living.

My stomach gave a loud growl, and I looked up to Dan, who gave me a smile. He seemed like the kindest of the lot, and I immediately looked away. He was pretty cute, too.

"You seem to have been jogging. We happen to have a few leftovers."

My ears immediately perked up, and without waiting for a response from me, he walked to the large freezer. The last sip of orange juice I had taken fell off my lips in small drips as I took in the heaven in front of me.

Burgers, sausages, noodles, pasta, literally anything anyone, especially someone as desperate as me would want. I looked up to Dan, my eyes wide, and he smiled again.

"You can have everything. I would have thrown it away."

"Are you for real? This is not a prank, is it?"

He chuckled. "I am for real. Go ahead."

I didn't need a second invitation, and I jumped on it. He helped me with large plastic bags to put the food in and then offered to pop a burger in the oven for me.

I waited, my stomach growling hard, my chest heaving as every second seemed to drag on. His eyes fixed on me, but he said nothing, and I chose to ignore it. If he wasn't saying anything, I wouldn't either. I have already learned that the secret to this restaurant was silence. Utter silence.

Just as Dan removed the burger from the oven, the door opened. He turned and peeked through the small window that offered a view of the inside of the restaurant.

I saw his eyes harden before he turned to me. "You need to leave."

I raised a brow, but quickly accepted, sensing the urgency in his tone. I grabbed the burger in a brown paper bag, and he led me to the small door that led directly outside from the kitchen.

Without so much as a goodbye, he closed the door, leaving me outside with lots of food and a long distance to walk.

I had started to walk when the door opened again, and he jogged to me. "You are underdressed," he said, peeling off his jacket. He wrapped it on my shoulder, then took a step back and smiled at me. "Take a cab. There is some change in there."

I nodded, surprised by his kindness. It was essentially the best anyone had treated me in what seemed like forever.

I forced a smile, my chest tightening. He only smiled again, then ran back, closing the door once more. For a while, I just stood there, my eyes filling with tears. I didn't realize how much I had needed the smallest gesture of kindness till I was offered one. It felt beautiful, and it gave me a bit of faith in humanity and myself.

Slowly, I started to walk till I finally got a cab. I carefully put the food in the back seat, then sat in front. My hands rested on the window, and I rested my bead on it, the evening breeze sifting through my hair. I closed my eyes, a breath escaping my lips, my chest lightly heaving. Things were okay right now, and I couldn't be more grateful.

The house was dark and lonely, and it looked like no one had been there in months. I dropped the food on the floor close to the rusty freezer that my former neighbor had given to me before moving out. Most of the appliances had actually been from her. The cooker, the iron, even the cute soap case hanging in the tiny bathroom.

There was no electricity, again, and I simply filled the fridge. Maybe there will be tomorrow. For now, I had a burger, more than enough cash, and a job. I ate the burger in silence, then took a slow bath. With nothing but my towel wrapped around me, I went to bed, happy to finally end the day on a full stomach.

I wished the day had started as peacefully as last night had ended, but I guess I have been way too lucky these past few days. The shattering sound of glass woke me up from my sleep, and I sat up, my eyes wide, my hands reaching to tighten my towel.

I ran to the window, but that was a costly mistake. A fist landed on my face, causing me to reel back into the glass. I gasped in pain, my eyes filling.

"You little wench!" came the gruff voice. "You thought we wouldn't find you, eh? You thought you could do whatever."

I swallowed, pulling back, my thigh grazing a piece of broken glass. "James, I swear, I will-"

"Heard that story before, bitch. I ain't leaving without your kidney."

I swallowed, turning around for some sort of weapon. There was none in the meagerly furnished house, and I found myself cornered in the wall, the big man learning to my height.

My eyes met his, and my lips parted, my hand holding on to my towel tight. Slowly, his eyes dropped to my hand, and he smiled.

"Too bad. If your money was a little lesser, I would have accepted that payment."

"I will get you the money," I said, my voice cracking. The way he was leaning to me brought back broken fragments of a memory I would rather forget, and I could barely hold on to the towel with the way my hands were trembling.

"When?" he asked. "I can smell cash in here."

I swallowed, my eyes turning to the jacket Dan had given me. There was still a few hundred dollars in there, but I couldn't afford to lose it.

I turned back to him, but he was staring at the jacket now, too, his smile wicked. "You got yourself some fool, didn't you?"

He stood, and I lay there, my jaws clenching, tears filling my eyes. I didn't put up a protest as he emptied the jacket, then let go of it to the floor.

"I will be coming back tonight," he said, then let his eyes roam down my body. "Would be nice if I catch you outside. Even nicer if you are in a towel."

I blinked, a tear running down my cheeks, my hands trembling. He walked out, leaving the door wide open.

Everything hurt. I sat up, my lips quivering, my body lightly shaking. My hands wrapped around my knees, the images flashing before my eyes. The yells, the voices. I closed my eyes tight, then grabbed a piece of glass.

I couldn't do it. If I could, I would have that night. But I couldn't. I still can't. I let go of the glass, then stood slowly and headed for the bath. I couldn't even cry anymore. My chest felt tight, but my eyes simply won't admit the tears. My body felt the pain, but my eyes, they only grew colder.

I took a bath and washed off the blood on my thighs. I grabbed a hoodie and black leggings, then walked out of the house without even bothering to clean up.

It took me an hour and half to get to the restaurant. It was open, and the burger delivery was outside. Dan was standing outside, overseeing as they loaded the burgers inside the restaurant.

"You are here," he said, turning to me.

I tried my best to smile, and I hoped I didn't end up looking constipated.

"Yes. Sorry I am late."

His eyes squinted at me, but before he could say a thing, I walked past him and went into the restaurant. It was sparkling clean, and I grabbed the apron that was hung on the wall. I wore it on my hoodie, then started to arrange the burgers inside the food show glasses.

Dan soon came behind me, his footsteps light.

"Annalise. Am I right?"

I stopped, then nodded without looking at him.

"Is something wrong?"

I swallowed, then shook my head. "I just have a really great life, that's all."

He snickered. "Don't we all?" He grabbed one of the long stools, then sat on it, this time in front of me. "Wanna talk?"

I stopped cleaning, then straightened, a small sigh escaping me. "You want to hear the boring story of how I was born?"

He laughed. "Why not?"

I gave a sigh. "Is it not busy by this time of the day?"

He shrugged. "It will get busy soon."

I nodded, then sat too, careful not to graze my injured thigh. He was fun to talk to, rather loose in contrast to the men who had interviewed me.

His full name was actually Daniel, and he did prefer it, but everyone called him Dan, and he couldn't force them. He then proceeded to shorten my name to Anna, which honestly was everyone's first instinct once they heard my name.

We were still talking when a black Rolls Royce pulled up in front of the restaurant. My eyes widened as I took in the car from the glass of the restaurant. It was truly magnificent and looked like it could buy my existence.

Dan smiled. "Our first customer. He comes every morning."

I turned to him, shaking my head a little. "But, he looks-"

"He just enjoys the burger," he said simply and a little dismissively too.

I nodded, then stood up and got ready to serve this uncanny customer.

Dan walked to the door and opened it, and I saw him give a small bow of his head. A man dressed in all black walked in, then took off the dark sunglasses he was wearing. Without a word, he surveyed the restaurant, then picked the table close to the glass windows.

I watched him as he walked up to me.

"Two burgers, and the special."

I was about to ask what the special was, but from the look in his eyes, it seemed everyone who worked here knew exactly what the special was. I looked up to Dan, and he gave me a subtle nod, while he still held the door open. It didn't seem like the most important person of the day was here yet.

"Coming right up!" I said, then started to turn.

I stopped, however, as the strong scent of pine and a light mix of patchouli filled the restaurant. I slowly turned back to the door. A man walked in, dressed in a pristine black suit. He wasn't wearing the outer coat, however, and his sleeves were rolled upwards, a massive gold watch sitting on his right hand.

My jaw dropped as I looked beyond the well-built body that the white shirt did nothing to hide, especially since three buttons were open, leaving so much to imagination.

I looked up to his eyes. He had his eyes focused on Dan, but I could see the dark blue color of his eyes. They were icy, cold, and held a darkness I wasn't sure I wanted to explore. His jawline was sharp, almost like the edge of my work table, and it fit perfectly with the heavily defined pale pink lips.

I felt my breath hitch even more, my eyes unable to leave the man. He looked so beautiful, yet at least twice my age. Nothing about him showed that, and he held royalty in the way he walked.

"Anna?" Dan suddenly said, causing me to break out of my reverie.

I turned to him, my chest heaving. "Y.. yes?"

The man didn't even bother looking at me, and he slowly walked down to the table the other man had picked out.

"The burger?" Dan said, closing the door.

I nodded, mentally scolding myself, before I ran to get the order ready.