True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evil. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island... to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.

-Baltasar Gracian

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"Hey, Emma, a guy at table ten put in a special request that you wait his table. He's like crazy hot. You better get his digits' girl." Britney says as she enters the kitchen. Her blonde hair is in a high ponytail swinging from side to side and her baby blue eyes shimmer.

I rack my brain thinking of who could be asking for me. With a shrug, I grab the plates for another table and exit the kitchen.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" I ask the couple as I place their meals in front of them.

"No, we're all good. Thank you." The young man answers. His girlfriend takes her eyes off him and gives me a glare.

"We're fine." She says annoyed, then goes back to staring dreamily at her boyfriend. Not sure what I did but okay. I just give them a smile and go to the table who asked for me.

I admire the chandelier hanging from the center of the room. I've always thought it was the perfect piece to bring this place together. It bathes the room with the perfect amount of light making the tables shine.

"Hi, my name-." I stop abruptly when I see who asked me to wait the table. To say I'm surprised would be an understatement.

"Hello, Emerald." I never thought a voice could be so seductive.

"Mr. West," I say breathlessly and feel the heat rush to my cheeks. Clearing my throat, I will my cheeks to cool down. Why does this man make me blush so easily? It's incredibly annoying, frustrating and not to mention embarrassing. "It's a pleasure to see you again. For those of you who haven't been here before, my names Emerald and I'll be your server for the evening." Amazingly, I say this without stuttering or mumbling and with confidence. Something about this man throws me off. He has me mumbling, squeaking, and blushing. I'm not the most confident but I'm also not shy but he makes me feel like a mouse.

"You haven't called me yet." Mr. West points out. The gentleman and couple accompanying him start up a conversation after he says this.

"That's because I haven't made a decision. It's only been a couple days since you offered me the job. I need some time to think about it."

"What's there to think about?" He looks at me incredulously and I take offense to his expression.

"A lot. Not only do I not know anything about the job but I know nothing about you as well." I snap at him. Any sane person would take some time to think about a big decision like this. Besides, he gave me until I passed the test to give him an answer. That's still two and a half weeks away. I take a deep breath and reel in my emotions. At least I'm acting more like myself but I'm at work and he's a customer. "This isn't a good time to discuss this."

"When do you get off? We can discuss it then." I check my watch and hold my breath. I'm not sure if I want my shift to end soon or have another couple hours left.

"I get off in forty-five minutes." I glance back up at him from underneath my lashes.

"We'll talk then. Meet me out front when you get off." He orders. I give him a stiff nod and a tight smile.

"I'll give you guys some more time to look over the menu." Turning on my heel, I quickly head to the kitchen. When the door swings closed behind me I let out a sigh and lean against the wall. He's so demanding. It's obnoxious and sexy at the same time. I can't tell if I like it or not.

"So, did you get his number," Britney asks when she enters the kitchen. I let out a groan.

"I already have his number."

"What?" She screeches. "You have to spill. You work fast. Didn't you just break up with Kyle?" Instead of letting me answer she keeps talking. "Are you guys, like, together? Been on a date? Kissed? Done more than that?" She asks me question after question making me feel like my heads spinning.

"Order up for table twenty," Riley tells us.

"Do not think you're free from answering my questions. We'll talk later." She grabs her plates for the table and goes into the dining room. After a few deep breaths, I find the courage to leave the kitchen and go wait Mr. West's table.

He doesn't even spare me a glance when I take his order. I take their menus and they continue talking as if I were never there. I'm not looking forward to my upcoming conversation with Mr. West. Even if I do get answers out of him, do I really want to work for him? He doesn't seem like the friendliest guy. Then again, my mother always told me to never judge a book by its cover. I shouldn't assume anything about a person I don't know.

Once my shift is done I go out front to meet Mr. West. I check my watch after waiting a couple minutes and see five minutes has passed with no sign of him. I twist the silver band on my middle finger nervously as I wait. When I check my watch again ten minutes has passed. The third time I check, twenty minutes has passed.

Disappointment fills me and the corners of my lips turn down forming a frown. I'm not sure what I was expecting to happen but in every scenario I imaged, he at least showed up. I wait another ten minutes and decide to not waste any more of my time. I hail a cab and give the driver Beth's address.

When the driver pulls up in front of her house I thank him and give him his money. Beth's house is beautiful. It's a four bedroom and three and a half bath. The place is huge but she shares it with her brother and cousin. Out here in Texas, it's hard to find a house that's smaller than three bedrooms. They just do everything big out here.

I walk the path up to the front door and give it a knock. Beth opens the door instantly.

"There you are. I was starting to worry about you. I thought you got off at ten." I step into the house and am surrounded by beige walls.

"I did but guess who I ran into at the restaurant tonight?" I take off my coat and hang it in the closet. Beth starts walking further into the house and I follow her into the kitchen. She grabs two beers from the fridge and hands me one.

"Please don't say your cheating ex-boyfriend." She groans.

"Thankfully no but only time will tell if who I ran into is better or worse. Mr. West came for dinner and the reason I'm so late is because after my shift we planned to have a talk about his job offer."

"That's great!" Beth says enthusiastically. I take a sip of my beer and shake my head in disagreement.

"It would have been great if he showed up. I waited outside for a half an hour before I called it quits and came here."

"What an ass." I nod my head and don't even waste the energy pointing out her use of language. He really is a butt.

"Hey, Emma. I haven't seen you in a while. How've you been?" Beth's brother, Bruce, asks as he gives me a hug. He's only a couple years older than Beth and is such a gentleman. His dark brown hair sticks up straight in every direction and he has the same brown eyes as his sister.

"Nice bed head." I laugh and ruffle his hair when we've finished hugging. "I'm doing better. I assume Beth told you about what happened."

"That dude was a total prick. I always said you were too good for him." His whole body tenses up when he talks.

"He was. Unfortunately, I noticed when it was too late. On top of that happening, I just got stood up for a meeting."

"You need me to track someone down for you? I can beat them up if you want but only if it's a dude. If it's a chick Beth has to do the ass kicking." He says protectively. Bruce has treated me like a little sister since we first met. I always thought that was why he didn't like Michael but maybe he just saw something I was too blinded by love to see.

"It was a guy and he might be her future boss so that might not be the best idea," Beth says and adds. "Although if it was some chick and you wanted me to beat her up I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"Aw, thanks, Beth. I'm really feeling the love right now guys. You always know someone really cares when they are willing to be sent to jail for assault on your behalf." I say sarcastically.

"You know I always got your back, Emma," Bruce says once he stops laughing. "I'm going to head out. You guys have fun." He grabs his keys and leather jacket before rushing out the front door. I can hear the engine of his motorcycle start up and after a minute he's too far away for me to hear it any longer.

"Alright Em. You ready to get wasted, dance like crazy and binge watch some Netflix?" She asks with a grin.

"Do you even have to ask?" I laugh and follow her into the living room. This girls' night is exactly what I need.

________

IMPORTANT UPDATE 3/25/2019:

Want to read more? Healing hands is available on Amazon as an ebook for $2.99 and paperback for $11.99. Thank you so much for your support everyone! Without you, I wouldn't have made it here and I hope that you'll continue to support me and buy a copy. :)

-Oleanna

Author's Notes:

Girls nights are always a good cure when you're feeling down. I wish I had a friend like Beth. I'd like to thank everyone who has given my book a try. Whether you're just reading, voting, commenting, sharing, or adding the book to your reading list it means so much to me. <3

The image above is of Drew Roy who plays Bruce, Beth's brother.

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