~Dessa~

After that the patron had clamped his hand on Dessa's wrist and told her that she was coming home with him, Dessa wanted to scream. The man in the leather gloves snapped his book shut abruptly, and glared out of the corner of his eye. The patron immediately released her, and he cringed like he was in pain. It was the strangest thing that Dessa had ever experienced. It almost seemed like the man's glare had physically pierced the guy who had grabbed her. Dessa didn't waste a moment on the ridiculous thought - she tripped over her own two feet slightly as she backed up, and made herself walk away while the patron clutched his side like he had a stitch. She didn't run - no matter how much she wanted to - but she walked faster than she had in a long time. Her heart pounded against her chest as she returned to the kitchen, and she tried to catch her breath. Only then did she begin to make up excuses for the incident. She was in a panic at that moment. She certainly imagined that crazy shit. The man in the leather gloves didn't lay a finger on him. Maybe the other patron was having some sort of medical episode and it just so happened to flare up. He probably got himself too worked up, fantasizing about what he wanted to do with her when he got her alone. 

The way that he had smiled at Dessa made her skin crawl, and she shuddered as she saw his lascivious grin in her mind. He looked at her like he wanted to fucking eat her face. No one had ever tried anything like that. She had never even been asked out on a date, and that man just straight up told  her that she was coming home with him. He was definitely not asking, or taking no for an answer. When Dessa glanced up, she saw Hans looking at her like he was concerned, but luckily, another waitress named Nina sauntered in and Dessa immediately grabbed her hand, and Nina's eyes widened.

"What's up?"

"U-Um, would you mind covering Table 8?" Dessa stuttered apprehensively. "I know you mostly work the bar, but the guy at that table scared me half to death. He grabbed me and told me I was coming home with him tonight."

Nina's eyes narrowed like she wanted to give the guy a kick in the balls, but she nodded. 

"No problem, girl. What did the creep order?" Nina lifted her chin a notch, and her lips pursed tightly.

Dessa told her that he had ordered the salmon, and Nina gave her hand a squeeze before letting go.

"The patrons aren't allowed to touch you," Hans grunted, looking more pissed off than the day one of his line cooks burned a tray of biscuits. "You should have a word with Mr. Talon about it."

He started cooking the salmon, and he seemed angry enough to garnish the fish with arsenic. Dessa was grateful that Nina had agreed to cover the table, and that Hans seemed to care about her well-being, but the idea of going to her boss to complain was nerve-wracking. 

"I-I don't want to be a bother," Dessa nearly whimpered, clutching the fabric of her dress.

Hans huffed and shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Dessa. I'll speak to him myself. Mr. Talon does not permit that behavior here. Antony, cover the grill."

With that, Hans tossed the rag off of his shoulder and strode out of the kitchen. His right-hand man finished off the salmon for Nina. Dessa shuffled nervously, waiting for her and Hans to come back. Nina was first, and Dessa was surprised to see her returning the food.

"The coward left," Nina rolled her eyes. "I was really hoping I could give him a piece of my mind."

A moment or two later, Hans bustled in. "Mr. Talon already pulled him into his office. Someone must have seen what happened."

Dessa gave them both a wobbly smile, "Thank you for . . . "

"Don't mention it," Hans interjected, gruffly. "I'm glad you spoke up. We protect our own around here."

"That's right," Nina smiled back. 

Dessa's heart swelled. There were people here who really cared about her. People who would be upset if something bad happened to her. She wasn't as alone in this world as she was a few weeks ago. That revelation helped her shake off the last of her ill feelings, and she returned to her duties. It wasn't long before she noticed that the man in the leather gloves was watching her intently. His book was on the table and he was absently toying with a pack of cigarettes in his hand, instead of reading like he normally did. She focused on her work, taking orders and bringing them back, but she could feel his eyes on her everywhere she went. She wanted to be annoyed by it, but she had stared at him on her first day, so it wasn't really fair to be frustrated that he was staring at her now. Although, she hadn't stared at him this  long. 

The only time that he looked away from her was when Mr. Talon approached his table. Dessa tried not to pay attention to it, but it seemed like the man was arguing with her boss, and Mr. Talon was amused by whatever they were discussing. He finally opened his pack of cigarettes, and started smoking one as they talked. Dessa wondered if he had been the one to tell Mr. Talon about the creep earlier, since he was a firsthand witness to it. She shook her head at herself and returned to the kitchen. It was highly unlikely that their current conversation had anything to do with her, even if that was the case, and it was really none of her business. 

.   .   .

After Dessa changed out of her dress without Heather's help, she found the older woman and gave her garments to her. She wished that Penny was working tonight so she could tell her about what happened earlier, but she would just tell her when she saw her Friday. On her way to the kitchen, she saw the man in the leather gloves putting his book away before he headed out the door. When she made it to the kitchen, Hans was already holding her to-go box.

"Aww," Dessa giggled, taking it from him. "You know me too well."

Hans chuckled and shrugged, shoving his big hands into his apron pockets. This time, he reversed their usual back-and-forth.

"Have a good night, Dessa."

"I will if you do the same."

They shared a laugh and Dessa walked back through the parlor room. Knowing that the creepy patron had been taken care of already, and as good as her exchange with Hans had made her feel, she let her eyes wander this time as she strolled. The cleaning crew was doing what they did best, and again, Dessa was entranced by the graceful way they performed their jobs. Suddenly, the man who she'd thought was holding the door open for her that one day looked up at her and smiled.

Dessa blushed and glanced left and right to make sure that he was actually smiling at her before she returned it. His smile widened into a dazzling grin. Dessa's heart skittered to a halt at the sight. He looked like he was around her age, and she couldn't believe that he was interested in her in any way. He was far too handsome to pay any attention to her, so he was probably just being polite. She ducked her head, hoping her dark hair could hide her blush as she passed by him.

"Dessa, right?" 

Dessa had to stifle a gasp as she stopped in her tracks. "R-Right."

"I'm Eon."

He offered her his hand, and she hoped that he wanted a handshake, because if he kissed the back of her hand like Mr. Talon, she would probably faint. She shifted her to-go box to her hip so she could oblige the gesture. Fortunately, he shook her hand when she reached out to him, and she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. 

"It's nice to meet you properly, Eon," Dessa stammered bashfully. 

Did that sound stupid? Technically she had seen him that one day, even if she hadn't officially met  him. Eon gave her a curious look, like he didn't quite get what she meant by that.

"I-I mean, I thought you were holding the door open for me once, but I think you meant to hold it open for someone else," Dessa blushed even harder, wishing she hadn't said any of that. 

Eon laughed and shook his head, "Oh! No, I was  holding it open for you that day. I might have been a little too nervous to talk to you."

Dessa's lips parted in shock. She found that very hard to believe. He was a catch, there was no reason for someone like him to be nervous to talk to any girl - especially a girl as unremarkable as she was.

"Really?" Dessa mumbled, her surprise leaking from the word. 

Eon shrugged nonchalantly. "Really." He flicked his eyes up and down, appraising her with a considerable lack of subtlety. "You're very cute."

Dessa slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened. Eon chuckled at her reaction, not appearing to be nervous at all to admit that. 

Thank God for Lola who sashayed up to Dessa right at that moment.

"Dessa, Heather said you left your phone on the cubbies."

"Oh, thank you for telling me!" Dessa replied, hoping that her face wasn't as red as she felt like it was. 

When she turned to look back toward Eon, he was standing further away as another man from the cleaning crew was asking him to help with the ash bin for the fireplace. He glanced at her with a crooked smile, and lifted his hand as if to say that he was sorry that they couldn't finish their conversation. Dessa waved goodbye and went to the dressing rooms to get her phone. 

You're very cute.

Now that was something that Dessa definitely wanted to tell Penny on Friday. She put her phone in her hoodie pocket and exited through the foyer. She felt a much smaller wave of fear stepping out into the night than she had the last couple weeks. She took only a few steps when a sleek black Mercedes pulled up next to her. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as the man in leather gloves stepped out of the vehicle. 

She froze in place as he walked right up to her. 

"Wh-What - " Dessa choked out, taking a step back. 

"Your boss is a close friend of mine. He asked me to drive you home," The man said simply, and his tone was measured and even, like he was trying his best not to sound like a dick. 

"He asked you?"  Dessa scoffed incredulously, her voice shaking.

The man sighed as he opened the passenger door for her. 

"Apparently, we live in the same neighborhood, so Talon figured that it would be no trouble for me." 

Dessa didn't dare take a step closer. "I don't even know your name. Why would I get in your car?"

"Don't you know that the freaks come out at night?" The man asked with an edge of frustration in his tone. 

Dessa shrank slightly, knowing that her boss probably did want to make sure that the guy who had grabbed her earlier didn't come after her to make good on his demand. Maybe that's what Mr. Talon was talking to him about a couple hours ago. Dessa knew that it would  be much safer to get a ride home with a man, even if it had to be this one. Still, she had some reservations about it.

"How do I know that you're  not a freak?"

The man smirked at her, and she hated how her heart thumped in response. 

"I could be." He lifted an eyebrow at her, and gestured toward the passenger seat. "But I'll be on my best behavior."

Dessa bit her lip and her cheeks burned, but she got in the car. He closed her door and made his way around the front to return to the driver seat. If she wasn't so nervous, she would appreciate the fact that he had agreed to take her home for Mr. Talon, and that he had opened the car door for her like a gentleman. This car was nicer than any she had ever been in, and it had that new-car smell that she had heard people talk about before. It was also impossibly clean - not a single speck of dirt, not a single piece of trash. Dessa swallowed hard, feeling like she was too much of a ragamuffin to be sitting in a vehicle this nice. What if she fumbled with her to-go box at some point and spilled it? Her fingers tightened around the box, feeling mortified just thinking of that possibility. 

As the man put on his seat-belt, he glanced at her like he could read her mind. Dessa blanched as she put on her own seat-belt, extra careful not to let the to-go box tip in her other hand. 

"Why are you embarrassed?" 

Dessa stammered, squeezing both her hands around the box again. "Um!" She scrambled to think of a lie, but the truth came out instead. "Your car is very nice."

He looked confused as to why something like that would embarrass her. 

"I was thinking of how embarrassing it would be if I spilled this in here," Dessa forced herself to clarify, tapping the box with one finger. 

He flicked his dark eyes down at her food box, and then back up to her face. "Car could use a stain or two. Wouldn't bother me."

He looked away from her and started to drive down the street, finally. She gazed at the side of his face for a moment after, as the city lights swept over his features. Sitting this close to him, she could see that he had a thick scar along the side of his neck like someone had slashed his throat at some point. She shivered at the sight. 

Without taking his eyes off the road, he asked, "Are you cold?"

Dessa blushed and dragged her gaze off of him. "Um. A little." At least she was able to lie that time. She was actually so nervous that she was sweating underneath her hoodie. As he took a left, he murmured,

"You can turn the heat on if you want."

"Oh, no, I'm okay." Dessa said meekly.

Ugh. She was far from okay. So many firsts today. She had never done anything close to this. Being in a man's car while he drove her home felt too intimate. She didn't even know him. He had ignored her up until today. She didn't know his name, and he knew where she lived, because of Mr. Talon. Don't freak out. Don't be weird. Stop blushing every time he says words to you. He's only doing this as a favor for your boss, not for any other reason. 

She slyly tried to sneak another peek at him. Eon had a boyish charm, but this man was handsome in a completely different way. He looked rugged and dangerous with dark stubble on his chiseled jaw, and he was emanating the essence of raw sexuality. He was definitely  not a boy, and nothing about him made her feel safe. He was terrifying.