Homeless

Chapter 4

Danielle's POV

"He seems really nice," Anna comments as soon as I walk back into the kitchen. "Helped you take out the trash."

"Uh... you saw that?" I ask.

"Yeah," Anna says, wiping down the center island. "You know, we could use the extra man power around here, especially with the holidays coming up."

"Like... hire him?"

Anna shrugs. "I mean, he's already helping with the trash and he's basically security overnight."

I think about Anna's words and she's not wrong. We're only a few days into December but have already gotten over a hundred orders to be fulfilled the week before Christmas. I've had to stop accepting new orders and am contemplating shutting down the week before Christmas, just to get everything done. If we had extra help, maybe I wouldn't have to shut things down.

"That's not a bad idea..."

I sit on the idea for the rest of the evening as I help Anna clean up the kitchen.

"I counted the till," Lizzy says, dropping a bag of cash onto the counter of the kitchen.

"We usually count it together," I say. I try not to sound suspicious but the reason I like to be present for the count is so that I can make sure all the numbers add up.

"I know," Lizzy responds. "But it was such a crazy day. I figured I would just count it out so we could get out of here on time."

"Okay," I say, not willing to go at it again with Lizzy. "For the future, let's just continue counting it out all together."

Lizzy nods then hands me the bag of money. I head to the safe and tuck it away.

"Alright ladies," I say, walking back into the kitchen. "Thank you both for your help today. I added a little end of year bonus that should be reflected in your direct deposit Monday. I couldn't do all this without you."

Anna and Lizzy smile at me and at each other.

"Why don't we grab some drinks tonight?" Anna asks. "It's Saturday night and we've had a great week. Plus we don't have to come back tomorrow. I think we deserve to treat ourselves."

"I agree," Lizzy chimes in. "We sold out almost every day this week. I think we should grab drinks at House of Margeaux."

House of Margeaux. One of my favorite bars in Brooklyn. It's a casual place with amazing food.  They serve French appetizers with drinks inspired by different cuisines around the world. Plus on Saturday nights, there's usually live music.

"Alright," I say, taking off my apron. "Let's do it."

The bar is packed when we arrive. We find a small table towards the back and get comfortable.

"This was a good idea Anna," I say over the noise. I'm glad to be out after a long week. I don't know very many people here in NYC so while Anna and Lizzy are my employees, they're also my friends.

"What can I get you ladies?" We look up from our menus to see our waiter approaching our table. Lizzy takes one look at him then looks at me and raises her eyebrows. She doesn't have to say anything but I know what she's thinking. He's hot.

"I'll have the bruschetta and a mint mojito," Anna says, unphased by his beauty. I take a good look at him. He's at least 6'1 with blonde hair and hazel green eyes. I watch the muscles in his arm flex and relax as he scribbles our order down.

He looks at me next and I lose my train of thought. "And for you miss?" he prompts.

"Um," I frantically look at the menu. "I'll have the garlic noodles and a blueberry bramble."