𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 (𝟏𝟖+)

Thirty-one

''Hi! What can I get you?''

The man turned to me, his smile widened. Slowly, he thought about the alcohol of choice for the evening before he settled for the usual. ''I'll have a long island, please.''

Quickly, I fixed his drink. The bar was more than crowded tonight. It was one of the elite clubs, and no one without an invitation could've entered. Usually, the clientele was nice. They were rich, intelligent and just wanted to have fun without being in the headlines.

Thus far, I was yet to have a problem with any of the clients. And my favorite happened to be the young man that was on the other side of the bar.

His name was Marcus Stevens. He was a future CEO of a tech company that sky rocketed within the past couple of years. Currently, he was the vice president until his father retired. Only a few years younger than me, yet he was already successful with money enough to have his grandchildren set for life. On some levels, I envied him.

I placed the cocktail on the napkin in front of him, along with the receipt.

''So, how have you been, Alison?''

I smiled. ''It's been very busy. The summer is over, thank God, otherwise I probably would've quit, changed my name and identity and ran away.''

Marcus laughed. He was a very sweet young man and his company was something I enjoyed on busy nights. Having someone to talk to whilst I worked was good. Thankfully, I was on bar duty only, I couldn't have imagined being a waitress in his place.

I straightened my uniform, annoyed at the sudden crease on the shirt.

''Well, I've been doing okay.''

Marcus raised an eyebrow. ''Just okay?''

I grinned. ''Okay, fine. I'm doing amazing. A few weeks ago, I got blackout drunk and made some... questionable investments. But, it turned out to be a good thing. I'm going to be a very rich woman soon.''

Marcus was curious. ''Do, tell.''

I was reluctant to tell him. The company I'd invested in was a start up company. When I checked the statistics yesterday, it seemed that the company had gathered quite the publicity, and along that, interest of serious businessmen who had no better things to do than invest their money in the company.

It would bring us all enough money, and then I'd be able to start a business of my own.

I tilted my head to the side. ''I'm not showing you all of my cards, Marcus.'' He was disappointed, and then I added. ''But, we might be on the same side of the bar very soon.''

With a wink, I turned my attention to another customer, Marcus' deep laugh followed. I'd been working in the club Grayland for over two years. My manager, Samantha, was nothing but generous towards me. She was easy to trick and once I'd given her my sob story, she was more than happy to give me late night shifts, because I studied during the day.

Two years later, I was long done with my PhD, and still worked night shifts. It paid better, the tips were better, and I was rather going to deal with drunk people during the night hours than early in the morning. Why the hell did people get drunk in mornings?

I felt a sharp sting in my chest. Once upon a time, I did that with a few friends. However, those were all memories that were from another life, from when I was a different person. Nothing in life lasted forever, happiness especially. 

Marcus waved me over once the crowd from the bar had cleared. With a small smile, I approached him and made him another cocktail.

''So, can I take you out sometime?'' He gave me a boyish grin.