“I do not believe you.” His words echoed in her mind. Oh he should believe her, she was terrified. Lucia faked confidence well, but it was an act, a charade. Something you did to get through one day after the next. She could probably fake this too, but that didn't make her wish that having a dozen cats, several streaming services, and delivery pizza was a valid career choice. She drew a deep breath and nodded her head slowly. She wasn't going to argue as much as she wanted to. There would be other times, other issues. In truth he had certain things that seemed to matter to him a great deal, and to her very little. What was the harm in going with it?

Lu did her best to ignore the whispering and awwing coming from the sales clerks. Her eyes flicked across the mirror and caught a glimpse of at least two of them watching. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at them, and jerked her attention back to Serge as he clasped the bracelet around her wrist. She held her hair out of the way for him as he lifted it to place the necklace around her neck before letting it fall. She met his gaze in the mirror, his smile matched by her own as he asked if she needed anything else.

"I should be asking you that question. I am lucky if I make it out the door in shoes that match each other." She said as she turned to face him a brief expression of mischief crossing her face almost to fast for him to catch it, but he was quick, he probably saw it. "Although now that you mention it, there is one itty bitty teeny tiny thing." She said.

She closed the gap between them so she could speak very quietly. "Lu, Lucia, Gwen, Guinevere. Anything but Ms. Baker. I'm pretty sure once your hands have been under my skirt, You've earned the right to call me by my given name." She teased about her reasoning, but she was serious. Ms. Baker was her mother. She didn't feel like Ms. Baker, She wasn't Ms. Wilmer either, right now, she was just Lu.

“I’m not surprised.” He said with a chuckle to her statement of being lucky enough to get out of the house with matching shoes. Something told him that wasn’t much of a joke and that there was a good amount of truth to that statement. She seemed like a strange mix of organized and disorganized at the same time, which was really surprising. Somehow, in some magical way she had her life in an order she understood. Then there was Serge, Serge had his own order in his mind and it kept him on the path he liked to be. He was organized, a neat and well maintained with a strong sense of structure compared to others.

There was a bit of surprise on his face that she did have a ‘itty bitty teeny tiny thing’ and she closed the gap between the two of them. He didn’t move though his Adam’s apple gulped up and down in surprise. Holding perfectly still was his only solution to the situation as she practically whispered to him her request. His face turned a soft sad of pink upon her mentioning the fact that he had lifted the dress in order to place the shoes on her feet.

“Don’t ever say that out loud.” He scolded her in an attempt to cover his embarrassment. “Lu.” He said simply, a nod, his large hand crept up her arm and around to the back of the dress. The temptation to pull her to him was nearly unbearable… Rip He pulled the tag off the back of the dress. “There,” A grin moved across his face as he pulled his hand back from her and cupped the tag in his hand so she couldn’t see the price, “Now you can change back into your normal clothes.” A nod rose and fell his head as he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You can leave the dress, shoes and jewelry in the changing room, they’ll bag it up for us.”

With that he turned from her and went to the counter to the girls to pay for the things.

Lucia noticed his discomfort as she invaded his space, she figured turnabout was fair play. She had been edgy all day thanks to him. She was going to have to get over it, and in a hurry. The two of them were going to be, for all intents and purposes, living together for at least the next week. She smirked as he finally agreed on Lu. It would work for her. She just refused to deal with Ms. Baker anymore.

She bit her bottom lip and tried to control the shiver as his hand slid up her arm. She swallowed roughly and had to clear her throat. "Sure. I will be right back." She said as she picked up her skirt to make sure she didn't trip and practically fled to the dressing room. She leaned against the door for what she thought was just a moment, but must have been long enough to be noticed because one of the sales ladies knocked gently and asked if she needed any help. "Oh.. No just a minute." She said as she quickly stripped down.

She left the dressing room once the flush had faded from her cheeks. This had been an interesting experience on many levels. She waited fairly patiently as everything was finished up.

-----------

Lucia slid into the SUV, but before she buckled her seat belt she dug around in her bag for her cell phone. She needed to text her neighbor and have him do some grocery shopping for the two of them. She slid the buckle together with a soft click and turned her attention to her phone. She was texting when she started to speak softly. “You’re wrong you know.” She said glancing up from her phone quickly. “About me not being scared I mean.”

She continued to text and talk as she did so. “For you this is just another party, for someone like me, this is a major event.” She asked her neighbor to go grocery shopping, and to see if she could borrow the nice air mattress his Mother In Law had purchased for her visits. “You were born into this world. You may take on what is often considered a servant position, but you were born to this.” There were several things that told her this, it wasn’t just one thing, it was a lot. And when you grew up on the wrong side of town, you learned which kids were the rich ones because they could do what ever the hell they wanted, and there was nothing you could do about it. Not that she and her mother were ever destitute, but for a good portion of her life, there was always more month than money.

“Do you know you don’t use contractions when you speak?” She asked. “Almost everyone does. Not using them is usually a sign of finishing school of some sort.” She couldn’t even be entirely sure where she picked up that little tid bit of information, but it did tend to prove true. She hit send on her text and set her phone down in her lap. “My point is, this is your world, not mine, and the crossing of the two scares the crap out of me.” She shrugged a little. It wasn’t just this one thing, it was that there was a chance that there might be a lot more of these things in her future depending on how everything went. She was a worrier, and she was worried.

She sat silent for a minute and picked up her phone toying with it nervously. “This has to be without a doubt the weirdest damn day of my life.” She said. There was no sign of her earlier break down, just a statement of fact. She was feeling slightly disconnected, as if this were happening to someone else. If someone had asked her what her life felt like in this moment, she would honestly tell them she felt like she was watching this entire thing unfold like she was a passenger in her own skin.

She slid her finger across the screen of her phone and opened her text app again. She might as well start adapting to her new normal. “Hope the press conference went well, completely missed it as Serge and I just finished shopping. Apparently Election night festivities are in my future LOL was totally planning on Netflix and pizza in sweat pants.” She texted to Erik. She had to get used to this sometime, and since this whole day had been throwing the baby in the river to see if she could swim, she might as well add some weights to her ankles. “Anyway, working all night until morning, but considering taking one of mom’s “Mental Health Days” tomorrow so should be home all day and next. Good Luck this week!” She was trying. It was very awkward, and felt forced, but she was trying.

“On the topic of weird… You know Erik better than I do. In your opinion, what the hell do I do? What does he ultimately want?”

Boy… boy this girl liked to talk. And she seemed rather frazzled so it came as no surprise that she found it helpful to ramble on about things. She was scared, that much was obvious but she seemed to be under a lot of misconceptions. While it was ‘his world’, it wasn’t his by choice. In fact even though he was born into it, he was in a desperate desire to get out of it. Instead he was stuck, however he could be in a much worse position and he considered himself lucky to have the job at that he did.

Unlike the other person in the vehicle, he never let all of his feelings fall out onto the table. Nor did he find it in himself to speak nearly non-stop. Though she seemed to claim down quite a bit as she filled their travel time with a worry-filled speech that caused him to roll down his window just to allow some fresh air into the car. Boy, she got into things deep for some reason. And her mention about it being his world versus hers made him sigh.

It took, what felt like forever, for her to stop talking. A long sigh left him as he turned the car and went to the bay front. Pulling the door open, he shut off the car and stepped out. Walking around he pulled open the passenger’s side door and waved for her to get out. Once she was out he shut the door a little harder than he had intending as he lead her down the boardwalk and stopped against the railing that overlooked the ocean.

Leaning against the railing he took in a deep breath through his noise and out his mouth, his whole body seemed to relax after doing so as his posture took a more relax stance. “I am sorry you are dealing with all of this. I can empathize with how much of a shock this all must be for you. You may not have faith in yourself but…” A smile moved across his face as he turned his blue gaze from the water to her. “You are the only one.” He gave her a nod before looking back out across the water. “‘My world’, as you have so cleverly named it, is not something that can easily be understood. I will be the first to admit it because I still do not have a full grasp upon it. But I do know that the lack of a family can make it difficult on someone. Your father talked non-stop about trying to find you before he passed on the case to me. He could not continue the search on his own so he asked me. In all the times I have known your father and had a the privilege of working for him I have learned a few things about your father.”

“One.” He held up a single finger, still talking out to the ocean, “Your father is a business man by trade but is a father by heart. Two,” A second finger rose. “He is really good at his job. Three.” A third finger, “He really hates green beans; the smell and all. He cannot even have it on his plate without looking like he is going to vomit. Four,” He held up four fingers, “He is much more normal than you would think. And Five.” At this, after indicating five with his fingers, he turned his head to look back at her. “He very much wanted to see his daughter.”

“Look,” Serge turned his body to face her directly leaning up against the railing with a smile, “He has been wanting to meet you for a while. One of his sponsors dropped by with his little girl and Mr. Wilmer could not keep the conversation going until he played with the active two year old. An hour into their two hour meeting, he finally went back to focusing on the conversation. When he found out there was a possibility that he might have a daughter, he was very excited for the idea.” A shrug rose and fell his shoulders, “He just wants to develop a relationship with you and it seems like the two of you put together a well worked out plan. Just be yourself, I am sure he will enjoy you just being yourself.” A smile rolled across his face, showing his straight white teeth, “Talk to him about your hobbies, your favorite foods, the things you like to do in your spare time… or what little you have. Treat talking with your father like you do a friend or conversing with your customers at your work.”

“You do not need to treat this like something you do not understand. Instead treat it like a friendship.” He nodded. “Just take a few deep breathes and take a minute to look out over the ocean. Take some time for yourself, it may not be sleep but it is peaceful.” Reaching over, he took her hand and gave her a gentle pull to him, closing the gap between them and turned her to look out over the ocean. Taking his hand off of hers, he placed it on the railing and turned his body to face the ocean. “Just enjoy the view for a couple minutes. It is a 13 minute drive to get to your work according to your paperwork for you to arrive 10 minutes early for your shift. We have four minutes to enjoy the view and let you take a breather before you need to go to work. Oh and don’t get kidnapped for twenty minutes while you are at work. I need to run home and pack after I drop you off; if you’re going to make me run for ‘fun’ I refuse to run in a suit.”

She watched Serge out of the corner of her eye as she spoke. She knew he was not the talkative type, but the poor guy looked about ready to jump from the moving vehicle. She finally wound her speech to a close and asked him his opinion on her Father. He hadn't responded immediately instead taking them to the water front. She rolled her eyes as he once again opened the door and slid out as he waved at her.

She walked with him and leaned against the railing leaving a bit of a gap. She enjoyed being close to him, a little too much, so she was determined to keep a distance. She turned her head to look at him as he began to speak. She watched his body language. He had been very tense, but it seemed like the water was soothing to him. Maybe she would see if he wanted to run on the beach in the morning rather than on the track or a treadmill. He could probably use the relaxation. She shook her head a little as he mentioned that she was the only one who didn't have faith in herself.

She snorted as he listed off the things he knew about her father. Green beans? really? of all the information he could give to her this was important enough to make his top five? She couldn't help the grin that passed across her features. She couldn't blame him, green beans were pretty disgusting, especially canned ones. She could tolerate them, but then again when she actually sat to eat, she didn't actually taste anything.

She turned towards him as he turned towards her. She couldn't help but smile as he told the story of him playing with a toddler. She had known Erik for just a few short moments, but it was something she could actually picture. It made her a little sad, mostly for him that he missed so much of her life. She wanted to make it up to him somehow. They would never get that time back, but they could go forward. He was young yet, not yet to the point where he couldn't have more little ones. Perhaps it was something she could encourage him to do.

She laughed a little as he mentioned treating it like a friendship or an interaction with customers. She didn't have close friends. She had acquaintances that she called friends, but these were not people she would call to help her move, much less anything more serious. Her laugh stopped abruptly with a sharply in drawn breath as his hand closed over hers and pulled her close. She allowed him to turn her body to look back out at the water and sighed softly as he told her they had 4 minutes to enjoy the view.

Another laugh jumped from her throat as he mentioned her not getting kidnapped. "I assure you that with as cranky as I get when hungry, and how often I have to pee, I would be the worlds worst hostage. You would likely get a call saying "This was a really bad idea... Dude... Does it ever stop talking. Please come pick her up. Truce."

She took a deep breath and lightly touched his arm as she glanced over at him. "You don't have to run. Campus has a decent gym. I can use the treadmill and you can stand rather intimidatingly in the corner. It might cut down on the crappy pick up lines I get." She told him with a grin.

She finally stopped talking and just took in the view. She could see how it calmed him. She didn't take the time anymore to just be. She had gotten so used to operating on a full out run that even her down time was spent doing something. After about three and a half minutes she sighed softly and pushed away from the railing. It was time to go. She was going to have to dress in the car, that was going to be fun. It didn't bother her. She did theater in high school. She was used to getting dressed and undressed in front of people she hardly knew, but Serge? Serge was such a gentleman this was going to be an interesting experiment.

She allowed him to open the passenger door, and climbed in grabbing her bag from the floorboard. She unzipped it and had already pulled out her makeup bag before he had a change to slip into the drivers seat. She flipped down the visor and opened the makeup mirror. She was thankful she used mostly mineral stuff, because trying to blend a liquid foundation while driving was always a little tricky. She glanced over at Serge and gave a small smile. "So, you get to see the transition from hot mess to Lucy the waitress. It's a nifty little trick, although about the only one I've got."

She began the process, and it was a process. Foundation, contouring, eye liner, smokey eye shadow. It seemed that it would never be done. She wasn't exactly ignoring Serge, but she wasn't paying a lot of attention to him either. She trusted him to take care of getting them from point A to point B. She finished with her makeup, and then pulled her hair back into a pony tail. She didn't even bother with a style today.

Now came the fun part. She slipped the makeup bag back into her duffel, and pulled out her new bra setting it on her lap. She knew Serge wouldn't like it, but she unbuckled her seat belt before pulling her arms into her shirt to remove the bra she had on. She was fully capable of changing without once indecently exposing herself. It was a learned skill. One she was actually not half bad at. She decided that her next step would be to change from her leggings to the fake leather pants that were required for work. She decided on this because her current shirt came to mid thigh on her, and she figured it was better than doing it after she changed shirts.

She raised her hips a little and began wiggling her leggings down over her hips while she kicked off her shoes. "Sorry, I totally would have done this in the back seat, but I needed the mirror for makeup." She told him unapologetically. She grabbed a bottle of baby powder from her bag and smoothed it over her thighs. Sometimes plastic needed a little help sliding over skin. She wriggled herself into the pants and began searching for her knee high boots and tank top. She could have easily switched shirts using the one over, one under method, but that took too much time, so she just stripped off her t-shirt before pulling her tank top over her head.

She buckled her seatbelt again and stuffed her clothes into her bag while shoving her feet into her boots. She cheated, she bought the boots that zipped up the back so she didn't have to tie and retie the laces every time. She leaned back in the seat and adjusted the visor mirror again. It was time to add to the illusion that her C cups by Victoria were much larger than they were. It took a lot of contouring, but it really could make a difference. "So uh... How do I put this delicately... I know you are reporting back to my Father, but could we maybe not mention that I go to work looking like a cheap hooker?" She said with a grin as she finally tucked the makeup bag away. They still had a good two, maybe three minutes before they arrived at work.

She had managed to find a job at a place that could best be explained by saying If hooters and a biker bar had a baby, it would have been this place.

Something about her being the worst hostage held some truth which caused him to smile. “Maybe I will put up a ransom to take you back. Split the amount and get the word spread fast not to take you at all.” His voice held a bit of a chuckle as he found his personal joke to be humorous. Then again Serge, poor Serge, always had a bazaar sense of humor and even his coworkers didn’t quite understand it. But to her saying he didn’t have to work out, he shook his head. “No, if I have the opportunity to work out and still do my job I will take it. It keeps me from breaking my normal routine so I will not complain.”

This wasn’t going to be too bad. Everything would turn out okay… or so he thought. As they settled into the car, her transformation had begun and without really realizing what he was getting into he became more and more uncomfortable. His body tensed as she worked her body in and out of the clothing and proceeded to apply heavy makeup and… and… increase her breast size without getting breast implants. Good… GOD what did he get himself into with a woman like this?! He could have sworn this was going to be a walk in the park! His grip tightened slightly on the stirring wheel, discomfort taking over his posture as he drove. What the hell did he just witness? Her transformation was like magic and she’s OKAY with it?!

Her question about it not being reported back to her father made his body ease slightly. “No problem there….” He whispered softly, his gaze refusing to look at her. “I would not even know where to begin with my report. That is the best magic trick I have ever seen.” His hands finally loosened on the stirring wheel as they approached her work and he pulled the SUV into one of the parking spots. This poor girl, working for everything she has. It’s a wonderful quality but… well she could find a place better… but would ‘better’ work with her chaos of a schedule? Probably not. And women wonder why men have trust issues. Simple, women aren’t themselves around men. Which would explain why he enjoyed a much more natural look on a woman; if she can’t be herself around him, would she really be happy?

“I will be back in no more than 20 minutes. I do not live far. Save me a table in a corner. Preferably with decent-ish lighting and allows me to view most of the bar. But do know, that if I hear a scream from you, I will come running and I do not care where you are or what you are doing; I will break a door if I have to. Do not make it a game though, I had a client do that to me before and he was very surprised when something bad did happen that I still showed up. Last time I ever guard a kid…” He muttered under his breath about the ungrateful child. Pulling the car into the spot he climbed out and opened her door for her. Once she was out he opened the door to the bar but didn’t follow her inside, “Do not get kidnapped.” He said again with a wag of his finger to her, his statement shockingly more playful than the other times.

Once the door shut he went back to the SUV and headed for home.

17 minutes later the door opened to the bar and in walked in Serge looking, very different from the suit get-up walked in. This time Serge was dressed in a long sleeved dark blue high neck shirt, dark blue tighter jeans, a brown bet with brown shoes. Over his shoulders was a black leather jacket that made him look like he had walked off of a Ralph Lauren fashion show which was very out of place for the bar. With a bag over his shoulder he walked in like he owned the place as the sun went down and he found the table in the corner awaiting him. Sitting down with the grace of a higher classed individual, he placed his bag next to him and opened it.

Reaching inside he pulled out a thick book titled “Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens and a glasses case. Popping it open, he pulled out a pair of rectangle shaped glasses with a black frame and slid them on his square face; than he opened the book to the bookmark and began to read, and of course, wait for service.

She laughed and shook her head as he mentioned a reverse ransom. It would probably work. She could be a giant pain in the ass, but she was a cute pain in the ass so it all worked out... mostly.

She watched the tension creep into Serge's every move as he kept glancing over at her getting ready for work. She wasn't a huge fan of what she went to work looking like, but it did help her get better tips, and it kept her work persona separate from her daily life. She had in the past run into regulars on the street and there had not even been the slightest flicker of recognition. She liked it that way. She didn't enjoy the flirtations and nonsense chatting at work, but she did it.

She gave him a grin as he mentioned it was the best magic trick he had ever seen and just shook her head. "Nah, I can do better, but probably not in a moving vehicle without more time and better lighting. Just ask Elias, he'll tell you this is nothing." She said reminding him of the earlier conversation when he told her the kid was a master of disguise. "Hmmm, come to think of it, he might be more helpful than the youtube videos." She said with a shrug.

She turned her head towards him as he began to give her instructions on a good table, and about the screams. She nodded knowingly she had figured as much. She better warn him about all the noise that came from kitchens. "Got it, but fair warning there is always a lot of yelling and crashing coming from a kitchen. I promise if I need you I will scream though." She told him honestly.

She slipped from the car and nodded her thanks. She was getting used to letting him get the door for her, even though in her mind it was rather pointless. She laughed as he told her not to get kidnapped. "Yes Dear," she told him playfully. "Although I promise they would give me right back." She wrinkled her nose in a playful smile as she turned to head into work. It was the second she crossed the threshold that she changed again. She no longer walked with a single sided purpose, she sauntered, glided almost. The disheveled,crabby, insecure Lucia he had met today was gone.

She headed straight for the computer terminal at the bar and clocked in, before grabbing a sheet of paper and making a small reserved sign. They didn't have sections here, they just took tables as they came in no matter where they were. She knew where she was going to stick Serge though. There was one booth in the corner that gave him a good view of the front door, the emergency exit, the entrance to the kitchen area, and a decent look at both the bar and dining areas. She made her way across the dining room floor to put her sign on the table and waved at the two other girls who were working the dinner shift tonight.

Sharon was an older lady who had been doing this a long time. She could have been anywhere from her mid forties to late fifties. No one knew for sure, and no one was going to ask. Beth was young, she was probably only 21, maybe 22. She was cute, blonde and perky. Well perky until there was real work to be done, and then she claimed to be exhausted. Lucia knew she was going to have her work cut out for her tonight.

She didn't have to wait long to start the chaos that was her job. In this business you can go from completely empty, to a line out the door in minutes. Why people came here, she had no idea... it was probably the waitress uniforms... oh and the beer. There was always a beer special. She greeted her first table with a smile. College kids... she hated these tables. They ran her back and forth and rarely tipped worth a damn. She took their order and managed not to roll her eyes as one of them finished "Oh, and of course your phone number." She just smiled sweetly and looked over at Sharon with a grin. Sharon always got a laugh out of the phone number she gave them. "Sure thing Darlin... You ready?" She waited a minute as more than one cell phone made an appearance. "It's Eight, Six, Seven" She paused giving them time to punch it in. "Five three Oh nine." She finished then gathered the menus and walked away.

She could almost feel the change in the atmosphere when Serge walked through the door. She was damn near afraid Beth was going to knock her over as she tried to rush through running food to a table so she could beat Lu to waiting on Serge. Lu had decided though that since he was going to be around all night it would make sense to just take care of it. Not to mention this way she could check in with him and let him know she was alright. She grabbed a glass of water, a roll of silverware and a menu and headed over to his table. She set the water in front and to his right, the silverware to the left and slid the menu in front of him.

"Welcome. I am Lucy. I will be your waitress tonight. Can I get you started with something to drink? We have both Coke and Pepsi products." She said with a smile. She found that if she smiled when she talked it was much easier to avoid sounding bored. She finally took a minute to look him over. Damn that was an incredibly fine man. Maybe she should have let Beth take the table, not that it would have made a difference, she had to live with this man for at least the next several days.

While Serge’s eyes were on his book, his ears were listening to the conversations within the bar. Some men were pissed off at their wives while others were depressed that they were single. A few women laughed and joked about work while others just spent their time downing drinks and guzzling food before throwing a pathetic amount on the table and stumbling out.

The chatter of the waitresses seemed to be rather normal for a food establishment until he overheard a blonde waitress tell an older woman, “Damnit, Lucy beat me to it. He is so hot it’s unbelievable!” His eyes rolled slightly as he read his book. He wasn’t here to be stared at but compared to the rest of the individuals in the bar; he couldn’t help but feel a bit of a swelled head knowing he was a good looking guy in a not so good looking place. It was probably a nice change for the staff members.

However the rambling of the waitress was enough to make him move in a bit of an uncomfortable fashion and it wasn’t until Lu arrived and provided him with water, silverware and a menu before he felt like he could relax. Probably because he had something else to listen to other than the ramblings of the crazy blonde that happened to be nearby and speaking loud enough to echo into his ear drums. “Professional even with me?” He questioned, his blue eyes peering over the top rim of this rectangular glasses as his lips curled into a small smirk. “I am surprise, and slightly impressed.” He marked the page in his book and closed it with a thump before placing it on the table.

“I honestly thought you would just pretend like I was not here or have someone else wait on me. Do not tell me you have started enjoy being around me.” He said with a chuckle as he picked up the menu keeping his glasses on as he did so. “Because that might just make my job easier and I do not know if I can handle that.” The chuckle echoed again as he glanced over the menu.

“Are there any specials I should know of?”

She laughed and shook her head a little as he mentioned letting someone else wait on him. "I had considered it, but you know I figured I would take pity on you and save you from Beth's attempts to get you back to her place, unless of course you might be interested." She teased before looking pointedly over her shoulder to where Beth could be seen taking another table close by, standing so she could watch the two of them.

She cocked her hip resting her thigh against the edge of the table. "Well I don't want to make your job TOO easy." She teased. "I suppose I could throw you to the wolves for the night and run past once in a while to let you know I am still alive and kicking."

He asked about specials and she just rolled her eyes. Specials are a restaurants way of getting rid of food before it gets to the point where the health department makes them throw it out. "Oh trust me, they really aren't that special, but tonight we have open faced roast beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy. Meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes. And a chef salad." She recited from memory.

She rolled her shoulders a little to relieve some tension. One of the downsides of this line of work was carrying all the trays was hell on the upper back and arms. She had already been running from table to table as the place had filled. It would be busy for a while then get pretty quiet until the late night crowd hit.

Serge’s eyes shifted to look behind Lu and to the girl she was talking about. The blonde seemed way too into her and it was hard to see past that caked in make up to who she really was. A small shaking of his head pulled his attention from the blonde to his client. “I will pass, she is not my type nor should I be attempting to get laid while I am working.” He said with a casual shrug before picking up the menu.

His blue eyes scanned the menu as he listened to her talk. Preferring not to draw attention to his presence, he did his best not to give her any more attention than a standard customer would. When she finished explaining the specials he handed her the menu. “Thank you for that information but I do not think I will have any of those. After mother’s meatloaf no restaurant has made it any better.” He said with a playful grin before speaking again. “I would appreciate the steak dinner. Medium with French fries and steamed vegetables but, no green beans; they make me puke. As for a drink, seeing as I am on the clock I will just have water. Thank you.”

Once she left he returned to his book in hopes the night would be a peaceful one.

Lu didn't need to write his order down, it was pretty simple. She slipped away from his table and back into the flow of things. She entered the order into the computer on the edge of the bar, and then turned her attention to the rest of her tables. She pre bussed tables, refilled drinks, and listened for the yell of "Order Up" from the kitchen window with practiced ease. When his order was ready, she finished serving drinks to one table then headed to pick it up. She slipped a bottle of A1 in her pocket. She didn't think he would want it, but she always carried some just in case. She also grabbed a full bottle of ketchup for his fries, as she didn't know if his table had a full one or not.

She brought his food to the table setting it down carefully so as not to disturb his reading. She also placed the A1 and Ketchup bottles on the table. "If you need anything else just let me know." She said before disappearing back into the crowd of diners that were all leaving at the same time. That was one of the downsides of this kind of work. It came in waves. The place was emptying at a decent clip leaving Lu and Sharon to clean more than their fair share of tables. Beth was as usual spending more time looking like she was busy than actually doing much. Lu didn't mind too much though. She scooped up a stack of plates and grabbed a four glasses in her free hand taking everything to the kitchen.

On her way back she brought a fresh glass of water to Serge's table. "Is everything ok?" She asked as she replaced the water glass on the table. Once she had made sure he was ok, she turned back to work. The place had filled back up again, and Lu was working at a flat out run. She would make sure anytime she had a table near his to stop over and check in with Serge, filling his water, or taking care of anything he needed.

This rapid empty/fill cycle continued steadily until right about 9, and then it just got really quiet, really quickly except for the crew sitting around the bar. The actual restaurant portion was absolutely dead. Lu sighed and grabbed a large tray and began gathering ketchup bottles and salt and pepper shakers from each of the empty tables. Sharon was already gone for the night by now, leaving Beth and Lu to handle things from here on out. Lu brought all the bottles and shakers to an empty table slightly kitty corner to Serge and set them down before grabbing a caddy from behind the bar to sit down and fill them.

She paid him no mind though. She just chose a place in easy view to make his life a little easier. Beth came over and set down a large tray of silverware and a pile of napkins before walking away to get herself a drink. "Hey Lu?" Beth started as she sat down across from her. "I know I am supposed to work the double tonight, but..."

Lucia just sighed and shook her head. She had been waiting for this all night long. She was always the first one to pick up a shift, but she was exhausted, and really really did not want to be here until morning. She glanced over to Serge and raised an eyebrow silently asking him if he minded being here all night long. She was exhausted, but she was used to crap like this. She didn't want to make his life any more difficult than necessary. "I don't know Beth. I have to check on a few things, let me get back to you." She said trying to temporize a solution until she could find a way to let the girl down easy.

Beth seemed to accept that answer and started rolling her silverware but stopped after a couple and leaned forward whispering harshly. "So what's the deal with the hot guy? I've never seen him here before." She said.

Lucia once again shook her head. There were many things she COULD tell her, but she had no idea what she should tell her. "I don't know what to tell ya Beth." She said quietly fully aware that Serge could hear them talking.

Who would have thought that with Serge’s background, his education and his talents that he would end up sitting in a run-down biker version of hooters, reading a book and eating dinner as a part of his job. Actually, it was not as a bad as you would think. In fact listening to her converse with guests along with her coworkers while munching away on some rather decent food made this job all the more bearable. The poor girl had it rough compared to Serge and he wasn’t going to degrade her job just because it was something he wouldn’t do. Instead he sat quietly, stayed out of her way and let her do her job to the best of her abilities; which was impressive to say the least. Since something like this wasn’t within his scope of practice, he could appreciate her attention to detail.

As the night rolled on, Serge ate his food with more grace than the bar seemed to process and continued on his read. That was until he overheard a rather aggressive drunk get at his client. It started out simple, little sly comments or flirtatious faces that would cause his blue gaze to move from the pages to peek at the individual from over his glasses. It wasn’t until the man began to follow her around the bar that Serge found himself more and more irritated.

“Come on baby…” The drunken man said practically leaning over the countertop at her. “You’re smokin’ hot and a total babe, just one night of fun. Come on… ditch work and let’s go get our groove on.” His sly remarks continued and from his corner, Serge slid his book mark into the pages and shut the cover. Placing the book down he pulled his glasses from his face and gently folded them together, placing them on top of the hard over.

“But sweetie, I’m what ya need. I’m what ya desire… a big strong hard working man. Plus I got a huge d…”

“Excuse me.” Serge’s voice cut off the man before he could continue to bug Lu anymore. “I think you need to leave this woman alone so she can continue to do her job with ease.”

The man who had been bothering Lu for the past two hours leaned on the counter to turn his body and look drunkenly at Serge who was standing straight up with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “What the fuck do I need your opinion for? How about you just fuck off?”

“I think it might be best if you leave for the night. It sounds like you have had enough and could probably benefit from a cab ride home.” His voice was calm, as if he had been dealing with people like this all of his life but, there was a sense of coldness radiating from him. He didn’t like this guy and there was no doubt about that.

“I said fuck off.” The man said leaning towards Serge, as if he expected Serge to move or flinch under his lean; unfortunately it didn’t happen.

“Miss.” He called out to the blonde near the end of the bar, “Will you please phone a cab? I will help this man outside so he can get home safely.”

“To hell you are!!” The man shouted back as he pulled back a fist and swung.

Seeing it from the corner of his eye, Serge dodged quickly by jerking his upper body in the opposite direction of the swing. The man stumbled forward and looked madder than he did before. “How about you and I go wait outside for the cab?” was probably not what the man wanted to hear from Serge, which would explain why he came back up and gave another swing.

This time when Serge moved, he brought his hands from his pocket and grabbed the guy’s wrist. Turning the man around, he pinned his arm behind his back and shoved his face directly into the bar top. His practiced movements were quick and ready for the man’s attack and it proved effective as the man grunted on impact. “My apologies,” He said turning his gaze to Lu, “You will have to clean the counter top again, it looks like he might have drooled.” Than his gaze moved to the blonde who seemed a bit dumbfounded at the thing she had just seen. “Miss?” He questioned giving her a look that can only be described as ‘hello?’ before she mentioned something about the cab arriving shortly.

“Fantastic.” He said as he grabbed the collar of the man’s shirt and yanked him off the bar with relative ease. “I will escort you out.” With that he began to push the man who seemed more stunned than anything else. Things like ‘I thought there was going to be a fight’ and ‘I’m glad that punk is gone, he was starting to piss me off’ along with, ‘Huh, I didn’t know that silent guy was so quick’ began to flutter around the regulars.

It wasn’t very long before Serge returned inside acting as though nothing had happened before he placed himself back in his seat and slid his glasses back onto his face. He left his post… boy the guys were going to give him hell for doing that… You weren’t supposed to leave the side of your client unless asked to but something told him if he didn’t see the punk into the cab, he’d end up being a problem all night. Serge knew he owed Lu an apology for leaving her like that and would deliver it later. After taking a quick drink of water, he opened his book to his marked page and went back to reading.

Lu was completely in her element. She practically flowed from one table to another her focus completely on the task at hand. She did make more than her share of glances towards Serge as he read his book in the corner booth.

He looked so very out of place here, but there was a calmness that surrounded him. He may have been watching her work, but she was doing the same to him. She watched the way he would occasionally look up and read the room appearing to do nothing more than to take a break from his book.

Once the chaos in the dining room slowed down, she jumped behind the bar to pick up the overflow there. It was fortunate that most nights it seemed one area was busier than the other, which kept them from going crazy trying to meet too many demands at once.

She hadn't been behind the bar long when a particularly drunk patron caught her attention, and not in a good way. Unfortunately she seemed to catch his attention as well. It always started the same way. The drunken attempts at conversation, when that didn't work, they always ALWAYS got more agessive. Lu did what she always did, she kept her head down and did her best to ignore the increasingly lewd suggestions comning from his mouth.

The drunk dogged her heels, making it almost impossible for her to do her job. She narrowly avoided tripping on him more than once. She was about to call Bill from his office to deal with the situation. She was more than capable of handling it herself, but policy was that Bill was the one to determine when a patron had crossed a line.

She stopped short and backed up a few steps as the patron leaned farther over the bar. She made a face as she started to get more information about his anatomy than she wanted. It appeared Serge had listened to more than his share of this conversation because suddenly he was there.

"Oh shit." Was Lu's only thought as she watched Serge step in and gracefully demand that the guy call it a night. The situation escalated as the drunk turned his attention to Serge. It was likely that he could have continued harassing her all night and not gotten violent, but now, now he saw Serge as coming between him and the object of his focus.

Lu didn't quite know what to think when the first punch was thrown. She hated bar fights, it usually meant her tips went to shit, and a long night cleaning up. She didn't need to worry though. It seemed that despite her fears Serge had this well under control.

She laughed a little as he told her she was going to need to clean up the bar again because of a little drool. "Another drink, maybe two and drool would have been the least of my concerns". She joked.

It took a minute for what was happening to sink in in the people around them, but her coworker rallied and managed to call the cab and let Serge know it was on its way. Lu just shook her head as the drunk was escorted out of the building.

It seemed to cause a lot of chatter among the regulars, but that wasn't what Lu was listening to. She was listening to the ladies. They obviously appreciated not only Serges good looks, but his skills as well.

It took her a while to get everyone settled back down, but once the beer was once again flowing and Serge had returned to his seat as if nothing had happened, everything was once again back to normal.

Lu finished what she was doing and made her way to stand next to Serge's table. Her first instinct was to complain that she was doing just fine and hadn't needed his help. That was the type of woman she was of course, very independent. This, however; was not the tactic she chose. She realized that he likely had made a difficult decision to get involved.

She rested her hand gently on the edge of the table and waited for him to turn his attention toward her. "Thank you." She said quietly. "I appreciate you handling that for me."

Her tone said more than mere words ever could. It was hard for her to thank him. She was so used to handling everything on her own, she didn't quite know what to say or do when someone else stepped in and had her back. She glanced around the place and decided that the others could handle things on their own for just a minute.

She slid into the booth across from Serge and leaned back with a sigh. "I mean it. I really do appreciate you stepping in."

The bar seemed to relax after Serge took his seat and began to read again, gently finishing off his meal as if nothing had happened. What was he supposed to do? Just sit back and let her be treated poorly by some drunken patron. Even if it was her job, he had no intention on allowing people to treat her like crap. His large fingers gently turned the page of his book as he continued to read.

It wasn’t until he heard a hand being placed on his table that his attention moved upward, his blue gaze looking up over the rim of his glasses at the individual who had stopped at his table. It was Lu. Placing his utensils gently on his plate to indicate he was done. He then slid is bookmark into his book and softly shut it.

“It is my job to insure your safety.” His head rose and fell with a nod. “However, I could be fired for leaving my post so I would be grateful if you left that detail out when reporting on my work habits.” Sitting back against the booth backing he took a drink of his water before tilting his head to one side before speaking softly, a gentle smile across his full lips, “I am glad that my stepping in did not affect your job in a negative fashion. I have no intention being here to make your job more difficult but please do know that I have no ill intentions.”

“How much longer is your shift? And what are the plans after the shit if over? Do you still wish to visit the gym?” Even the way Serge drank his water compared to the other patrons at the bar held a lot more elegance and pose but, well that was just who he was.

She smiled a little as he apologized, and assured her it was her job. "Serge..." She said leaning forward and lightly touching his arm. "Your job is to be here in the unlikely event my identity is discovered, not so much because I need protection, but because footage of me kicking a reporter and calling him a nasty name wouldn't go over well. That being said. I have no intention of ever mentioning this incident again. If it does come up however, my response will be that You left me in a previously secure location to remove what you judged to be a threat, you exercised your judgement that leaving me momentarily alone was the lesser threat than allowing the situation to remain."

She let go of his arm, and pulled her hand back to glance at her watch. It was after 11. She was supposed to be off at midnight. She didn't have any tables currently. "My Shift? I can make it over pretty quick." She turned in the booth and hollered across the room. "Bill. I'm fried... I am done for tonight. Cool?"

Bill set down a glass on the bar and kind of glared at her, but decided better of it. "I was hoping you would pick up the next shift." He said grumpily, "but since you have other plans... I guess letting you go now won't do any harm."

Lu grinned and turned her attention back to Serge. "Officially done as of now. Our best bet is to catch a few hours of sleep, and we can hit the gym in the morning. I am seriously considering taking what my Mother always called a Mental Health Day tomorrow." She said as she stood up.

"I'll be right back." She hurried back to the bar and waited a minute until Bill gave her an envelope full of her cash out from the nights credit card receipts. She appreciated that Bill still did it this way rather than make her wait to get them on a Paycheck. She blew Bill a kiss as she turned to head back to Serge, tucking the envelope back into her apron. "Ready?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When they arrived back at the apartment Lu handed Serge the key so he could let them in and of course perform his inspection. Things were a little different this time. There was a double size air mattress already set up in the middle of the living room. It looked more like an actual bed than an air mattress. It was one she had borrowed from her neighbor. His mother in law was picky, so she bought one that had a built in pump that ran almost constantly to keep it at a constant inflation. The counter in the kitchen was littered with grocery bags with all non cold items.

Lu walked to the stack of folded towels on the couch and read the note. "Chica, Jesus saw you bought towels, AND that you have an overnight guest. He assumed that the latter was the reason for the former, so he washed them for you. Have fun. Don't do anything we wouldn't do, and we want ALL the details. XOXO Carlos and Jesus"

Lu couldn't help but laugh as she read the note and waited for Serge to complete his inspection before heading to the kitchen. She began looking through the bags and laughed again. She had asked the right guys to go grocery shopping. She hadn't had this much food in the house in forever. Heck she wasn't sure she even KNEW what to do with half of this. She shrugged and started putting away the groceries.

"I love my neighbors." She said with a smile. "THIS is why they have a key to my place by the way. I have a key to theirs too, but I did get a present for you." She said and reached into a brown paper bag marked with the words PRIME NOW She pulled out a brand new dead bolt and a box of long screws holding them up for him to see.

"I figured this would help you sleep better." She told him setting the package on the counter before walking out of the kitchen towards her bedroom. She left the bedroom door open and got down on her knees digging around under her bed to find her drill. She just used it to repair one of the drawers in the dresser, so she knew it held a charge. She would replace the lock before bed so he could get a solid nights sleep.

She got up with a soft groan and headed back to the living room. She sat down on the couch and started to unzip her boots, setting the drill on the coffee table which had been shoved out of the way of the air mattress. She moaned softly in relief as she slid the three inch heels off her feet. She set the boots on the floor and leaned forward so she could reach under the couch and grab a tennis ball. She set the ball on the floor and began rolling her feet over it letting her eyes close slowly. "I am kind of glad I didn't pick up that extra shift. It has been a very long day."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Let me change that lock, and then I will wash my face and get out of your way so you can get some sleep." She stood up, moving a little more slowly than she had earlier in the day. "My room has windows, but since we are on the third floor, I don't think those are a concern, but I can either sleep with my door open or out here on the couch. Which ever makes it easier for you." She said as she reached for the drill.

Her response to his worry made a small soft uncharacteristic smile move across his face. Not many people have experienced a soft gaze from stern looking young man and here she was, getting a full treat of it. Surprisingly her words made him calm down and he felt the tenseness of his shoulders slowly fall into a relaxed position. She seemed to understand why it would bother him but, despite that she could do to his decision she was choosing to stand with his choice. And because of that, he offered her a rare smile.

His gaze followed hers to Bill who seemed more than happy (sarcasm) to let Lu go. The older man seem to shoot him a dirty look as Lu’s gaze turned to him and all he could do was smirk in response. Bill was really hoping to take advantage of the fact that she needed the money and work an extra shift. But, of course Lu would rather go home and a smug look came across his face as he packed up his belongings into his bag. It would be more justifiable for Lu to have him around if the owner thought he was just more than a patron and the smirk said something more.

-------------

The good thing is that she allowed him to take his job seriously as he scanned the apartment once again before making sure all the windows were lashed. It looked like there were no fire escapes so someone scaling the side of the building wouldn’t be likely and she wasn’t on the top floor. A nod rose and fell his head as he came back to the door and allowed her inside.

The house was suddenly filled with supplies and a bed was made on the floor for him. “Huh.” He said in a bit of a surprised tone as he looked around seeing the stuff. “I see why you like them to have a key. I will run background checks on them tonight if you give me their names. If they pass they can keep a key.” He said with a nod.

To his surprise, she held up a new lock. He waited until she returned to take the drill from her and the lock. Walking through the house he went to the front door. Her statement about which would be more convenient for him, he looked over his shoulder at her. “The door cracked is fine; I am a light sleeper anyway.”

Arriving at the door he pulled it open and quickly replaced the lock with a practiced hand. This wasn’t an uncommon thing for him to do so it was a quick process. As he stood up he turned around and to his surprise, which was clearly read on his face, he found two men standing on the other side of the door holding a bag.

“Hello,” “Hi,” They both greeted almost simultaneously as they stared at the man a head taller than them.

“We forgot one bag. Are you the man staying the night?” Carlos asked as he held out the last brown bag.

“I am. And you are?” The two neighbors introduced themselves Serge made a mental note of their names in order to look them up. He took the bag from Carlos as they introduced themselves and he peeked inside the bag. “Oh parmigino-reggiano cheese and gouda cheese. These will make a fantastic addition to a breakfast casserole. She will need her energy in the morning after tonight.” With that he shut the door on the couple staring wide eyed and rather speechless as he shut the door and locked it.

Carrying in the bag he placed it on the counter in the kitchen. “Your neighbors dropped off another bag. Looks like breakfast pieces.” He said with a nod as he unloaded the bag and put away the bag. “I got their names; I will run their background checks tonight and have an answer for you in the morning.”

Coming from the kitchen he opened his bag that he had set down on the couch and pulled out a laptop. Within moments he had it set up and was logging what happened for the day. “Do not worry Lu, I will leave out details of your profession and the fact that you practically stripped in my SUV.” He said in a slightly teasing tone as he typed away. “When I am done here I am going to make some tea I brought, would you like a cup?”

While Serge went to work on replacing the lock, she dashed off to her room to change. She ended up in a pair of capri length leggings and a thin strapped camisole tank top. She chose one with a built in bra since she had company. She shoved her sore feet in a pair of bright purple fuzzy socks. She heard the door close firmly and headed out of her room to see Serge headed to the kitchen. She let him go as she opened the bathroom door to grab a couple of makeup remover wipes starting the process of taking off the layers of makeup.

She raised an eyebrow as he told her the guys from upstairs had dropped off another bag of food. "Ok, remind me not to have Jesus the professional chef grocery shop anymore. I have a house full of ingredients, and nothing resembling food." She teased.

As he settled in on the couch with his laptop she scooped up the pile of fresh towels laughing at his comment. "Well ya know, I don't have a problem with it, but I am thinking the proud new Papa might." She told him over her shoulder as she headed to the bathroom to put the towels away. She left one hanging on a hook on the back of the door for him.

She reached over to the side of the couch grabbing one of her project bags and sighed. "Tea sounds wonderful actually." She said as she curled up on the edge of the couch tucking her legs underneath her while riffling through the bag to find a bobbin with black thread. She measured it out using her arm to judge length. She trimmed the thread and deftly threaded a needle before pulling out some blank fabric already in a hoop. She had been itching to start a new project, but had lacked inspiration. Serge had provided that.

She opened her phone and flipped through some files before settling on what she was going to do. She glanced over at Serge as she started working tiny hatch marks across the fabric, her fingers moving deftly. If he were to look right now it would look strange, It was nothing more than a line of //////// marks, but all were tiny and even.

"So as much as I am supposed to do tomorrow I am seriously considering a mental health day. I am mentally exhausted." She finally admitted. That was hard for her. She prided herself on being able to handle just about anything that came her way. Today however had thrown her for quite a loop. "I mean laundry obviously needs to be done, and I should probably dust something before the rabid dust bunnies under the couch attack while our backs are turned, but aside from that, I don't plan on much."

She reached the end of her row and turned back working her way to the left leaving behind tiny perfect X's in her wake. She would ocasionally slow to watch Serge out of the corner of her eye. She knew he was still observing everything, but he appeared so absorbed in writing his report.

“Maybe a mental health day would be good for you.” Serge replied not taking his eyes off the screen as he typed away. “You have been through more than the average person in less than 24 hours so it should come as no surprised that you would be stressed about it. Finding out your father is nearly the next president of the United States after not having a father figure to begin with can cause quite a stir for you.” His fingers continued to type away as he talked.

Much like Lu, he was used to multi-tasking except his environment wasn’t the same as hers. Instead he was used to having several people to talk to him at once, all needing instant answers to their highly important questions about security and tasks while he was doing something else. So this, this was nothing new for him. In fact it was easier than most situations and required much less thought. Soon he was finished with his report and sent it off to explain what was happening and closed the laptop with a gentle click.

Rising to his feet, he stretched upwards for a moment before letting his arms fall to his side. Without saying much, he turned on his heel and started into her kitchen. After some gentle clanging around in her kitchen, the smell of tea came floating out before the man emerged with two coffee mugs filled with tea. He placed the mug softly on the end table next to her seat before taking a seat on the couch as well.

Reaching out a foot, he gave the air-mattress a gentle nudge. “Normally we bodyguards do not sleep during our shifts with clients. If you are insistent that I sleep than I will request that you leave your bedroom window locked and your door open. I am a fairly light sleeper to begin with but if you want your door shut all the way I will not be able to hear if something happens through the wood.” He nodded as he took a drink of the tea and settled back against the couch. “I will leave that at your digression, just like whether you take a mental health day or not.”

She picked up her cup of tea and sipped slowly before looking over to him. "I can manage sleeping with my door open. You'll need some rest unless you plan on switching off with another body guard, the human body requires sleep or our brains start to make mistakes." Oh that was a lesson she knew too well. She often pushed herself to the very limits of her endurance.

"Besides, we are going to be roomates at least until Election day, you might as well be semi comfortable." She said shifting a little so she can look at him better. "I put a clean towel on the hanger on the back of the bathroom door." She sipped her tea slowly letting the heat relax her.

"Just make yourself at home. I'm pretty easy to live with." She grinned, "Although I am almost 100% certain that I am in absolutely no danger from someone coming through my window in the middle of the night. As far as the world knows I am an orphaned waitress at a dive bar. Heck even my neighbors think I am having company for some..." She paused for a minute thinking about how to phrase it. "less than wholesome activities." She teased.

She set her tea down and crossed her legs pressing her thumbs into the arch of her foot sighing in relief. "I swear the day I quit that place, I am never going to wear high heels again."

“There will be a point,” Serge began as he settled back against the couch. “Where I will trade with someone for a day or two but I will be your primary body guard.” He said in a matter of fact tone, giving a nod. “You will miss me I am certain of that. But I will most likely since Ron since you wish to ask him questions about the dogs. But that would depend on his availability.”

He explained as he leaned back in the couch letting out a soft sigh of relaxing as his shoulders fell showing, for the first time, a relaxed side of him. His head turned to look at her only to see her massaging her feet all wrong. A dramatic sigh left him as he placed his tea down on his side table. “You are going to hurt yourself.” Reaching over he placed his hand lightly on her foot and pulled. Turning her so her back was against the armrest. He then turned himself so his back was sitting in the armrest. Bringing his legs up, he crossed them on the couch and patted his thigh. “Other foot.”

With that he wrapped his large hands around her foot and began to give a gentle massage. Despite his roughness and cellist hands, he was rather soft in his actions; just like putting on her shoes earlier that day.