Chapter Two
They ate in silence for a moment.
Rylan pointed to Larkin’s plate. “That looks better than what I’m having.”
She pushed her plate his way. “Do you want to share?”
He grinned. “No, but thank you.” He looked at Darian. “You’ve got a sweet girl here.”
“I think so. Most of the time.”
Rylan chuckled when she gasped in outrage.
“Daddy, I can’t believe you said that.”
Darian cupped her chin. “Are there times when you do things you know you’re not supposed to?”
Her bottom lip came out in a pout. “Maybe.”
Darian snorted.
Out of the corner of his eye, Rylan saw the waitress stop at the table of men. She had a tray of food she was dispensing when one of the men reached out and grabbed her ass.
Startled, Faith shook and lost control of the tray, and it crashed to the ground. The men yelled, and she started crying.
“That prick. I hope the manager throws their asses out,” Rylan said with a growl. His anger grew when the manager yelled at Faith. Rylan stood. “I’ll be right back.” He walked over to the group. “Sir, it’s not her fault. I saw this dickhead grab her ass.”
The manager looked at the man and then back at Rylan.
“I can’t see Mr. Bowman doing something like that. Besides, this woman is beyond clumsy.”
“I don’t give a fuck who the man is.”
“He’s a well-known lawyer in town,” the manager told him.
“Like I said, I don’t care. I saw what happened.”
Rylan glanced at Darian as he came to stand beside him. “I saw the same thing.”
“I’m sure you mean well, but she’s not a good fit for my restaurant. She’s been here a short time and has already broken several dishes.”
“You’re going to fire her because of this prick?” Rylan asked.
“Hey, who the fuck are you?” Mr. Bowman asked.
“I’m Rylan Simmons of the Simmons Corporation.” He enjoyed it when all the men recognized him and paled.
“Be as it may,” the manager said. “This was going to be her last day.”
“Hey,” Rylan yelled at Faith when she cried out, turned, and ran off.
Rylan scowled at the men. “This is fucked up, and I certainly won’t be eating here again. I’ll tell my friends not to eat here either. You just lost a lot of business because of that asshole.”
“But … wait…” the manager said.
Rylan ignored him, turned, and walked back to their table. He was pleased when Darian threw some bills down and helped Larkin to her feet.
“I can’t believe what happened. Those men were so mean,” Larkin said and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“They’re assholes,” Darian said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Rylan threw some money down and walked behind them as they exited the restaurant.
“I wish we had grabbed the girl before she took off,” Darian said.
“Hold on. I’m going to get her information from someone,” Rylan said. He walked out a few minutes later, frustrated. “They either won’t give out the information, or they don’t have any. All the hostesses could tell me was Faith started working here a few days ago, and far as they know, she’s on her own and hasn’t made friends.”