Reiner – My Customer

When I arrived at Jamie’s bar, I could tell that Kat wasn’t lying about the bar being understaff for the night. It was close to opening time, but a lot of preparation tasks were still undone. The suit, shirt, and skirt that I had on made it hard for me to move about and speed was of the essence as the deadline of the opening time loomed over us.

“You’re finally here! Was the traffic bad or something? It took you much longer than I thought…” Kat complained the moment that she laid eyes on me.

She looked me up and down before scrunching her face up at the sight of what I was wearing. Office clothes were clearly not her thing.

“What?” I asked.

“You look horrible in that. Can you even move properly? Get changed, girl…” Kat said before rolling her eyes at me.

She pulled me with her to the back where the staff room and lockers were located. Quickly, she opened her locker and pulled out a little black dress. Thin straps, V-neck, stretchy fabric that would hug the body tightly and a short skirt. It was the perfect definition of a little black dress.

“Put this on,” Kat said as she threw the dress my way.

“Ok…” I mumbled.

“Get changed and meet me back outside. There’s still so much that we have to do!” Kat exclaimed loudly before stomping out of the room.

I got changed quickly as I was instructed. The dress was short and extremely revealing. I sighed before turning away from the mirror. While running my fingers through my hair, I walked out of the room to find Kat.

“Do you think Charles will be here tonight?” Kat asked.

“How am I supposed to know…?” I mumbled emotionlessly in response.

“I bet he will be…” Kat forecasted before she beamed a smile at me.

“If you have time to place useless bets, you should take these to table 7…” I said as I shoved a tray of food into her hands.

“You little bitch…” Kat muttered before walking off with the tray.

I watched as she walked away before a huge smile curved my lips and I began to laugh.

“I didn’t think that you’d be here tonight,” a deep voice spoke close to me.

I whirled around to come face to face with the man Kat was just placing her bets on.

“Charles…” I said his name in a whisper.

“How was your interview?” he asked with interest.

Oh, right. He probably didn’t think that I would be here because I had my interview today. He still turned up though…

“It went quite well…even if I do say so myself,” I replied followed by an uncertain laugh.

When did he get here? I couldn’t sense his presence at all just now. Regardless of what I thought, I offered him a pleasant smile before handing him the menu.

“Want to order something first while I find you a table?” I asked.

“I should let Jamie know that you’re very good at your job,” Charles said as he took the menu from me.

“How so?” I asked innocently.

“There’s no talking to you without ordering something…” Charles replied with a chuckle.

He seemed really amused. I knew from what I’ve been told that he shouldn’t have any problems spending on drinks and food to help Jamie’s business. After all, he’s taking up space in Jamie’s establishment and chatting to a girl that Jamie hired. I was convinced that I was doing right by Jamie.

“It’s so crowded here tonight. My colleague is clearing up that table over there. Could you wait for a bit?” I said politely.

“Sure…” he replied without taking his eyes off my face.

My colleague sent me a sign with his hand that the table was cleared and ready to go. I waved at my colleague before turning to face Charles again.

“The table is ready now. Let me take you to your seat,” I said invitingly.

Charles followed me obediently to the table where I gestured for him to sit down. The place was very busy tonight, so I doubt that I’ll have time to chat with him or keep him company like the previous night.

I should quickly get his order so that I can help out with the other orders. Being understaffed was no joke, especially on a busy night like this.

“What would you like to have tonight?” I asked.

The way Charles’ eyes narrowed slight as he looked at me as if he was taking all of me in made me feel that perhaps I had phrased the question a little wrongly. For the first time, I was overly conscious of the revealing little black dress that I had on. It wasn’t like I was unaccustomed to having men stare at my figure but the way his eyes swept over my body while lingering at some spots made me feel very self-conscious.

After a short while that felt like an eternity for me, Charles closed his eyes and sighed. I wondered what was going through his mind at that moment. When Charles opened his eyes again, he looked directly at my face.

“Your dress is very revealing. I can see more than enough of your body. Although I do enjoy the attraction, I think that it’ll be better for you to wear the clothes that you usually do,” Charles said calmly.

“Oh…” I murmured at his unexpected words.

“Did you borrow the dress from your dear friend?” Charles asked as his eyes glanced over to Kat who was squeezing her body through the crowd of customers.

Not knowing what to say, I just nodded my head in response to his question.

“I told you before. You should be more careful. Men can do reckless things when they’re drunk…”

Charles warned me once again.

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied reassuringly.

After taking Charles’ order, I headed to place his order with the kitchen staff. Just when I was done with that Kat was back by my side. She looked tired already and the night was far from over. It was a chilly night, but it felt hot and little stuffy because of the crowd.

--To be continued…