Read Take My Hand (Interracial Erotic Romance) Online
Authors: Sophia Banks
Take My Hand (Interracial Erotic Romance) (2 page)
Not Gracie.
So instead of wishing for a hot man to walk through the door, she prayed for a rich generous one who had an eye for curvy black women. Tips, an easy shift and six calm hours. That’s all she wanted on this Friday night.
Gracie checked her watch and began counting the minutes.
It neared midnight and so far the night had gone smoothly. A large party came in at about nine and Jenny sat them in Gracie’s section. It was a birthday celebration and the wine flowed nonstop for close to three hours. By the time the check was tallied up the total bill came in at $2300 and the table left her a whopping seven hundred dollar tip, which was by far the largest Gracie had ever received. It seemed things were starting to look a little better again. All she had to do was make it another two hours and then she could relax and collect her thoughts. Just one hundred and twenty stress-free minutes.
Jenny sat a young Asian couple sat in her section and Gracie walked over to take their drink order. They both ordered a glass of Merlot and as she waited at the bar for the drinks Jenny walked over to her wearing a huge grin on her face.
“You won’t believe
whom I just sat in your section,” she said.
“Who?”
“Guess!”
Gracie shook her head. “I dunno, Drake?”
Jenny beamed. “Even better, Tyler Scott!” She grabbed Gracie’s hand and squeezed. "I can never get over how damn sexy he is."
Tyler Scott, the owner of the Omni Hotel, had eaten
at the restaurant before of course, but it had been months since the last time. Gracie personally had yet to wait on the man. “Calm down, Jenny.” She placed her hands on the smaller woman’s narrow shoulders. Gracie was as nervous as Jenny was excited. This was not the stress-free end of the shift she was looking for. “How big is his party? Does he look like he’s in a good mood?”
“He’s alone and he looks like he usually does, hot as hell!”
Gracie sighed and peered onto the dining floor. Sure enough, Tyler Scott was sitting in a booth by himself, waiting for his waitress. So much for a stress-free night…“Thanks for the heads up, Jenny.”
Jenny
jumped and clasped her hands against her chest. “I’m so jealous right now. Make sure to pay attention to how he behaves. I want a full report when he leaves, ok?”
“Will you knock it off?” Gracie shooed Jenny off and brought the Asian couple their
drinks. They decided they needed a few minutes to decide on their meal order so she went to Mr. Scott’s table and introduced her self. “Hello Mr. Scott, my name is Gracie and I will be taking care of you tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?”
Mr. Scott moved his gaze from Gracie’s smiling face to her cleavage and then down to her hips. The look on his face was one of approval and for the second time that night Gracie felt as if she’d won over an audience. “Yes, I’ll have a cranberry and vodka, thank you. Are you new here? I don’t recall seeing you in the past.”
Gracie winced. She’d been working at the restaurant for over a year and had even said hello to Mr. Scott on several occasions. “No, I’ve been here for over a year.”
Mr. Scott nodded and smiled. “I don’t know how I missed you.”
Gracie blushed. “I’ll be right back with your drink order.” She hustled to the service bar and waved down Manny, the bartender. “I need a cranberry and vodka on the rush. It’s for Tyler Scott.”
Manny smirked. “Ok, I’ll use my
special
cranberry juice and my
secret
vodka. We don’t want Mr. Scott to feel like a normal customer, now do we?”
A surge of annoyance pulsed in Gracie’s body. Manny was breaking her balls and she wasn’t in the mood for it. “Listen Manny, I’m having a crazy night and just want to go home and take a hot bath. Can you please just make the drink and not give me such a hard time? You’re not the one who has to go out there and deal with the man.”
Manny threw his palms up. “Okay, relax Gracie. I’m just teasing you a bit. No need to bite my head off. He’s apparently a good tipper, if that makes you feel any better.”
It didn’t. “Thanks, Manny.” Gracie watched
Manny make the cranberry and vodka. She peeked onto the floor to check her section and watched as Mr. Scott read the menu. She had to admit he looked adorable as he sat there in his dress shirt, V-neck sweater and dark designer jeans. He had the sort of effortless swagger that men worked hard to replicate and Gracie could easily see why women lost their shit in front of him. She probably would have also, if she didn't have more important things to worry about.
Manny placed the drink on her tray. “Here ya go, Gracie. I added a little extra vodka for ya, maybe it will help with your tip.”
Gracie grinned. “Thanks Manny.” She picked up her tray and headed for Mr. Scott’s table. If she was lucky him and the Asian couple would be her last customers of the evening and she could get home a little early and soak herself in a hot bubble bath before bed.
“Excuse me, waitress?” The Asian gentleman waved Gracie down as she walked by with Mr. Scott’s drink. “We’re ready to order.”
Gracie turned her head back and a surge of stress rippled though her body. The presence of Tyler Scott was far more nerve racking than a darkened audience. She smiled at the Asian man. “Okay, I will be right with you.”
Gracie turned her head forward but it was too late to notice the chunk of ice melting in the middle of the dining room floor. She slipped and fell forward. Gracie reached out and tried to catch the cranberry and vodka before it went flying in the air. She failed and watched as the red liquid landed all over Mr. Scott’s lap.
Mr. Scott stood in shock as the cold liquid soaked into his trousers. He then reached out his hand to assist Gracie. “Are you ok?”
Gracie rose from her knee, unharmed. “Yes, I’m fine.
Thank you Mr. Scott." She dusted off her knees and offered a nervous smile. "I'm terribly sorry for spilling that drink all over you.”
Mr. Scott grabbed a
dinner napkin and began soaking up the beverage off the fabric of his pants. “It’s okay, it’s only a pair of pants.”
“I’m so sorry.
It looks like someone dropped an ice cube on the floor and it melted.”
Mr. Scott dabbed the napkin near his crotch area and smiled. "Really, don't worry about it, Gracie. I don't even like this pants."
Leo appeared out of nowhere and began helping with the mess. Once Mr. Scott sat back down at his table Leo looked Gracie in the eyes and motioned for her to head to the kitchen area. Gracie followed him and when they were out of earshot of the dining room he stopped and frowned.
“You’re fired.”
Gracie's nostrils flared. “It was an accident, Leo and Mr. Scott isn’t even upset.”
Leo waved her off. “You always have your mind elsewhere, Gracie. I think it’s best if you just move on. I can tell you don’t want to be here.”
Gracie ripped her smock off, balled it up and threw it towards Leo. “Fuck you, Leo. I do a damn good job and you know it. You just want me out of her because I won’t sleep with you.”
Leo shook his head and looked over Gracie's thick frame. "You give y
ourself too much credit, Gracie, I don't like 'em as thick as you. Trust is, I don’t want you here because you don’t care about this job. Now please, clock out and head home. I don’t want any trouble with you tonight.”
Gracie flashed a middle finger up at Leo and clocked out. "Fuck this place."
*
Great, n
ow what am I going to do?
Gracie slammed her now empty locker shut. The excitement of the ordeal had begun to wear off and now the stark reality of the situation was beginning to set in. She would need another job, and soon. Rent was due in a week and borrowing money off of friends was simply not an option.
While she was sure most of them would be happy to help out she preferred to work through her tribulations on her own. One thing was for sure; the seven hundred dollar tip she’d made tonight would come in damn handy over the next few weeks.
Leo appeared next to her locker. “Mr. Scott wants to see you.”
Gracie slammed the locker shut. “Fuck him and fuck you too. I don’t work here anymore, or have you forgotten you fired me already? For slipping on a melted ice-cube, by the way. Ice I certainly didn't drop fucking drop on the floor, if you must now. Maybe I’ll sue the both of you for a dangerous work environment.”
Leo shrugged his shoulders. “Look kid, despite whatever beef you have with me I suggest you go see the man. He’ll probably give you a generous tip and maybe if you’re lucky a roll in the hay. Word has it he’s a magician in the sack.”
Gracie stood and balled her fists. “Leo, if you don’t get the fuck away from me I’m going to split your lip open. Do you understand?”
“Hey relax a little, kid. I’m just messing with ya, nothing personal.” Leo took a step back and distanced himself from the reach of Gracie’s balled up fist. “Look Gracie, you’re a decent enough worker but you have your mind elsewhere all the time. I can’t blame you for having a dream and wanting more out of your life, but this restaurant here is as good as it gets for me. I don’t have any bigger dreams than this and I can’t have people working for me who
aren’t fully on board with my program. So I’m sorry I had to fire you, but if I were you I would go see Mr. Scott. What do you have to lose?”
Gracie waved him off. “Thanks for the parting advice Leo. Now if you don’t mind I’d like to clock out in peace.”
Leo nodded and left Gracie alone with her thoughts. Why did Mr. Scott want to see her? Maybe he would override Leo’s decision and keep her on as a waitress. Or maybe he would just stick a fat tip in the breast pocket of her blouse, pat her on the fanny and wish her the best of luck on her way out the door. Gracie reached into her pants pocket and felt the knot of bills in her hand. After tipping out the bar and hostess she would have something like six hundred dollars to her name and with rent due in a week that would soon be gone as well. She decided that whatever Mr. Scott wanted it was in her best interests to find out.
She had nothing to lose at this point.
*
“Gracie!” Jenny walked over to her wearing a frown on her face. “I heard about what happened. I’m sorry, girl.”
Gracie hugged her. “Don’t worry about it Jenny, I’ll be fine. Have you seen Mr. Scott? Leo told me he was looking for me.”
“Yes, he just left. On his way out he asked me to inform you to meet him in his office.”
Gracie shook her head. Now she was supposed to chase the man all over the hotel for a damn tip? She felt pitiful for the things she had to do for money, but times were tough. “Thanks Jenny. I’ll be back next week to get my last paycheck. I’ll see you then.”
Jenny jumped into Gracie’s arms and hugged her
again. “I’m gonna miss you Gracie."
“Me too Jenny, me too.” Gracie exited restaurant and headed towards the bank of elevators near the entrance to the hotel. An older security guard stood sentinel.
“Are you a guest of the hotel, ma’am?”
“No, I work… rather, I used to work at Parker’s. I have a meeting with Mr. Scott. I think his offices are on the penthouse floor?”
The guard nodded. “Are you Ms. Johnson?”
“Yes, I am.”
The security guard handed Gracie a card-key. “Go on up. Mr. Scott told me you would be coming by. Just slide this card in before you press the penthouse floor, okay?”
Gracie nodded. “Thank you.”
She walked into the elevator, slid the access card and pressed PH. The doors closed and after a smooth twenty-second ride, re-opened. Gracie stepped into an empty foyer and noticed a door off to the right that was ajar.
That must be his office. I wonder how I look?
Gracie smoothed the wrinkles out of her blouse and made her way to the entrance. She knocked lightly on the door and peered in. Mr. Scott was sitting behind a large wooden desk and motioned for her to come in.
“Ms. Johnson, I’m glad you came up to see me.” Tyler motioned for her to sit. The office was sparsely furnished and very clean. Large windows offered a panoramic view of the city. An efficient workspace with a touch of style.
Gracie took a seat and crossed her legs. She did her
best to remain composed in front of her former boss. “What is this about Mr. Scott? Leo already fired me, in case you weren’t aware.”
Tyler smirked. “Do you think there’s much that goes on around here that I’m not aware of?”
Gracie felt a pang of annoyance. She just lost her job and now she had to sit and listen to an egomaniac pat himself on the back for being smarter than everyone else. Gracie sighed. “I suppose you know exactly what is going on at all times, sir, but if you don’t mind, could you please tell me what you need me for? I’ve had a very long day and I would really like to get home and relax.”