The Chauffeur [Complete]

Chapter 19

I gave it some thought. And then, I finally came to the conclusion that Sam and I should give marriage counseling a try. If he refuses, then I serve him with divorce papers. I'm not going to keep putting in a hundred and ten percent just for him to give me nothing in return.

I told Sam to meet me for lunch. He won't cause a scene in public should he throw another temper tantrum.

But he never showed.

I was getting ready to leave. The waitress, who has been watching me get stood up for the last hour, stopped by my table. "Would you like to order while you wait?"

I could see the pity in her eyes. She felt bad for me. I shook my head. "I think I'm going to-"

"I'll take an order of fries, please," a familiar voice interjected. I looked at Rade as he slid into the booth across from me. "And a burger and fries for my girl."

His girl!?

I almost choked.

What is he doing?

"I'm sorry I'm late, mikrí fotiá(little fire)." His voice dropped an octave, seduction heavily laced in his tone. "I promise to make it up to you."

The waitress looked at him, her cheeks tinged pink. "Anything to drink, sir?"

"Water, thank you."

She nodded, scribbled it down in her notepad, and took off. I looked away from her to find Rade staring at me.

"What. Was. That?" I asked, the shock having not yet worn off.

"I got tired of you looking like a sad ass puppy dog. It's embarrassing."

I smiled. I was more used to mean Rade. I felt comfortable with mean Rade. The other Rade, the one that just called me his girl and tossed sexual innuendo in my face, I didn't know whether I wanted to spread my legs or jump out the window. That Rade was too much. I'm so glad he was just pretending to make me feel better.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

The waitress came back with Rade's water, still looking flush. Then she was gone.

"Tell me what happened last night."

I shrunk into myself, my voice losing volume. "What do you mean?"

"I know something happened. You didn't finish your lemon bar. You always finish your lemon bar. Excuse me, lemon bars."

I frowned, pulling my lips into a thin line. My Chauffeur just called me fat. "Thank you for that," I bit out sarcastically.

He gave me a small, smug grin. "You're welcome." Then drank some of his water.

I rolled my eyes. "Nothing happened last night."

"You're lying," he shot back. "Your eye contact is shit when you're lying."

I glared at him. "You just have a lot to say today, don't you? I think I like you better when your mouth is closed."

"Another lie," he pointed out.

Our waitress returned, placing a basket of fries in front of Rade and the burger and fry combo he'd ordered for me down in front of me.

I thanked her, smiling. She smiled right back before excusing herself to address the next table a couple booths down.

Rade never took his eyes off me. I hoped and prayed I wasn't blushing right about now.

"Lying to me gets you nowhere," he said, resuming the conversation we had started before our waitress unintentionally interrupted.

"I'm not lying."

"Fine."

He stopped talking after that. He'd quickly become annoyed with me. Rade wasn't with the bullshit. He wasn't going to keep dragging information out of me. Which is one of the things I liked so much about him.

For the next ten minutes, we ate in silence. Well, he ate, and I pretended like I wasn't watching. I don't know how the hell he made eating a French fry look so damn good, but he did.

"Eat," he instructed, breaking the silence.

"I'm not hungry." He sent a glare my way, and I squirmed in my seat. "I'm not hungry," I said again.

My stomach grumbled in protest, exposing my lie. I was starving. This burger looked so freaking good, and I kind of hated how well Rade knew me.

A muscle in Rade's jaw flexed.

He definitely heard my stomach bark at me. Hell, the whole restaurant probably heard it it was so loud.

The kind waitress returned yet again, checking up on us to see if we needed anything and if our food was to our liking. She noticed I hadn't touched my plate once and asked if we needed any boxes.

"No, thank-

"Yes," Rade cut in.

I was back to glaring at him, and he was back to ignoring me.

The waitress' bright eyes nervously dart between me and Rade. She's not sure who to listen to until she notices Rade's hard gaze of warning.

She simply nodded and walked away.

"Why are you so damn bossy?" I whisper-yelled, leaning in with lowered brows and a frown of frustration.

He said nothing. Just waited for the waitress to return with our box and the receipt Rade had requested. He always gets quiet at the most convenient of times.

I huffed in annoyance while watching him put my uneaten food into a black to-go box. Then he lifted his hips, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a wad of cash.

"I don't know how much I gave you. Just keep whatever is left."

My eyes widened. What did he do before he started working for us? There's no way he made that much from us to give away his money so freely. I mean, don't get me wrong, the pay is pretty decent. But it wasn't nearly enough to be walking around with fifty dollar bills and wads of cash.

"Thank you," the waitress whispered, taking the receipt and the money. "Have a nice day," she said sweetly before leaving.

"Are you sure I'm not supposed to be working for you?" I joked, curious to know where all that money came from.

He didn't reply. Didn't even crack a smile. Just stood up and walked out of the restaurant.

O-kay. Looks like Mr. Moody is back.