Audacious

Chapter 1

Work. Man I hated this shit. Being a waitress was possibly the worst job in the world; having to deal with rude customers and putting up with their annoying children always gave me a headache, and having to work 6 hour shifts just made me want to break down. Basically, working in customer service was just hell in itself. It was always rare to serve a customer that had a nice-temper at this place.

I had worked at this café restaurant for over two years now. Yes, it was boring having to take down the same orders over and over again but although it frustrated me, the pay I got was pretty good and I was saving up for university so I needed the money. I couldn’t complain considering this was the only place my dad trusted for me to work at as we were friends with the owner, Nicholas.

The place itself was really nice; freshly renovated with porcelain white walls and new brightly-coloured décor to set a welcoming atmosphere for all the customers who walked through the door. The dining room of the restaurant was huge; it could seat up to 150 people, probably 160 maximum and the kitchen was around half the size. Most of the staff Nick had hired here were very friendly so it was always a treat to come to work even on a bad day. The location of the store was more on the west side of the city but still attracted the attention of many locals and tourists. We had a good name going around; good food and great service so it wasn’t particularly unordinary to have a full house on a Monday or a Tuesday night but I guess you can never tell.

The diner had gotten quite busy for a Wednesday but it started to die down as the night went on. The place was packed before and literally the only thing I could hear the whole time was the noise coming from the 5 children on table 9; I could barely even hear the customers on the phone half the time. And what was worse than having to deal with these kids was that I had to clean up after them. I was almost finished clearing the last of my tables when Nick came over to help me.

“How’s your father Tayla? I heard he practically lives down at the station now?” he chuckled, picking up an empty glass off the messy table top and stacking the rest of them on top of one another.

“He’s good thanks and yeah, he kinda has been. He decided to come home yesterday. Finally,” I laughed while stacking up the dirty plates and walked into the kitchen, placing them down for them to be washed. “But he’s out again for a couple of days. He’s been assigned to monitor the streets down near the club every night.”

“What’s there to monitor?” he asked slightly puzzled, following me and placing down his stack of empty glasses.

“I don’t know, apparently there’ve just been a lot of fights breaking out on the streets. The police department have just had to raise the number of cops they have out every night on the main streets to make sure everything’s under control.”

“It sounds pretty serious.” His brows were furrowed. “Tell him to be careful then.”

“Already one step ahead of you,” I smiled as I grabbed some cutlery and walked over to set the table. I absolutely loved the fact that he was always so genuinely kind to everyone. It was a trait that made the whole town fall in love with him and I could understand why. “But thank you. And how’s Sarah been?”

“She’s good,” he answered, his frown instantly disappearing with a grin in its place. “She’s coming down for the weekend actually.”

“Lucky you,” I smiled. Sarah was Nick’s girlfriend, and they had been together for almost 3 years. She made him happy, I could tell by the way he smiled and blushed a light shade of pink whenever her name was mentioned that he was crazy in love. The only downside of this relationship was that she lived in another state, two states over to be exact. Western Australia. So it was great that she was coming to see him; he needed a break from work anyway.

“And oi, Tayla tot! It’s time to go!”

I laughed. I needed to find a way to get him to break the habit of calling me by that nickname. I’d had it for years now and it was getting quite embarrassing. “Thanks Nick, I’ll be out in a second.”

I finished setting up the table, placing the correct utensils down before hurrying through the back entrance, picking up my phone & wallet from the drawer and blowing Nick a kiss on my way out. I was thankful that my shift was over. For today.

“Be careful on your way back home. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you? It’s not a big deal,” Nick called behind me.

“Thanks so much Nick but I’ll be fine. Have a nice night,” I replied and started to make my way home. My dad had planned to pick me up from work tonight but was called to the station, again.

“Be careful,” he warned me with pleading eyes when he pulled up at the back of the restaurant. “And get Nick to drive you home, I’m sure he won’t have a problem with that. And I might not be home tonight because they might still need me throughout the night. Are you listening Tayla?”

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car before poking my head back in through the open window to answer him.

“Yes dad, I’ll be careful. But you’ve got to go, they’re waiting for you. Go save some lives before you’re too late,” I said before shoo-ing him away and watching him drive off down the road.

Okay, so maybe I didn’t accept Nicks offer to drive me home but I didn’t want him to think I couldn’t take care of myself. I didn’t really want him to think that I was a useless 18 year old girl who couldn’t protect herself or walk herself home.

But on the other hand, Nick was amazing. He was a stunning guy for a 28 year old and I absolutely adored him. I had known him since I was 5 or 6 years old and he was always looking out for me whenever my dad was at the station; keeping an eye on me like a hawk. He was hands down the best part of work. We always joked around and made fun of each other. He just knew how to make me laugh, and although he was my boss, he treated me like his younger sister.

I instantly snapped out of my thoughts when a hand grabbed onto my waist, bringing my mind back into the present. I froze up and tried to keep my breathing steady, but I just couldn’t help but assume the worst when the silhouette of a man intimidatingly shadowed over me, the only thing visible to me as my heart started to pound.