Take the Money and Come

Chapter 1: Tipping Her Conscience

Chapter 1: Tipping Her Conscience

“Good heavens!” Maya cursed under her breath as she walked away from the rowdy table in the corner of the room.

“I swear if I have to swat away one more hand, the whole table of them are going to be wearing their drinks,” she whispered vehemently to Andrea, a fellow waitress at the usually quiet Valentino restaurant. Tonight, however, the Valentino was the privileged host to the bachelor party of the decade—some wealthy, young guy would be relinquishing his freedom tomorrow, and doing his damnedest tonight to make sure he tied the knot more hungover than any groom in history. Though, given the ruttish state of the group, Maya couldn't help but wonder why they didn't just take their party to the nearest strip club like every other immature groom-to-be with an underdeveloped brain.

Andrea patted Maya's back consolingly, and though the look on her face said she empathized with Maya, she could see relief there too, likely glad she wasn't the one stuck dealing with the boorish gathering. Continuing back toward the bar, Maya reiterated the newest order for the table from hell, and too soon, her tray laden with bottles and glasses, she grudgingly returned to the far corner of the room. Carefully positioning her body as far away from the most inebriated, free-handed of the bunch, she distributed the drinks as quickly as she could, doing her best to ignore the raunchy comments and overt leers. She swatted away a bold hand that had begun to brush across her breast, but the hand returned, this time grabbing her by the waist and pulling her down on his lap. In the next second, another of the group was on his feet, helping Maya up.

“Dammit! That's it, Jacob,” the man spoke quietly, gritting his teeth.

The man had been quiet most of the night, looking more annoyed by the overgrown adolescents surrounding him than entertained. He stood out in other ways, too, at least several inches taller than the rest, twice the muscle of any other man in the room, chiseled features and immaculately cropped, dark hair. His crystal blue eyes were expressive; cold as ice when he appeared angry, like he did in that moment. Looking at him, Maya found herself wondering if those eyes would shine like crystal fire when he was aroused. Mentally shaking herself, she stepped away from the table, nodding her thanks to the sexy stranger.

“I'm sure my friends are quite sorry for their behavior,” he turned to address Maya. “I think we're about done here,” he spoke in a commanding tone, his gaze falling on each member at the table. The transformation she saw there was astonishing; each of them seemed to slink back in their seats with looks that ranged from resigned to abashed, not one of them uttering a single objection.

He reminded her of a king bringing order over his unruly subjects—though Maya was known to drift off to the fantastical every now and then. Childish, yes, but it was her only escape from the pressures of everyday life. Responsible for her younger brother since her parents passed away the day after she turned nineteen, life had been replete with the kind of stresses that make a young woman prone to daydream about fairy tales.

She looked at the man once more, mouthing the words “thank you” before she headed back to the kitchen. By the time she returned, not five minutes later, the table was empty except for an envelope placed next to a half-full glass of wine—the sexy stranger's glass of wine. He was the only one who hadn't been downing shots like they were going out of style, and opted for a couple of glasses of the restaurant's most expensive wine instead. She picked up the envelope, her name scrawled quickly across the front. She had assumed it was a quick note of apology—a thoughtful gesture but unnecessary given that the man hadn't been responsible for the behavior of the rest of the group. But the weight of the envelope and its bulkiness suggested something else was enclosed within. Perplexed, she tucked the envelope away in her apron, returning her attention to cleaning the table. A quick glance at her watch told Maya there wouldn't be any new customers occupying the table tonight; the restaurant would be closed in less than thirty minutes, meaning she'd be on her way home in less than an hour.

And precisely fifty eight minutes later, she unfastened the knot holding her apron on her waist. Slinging it over her hook in the small staff area at the back of the restaurant, she remembered the envelope the stranger had left. There was no one else around—it was her turn to lock up tonight—and so she pulled the envelope from the apron's pocket curious about what was inside. A collection of comment cards rating her performance for the evening? Given the inebriated state of the group, there was no way she'd be handing these over to the manager. Opening the envelope carefully, she peeked inside to find a folded piece of lined paper, but upon pulling it from the envelope, the reason for the heavier weight and bulk became clear; as Maya unfolded the lined paper, bills unlike any she'd seen in quite some time fell gently to the floor—though given the state of Maya's meager finances, it was a wonder she remembered what money looked like at all. Stunned, she bent down and gathered them into her hand, fifty of them altogether—fifty, crisp one-hundred-dollar bills! Still holding the lined paper in her other hand, she read the note:

“My apologies again for the deplorable behavior you tolerated so patiently this evening.

Sincerely, Michael Black”

“Five thousand dollars for a couple of groping drunkards?!?” Maya thought incredulously. She'd thought the guy was sexy...powerful... “Turns out, he's just insane! What man in his right mind leaves a five-thousand-dollar tip for some waitress?” She spoke aloud now, to the collection of aprons on the wall.

“Now who's crazy?” she thought to herself wryly, realizing how she might look to anyone who happened to walk by the staff room. But, in all seriousness, this wasn't a laughing matter. She couldn't possibly accept such a ridiculous tip. “The guy's crazy, after all.”

Sure, that money would cover the rest of her tuition with enough left over to catch up on all the bills nipping at her heels. Or, at the very least, it would let her cut down on her work hours so she could stop trying to cram in her studies at one in the morning. But Maya hadn't taken a single handout in her short, adult life, never mind one from a crazy guy with too much money and not enough brains. As much as part of her would love to stuff the handful of bills deep in her jacket pocket, she knew she would never be able to spend it. If there was one thing she could be proud of since her quick shove into adulthood, it was never once taking advantage of anyone; never going against her conscience in the quest to get ahead—or pay the month's mortgage. And although she hadn't tried to cajole the man into leaving an enormous tip, something about the situation didn't sit right with her conscience. So, there was only one thing to do—return the money to its rightful owner. Of course, that task wasn't so simple. The only information she had about the sexy, crazy stranger was his name. At least it was a start.

Tucking the bills and note back into the envelope, she slipped it carefully into her purse. She'd ask the rest of the wait staff about the man tomorrow, hoping someone might be able to head her in the right direction, or at least give her some place to start. Locking the restaurant door behind her, she darted out into the parking lot, crooning to her dilapidated vehicle as she got close, hoping to sweet talk it into making one more trip home. And as she always did, slipping behind the wheel, she offered a quick prayer to the car gods that they would spare her junker and resist the urge to call it home. The key in the ignition, she turned over the engine, breathing a sigh of relief a moment later as it roared to life.

She arrived at her destination less than ten minutes later, pulling into the driveway of the home she'd known her entire life. Though she'd had to assume her parents' mortgage, she couldn't bring herself to sell the home she and her brother, Conner, had grown up in. It was the only semblance of normalcy she could offer him in the months following the tragic accident, and so Maya had withdrawn from school, quickly finding employment at the Valentino restaurant where she'd worked ever since. Now that Conner had finished college and moved out, the house seemed far too empty; she felt lonely within the confines of its walls. Fortunately, between school and work, she didn't spend much time there outside of the hours engaged in studying and sleep. And tonight would be no different, though by the heaviness of her eyelids, she figured studying would be out of the question.

Dropping her purse on the living room sofa, she padded down the hall to her room at the end, the same room she'd occupied since childhood, leaving the master bedroom of the house still empty after all these years. Stripping off the pristine white skirt and blouse she wore to work, she slipped into her favorite tank top and shorts, flopping back on her bed without turning down the covers. She was just too tired to bother, having spent the day in class before working a full eight-hour shift.

“Thank goodness tomorrow's Saturday,” she thought to herself as her eyes fluttered closed.

Images of the sexy stranger invaded her dreams as she slept; at one time a strapping knight saving her from a wretched villain; another time a king admonishing his court for their unruly behavior in front of his queen; and every time the most impressive man she'd ever laid eyes on. When Maya awoke in the morning, she couldn't help but laugh at herself, her night time musings even more far fetched than her daydreams. But it kept what she had to do at the forefront of her mind, and although she didn't relish the idea of showing up at work on her rare day off, she wanted the task over with before she could change her mind.

She showered, dressed and sat down at the table with her breakfast and a textbook in front of her, figuring she'd use up the hours before the restaurant opened to get caught up on schoolwork. And by the time she looked up at the clock again, two hours had passed. Closing her book, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door, thanking the car gods once again as she backed out of the driveway. Realizing she'd have to come up with a plausible reason for her inquiry, she concocted a story quickly. She'd claim that the man had left something valuable behind the evening prior and that was the reason for her showing up on her rare day off to fish for information. It really wasn't far off from the truth.

“Sure he did, Maya. Your interest in finding Michael Black has nothing to do with the fact that he's drop-dead gorgeous, filthy rich and—at least the last I heard—one hundred percent single,” Sasha, a fellow waitress, teased as Maya dug for a little information. Given the light of interest that flared in Sasha's eyes at the mention of his name, it seemed she'd come to the best possible source.

“So, do you know where I might be able to find him? Do you know if he works around here?” she queried, ignoring Sasha's insinuative prodding.

“You seriously don't know who he is, Maya? Have you been living under a rock?”

Maya just shook her head. Though she had to admit that Sasha's enthusiasm had her curiosity piqued.

“He's only part of the richest family in the city...maybe the whole state,” Sasha exclaimed. “I thought I heard he took over for his daddy, running the family business now. As far as bigwigs go, you won't ever see a bigger one in this restaurant. So, if you've decided to start gold-digging, be careful because this guy is definitely at the top of the food chain. Of course, if you're just hoping to find out what's it like to ride a rich guy in the back of a Mercedes, then all the power to you.”

“I just want to return something to him, that's all,” Maya rolled her eyes all the while trying not to picture the scene Sasha had just painted for her.

“What a waste,” Sasha feigned disappointment. “You might want to try the Hudson Building downtown. I think his family owns like half the offices in the building.”

“Oh, that doesn't sound daunting at all,” Maya thought to herself sarcastically, thinking that a trip to meet the queen at Buckingham Palace was unlikely to phase her more. Though she'd never been inside, she'd passed by the Hudson building often enough. The center of the business end of town and situated right next to the stock exchange, it was where all the movers and shakers of the city thrived. She wasn't one to push things off, but she was instantly grateful it was Saturday, giving her the rest of the weekend to work up the nerve for what she had to do on Monday morning.