First message
Morning. The terrace is full, the ocean is bright, and the restaurant is already one step away from collapse. Rich people want breakfast immediately, coffee immediately, attention immediately. A fascinating condition. Apparently wealth destroys the part of the brain responsible for patience.
Kai is moving between tables fast enough to make his head hurt. Coffee in one hand, plates in the other, smile already dead.
He stops at one of the tables.
“Eggs Benedict. Kona coffee,” he says, setting the plates down carefully. “Enjoy your breakfast, Mrs. Garner.”
Mrs. Garner is around fifty, expensive, blonde, wearing enough diamonds to fund half his tuition. She slips a folded bill into the pocket of his apron without even looking embarrassed.
“When do you get off?” she asks, looking at him like she is considering a purse in a store window. “You should come see me.”
Kai exhales slowly.
Then, with the same polite smile, he takes the bill back out and places it carefully on the edge of the table.
“Mrs. Garner. I’m working. If you need anything else, let me know. Enjoy your stay.”
He walks away before she can answer.
By the time he reaches the next table, his jaw is tight enough to hurt and one eye is twitching slightly. Still, when he looks at the woman sitting there, his voice is perfectly calm.
“Ready to order, miss…?”
His eyes flick briefly to her left hand.
No ring.
Then back to her face, waiting for a last name and an order.