“Ouch!”
The front of Holly’s shoe scuffed the floor and she lost balance. Then, seemingly in slow motion, the tray flew out of her hands and into the air. A shower of glasses rained down on her and smashed into millions of pieces at her feet. Not that she noticed. The force of her fall had sent her flying headfirst into a man’s chest. A grunt followed.
If this is a dream, now is absolutely the time to wake up.
But this was not a dream. Holly opened her eyes and stood up to look at the face of the man she had fallen onto.
All she could see was a mop of dark hair as the man patted his pant legs. He straightened and the clearest blue eyes blinked at her. Holly’s knees grew weak.
“I’m so sorry,” she said faintly. She glanced at the yellow stains on his crisp white shirt and swallowed nervously.
“Oh, this?” the man said, gesturing to his spoiled clothes. “Don’t worry about it. This gives me the perfect excuse to get out of here. You’ve done me a favor.” He laughed. Perhaps he thought what he said was funny. But Holly had clearly missed the joke. She stared at him like a deer in headlights.
“What in the world…? Look at this mess. Do you realize how much those glasses will cost to replace? They were clear cut crystal.”
The caterer was back. And a group of servers appeared from the kitchen. Holly looked back to see the door to the corridor had swung open and Josie was standing there, frozen, with a look of horror on her face.
“That is coming out of your salary,” the caterer barked. Holly swivelled her head and stared, open-mouthed and completely unable to speak. Her body had been firing off pain signals all evening, but now she was void of any feeling at all.
“Forgive me, Daria. It is Daria, right? You’re the caterer?”
All eyes turned to the mystery gentleman as he smoldered at the caterer. Her frosty nature melted, and she broke into a smile for the first time.
“Yes. I am. I’m flattered you know my name,” she said, resting her chubby fingers on her collarbone. The gentleman gave a casual smile, his cheeks dimpling.
“I apologize. You see, I was just making my way into the kitchen to compliment you on the wonderful food tonight, when I knocked this poor woman off her feet.” He pulled out a wad of cash from his jacket pocket and handed it to the caterer, who was now blushing profusely. “I hope this will help. For the trouble.”
The caterer giggled like a schoolgirl.
Holly frowned as she watched the odd exchange.
“I feel awful about this. Do you mind if I go into the kitchen? I’ll need a brush to clear up this glass.” The gentleman sheepishly brushed some of the glass fragments with his shoe, but the caterer shook her head. Her complexion was normal again as she frowned and waved her hands.
“No, Mr. Harrington. It’s fine. You––” She jabbed a finger in Holly’s direction, sending a bolt of adrenaline coursing through her veins. And just like that, all of the aches and pains of the evening returned. “Clean this up. The rest of you… stop staring and get back to work.”
The other servers quietly sidled past the mess and returned to work. Holly hesitated. It was as if all her energy had been zapped away and all that was left of her was a hollow, aching shell of a body, totally incapable of doing anything.
“Perhaps, I could borrow this young woman for a few minutes. If you don’t mind?” The gentleman smiled again as he looked expectantly at the caterer. She gave a curt nod as the corner of her mouth lifted.
“I’m sorry. How rude of me. My name is William. William Charles,” the man said, turning to Holly with his hand outstretched. Holly took it, feeling dazed as her lungs seemed to forget how to take in air.
“Holly Barrett,” she managed to say. As William shook her hand, her lungs started to work again, and her heart worked overtime.
“You don’t happen to know if there’s a spare shirt lying around, do you?” William asked. Holly glanced at the caterer, who was watching their exchange with a strange look on her face. Holly wasn’t sure if the woman was going to scream or burst into laughter.
“There are more uniforms in the store cupboard out back. Go and help him, Holly,” she said, with a hint of warmth in her voice. Holly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The caterer had definitely not known her name until just now. Yet she was purring at her like she had known her all her life.
But then, Holly couldn’t judge. She had worked with the caterer several times and never knew her name was Daria. Simply thinking of her as the caterer was more fitting.
Holly realized she had been walking while her mind ran away in thought. William walked beside her, his arms swinging slightly, and he hummed lightly to himself.
“The cupboard is just––” Holly began, but she stopped as William’s hand settled on her arm. Her eyes flew to it and she wondered whether to make a run for it or start giggling like a schoolgirl too.
“It’s alright. I just said that to get you away from that awful woman.” William’s low voice and cheeky smirk sent a rush of excitement through Holly. She broke into a laugh.
“What’s funny?” William asked. This time it was his turn to miss the joke.
“Awful woman? You were flirting with her just now.”
William’s dark brows shot up and he stood back.
“Flirting? You think that was flirting?” he dragged a hand across his jaw and sighed. His reaction was unsettling. Holly swallowed and fiddled with her watch.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice how she’s been treating all of you,” William said. “I thought you’d be happy for the break.”
Holly rested her hands on her hips and tilted her head. She
