Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

falling down out of my ponytail. “This hair and those eyes are hard to miss, and although I have to give it to Jax—he’s a nice guy and not like most guys in his position—some of the guys here tonight will not be so nice.”
    I nodded, not sure what he meant by this. “Okay,” I said, hoping he would elaborate.
    He leaned down toward my ear. “They will flirt with you heavily, and some may touch you in areas they have no business touching. Tell me if they do. I don’t care who they are or how much money they have, it isn’t all right for them to do those things.”
    “Okay,” I said again. I feared my voice would betray my nervousness if I said more.
    Marcus stood. “You won’t be alone, so don’t worry. Preston and Rock are coming. Which is another reason you should tell me if someone messes with you. If Preston were to see, I think he might get us all fired.” With a wink, he left the room.
    I sat there with my hands in the lemon juice and thought of what flirting heavily might entail, and how I might get out of tonight’s event.
    “Girl, the smell left your hands an hour ago. Now you’re just turnin’ them into lemon-scented prunes.”
    I took them out of the lemon mixture and dried them off on the same hand towel Marcus used. I sniffed them to ensure their fresh scent and smiled at their lemon aroma. “Ah, much better.”
    Ms. Mary laughed and shook her head. I stood and took the bowl to the sink, poured it out, and placed it in the dishwasher. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to get changed before the party started, so I forced myself to get focused and not dwell on what might happen. Besides, I’m pretty tough. Heck, I’d just peeled and deveined twenty pounds of shrimp. I could do this. I couldn’t expect Marcus to sacrifice his job to stand up for my honor. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy made unwanted advances at me. Preston might be a concern, but I wasn’t convinced Marcus was right about Preston’s interest in me. How long could this last, anyway? I could handle anything for a few hours . . . right?
    The outfit the girl servers had to wear reminded me of a French maid’s costume with a little more fabric. Marcus seemed so worried about making me comfortable about tonight that I couldn’t let anyone know how nervous I really was. First off, I knew I would see Jax tonight. The fact that he’d made no effort to see or speak to me after our trip to the grocery store stung, but honestly, I shouldn’t have expected more. He was famous, rich, and beautiful, and I worked in his kitchen. It irritated me when I thought of all the things I’d told him. Something about his eyes made me want to spill my soul. I was too mature to stoop to mooning over a teenage rock star. I pulled my hair up into a loose bun on top of my head, which I always thought made me appear older. Right then I needed all the confidence I could muster. If I dwelled on my actual age, I tended to freak out in stressful moments. I would be serving the oysters, nasty little things, and the shrimp cocktail, which I seemed to have formed a weird bond with, so I didn’t mind those as much. Marcus stood in the kitchen talking to Preston and Rock. Trisha and a girl I remembered from the pool were standing over to the side, giggling.
    “Hey, guys,” I said, forcing a smile. Despite the butterflies in my stomach, I acted casual.
    “Sadie, you can work with me,” Preston offered with a wink, and Marcus elbowed him.
    “Stop it, or I’ll send you home without the money.”
    Preston sighed and shrugged. “Can’t a guy be nice?”
    Marcus rolled his eyes. “Now, everyone, remember what I said. Girls ignore and discourage any advances.” We all nodded.
    Ms. Mary cut in. “It’s showtime! I want you all lined up so I can inspect you.” Seeing Ms. Mary get all serious caused me to smile. In the beginning she had seemed intimidating, but now I knew better. Ms. Mary was just the sweet-hearted lady who kept things under control.
    “Your trays will always be on the receiving table, lined up and in the same place. You will go to your assigned pickup and get whatever tray I have set out for you. There is no time for breaks, and if you must go to the bathroom, I have to approve it. I hope none of you smoke, ’cause I won’t tolerate you taking a break for a puff.” She wiped her hands on her apron and nodded. “Let’s get moving.”
    Everyone stepped forward and took their tray. Marcus led us down the hall and