The Billionaire and the Waitress

she greeted Emily with a hug and kiss on the cheek. “It’s been a long time. Is he still the pimple-faced geek I remember?”

She laughed lightly at her joke, remembering how her brother and Logan used to spend hours playing their video games. Even as an eleven-year-old, she used to tease them and call them geeks.

“Thankfully, my face cleared up in college,” answered a deep voice behind her with a lilt of humor. “But I’m afraid I never found the cure to being a geek. Not even baseball helped.”

Rachel turned to find herself lost in a familiar pair of intense blue eyes. Her mouth dropped open and she gripped the back of her chair to steady herself in her six inch heels. “You?”

“It’s me.” Logan Madison grinned down at her with a wine bottle in his hand, his left eyebrow arching in a cocky challenge. “I guess you didn’t recognize me yesterday.”

“No, I didn’t,” she said breathlessly.

His blue eyes twinkled. “I didn’t either. You’ll have to forgive me. I didn’t realize Rachel Knight was all grown up now.”

Her gaze searched him over, taking in his sculpted jaw, broad shoulders, and the suit that fit his athletic shape like a glove. She’d thought the man she’d met yesterday at La Fete had looked familiar, but she hadn’t realized it was her brother’s best friend from childhood. It had been fifteen years since they’d last seen each other. He certainly wasn’t the young boy she remembered. Logan Madison had shed the awkward teenage years and morphed into an attractive specimen of a man who could’ve turned any girl’s head.

“Come, sit down,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. “The meal is about to begin.”

She accepted the chair adjacent to Emily. After pouring each of them a drink, Logan sat next to her.

“You two ran into each other yesterday?” Emily asked curiously, taking a sip of the wine.

“Yeah, at my job. He came in with a buddy to eat.” Rachel took her water glass by the stem and gave Logan a teasing grin. “It was a case of corporate espionage.”

He laughed, deep and throaty, sending a thrill through her.

“Guilty, but not sorry. I still think that manager of yours deserved a good pummeling,” he said, his eyes flashing. “Did you report him? He shouldn’t be working in a place like that. I imagine he makes all the waitresses very uncomfortable.”

Rachel could practically feel Michael’s head snap up and his heavy gaze on her face.

“Report what?” he demanded.

She wished Logan had just kept his mouth shut. It hadn’t been her intention to break the news to her brother that she’d quit another job. He would just think she was being irresponsible, like always.

“Oh, nothing,” she muttered, swirling the glass. “Tony was just being a jerk. But he’s the owner, so there’s no one to report it to.”

“Then, it’s a good thing you quit,” Logan said, smiling at her. “You really stood your ground. It was impressive. You should’ve seen that guy’s face when she gave him a good tongue lashing.”

“You quit your job?” Michael asked in a low voice.

Rachel grimaced up at him, feeling her cheeks turn red. “Yeah, it wasn’t working out anymore. But I’ll find a new one.”

“What about school? Are you quitting that, too?”

“No!” She set her glass down and glared at him. He was sounding a little too much like their father in that moment. “I told you I would see it through and I will. In fact, I just sent out applications last night to get an internship for my business class. My teacher wants me to find a local business who will let me work on the back end and see what it’s like to run a company. I’m sure I’ll have lots of offers.”

Rachel chewed on her bottom lip, hoping she didn’t sound as nervous as she felt. The truth was, even though she’d sent out applications and emails to at least a dozen places last night, she’d already had solid refusals from several of them. It might take a miracle to get an internship with her limited skill set.

“And I’m sure you will.” Michael held his hands up in defense, his jaw working. “I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t quit school as well.”

“Well, I haven’t.” She sunk into her chair, feeling crazy for her childish outburst.

Logan probably thought she was still the bratty little kid that used to follow him and Michael around. The thought made her stomach squirm with embarrassment. She hazarded a sideways glance at him, feeling his gaze on her face. There was no annoyance reflected in his blue eyes. Just a steady, thoughtful expression that made her stomach flip.

At that moment, a waiter dressed in black slacks and a matching dress shirt came marching through the door with a tray on his shoulder, cutting the awkward tension.

“Spinach artichoke dip, anyone?” Logan asked, springing from the table to help serve the appetizers. “We’ve got mussels simmered in white wine and a lobster salad with beet root.”

“Sounds delicious.” Emily craned her neck to get a look at the delicate china platters being placed on their table. “I can’t wait.”