Chapter 18
Phin
When I looked up, I dropped the glass I was cleaning as Elizabeth walked into the room. She looked like a dream in her dark green dress with her hair resting on her shoulder. The glass wasn't broken, but she was gone when I stood back up to look for her. I shook my head, wondering if it had been a dream because she'd just evaporated.
A few moments later, she came storming back into the room, gathering everyone together and briefed us on how the night would go; I stood at the back of the room and watched her in action. All I could do was smile at her as she rallied the staff and got them excited about the evening. Seemed weird to be proud of her, but that was the feeling I had, pride.
She finished briefing everyone as they went to their posts and prepared for the arrival of the guests. Six bartenders were working at two different locations, so no one had to wait for a drink. Two other guys and I were working at the main bar. Two girls and another guy were bartending at the other bar. I wondered if Elizabeth had done that on purpose, and that made me smile. I liked the fact that Elizabeth might have been a little jealous having me work with two girls. The other two guys seemed kind enough, and we chatted about the crowd coming and the potential tips. I'd forgotten we got tips too; this would help with my savings.
Someone had finally turned on the video screens that were positioned at the end of the bar. I hoped that once people got there, I wouldn't have to hear the video playing over and over again. The music was sappy and would drive me crazy, so I tuned it out to avoid wanting to kill myself during set up. Finally, I was able to watch the video, before the guests arrived, while I cleaned some glasses.
For the second time that night, I dropped a glass, this time it broke, and others stopped to see what happened. I apologized profusely to anyone watching, and I hoped I wouldn't get fired before the event started. There on the video was my mother, three years older but looking more like twenty years older. She was a shadow of herself. I stood in shock, unable to believe that my terrible parents had given so much of their hard-earned money to try to help people or to try to find me. They never wanted to help me when I lived at home. Why now? Then a young picture of me flashed on the screen with a voice-over from my mother talking about losing their son Phineas and wanting to help others. I was mesmerized by the video, as photos of me flashed on the screen, with my mother's pleas to help the runaways of the Bay Area.
My first reaction when it finished was to run, but my legs were rooted to the spot. My mind was moving a thousand miles a second, trying to figure out what to do. Elizabeth couldn't see the video and figure out my secret, which might mean losing my inheritance. She might want to contact them and tell them about my location. I could tell from the time I'd spent with her that Lizzie had a generous heart and she'd want to fix this thing with my parents. She’d never understand, and I didn't want to explain why I'd left, or worst of all, face her pity. I wanted her to see me like a normal man, not a project she needed to fix. I wanted to be the guy who could take her out to an expensive restaurant and buy her the things she deserved. What if she'd figured it out? Would she call my parents?
Finally, I let my hope for a future win over my need to run and hide from my past. Remembering what Elizabeth had said about my parents not attending made it easier to avoid the video. Living on the streets had changed me, and I didn't look like that young spoiled kid from Atherton. Now I was glad I hadn't gotten a haircut. My plan for the rest of the evening was to keep a low profile and hide my face from the end of the bar where the video was playing.
All I could do was hope she'd stay too occupied to realize it was me. For the first half of the evening, she was at the registration table in the lobby, so she hadn't seen the video. I was relieved she was too busy and couldn't pay any attention to me at the moment. Once the guests arrived, you couldn't hear the constant loop of the lousy music or the voiceover in the video. Finally, catching a break as they turned it off during dinner. Letting out a long breath that I hadn't realized I was holding, my body finally relaxed as the attendees sat down to eat their meals.
The bartending was super easy; no one wanted anything fancy despite studying up at the library. Most people asked for champagne, wine, vodka, whiskey, and soft drinks. The tip jar was looking close to full, which was very exciting. The cheap hotel room was looking like a possibility for later in the week if the weather got bad, or maybe I could take Elizabeth on a date. As I sat eating dinner with the rest of the staff, the thought of taking her out like a normal person made me smile. The food was very good for such a big event. No rubber chicken here. I'd been to many of these kinds of occasions when I was a kid and the food was usually terribly bland. Elizabeth had outdone herself on every detail, which made me even more proud of her.
After dinner, the auction would take place, so people were milling around, and the video went back on. I jumped when I heard the music begin to drone on, and I had a terrible feeling my good fortune was about to run out. The bar got busy again as people were talking and bidding on items. Elizabeth hadn't been around at all during dinner, and I'd missed seeing her. Eventually, she caught my eye and came over and sat down at the bar. I tried to pretend I wasn't nervous and to distract her from the video screen at the other end of the bar. I leaned in and gave her a sexy smile that had been known to distract women in the past. "What can I get you?"
"I understand someone is supposed to be making me a signature cocktail."
"Your wish is my command." I went about making a cocktail for her while she was watching the crowd and checking her email on her phone. Her staff were all around the ballroom monitoring things in case anyone needed any help.
Her signature cocktail was an espresso martini. The drink was perfect for Elizabeth, fulfilling both her love of chocolate and caffeine. Measuring each ingredient and being careful to make it correctly, I found the ideal large martini glass and poured in the dark brown contents. I held my breath, hoping she would like it. "Here you go." I set it down lightly in front of her, trying to be careful not to spill it. "Lizzie's Sasspresso Chocolate Martini."
"Sasspresso, I love it!" She did a little happy clap on her stool. Lizzie was so fucking adorably sexy! She slowly brought the glass up to her mouth, watching me as she did and licking her lips in anticipation of what was in the glass. Well, that was what I was telling myself, but I was unable to take my eyes off her mouth. My dick got hard just thinking about kissing that mouth and the taste of chocolate. Thankfully, I was standing behind the bar so she couldn't see the semi I was sporting. She closed her eyes and then took a long sinful sip. I wished I could taste her lips at that moment. I was more than happy to know that I'd gotten it right.
"This is amazing, and it's got my three favorite things booze, chocolate, and caffeine. The trifecta! I hope you made a pitcher."
"I think that might be too much caffeine even for you. I'll have to keep an eye on you." I didn't want her to leave because I was still nervous about her seeing the video. "Everyone happy tonight?"
She took another long sip of her drink, her eyes closed, and she moaned. I could only imagine this was close to what she sounded like during sex. Fuck, that moan. The moan had gone straight to my cock and made it even harder. I put my hand in the ice bucket, trying to distract myself from getting it to go down. Unfortunately, that trick wasn't working. I walked down to the end of the bar to get a bottle of vodka, repeating the periodic table, hoping that would get my semi under control.
When I came back down to where she was sitting, I watched her take another long sip. FUCK!
"Very happy," she said. She licked her lips, which wasn't helping my boner.
"Slow down. You have to watch out for the sweet drinks. They sneak up on you." I got called away to help someone else so I couldn't keep her distracted from watching the video, and that's when it all went to shit.