When I open the doors to the Diner the next day, Jack's already waiting for me. He is standing behind the shabby counter with crossed arms and glares at me as I approach him.

"A word, young lady!" he growls through gritted teeth, and walks into the back office, motioning me to follow him.

I sigh and do what he wants from me as I'm really worried, he would fire me otherwise.

"Why the fuck were you at that dinner yesterday?" he barks the moment the door closes behind me.

I swallow and spot Abbey sitting in one of the old chairs sipping at her steamy coffee. She shoots me a questioning look to which I reply with a shrug.

"Jack, I was invited!" I retort with a puzzled face and shake my head.

Jack chuckles beastly and pours himself a cup of coffee. It takes me all the strength I can muster to not gag at his disgusting behavior.

"Oh, shut up," he mutters. "How do you even know Franco?"

"From Zach," I say and roll my eyes. I'm getting annoyed by this situation. Who the hell does he think he is, that he's talking to me like that?

"And Zach is who?" Jack scowls at me while taking a huge gulp of his coffee-like brew.

"My boyfriend, Jack. We were there together yesterday," I snarl, starting to lose my patience.

An ugly smirk appears on Jack's face.

"Oh, that wanker is your boyfriend? Excellent choice," he scoffs with a husky laugh.

I clench my fists and close my eyes for a second. After a deep breath, I face him again and frown.

"What's the problem, Jack? Spit it out already!" I growl quietly.

"I don't want you to ruin my businesses. You're already a pain in the ass as my employee, I don't need you in other parts of my life as well!" he bellows right into my face.

I flinch at first, but quickly compose myself again and straighten my body to show Jack I'm not scared of him.

"You know what, Jack? Fuck you!" I scream and storm off.

"Tell anybody about my cooperation with Franco and I'll kill you! Fucking bitch." I am just able to hear Jack calling after me before I leave the Diner.

For a moment, I stop and utter a shout of rage, earning some weird looks from the people walking by me, but I honestly don't care right now.

Why did I even start working for this asshole? In all the years, he has never been anything close to friendly, and the salary isn't very satisfying either.

After thinking for a second, I decide to return home. It's only 7am and I have no idea what else to do, and I will surely not go back inside to that stupid Grinch. Wild horses wouldn't drag me there! I'm used to him being moody, unfriendly, and harsh, especially around Christmas, but today he overstepped the mark.

With mixed feelings inside my chest, I set off. On the one hand I feel a huge relief about me standing my own ground towards Jack, on the other hand I'm worried about what will happen next, now that I'm obviously jobless.

When I step into my apartment, it's dead silent. I'm sure Zach is still sleeping. I slip out of my coat and shoes, and sneak into the bedroom, careful to step only onto the planks of my floor which don't creak.

A big smile appears on my face when I spot Zach curled up on the bed. He looks so vulnerable and innocent lying there cuddling with my pillow.

And beautiful. God is this man beautiful! My heart leaps when I take a moment to study every inch of his peaceful face. His long curved eyelashes throw light shadows on his flawless cheeks, and his perfectly shaped lips are slightly parted to let free the soft snores coming from the depth of his throat. In the dimmed light creeping through the ajar living room door, his nose ring slightly glistens and underlines his elegantly straight nose.

Right in that moment, I feel a long-known tickling in my fingertips. A feeling which I haven't felt in nearly ten years now.

Without thinking about it, I tiptoe back into the living room, and return just seconds later with my newly acquired charcoals and the leather notebook.

Careful not to wake him, I sit down on the edge of the bed and open my notebook. As if by itself, my hand grabs one of the skin-colored charcoals and starts drawing Zach's sharp features. Every now and then, I lift my head to memorize every inch of his face. I take care of every little detail. The few scattered birthmarks adorning his tanned skin, the little shadow of his stubble on his chin, and his tousled dark brown hair which falls into his forehead, nearly hiding his perfectly curved, distinctive eyebrows.

Soon enough I put down the charcoals and contentedly eye my finished painting of Zach. My Zach. There are still moments I can't believe that he chose me to be his. I can't even describe how lucky and proud this knowing makes me. It's less than two months since I've met him, but the strong connection between us gives me the feeling that I've known him for much longer. Despite the terrible things which happened since then, I've never been happier in my whole life.

Zach slightly moves, and I quickly hide the notebook under the pillow just in time before he opens his eyes. He squints at me and after a short moment of obvious confusion, he frowns.

"Hey," I whisper and rake my fingers through his wavy hair.

"What time is it?" Zach asks huskily and rubs his eyes.

"It's a little after eight," I reply softly.

The frown on Zach's face gets deeper and he sits up.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

I sigh and tilt my head back.

"I think I don't have a job anymore," I say with a shrug, and fumble with my fingers.

"What the hell, Liv?" Zach looks at me with a puzzled expression.

I groan and bury my face in my hands.

"Hey, come here!" Zach gently grabs my wrists and pulls me into his bare chest. I instantly relax at the warmth spread by his body and tilt my head to look at him.

"Jack was furious about my attendance yesterday. He told me I'm a pain in the ass and that he doesn't want me to intervene into his businesses with Franco," I start explaining the situation to him. "When I lost my temper and stormed off, he threatened to kill me if I tell anybody about Franco and him."

Zach clenches his teeth, and I feel him tensing beneath me.

"Stupid fucker!" he curses under his breath and closes his eyes for a second. I can tell by his heavy breathing he's seething with anger.

After a minute, he faces me again with an insistent look. "Trust me, Olivia, I will talk to that asshole! He won't threaten you again!"

I sit up and blink at the resoluteness in his voice. In an attempt to calm him down, I place my hand on his cheek.

"No, Zach. Please don't do that. He's not worth any trouble, and if you go and talk to him, I'm sure you'll get to hear from Franco soon," I plea.

Zach growls and then cups my face with both his strong hands.

"Listen to me, Liv! You won't come near that person again, understand?" he tells me emphatically.

"Zach, I...," I start, but Zach harshly cuts me off.

"Do you understand, Olivia?" he repeats and slightly raises his voice. Normally, I would complain about his bossy behavior and about the way he's talking to me, but a look into his piercing eyes tells me he's deadly serious about this, and what's more, he's honestly concerned about me.

"Okay," I mutter quietly and nod.

"Good," Zach retorts, and then gives me a strained smile. "Shit. I'm sorry you've lost your job because of me dragging you to that stupid dinner."

"Zach," I whine and furrow my eyebrows. "Could you please stop blaming yourself for everything which happens in my life?"

Zach doesn't answer and unwillingly chews on the inside of his bottom lip.

"What's that?" he asks after a short moment of silence, pointing at the pillow.

I follow his gaze and spot a corner of my leather notebook peeking out from under the pillow.

"Nothing," I quickly say, and grab the notebook before Zach gets any silly idea.

He pouts and tilts his head.

"Show me!" he requests and then adds with puppy eyes. "Please?"

I sigh and hesitantly hand him the notebook. Zach gives me a crooked smile and then opens it. I watch him as he thoughtfully eyes my painting. After a minute, he looks up and faces me with rosy cheeks.

"Liv..." He looks back to the painting and then to me again. "Why did you never mention what an amazing drawer you are?"

"Uh... Actually, I haven't drawn for the past ten years," I reply with a shy smile. "Do you like it?"

Zach clears his throat. "Of course, I do. It's just... I...," he stutters and looks down at the drawing of himself again.

"It's okay if you don't like it. It's not that...," I start, but Zach cuts me off.

"Olivia, I love it. It's just a bit overwhelming," he admits with a weak smile. "My mom used to draw as well. She was a great drawer and always tried to make it her profession, but then she got sick and completely stopped drawing."

"Oh," is all I can reply. I didn't mean to upset him with my painting. I didn't even plan on showing it to him, to be honest.

"You remind me a lot of her, you know," Zach whispers with bleary eyes.

I lift my hand and wipe away a single tear, running down his cheek. It nearly kills me seeing him that sad and vulnerable, but I'm glad he's showing me his emotions.

Zach tilts his head and snuggles into my hand with his eyes closed.

"I'm sure, she would be proud of you," I say and give him a tender smile as he opens his eyes again.

"Look at me, Liv. I'm a gambler, I know mainly dangerous and stupid people, and nearly died by my stepbrother's gun. The only thing to be proud of in my life are you," he tells me with a serious voice.

"Shit, Zach!" I groan. "You are not a bad guy. You just happen to know the wrong people."

"For fuck's sake, Olivia. Everywhere I go I cause trouble and pain. Don't you see all the bad things which happened since I stepped into your life?" Zach half shouts into my face. His cheeks are dark pink, and I spot more tears glistening in his hazel eyes.

"Stop that shit, Zach!" I shout back. "I don't want to hear anything of this bullshit."

Zach blinks perplexedly. He obviously didn't expect me to raise my voice, and neither did I, but I can't listen to this anymore. He keeps saying how much trouble he causes and how bad he is for me. That I would be better off without him. Whereas I'm sitting here looking at the tall figure beside me and all I can think of is how much he means to me. That I love him.

Wait, what? I gasp as that thought settles in my mind. Yes, I clearly feel it, and there's no way I can deny it. I love Zach. None of us has actually uttered those three words yet. All we've said to each other is that we were falling in love.

"Liv?" Zach pulls me out of my thoughts.

I blink frantically and try to ignore my burning cheeks and racing heart as I answer, "Yea?"

"What's wrong? You're staring at me like you've just seen a ghost," Zach states, searching my face for any hint of what's going on in my mind.

"Nothing," I quickly say and shake my head to clear my mind. "Listen, Zach. You make me happy. I look forward to see your face every day. Every morning. Stop saying you're not good for me. I run out of breath to tell you the opposite."

I don't think I'm ready yet to tell Zach that I love him. I think it's too soon, and I'm scared he doesn't feel the same way for me. Besides, telling him amid this tensed situation, doesn't sound very romantic to me.

Zach closes his eyes for a second and takes a deep breath.

"Let's just change the subject," he suggests, and I happily nod in agreement.

"There's one good thing about you losing your job," he then states with a broad grin.

"Like what?" I ask with a chuckle. I'm glad we can simply push most of our little arguments aside without being mad at each other for hours. I've already had enough trouble for today.

"We can enjoy two peaceful days together until Christmas and think about what to cook," Zach says with a mischievous smile and plants a tender kiss on the tip of my nose.

I return his smile and nuzzle into his warm chest. He's right. I won't let stupid Jack ruin my first Christmas with Zach.

*****

Well, what do you think about Olivia standing her ground against Jack? Was she right or would it has been better to remain silent to keep her job?

Please comment and vote. ✨

Katie❤️