"Hey, you want to take a break?" Brandon peeps into the kitchen where I was hiding from all of the work.

"Does a duck want bread?" I get up from the stool and walk towards him.

"What?" Brandon asks me right on the verge of laughter.

"That's a yes, in case you didn't get it."

"I definitely did not get it." As soon as I reach him, he grabs my wrist and pulls me behind him.

"Where are we going?" I ask him as we pass through the busy kitchen.

"You'll see." Brandon grins at me and I feel myself getting excited.

I love surprises and judging by Brandon's expression, our destination was truly special.

We burst out of the hot kitchen and into an alley, the air enveloping me in a cool embrace.

"Here it is!" Brandon drops my hand and spreads his hand to demonstrate the beautiful alley.

And beautiful it was. With its three dumpster overflowing with organic matter, stale cigarette smoke and lovely rodent family, the alley made me weak in the knees.

"You oversold this place." I grumble at him and he laughs in return.

"Oh come on. It has charm."

"Where?" I ask him incredulously. He gestures for me to wait a minute and walks behind one of the dumpsters and pulls out two, surprisingly clean, chairs. He places the chairs right opposite to each other, maintaining a fair distance from the garbage and the rodents.

"I have a feeling this was already a thing." I wave my hands around the setup.

"Yes, it was. Welcome to Scuttle Ship, Shae. It will be a pleasure having you here." Brandon point at me to sit on a chair before he sits on the other.

"This welcome party is approximately three days late." I make a scrunching face like I'm trying really hard to count as I take my seat next to him.

"I won't tell you the reason why we're celebrating now but trust me, it warrants celebration." He leans towards me with his elbows on his knees.

"This alley just screams celebration!" I retort as I mimic his position.

"Is that so? How about this?" Brandon claps twice and as if on cue, Burt and Myrtle- the star chefs of Scuttle Ship- enter the alley through the back door carrying a tray with two vanilla milkshakes on it.

"What is happening?" I'm completely dumbfounded by now. Until now, I had never really interacted with any of the staff except Brandon and Mr.Rubio. My first day, I was too busy sulking and on my second day, I was too busy working hard.

"Thank you so much, chefs, I'm sure we will enjoy this delightful milkshake." Brandon takes the milkshakes from the tray and hands one to me.

"Welcome to Scuttle Ship, dear." Myrtle says as she tucks the tray under her arm.

"It's always nice to see the young guns working." Burt beams at me as he wraps his arm around Myrtle.

I can't help myself from smiling back at the couple who has been married for almost fifteen years now and they still manage to stick together.

"This is so sweet. I don't even know why you're doing this but thank you! Thank you so much!" I sputter at them, my brain too overwhelmed to form coherent sentences. Burt and Myrtle wave my thanks away and leave after saying goodbye.

"Tell me what we are celebrating." I narrow my eyes at Brandon.

"We-"He clicks his glass against mine, "-are celebrating our friendship."

"Oh, I see." I smile at him, unable to keep a straight face.

"To friendship." He raises his glass as if to give a toast.

"To having a weird friend who tortures you with surprises." I toast back and he bursts out laughing.

We spend around half an hour just talking about random things. He tells me about his desire to get at least three tattoos while I tell him about my desire to get a belly button piercing.

But to be honest with you, that piercing would disappear as soon as I sit.

"I think we should head back to work. Our breaks ended fifteen minutes ago." I get up from my seat and try to push it towards the dumpster. The metal chair sure seemed heavier than it looked.

"No, let me." Brandon lifts the chair away from me with ease and returns it to its original place.

"Thanks." I mutter awkwardly, feeling completely useless while he does all the work.

"So, let's get back to it." Brandon walks towards the door and holds it open for me. I stand there and stare at him for a little while, not used to guys being so nice to me.

My best friends were Creed and Jason, and they aren't exactly gentlemanly towards me.

"Normally, people walk through the door." Brandon teases and that's when I realize I still hadn't stopped staring at him.

"Right. I know. I'll go work hard now. Bye." I walk as fast as I can without breaking into a sprint and reach the other side of the kitchen. I grab my tray and cloth and, burst out of the kitchen, ready to some serious cleaning.

If I was going to be stuck as a busgirl, I would be the best busgirl there ever was.

------

"Shae, can I talk to you for a second?" Mr.Rubio calls me into his office at the end of my shift. I rub my sweaty palms on my apron nervously and cautiously approach his office.

I stand at the entrance for a couple of beats, waiting for him to wave me in. Instead, he's going through a couple of bills at his desk, completely oblivious to me.

I have no clue what to do. Am I supposed to knock? Ask for permission? I settle for clearing my throat loudly to attract his attention.

"Ah yes, come in. I have something important to let you know." He says as he removes his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose.

Shit.

I was going to be fired. It's been only three days! I mean, I know I did a terrible job on my first day but then I did more than enough work the past two days to make up for it.

"Maybe you've already heard that Liza fell during a hiking trip and broke her leg." He pauses as if to give me an opportunity to voice my concerns.

As on cue, I start, "Oh no. That's terrible!" And it genuinely was but why was he telling me this? I barely knew Liza. I only spoke to her once or twice. I didn't exactly do a lot of socializing in my workplace.

"As you know, we only keep three waiters on the floor during a shift as it helps me run a tight ship." He pauses again, staring deep into my eyes.

Is it just me or is Mr. Rubio the scariest man ever?

He was so grim all the time. I don't think I've ever seen him smile or heard him laugh. And every time he spoke, he would look right into the person's eyes. That made me feel guilty even though I had never done anything to the man.

"Uh, that's a good strategy." I nod even though I completely disagree. Scuttle Ship was a busy place. It was also a big place with around twenty-five tables. During rush hour, the three waiters would be frantically taking down and placing orders. At least Burt and Myrtle had four apprentices to help them but the waiters were on their own.

"With Liza gone, I only have Brandon and Urion, and as good as they are, the two of them won't be able to cope up with the crowd." I nod at him, thoroughly clueless as to where this conversation was heading.

"Now, don't think that I haven't noticed you slacking off from work or taking unnecessary long breaks but-" Mr Rubio is interrupted mid-sentence by a loud shrieking noise. He excuses himself to answer his  phone, leaving me with a severe case of anxiety.

He's going to fire me. Or he's going to cut my pay. If he cuts my pay, he might as well just fire me because I'd be getting paid the same amount.

Yes, that is how little I make.

Mr. Rubio quickly disconnects the call and returns back to me, "As I was saying, I have noticed all those things but since Brandon has convinced me you're a hard worker, I'm willing to let you fill in for Liza temporarily. There will be a slight increase in pay but-"

After that, it's all white noise. I was going to be a waitress! I couldn't believe it but I was ecstatic to become a waitress. This is my first promotion ever. I can almost see myself climbing the corporate ladder even though I have no interest in that stuff. And I got a pay raise too! Hallelujah.

"-Are we clear?" Mr. Rubio finishes and looks at me like I'm an idiot.

"Um yes, definitely but just to be sure, could you repeat all of that again?" I meekly ask him. He already thinks I'm an idiot. I might as well just live up to his expectations.

"You'll still have the same timings as before but you'll have to report at nine tomorrow so that Brandon can show you the ropes. I also wanted to discuss your timings after school resumes. I understand that your school leaves at three. So, I will be expecting you here at five till seven. As you will be having such relaxed timings, I'll need you to work on the weekends as well. Now, are we clear?"

I gulp, trying to process all this information. It seemed an awful lot like making a deal with a devil. I could kiss goodbye to hanging out with my friends every day after school but I've made a commitment and I have to stick to it.

"Crystal clear." I beam at him and offer a handshake but the look he gives me makes me promptly withdraw it back.

As I leave Mr.Rubio's office, I find Brandon waiting for me.

"Hey! How did it go? The gossip is that you just got promoted." Brandon grins at me and I find myself grinning back at him.

"Well, everyone knows I only got the job because of my connections." I shoot him a knowing look and he looks sheepish as he realizes I know about his involvement in my 'promotion'.

"It doesn't matter how you got the job. You just have to work really hard now and shut up all the naysayers." Brandon encourages me.

"I have naysayers?" I ask him, completely taken aback.

"Uh, I might have been exaggerating. So, you're heading home now? Want me to give you a lift?" Brandon asks as he glances at his watch. I do the same and notice that it's four-fifteen now. I had spent almost a half an hour in Mr.Rubio's office. I was a brave woman.

"Don't you get off later?" Brandon never got off as the same time as me. 

"My uncle realizes that I'm on my vacations right now and I need to be having a little fun along with work too. So, he's decided to let me off a little early. We'll have the same timings now."

"How the hell is Urion supposed to pick up both of our shifts?" I ask incredulously. Urion was an amazing waiter and all, but he was only a twenty-one-year college kid against so many impatient customers. He would be completely obliterated.

"Oh, he will not. We have separate waiters for the breakfast, lunch and dinner shifts. I thought you already knew that." Brandon fishes out his car keys from his pocket and points to the parking lot with them.

"I didn't. I, normally, only come here for lunch. So, I only ever saw Liza or Urion." I say as we exit the diner and walk towards Brandon's car.

"Ugh, Liza and Urion are boring as hell but now that you're working here, I reckon things will be a lot more fun now."

And by the mischievous glint in his eyes, I have absolutely no doubt about the fun part.  

A/N: Yeaaaaaaaaaah, so this is a Brandon and Shae chapter. I just wanted you guys to get a little more insight into Shae's workplace. Plus, she finally got promoted!! 

What are your thoughts on Brandon and Shae? Do you feel any sparks between them?