The Green-Eyed Billionaire...

Chapter 1 I always thought I would be some famous actress or even singer but I guess that’s why everyone moves to the city, to chase after their dreams... Maybe I should have listened to my parents when they told me I was being young and naïve to leave our small town without a college acceptance waiting on the other side. A college acceptance was like a golden ticket and the more acceptable reason to leave. The fact that I had no real plan, but only a goal in mind, concerned them and maybe if it had concerned me I would have brainstormed more before packing my bags. I didn’t regret leaving… I just knew I never wanted to stay there, I never liked the feel of seeing the same faces and having everyone know everyone’s business. Word spread through a small town faster than a pandemic, even silly things like falling on stage before a spelling bee was made into an unnecessary gossip story. Even at my high school graduation I was congratulated on not taking a tumble on another stage. I understood it, I guess, being kind of shut out from the world it was easier and probably more entertaining to focus on everyone in close proximity. Nitpicking on every one else's successes and failures over some tea and scones had just never been me and I did not see it in my future. I liked that when I moved to the city no one knew who I was and I could be anything I wanted to be, I wasn’t the daughter of Mr and Mrs Grayson. I wasn't the football coach’s daughter and the perfect stay at home wife’s little princess. I was just Emily, or Em to the few friends I had made along the way, whoever I wanted to be with no strings attached to the girl that was a bit of a loser in high school. “Order up, Em!” The head chef’s voice snapped me from my thoughts before he hit the little bell to further grab my attention. I could have been on some movie press tour, but here I was, serving tables at a fancy restaurant instead of being one of the guests. I was the one at their beck and call, not the one ordering the most expensive bottle of champagne as I had hoped. I hated alcohol but the idea of the whole scene, me in a fancy dress not caring about how one expensive bottle was probably the price of my current paycheck. It was nice to dream… “Thanks, Sean!” I smiled apologetically because I wasn’t sure how long he had been trying to get my attention before his voice pushed through my thoughts. I set the order neatly on my tray like I had been taught on my first day before I made my way to the couple celebrating their anniversary in the dimly lit corner. It was an intimate restaurant, the dim lights and romantic nature of it all caused a lot of couples to roll in but also some shady people. Now they didn’t look shady but I always noticed the bunch of men in suits discussing thing in hushed tones. Then there were the ballers, the guys who didn’t know what the term hushed meant, they were rowdy and aggressive, and one couldn’t really tell them to shut up because they tended to tip nicely and spend a lot on the food so our boss would not be too happy with us if we disrespected them. My boss was a great guy though, they hadnt even been hiring when I came strolling in asking for a job. He had looked at me and instantly knew I wasn’t from here. It had been my third month away from home, trying to land a grand role but all I ended up with was a toothpaste commercial and then I needed to reevaluate my career path because my fridge was empty and rent was due. He had probably pitied me which I usually hated but I was desperate and this job that I sometimes loathed had been my saving grace. I would honestly rather be pitied by someone I just met than be ridiculed by everyone back home whilst returning with my tail tucked between my legs. The one thing I promised myself was to not return home until I could face everyone with my head held high with the life I had made for myself. At the age of 20 I knew I still had a lot of time to become who I wanted to be but I just wished I was her already because I couldn’t see that far ahead. I wanted to know what I would end up doing and who I would end up sleeping next to who wasn’t a random hookup. The nice thing about castings is that you tend to meet really hot guys but most of them are so ambitious and obsessed with themselves that they were only good for one thing. It wasn’t that I was out there searching for Mr Right but it would be nice if he found his way to me at the right time. “Do you think we’ll get some good tips from those guys?” I heard Tracy as she set her tray down a few feet away before she appeared beside me. “Highly unlikely. I saw them working out a budget earlier as to who will be paying what. Probably guys in finance, money pinchers” I pointed out as we analyzed the crowd for the night, something we usually did on what would be a slow night. On weekends things were too crazy to be standing around and having any sort of conversation, that’s when you would see the rare bad side of our boss. He thrived on creating the best work environment but satisfying our customers was and would always be the top priority. “You have a point. Well, it is a week night so we will have to make do with what we get” She shrugged. I nodded before I moved to get my next order. Week nights weren’t as slow as you would think because most of the guys came for a drink after work but it wasn’t like they were going to go all out every night. There were still tips but definitely not the same though. I had been saving ever since I started working at the restaurant even though I wasn’t really sure what it was for because I had moved here to be famous and had no real plan b. I had no other dreams I wanted to make true so I was kind of drifting until I got my big break. I say that when I hadnt been to any casting in months, maybe I was waiting for some scout to find me or maybe deep down I knew I wouldn’t cut it, you’d have to stay tuned to find the answer for that one cause I certainly didn’t know yet. I made my way to the bathroom to splash my face because it was the time of night my feet usually started hurting courtesy of the six inch heels we had to wear and my eyes were heavy. We didn’t really close late, 11pm was cut off but I had always been one for the early nights. I stared back at my dull brown eyes that had been filled with so much hope before but were now defeated by failure. I tucked my natural curls behind my ear after adjusting the bun I had tamed the rest of them with before I made my way out and saw Tracy smiling once she saw me make my way from the ladies. I raised my eyebrow as I wasn’t sure what I had missed. “Looks like we might be getting some good tips after all. Or at least you” She smirked. I frowned but then I saw someone had just taken a seat in my section, that someone happened to be Mr Richmond. We didn’t know how rich he was but he was well off, he didn’t flash it but it was known that you had won the lottery when he chose to take a seat in your section. I had never had the privilege of him doing so, I believed he had his selected few as he came in once a week and usually sat at the same few tables and rotated. “Why is he there?” I whispered as it just didn’t make sense to me. My section was usually for walk ins, the curse of the rookie, it was okay but sometimes it truly felt like a curse due to the people I had to put up with. “Well it is a full house” She gazed around and that wasn’t exactly true. We were fuller than usual for a week night but there was space in his usual sections. “And he failed to make a reservation?” I further questioned or maybe I was stalling because it was easier dealing with random people than regulars. I didn’t want to mess up and anger my boss by losing a high spender. “Well it is a week night and he is usually here on the weekend. Maybe he felt like a change, goodluck though. He tips nicely but can be abit picky when it comes to what he wants and how he wants it” Her words were rushed as someone from one of her tables signaled for the bill. “Well that’s reassuring…” I sighed as I slowly made my way over to him. He soon noticed my presence as he gazed up from his phone and I was met with green eyes staring into mine...