Training the Orphan

Shocker

Everyone was frozen in place. We were all dumbfounded. The chick had spirit. First two minutes and she had managed to piss off Javian and practically told him to f**k off in the process. Reality dawned on me and evoked laughter. Javian narrowed his eyes at me and I laughed harder. He was indeed a spoiled rich brat.

Kevin leaned back in his seat and sipped his wine.

The waitress girl, Kate gapped. This must have been the first time her friend went rogue. Poor girl. She was unaware Javian brought out the worst in the innocent of people.

"I like her," I confessed when my laughter died down.

This statement got Javian's disapproving glare. I didn't care. He backed the girl in a corner. Instead of cowering, she retaliated. She put him in his place. If there wasn't anything that I liked about her, it was that. She was a keeper.

"I'm starving," Kevin started, trying to change the subject.

The waitress, Kate, came back to life. She was still a little dazed, but not too much. Kevin ordered for the three of us.

"Would you come and sit down," I called to Javian when the waitress left the room.

He hesitated for a second but came and took the seat my now favorite orphan left behind.

Kevin used then to chuckle. "She called him Mr. Smooth and Hot."

I giggled with him. Javian ignored us and poured himself some of the wine.

"She did say he was a self-centered asshole," I added.

A name anyone on the outside looking in would have considered as a great fit. Javian was a sweetheart. Being born in wealth and being a nice guy didn't go well together. People often took kindness for weakness. They would take disadvantage of anyone with those qualities. Therefore, Javian built a system, so no one could see who he was. He kept people at a distance and pretended to be ruthless.

Javian sipped his wine. "She also said I've never done hard work before. Which goes to show how different we are. She's judgemental. I hate judgemental people."

Yeah, they were the worst kind. Though we had money, we still had to work for what we wanted. Businesses didn't run themselves. One wrong move and we would lose all that wealth within a blink of an eye. That was the fear that drove us to work harder to earn more money.

With that said, it was still obvious the waitress girl had a spark. To me, she was the perfect match for Javian. She had the spirit to keep him on his toes. He needed that. If they didn't get married, at least, he would have gotten a taste of what kind of women he needed to marry.

"I like her," I repeated.

"She's looking hot in her uniform," Kevin pointed out. "I wouldn't mind knowing what she looked like in her regular clothes."

Javian glared at us with a sigh.

What could I say, Kevin was right? The waitress was beautiful. She was curvaceous. The uniform she wore proved that much. I could see myself designing killer outfits for her. And, that long dark blue hair. Gosh, the hair could go with so many accessories. My hairstylist would be thrilled to groom it.

"So, does this mean she's the one?" Kevin asked.

"No," Javian grunted.

Of course, he would say no. Whatever he said didn't matter anyway. She was the one.

Kevin and I shared a glance. We both agreed the waitress was the right pick. Still, we had to give Javian what he thought he wanted.

"I'll make some calls," I informed him. "My dad has a few connections. I'll see what I can do."

In the meantime, it would be wise to get some information on the waitress. It would be nice to have tangible proof she was the perfect fit for the job.

A waitress came in with our meal. The Kate girl from before was nowhere in sight.

Before I could have said a word, Kevin did it for me. "Where's Kate, Michelle?"

Michelle placed the last dish on the table and straightened. "She went to the ladies' room, Sir. I can let her know you need her."

Which was expected. The poor girl must have felt humiliated. Her friend blew up in front of her boss. It was either that or she went to the bathroom to support her friend. It was what females do. I wouldn't expect any difference in this case.

Kevin shook his head. "No, that's okay."

She smiled. "If there's anything else you need just let me know."

Kevin gave her a final nod and she left the room. It must have been nerve-wracking for the girl to cater to her boss.

"I'll call my lawyer," Javian said, cutting into his chicken. "I need him to pull up a contract. It's better to be safe than sorry."

It was what his family expected of him. To them, it was the responsible thing to do.

"This entire operation needs time. I'll have to call Leo and clear my schedule," Kevin added, refilling his wine glass.

Leo was Kevin's executive administrative assistant. Kevin decided he needed one four years ago. Or better yet, Javian persuaded him to hire Leo. Javian was the first to get an assistant from when we were in High School. Since he was the owner of several successful businesses. He didn't want the businesses to get in the way of his studies—his mother's words. Therefore, he hired help. Or she hired the help for him. As it turned out he enjoyed having an assistant. After Kevin met Leo, Javian pushed Kevin into hiring the guy.

Back then, Leo was a college graduate. He accumulated a business degree under his belt. He just so happened to be the guy who helped Kevin when he broke down on the side of the road. This was when Kevin and Javian had just moved to California. Leo was kind enough to give Kevin a ride, call the tow truck, and helped with ensuring the vehicle was repaired. Something Kevin was too busy to do.

Javian liked the guy and he showed Kevin the light. Therefore, Kevin hired Leo and bought both himself and Leo new cars. They have been inseparable since.

Javian sighed. "Yeah. I guess I have to call Miguel. Exams are coming up and there are some problems with one of the apartment complexes in New York. Miguel says everything is going great there, but I wanted to check on it next weekend."

Right, everyone was busy.

"The construction for the new restaurant in Santa Monica has been a pain in my ass," Kevin admitted. "The piping system needs to be redone. The left side of the building is unstable. Leo said the contractor wants to take out the walls and a few columns and have them redone. I approved of it. I mean, I don't want the building collapsing on anyone." He scrubbed a palm over his face. "Maybe I should have torn down the entire building."

Javian shook his head. "Nah, you don't have to. It would be unnecessary work on the contractor and his men and unnecessary money being spent. We have to think smart. We can take a short trip and go look at it."

I narrowed my eyes at the two men. When did we switch the channel to business? Couldn't a girl have a normal dinner?

I sighed and asked, trying to get involved, "What does your Dad have to say?"

Kevin didn't look up from his plate. "I don't know. I haven't told him."

I rested my fork on the side of my plate. "You haven't told your Dad you're opening a new restaurant? Why? He would be so proud."

Kevin's Dad was amazing. The man had a toe in everything. He helped fund small businesses, had hotels, casinos, and restaurants. All which Kevin would get the keys to.

Kevin took two gulps from his wine to wash down the food he ate. "No, he'll ask me to send him the business plan and the plan to the building. Once he sees the plan to the building, he'll say I'm chewing off more than I can handle. He'll tell me to drop it and move on. I don't want to move on. I have a great plan and I want to finish this."

If the building was too damaged, then, of course, the man was going to say something about it. He wouldn't be a great father if he didn't. No one wanted their child to fail, or feel like a failure. And, this was what Kevin was feeling, right now: like a failure.

Besides, starting with an unstable infrastructure could cost Kevin more than he bargained for. His father didn't want that.

My Dad's best advice to my elder brother was to never take off more than he could chew. When my brother first got out of law school and started working at my Dad's law firm, my Dad's advice to him was to take on the low, stable cases. My brother took the advice and ran with it. He won those cases and built his credibility. By the time he was ready for a big case, everyone was willing to hire him. Not because he was a legend's son, but because he was a great lawyer too. Everyone saw that.

He wasn't stigmatized as my Dad's shadow. People knew him, the person. He took over my Dad's firm when Dad transitioned into a judge and now he was one of the best criminal lawyers in his state.