Bound By Contract, Claimed By Love

The red wine hit his white shirt and spread like blood. Sophia Chen stood there frozen, holding her empty glass, watching the wine drip down the scariest man she'd ever seen. His gray eyes stared right at her and made her feel sick. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, then hated how weak her voice sounded. The whole restaurant went quiet. Other servers stopped moving. Even the soft music felt too loud. Sophia had worked at Romano's for six months, and she'd never spilled anything on a customer. Not on a customer who looked like he could buy the whole place without caring about the money. The man was tall, maybe six-foot-three, with dark hair that looked perfect even though it was late. His suit cost more than Sophia made in three months. And now it has been ruined. "Miss Chen, what happened here?" said Mr. Romano's voice as it cut through the quiet like a knife. The restaurant owner walked over to their table, his face already red and angry. "It was an accident," Sophia said quickly. "I'll pay to get it cleaned." Or buy a new one. Whatever you need. The stranger looked at her face like she was something he couldn't figure out. Most rich men either yelled at her or looked right through her like she wasn't there. This one just watched her with those sharp gray eyes. "You'll pay for it?" he asked, and his voice was deeper than she thought it would be. "Do you know how much this shirt costs?" Sophia's heart dropped. More than her rent, probably. "I'll find a way," she said, keeping her head up. She might be broke, but she wasn't going to beg. "Miss Chen, you're fired," said Mr Romano: "This is not okay." Sir, I'm really sorry. Your dinner is free, and we'll pay for everything. "No." That one word made Mr. Romano stop talking. The stranger kept looking at Sophia's face. "What?" Mr. Romano looked confused. "Don't fire her." The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a black credit card. "The shirt doesn't matter." The wine made my night better, actually. Sophia stared at him. "I don't get it." "Most people in this place have been staring at me all night, talking about who I am and how much money I have." He gave the credit card to Mr. Romano without looking at him. "You're the first person to look me in the eye and not try to get something from me." "I spilled wine on you," Sophia said. "Yeah, you did." Something like a smile moved across his mouth. "And then you said you'd pay for it, even though we both know you can't. That's either really brave or really stupid. "Probably stupid," Sophia said. This time he smiled, and his whole face changed. The scary business person went away, and he looked almost... normal. "I like bravery better." Mr. Romano was still standing there with the credit card, looking lost. "Sir, about firing her?" "She keeps her job." The stranger's voice went cold again, all business. "And she keeps all her tips tonight." "Of course, sir." Whatever you want, Mr... "Stone. Alexander Stone." Sophia felt all the blood leave her face. Even she knew that name. Stone Enterprises owned half the buildings in the city, maybe even this restaurant. She'd just spilled wine on one of the most powerful men in New York. "Oh god," she said. Alexander Stone smiled again. "Still think it was stupid and not brave?" "Really stupid," she said, and he laughed. "Mr. Stone," Mr. Romano was sweating now. "Please, anything you need?" "I need to eat my dinner without people bothering me," Alexander waved him away but kept looking at Sophia. "And I need a new server." One who's not scared to tell me what she thinks. "I should get you some water for that stain," Sophia said. Don't worry about it. "I have twenty shirts like this one." He pointed to the empty chair across from him. "Sit down." "I'm working" I'm a customer asking you to do something. Sit down." Sophia looked around. Mr. Romano was watching from across the room, looking torn between wanting to make his important customer happy and being shocked that his server might sit with a guest. The other servers were pretending not to look while totally looking. She sat down. "What's your full name?" Alexander asked. "Sophia Chen. But you don't need to remember it. I'm nobody important. "Sophia," he said as he was trying it out. "And you're wrong." "About what?" "About not being important." His gray eyes looked serious. I've eaten dinner here twelve times in the past two months. Tonight is the first time anyone has surprised me. "How did I surprise you?" "By treating me like a regular person instead of a walking bank account." Sophia felt her face get hot. "I didn't know who you were." "Exactly." Alexander sat back in his chair. "Tell me something, Sophia Chen." What do you do when you're not spilling wine on billionaires? I teach art at Lincoln Elementary. This is my second job. "You're a teacher." He looked really interested. "Why do you need two jobs?" The question was too personal. Sophia looked down at her hands. "Medical bills." My mom got sick a few years ago, and even after she... stopped. He didn't need to hear about her problems. "I'm sorry she died." The simple words, said without feeling sorry for her, made her throat hurt. "Thank you." They sat without talking for a minute. Around them, the restaurant kept going with servers and customers, but their table felt separate from everything else. "Can I ask you something?" Sophia said. "Sure." "Why aren't you mad?" Most people would be furious about the shirt. Alexander thought about it. Most people don't work two jobs to pay their mom's medical bills. Most people don't offer to pay for something they can't afford just because it's the right thing to do. "You don't know anything about me," Sophia said. I know you tell the truth. I know you're brave. And I know you don't care about my money, which makes you almost the only person I've met like that. "How do you know I don't care about your money?" "Because if you did, you would have known who I was right away. You would have spilled that wine on me on purpose to get my attention. And you definitely wouldn't be arguing with me right now. Sophia realized he was right. She was arguing with Alexander Stone. One of the richest, most powerful men in the city, and she was sitting there telling him he was wrong. "I should probably get back to work," she said, starting to get up. "Probably." But he didn't move to let her leave. "Sophia?" "Yeah?" This was the best talk I've had in months. Thank you." Something in his voice made her look at him harder. Under the expensive suit and confident smile, he looked tired. Lonely. "You're welcome," she said softly. "Maybe I'll see you around." "Maybe." But they both knew that wouldn't happen. Men like Alexander Stone didn't live in the same world as art teachers who worked at restaurants. As Sophia walked back to the kitchen, she could feel him watching her. When she looked back, he was still staring at her with that look, like he was trying to remember everything about her face. She had no idea that in six weeks, when everything in her life fell apart, Alexander Stone would offer her a way out. And she had no idea that the reason she'd been so dizzy tonight, so clumsy with the wine, was because she was already pregnant with his baby.