BWWM Interracial Romance 6: Her Protector Read Online Free PDF

it easily; she had worked at the restaurant as her first job, she had been paid the same as any other server—after working her way up from bus-girl, the same as any other employee. Unless someone came in with serving experience, they always started out as bussers; if they started in the kitchen, it was as a dishwasher unless they had kitchen experience.
    “That explains why you were so terrible.”
    Adriana hung her head, still laughing. She had not been a terrible server, but she—like any teenager—was easily distracted by her friends, who always came in on Friday nights with their parents. Her father had never threatened to fire her—but he’d had stern words for her on those evenings when she had let herself get distracted. Any of the other servers who took up her slack would also get her share of tips from whichever table they had helped with—which had been enough punishment for Adriana to get serious about doing her job properly when she worked during the summer and winter breaks from college.
    “Hey—at least I kept the specials straight, unlike certain other people I know,” Adriana countered. Sawyer had dated a girl in high school—Kelsey Spellman, Adriana thought her name was—who had worked at Ellis American Cuisine. Kelsey had been friendly and sweet, but she couldn’t keep the menu straight in her mind to save her life. The kitchen staff had to routinely correct her orders, and if she hadn’t been a good-hearted girl at the bottom of it, the staff would have all hated her.
    “What ever happened to that guy you dated in junior year?” Sawyer sipped his beer, raising an eyebrow. “Seems like that just fizzled with nothing at all.”
    Adriana shrugged. “He wasn’t the one. I met a guy in college I thought was the one… but that didn’t work out either. So here I am: living with mom, working the job I swore I’d never take.”
    Sawyer grinned. “I remember you were determined to make a big splash in business, become the CEO of some great big company and buy up your dad’s restaurant, hire someone to run it for you and just stay a silent partner.”
    Adriana couldn’t help smiling at the thought—it hadn’t worked out for a number of reasons, but she had been so determined never to have to actually run the restaurant herself that it had been her fondest dream to be so wealthy she wouldn’t have to. “Yeah, well, I seem to recall that you were only going to be a cop temporarily, until you achieved stardom in—what was it? BMX? Skating?”
    Sawyer shook his head, laughing and bringing his hand down onto the tabletop. “Either or. I was reasonably sure it’d only be a matter of time.” He grinned. “Shows how much either of us knew about the real world.”
    Adriana realized that his food was probably up and stood. She told him she would be right back; she could feel his gaze on her as she walked back to the kitchen, and wondered at how in spite of her life falling to pieces all around her, Sawyer had been able to completely put her mind at ease in a matter of minutes. She grabbed his food and put it on a tray, balancing it carefully the way she had learned to do years before. Maybe, she thought, she’d grab a drink for herself and sit with him while he ate; he looked sort of lonely sitting by himself.
    Sawyer was clearly happy with her plan, and Adriana even let herself be talked into grabbing herself a bowl of the chowder to “keep him company” while he ate. They talked about high school, comparing notes on those of their classmates they had managed to keep up with.
    “The reunion’s coming up in a year or two, isn’t it?” Sawyer asked her. “We’ll get to catch up with everyone then.”
    Adriana learned that one of the members of the debate team had gone on to make a minor splash in politics, moving south and becoming a county commissioner and then a mayor. She was able to tell Sawyer about another of their mutual friends who had ended up going to law school; she was a