Chapter 4

All her mind could think about was why he was looking for her. He knew her name. Why? Her mind kept repeating.

He was a wealthy and successful prince. What would he want from a nobody like her? It just did not make sense.

"We are glad that you chose to join us tonight." She heard her boss say as she approached their table, but the Prince barely nodded while the rest of his company took their seats.

What a snob! Well, most of them were. It was not uncommon for these wealthy folks to look down on them, ordinary workers. Nevertheless, she was not here to judge him but to serve them complimentary drinks, one of their best on the house.

Her eyes shifted momentarily to the woman walking by her right side. Therefore, she moved slightly to her left. However, the guest on her other side suddenly stood up from his seat.

It was too late by the time she noticed him as she went out of balance, unintentionally tripping on her two feet as she avoided bumping into the guest.

She tried hard to salvage her situation, but it was a lost cause as she tumbled forward, unable to stop her fall. Her hands finally let go of the tray as she struggled to save herself.

"Watch out!" She heard someone shout. Still, it was too late, as the tray landed on an impeccable suit. She watched in horror, looking at the stain the champagne created on the black coat that her boss wore.

She was dead meat, for sure. She could kiss her job goodbye. What was she thinking? What was wrong with her? Then again, it was an accident. She did not wish for it to happen.

Then, to make matters worse.

"Are you alright?" A man's voice with a familiar accent made her suddenly shift her eyes from her boss to the other direction.

"Ohhhmmm!" She was speechless as her black eyes landed with another set of black orbs just inches away from her face.

Realization dawned on her that the man she was hiding from was currently holding her in a tight embrace. She was unaware he had caught her fall as her attention was on her boss.

Quickly, she squirmed out of his grip, embarrassed by the scene she had created. Still, she hoped he did not recognize who she was and thought of this as just another accident.

"I want you to apologize, Ms. Rich..." Her boss snapped at her.

"I am sorry, Sir." She quickly responded, not letting her boss finish saying her name.

"Prince Liam..." Her boss was about to say something more when the man held his hand to stop him.

"That is fine." The Prince nonchalantly expressed, clearly not interested to hear more of what her boss was about to say.

"Of course, if that is what you wish, Your Highness." Her boss bowed to the man, who only waved his hand, dismissing him.

Although she noticed that he quickly glanced at her before turning his attention to the people he came along with, especially the girl at his side. She was relieved that he seemed not to recognize her.

"Ms. Richmond, come to my office at once." Her boss hissed in her ears. Luckily, it was more of a whisper. Quickly, she followed, already aware she was about to get fired.

"Don't bother to sit down, Ms. Richmond." Her boss shouted as soon as they were inside. "This will not take long."

"But, Sir, did you not see that it was an accident." She hoped she could still recover from this situation. She knew it was her fault, but still, it was not intentional.

She could not lose this job. She had barely paid her rent for the month. She still had a few bills to settle, and what about next month?

Why did her co-worker have to be sick?

Why did she have to be on that spot to take over his place?

Why did she have to fall into his body and stare into his eyes?

Did she do something wrong for fate to treat her this way?

"You should have been careful. Now you had managed to ruin the night." Her boss yelled again, removing his coat. "Look at what you did. Can you afford to pay for this? Of course, you don't." Answering his question.

Her boss continued to exclaim his displeasure. "Luckily, you did not pour that wine on the Prince, or God forbid you would have ruined the whole restaurant."

"Anyway, you are fired effective immediately." Her boss did not even give her a chance to speak again. "Get your things, and we will just mail your severance check."

She walked out of that office with a defeated stance, knowing there was no chance in hell that she could change the mind of her boss. He was not a terrible person. He was probably just fed up with her. Could she blame him when she was a disaster waiting to happen?

"What happened?" Noreen immediately walked to her side as soon as she spotted her walking out the door.

"Nothing I could not handle." Luis smiled at her. "Now, go back to work." She did not want Noreen to lose her job if her boss found her slacking because she was talking to her.

She immediately moved to the locker room. In a few minutes, she had changed back into her clothes and gathered the few things she owned.

It was just a job anyway, and she could find another one. She motivated herself as she walked through the kitchen toward the backdoor.

"You good, Luis?" The head chef sympathetically asked her when she passed by. She could assume that everybody must have witnessed the incident.

"Yeah. I am." She forced a smile in his direction. She was going to miss all of them. They had been a family since she started working in this restaurant three months ago. Now, she would rarely see them again.

"Just come to me if you need any reference." He offered, knowing that their boss would never give her one.

"Thanks." She quickly exited the place and walked through the dirty, dark alley. She quickly searched for her keys inside her bag. She needed to get out of there before she burst into tears.

Then, she felt something move behind her as she tried to open the car door.