Read part one first!

Harmony was gorgeous with her bright smile and sparkling eyes. Of course the smile had been for her coworkers and not for Kevin, but he saw it, just before she noticed him, and the smile fell from her lips.

“We need to talk,” Kevin said.

Harmony stood rooted to her spot, her feet frozen to the ground where she’d spotted him. Kevin tried to read her eyes but wasn’t sure he could tell what she was thinking. She crossed her arms over her chest elevating her breasts up and drawing his attention to them.

“Are you trying to fire Molly because if you are I have nothing to say to you,” Harmony spat at him.

Her audacity frustrated him but her protection of her coworker made him curious. She wasn’t asking about herself and her own job, she latched onto her friend’s future.

“I’m not after Molly. Besides that, I wouldn’t talk to you about one of your coworkers. I want to talk about you.”

She scoffed at him and rolled her eyes. Harmony brushed past him to get in her car. She opened the door and looked back at him. “You want to fire me because of my appearance and not my skills. If you have something to say about my work I’ll speak to you, but if you’re just interested in me because of the way I look then you can talk to George, or any other employee in there. While you’re at it, stop by and talk to all the customers who come in every night and request my section, or the ones who don’t get into my section.”

The anger radiating off her was palpable. Kevin could feel her fury and the truth was, she was right. He was still questioning her skills because of her appearance, not because of anything he’d seen her do. If anything she was the best employee in the entire place.

And Kevin didn’t understand it.

“I’d like to talk about your work. Can I buy you a drink? There’s a bar not far from here.”

Kevin watched as she chewed her bottom lip, the dark red contrasting against the bright white of her teeth. His cock twitched as he imagined being the one to sink his teeth into her lips. He wanted her. She was nothing like any other woman he’d been with, but there was something about her that was undeniably attractive.

“I’ll meet you there,” she said finally then climbed into her car. He tried not to watch the way her hips moved or the curve of her ass when she slid into the seat. When she closed her door he snapped out of his trance and went around to get in his own car and followed her to the bar.

Inside the bar was quiet since it was a Tuesday. TV’s crowded the room and a few people sat at tables, a few more on bar stools. Kevin directed Harmony to a table near the door and sat across from her. A waitress brought Kevin a beer and Harmony a water. She took a sip then got to business. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

*****

Harmony watched Kevin take a sip from his beer. His lips were full and soft, just like she liked. Men with thin lips always made up for it with too much tongue when they kissed. And soft lips… well who wanted to kiss sandpaper.

He set the bottle down and looked at her. His brown eyes watched her, glancing at her lips before focusing on her eyes.

“I’m trying to figure you out. Are you really as good as you seem?”

She snickered and shook her head. “Yeah, I’m as good as I seem. You want to know my secret, don’t you?”

His eyes narrowed and took her in. She watched him, waiting for his admission. He leaned forward and smiled, “Yeah, I do.”

Harmony leaned in too and whispered, “I give a shit.” She sat back and sipped her water, watching for her words to sink in.

“That’s all? You give a shit?”

“That’s all? You think it’s easy. Here’s the thing, most people who work in a restaurant are either doing it until something better comes along or because they can’t get anything better. I do it because I love meeting new people every night. I love my job and it shows. I ask my customers why they’re out, I talk to them about their kids, I learn what they like and what foods appeal to them. When the same people come back I recognize them and can recommend new dishes for them to try and ask about things we talked about before. I’ve been doing this so long that it’s rare I have a table full of people I’ve never met before.”

“People love you,” Kevin said, not a question, but a statement.

“People who are open-minded love me. When someone like you comes in and sees someone who looks different, well, you don’t love me. People who know the color of my hair, or my lipstick, or if I’ve got tattoos, don’t matter… those people love me.”

Kevin leaned back in his seat and lifted his beer to his lips. Harmony watched his mouth and found herself imagining his lips over hers. The soft glide of his tongue, the brush of his fingers over her.

If only he wasn’t a stuffed shirt.

“I’m starting to see I was wrong,” he began. “I’ve spent most of my time here trying to figure out how you do it. Every employee I’ve worked with has sung your praises, not to mention I’ve seen how well you work. Honestly, you should be in our manager’s program.”

Harmony shook her head. “I don’t want to be a manager. I like being on the floor with the customers. Plus, I make more money as a waitress.”

Kevin nodded as though he understood. “Okay, but what if I made it worth your while?”

“You couldn’t. George already tried to get me into the program. He’s been trying to talk me into it for years.”

“I bet I could convince you.”

Harmony raised an eyebrow at him in challenge. “What makes you think that?”

“Because I know how to push your buttons. And because I have a bit more pull than George.”

Harmony ran her tongue over her lips and Kevin’s eyes focused on her tongue.

“God, I want to kiss you,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

But Harmony heard him.