Chapter Five

Olivia awoke the next morning with a stretch, thinking of the night before. If she wasn't mistaken, Sam had been covertly watching her all night. While her first reaction was that it was a little creepy, she relaxed after a little while and they started to talk. Sam told her all about the relationship that he'd had with Samantha and all of her controlling tendencies, and she'd told him about the one and only boyfriend she'd ever had and how he'd broken up with her when she left to come here. Olivia didn't particularly care for the boy as it stood before she left. He was nice at first and had progressed into more of a nuisance than a boyfriend.

Getting out of bed, she took the few steps between her bed and the door and walked out into the hallway and opened the door to the bathroom with her head down. Inside the door it was really warm, almost humid. She looked up and let out a scream. Sam was standing there, completely naked and soaking wet, pulling down a towel from the shower rod. Her shriek made him drop the towel, only intensifying the situation. Olivia covered her eyes and mouth and turned away, running back to the nudity-free zone that was her room. Sam came rushing in once he'd secured his towel to his waist, apologizing profusely.

"I am so sorry. I didn't think you'd be out of bed by the time I got done and I am so sorry!"

Olivia just sat on the edge of her bed, speechless with her eyes diverted so that she wouldn't stare. Sam looked at her and asked:

"Are you alright? I didn't traumatize you or anything did I? Oh man, this is exactly what I didn't want to happen. Yeah, I can see this making living here so much less awkward."

He was rambling and Olivia just wanted him to go get dressed before they talked. Luckily, just then her cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw an unfamiliar number and picked it up, still trying not to look at Sam.

"Hello?" she said quickly into the phone. She was out of breath and just hoped that she didn't seem as flustered as she actually was.

"Hello, Olivia White," the voice on the other end was a man's, though she didn't know who.

"Who is this?"

"This is your new friend, Warner."

Great, she thought to herself sarcastically. Let's add some salt to the wound, shall we?

"Can I help you Warner?"

"I was supposed to call and tell you that the owners wanted an interview today. They're actually ready to hire you on the spot, they just have to make sure you're not psychotic first. I told them that I didn't know about you."

"Ugh. Alright. I have to shower and get dressed and I'll be in there. Thanks."

She hung up and turned to Sam, finally able to speak to him.

"I-you…I have to go, so you have to go."

"I just wanted to--"

"No, it's alright. Don't worry about it, just please go put some clothes on."

"Okay, again I'm really--"

Olivia put up a finger to shush him, cutting him off and got up and walked to her dresser, pulling out a pair of black slacks and a white blouse, along with a bath towel and her toiletries. She went into the bathroom, opening the door more slowly this time in case Sam had decided to make another trip in there. Noting that it was clear and he wasn't inside, she stripped down and hurried through her shower. Once she had scrubbed down, she climbed out of the shower, wrapping her towel around her and walked out, gathering her clothes as she went. Just as she opened the door, Sam was coming out of his room and they almost collided. Without a word, Olivia took 3 steps backwards into the bathroom, and slammed the door before he saw her. Hearing a small laugh from outside the door, she waited until his steps were at the other end of the hall. She ran from the bathroom into her own room and quickly changed, then dried her hair and put on a light layer of makeup before rushing out and calling a cab. She arrived at Antonio's within 45 minutes of getting off the phone with Warner.

When she arrived, he just happened to be sitting outside, smoking again. He looked at her with an amused expression and then went back to his cigarette, glancing at her as she walked past him. She shuffled into the dining room made her way up to the counter, addressing the older woman from the night before.

"Hello, I was supposed to come in for an interview?"

"Oh yes, you're Olivia White then?" the woman had a friendly smile and Olivia took immediate notice.

"Yes, I am," she smiled back.

"Follow me then, please."

Olivia followed the woman into the back, through the kitchen and into an office where a couple of girls sat smoking. The woman motioned for them to leave and the snuffed out their cigarettes before going on their way. They hadn't been there the night before, thankfully so Olivia didn't get any of the hushed words or stares as she had before. The office was small, but elegant. A mahogany desk stood in the middle of the floor, just like the one that Olivia's dad had in the center of his study, with a brand-new looking computer perched on top and neat piles of paper stacked around it. A large leather chair sat behind the desk, with a smaller one of the same style on the other side. A line of filing cabinets sat behind the desk. The walls were obscenely white and the carpet was deep red. Pictures hung on the wall of a happy family, the parents - one of them obviously the woman about to conduct Olivia's interview, a man and a young boy. The young boy looked vaguely like someone that Olivia recognized, though she couldn't place who it was.

"Sit down, Olivia," the woman said gesturing to a chair across the desk. "I'm Mrs. Borden, but you can call me Mallory. I'm the owner and management to this restaurant."

"Thank you for getting back to me so quickly, Mrs.-- Mallory. I'm new to the area and need to find a job as soon as possible. What kind of help are you looking for?"

"Actually wait staff is what we're looking for right now, if you don't mind that type of work. I guess I don't need to explain to you the duties that are implied, seeing as how it's pretty standard. The only difference from your usual restaurant is that we don't initiate contact with the customers by going to their tables for their orders…which you learned last night."

Mallory gave Olivia a teasing smile, but Olivia knew that she wasn't trying to be harsh about it, and smiled back. A knock at the door interrupted their exchange and when she heard it open, Olivia turned her head to see who it was.

"Mom, the vendors are here so you need to…" Warner stood at the door, looking at his mother.

"Okay, thanks honey," she smiled at her son and excused herself from the room.

Warner made his way behind the desk. Olivia was speechless. She really didn't know what to say. That's what he meant by saying that he was close with the management. She felt like a fool for being so arrogant to him, while she was in the process of an application for a job. She hoped that he hadn't told his mother what she'd said to him.

"So…your mother owns this place?"

Warner had crossed the room and sat down in the big chair behind the desk, putting his feet up on the end opposite from the computer, giving her a smug grin.

"Yep, that she does," he replied.

"That must be nice. I wondered what you meant when you said you were close to the management."

"Oh yeah, that. I normally don't tell people that my parents own the place. They look at me differently if I do. I figured though, that the different way that you would look at me would be a pleasant change from the scowls I've been getting from you."

"They weren't…scowls. You just caught me at a bad time. I had a really bad day yesterday."

"I could tell. I asked you, remember? You didn't want to talk about it."

"I don't know you," she told him shortly, getting irritated again.

"What's wrong with getting to know me?"

"Wel--" Olivia trailed off as Mallory strode back into the room, playfully shooing Warner from her chair, and he shot one last look at Olivia before going back to work.

"So, how soon can you start?" This abrupt question caught Olivia off guard, wasn't she going to ask for references or anything?

"When do you need me to start?"

"Tomorrow would be great."

"Don't you have any other questions?"

"Olivia, you seem like a smart girl and I don't want to insult you by asking a list of stupid questions that I already know that you know the answers to. You do know to be nice to the customers, right?"

"O-Of course."

"Then we're set. You start tomorrow. I'm going to guess you wear a small shirt?"

"Um, right."

"Here you go wear it with a pair of black slacks and make sure your hair's pulled up."

Mallory tossed a folded black shirt from under the desk to Olivia. Olivia caught it and thanked Mallory, then headed out. She had just finished calling a cab when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"D'you want a ride?" what a surprise, it was him again.

"No, I called a taxi."

"It would be faster to let me take you."

"Why? So you can find out where I live?"

"No, it would just be faster. Tell me you live 3 blocks away and walk the rest, I don't care," Olivia laughed a little at this, softening some.

"No thanks. Maybe tomorrow though, it's my first day so you can give me a ride home then."

"Alright. See you tomorrow, Miss Livvy."

This time, Warner gave a genuine smile before walking back in. Olivia's ride parked at the curb and she climbed inside. That boy has a really nice smile.. He sure seems to be paying a lot of attention to me. Ah, oh well. The last thing I need is a boyfriend right now to compound the rest of my problems. Thoughts like these swam through her mind as they took the many bends and turns through town and back to her apartment. Relieved to be back, she went inside to find Sam at the stove, making breakfast. Her nose knew it before her eyes did and she followed the smell to where he was standing.

"That smells so good," she told him over his shoulder, trying to see what he was cooking.

"Yeah, well I figured I owed you for the pizza. Here you go."

He handed her an already full plate and she walked to the dining room table, setting the plate down and wondering how she was going to finish it all. Sam was right behind her and sat down in the chair at the opposite end of the table.

"So, uh about this morning…"

Olivia's fork came to an abrupt halt halfway between the table and her mouth. She'd forgotten about this morning in all of the hurry and excitement of her interview. She couldn't change the subject now, she had nowhere to go and her phone wasn't even putting forth a beep. She looked at him, knowing that she'd probably gone 4 different shades of red in the short time since he'd asked the question.

"Um…okay. What about it?"

"I just wanted to apologize, I really didn't think you'd be awake yet."

"Oh no, it's fi--it's fine."

Then Olivia couldn't help it. With them talking about it, her mind flashed back to that morning, more specifically to Sam standing there in the bathroom wearing nothing but a surprised expression. She snapped herself out of it and when she did, she thought that Sam was looking at her like he knew what she'd been thinking. Embarrassed, she went back to her plate, finishing quickly and putting her dishes into the dishwasher.

A/N: Read and Review please! I love to hear what everyone is thinking. It helps me take the story in what I believe to be the best possible direction so let me know your thoughts