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Scott McCall turned to find a waitress standing by his side and staring up at him. For a brief moment, he just stared at her. She had a nice voice, he found himself thinking for some reason. She looked so unsure of herself and her voice was as faint as a breath on a still summer's day. She was chewing at her bottom lip as if she hadn't eaten a meal in quite a while. 

His eyes moved over her. She had long dark hair which was tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. A fringe of black hair swept over her forehead and dark-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, but it didn't hide the strong lines of her face, the sharp cheekbones, the beautiful, innocent eyes or the lush curves of her mouth.

His eyes wandered lower, and he found himself staring even harder. In her simple waitress uniform which consisted of a white shirt and black pants which hugged her body perfectly, she stood out. Even in those clothes, he could see that she was curvy. Her waist was slim and judging by her hips, he knew that if she turned around, he'd find himself staring at a very round ass. The words almost spilled out but he held his tongue. For some reason he didn't quite understand, something in her body language made him pause. It was a weird feeling, and Scott frowned.

Vivian stood there helplessly as Scott McCall stared at her with a look on his face that she didn't quite understand. All she knew was that it made her so self aware and she found herself wondering if there was something wrong with her clothes… or maybe her make up. She had a sudden urge to find a mirror even though she had made sure her outfit was fine minutes ago. His eyes seemed to see through her and Vivian took a deep breath. The little courage she'd spent a long time building seemed to crumble right there…. Simply because he was staring at her. 

Scott dragged his gaze away from her body with a strength that deserved a gold medal. But the thoughts she'd incited in him remained. Thoughts that left him throbbing and greedy.

"Yeah. I would like a glass of water" he said finally when she raised an eyebrow questioningly. Apparently, his gaze had made her uncomfortable. He smiled inwardly. 

"Sure. Right away, sir" she said. 

Vivian had no idea how she managed to keep her voice steady, even though inside she felt shaky all over. The man made her so nervous and she tried not to hold his gaze for too long. Damn, if she couldn't even look at him here, how the hell would she bring herself to talk to him when she finally got the chance. He didn’t know her and he was a stranger to her as well, but she wanted a job at his company so badly that she was willing to do anything to get it. 

But surely you couldn’t just walk up to a man who was essentially a total stranger and ask for a favor like that? Vivian hid her trembling fingers in her small apron as she quickly turned away—but the impact of meeting Scott McCall in person made her stomach churn and her heart beat so hard that for a moment she really thought she might throw up.

But she couldn’t afford to back out now. She had to see her plan through—to choose a moment to talk to him… and see if he'd give her a chance. And it wasn’t going to be easy, she knew that. Getting an agency placement to waitress at this party had been the easy bit—the hard stuff was yet to come… and judging by this little encounter with Scott McCall, she knew it was going to be harder than she had anticipated. 

"What the hell is wrong with you? What the hell do you think you were doing out there?" demanded an elderly woman as Vivian walked up to the bar to place her order.

Vivian stared nervously at the woman who was the manager and scratched her head. "I just asked the gentleman if I could get him a drink—" she began 

"A drink indeed." The woman snorted at her. "Do you have any idea who that man is?’ she hissed.

Vivian knew exactly who he was, but the woman didn't wait for her to reply before she continued. "He’s the life of this party. The man is practically paying your wages. A popular, important and successful business and if anyone here is going to be offering him drinks then it’s going to be me, not you. Get that into your head, right now. Do you understand me? Now, you can go find some other place to make yourself useful while I take over his order. What did he ask for?"

"He wanted… just…just water." Vivian replied. 

"Still or sparkling?" the woman snapped again and Vivian wondered if she was always like that. She seemed to be a very angry person… or maybe this attitude was just for her. 

"He…he didn’t specify which one he wanted" 

The woman looked at her as if contemplating clawing her eyes out. "So you are telling me that you didn’t even ask him?" 

"I…I…, I’m sorry, I’m afraid I didn’t ask him. I was in a hurry to get it" 

Inwardly, Vivian wished the floor would just open up and swallow her up. She hated confrontations like this as they didn't help her in any way. Especially when she was already nervous. She squirmed beneath the look of rage on the woman's face. She looked so angry and Vivian was sure that she was about to be fired. This was the end. It was over. Her plans and efforts had already been ruined before she even got a chance to speak to Scott McCall. 

Instead of firing her as she expected, the woman gave her one last glare before she said. "Just do your job right. Do what you’re supposed to do and don't make any more silly mistakes. Since you didn't ask which one he wants, offer him both still and sparkling, and then after that, I don't want to see you around him. Make yourself scarce. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to do!"

With that, she turned and disappeared to God knows where. Probably to find someone else to yell at, Vivian thought, but she was glad to be left alone once again.