Ryan's phone buzzed in his pocket.
He was standing in the restaurant's back room, tying his apron strings. His shift was about to start in ten minutes.
He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen.
*Marcus: Still good for tonight? I can come to the restaurant around 7 if that works.*
Ryan's stomach dropped.
Tonight. Marcus was coming tonight. Here. To see him work.
Ryan stared at the message. His mind raced. This was getting too real. Too close. Marcus was going to see him pretending to be a server. What if he messed up? What if Marcus figured out something was wrong?
But he'd already promised. Yesterday, when he'd been exhausted and hungover and barely able to think straight, he'd told Marcus they could meet today.
He had no choice now.
Ryan typed back.
*Ryan: Yeah that works.*
He sent the restaurant address and location pin.
*Ryan: Crimson & Oak. See you at 7.*
Ryan put his phone away and took a deep breath.
It had been two days since the rebel raid. Two days since that night he couldn't fully remember. He'd woken up the next morning with his head pounding and blank spaces where memories should be. Matt said the job went fine. That they got the guy. That everything was handled.
But Ryan couldn't remember most of it.
Yesterday he'd spent the whole day sleeping. Recovering. Trying to piece together what happened. By the time Marcus texted him in the afternoon, Ryan had been so tired and foggy that his replies came out short and distant.
Now it was today. And Marcus was coming. And Ryan had to actually do this job he barely knew how to do.
"You ready?" Sara appeared in the doorway. "Your section is tables five through eight."
"Yeah. I'm ready."
Ryan followed her out to the dining room. It was five o'clock. The dinner shift was just starting. A few early customers were already seated. More would come soon.
Leo stood near the kitchen, watching everything. He caught Ryan's eye and gave a small nod.
Ryan walked to his section. Four tables. He could handle four tables.
His first customers arrived at table six. A couple. Middle-aged. They looked nice enough.
"Good evening," Ryan said. The words felt stiff. Awkward. "Can I start you with drinks?"
"I'll have water with lemon," the woman said.
"And I'll take an iced tea," the man added.
Ryan wrote it down. Went to get their drinks. Brought them back without spilling anything.
So far so good.
"Are you ready to order?"
They ordered their food. Ryan wrote it all down. Took it to the kitchen. The chef looked at the ticket and started cooking.
Ryan felt a tiny bit of relief.
Then table seven got seated. Four people. They all started talking at once. Asking questions about the menu. Asking for substitutions. One of them had allergies.
Ryan tried to keep up. Tried to write everything down correctly. But they kept changing their minds and talking over each other.
By the time he got their order to the kitchen, he wasn't sure if he'd gotten it right.
The night went on.
Ryan brought the wrong side dish to table five. The customer pointed it out. Ryan apologized and got the right one.
He forgot to refill water glasses at table six. They had to wave him down.
He dropped a fork while clearing table seven. It clattered on the floor. Everyone looked.
The other servers kept giving him looks. Not mean. Just... careful. Like they could sense something off about him. Something that didn't match the apron and the smile.
Around six-thirty, Ryan was at table eight when he heard a loud voice behind him.
"This is unacceptable!"
Ryan turned. A man at table five was standing. His face was red. Angry.
Ryan walked over fast. "Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? I ordered my steak well-done. This is basically raw!" The man pointed at his plate.
Ryan looked. The steak was medium. Not raw. But definitely not well-done.
"I'm sorry. I'll take it back and have them cook it more."
"You should have gotten it right the first time! What kind of place is this?"
Ryan felt something cold and familiar move through him. That old instinct. The one that said: make him stop. Make him sit down and shut up.
His jaw clenched. His hands formed fists.
But he couldn't do that. Not here. Not as Ryan the server.
Normal people didn't threaten customers. Normal people apologized.
"You're absolutely right," Ryan said. His voice came out steady. Calm. Even though everything inside him wanted to react differently. "I'm sorry. I'll get this fixed immediately."
"And I'm not paying for it."
"Of course not. It's on the house."
Ryan picked up the plate. His hands were shaking slightly.
Leo appeared beside him as he walked to the kitchen.
"You okay?" Leo asked quietly.
"Yeah. Fine."
"Take a breath. You're doing fine."
Ryan nodded. But he didn't feel fine. He felt like he was holding himself together with tape and string.
This was so much harder than he'd expected. Letting people yell at him. Apologizing for mistakes. Smiling when he wanted to do anything but smile.
Running a criminal organization was easier than this. At least there, people listened. At least there, he had control.
Here, he was just... nobody.
Ryan got the steak recooked. Brought it back to the angry customer. Apologized again. The man finally sat down and ate.
Ryan's phone buzzed.
*Marcus: On my way. See you soon.*
Ryan's heart started beating faster.
Marcus would be here any minute.
He smoothed down his apron. Checked his reflection in the polished side of the coffee machine. He looked tired. Stressed. But decent enough.
At around seven o'clock, the front door opened.
Marcus walked in.
Ryan's breath caught.
Marcus looked good. Really good. Dark jeans. Gray sweater. His hair slightly messy in that way that made Ryan want to reach out and touch it.
Marcus scanned the restaurant. His eyes found Ryan.
He smiled. That warm, easy smile that made Ryan's chest feel tight.
Marcus walked to the hostess stand. Said something. The hostess nodded and grabbed a menu.
She led Marcus across the dining room. Straight to table eight.
Ryan's section.
Of course.
Ryan took a breath. Straightened his shoulders. Walked over.
"Hi," he said. His voice came out quieter than he meant. "Welcome to Crimson & Oak."
Marcus looked up at him. That smile got bigger. "Hi yourself."