Table for Two (2 page)

"Well, YEE-HAW! Let's go!" She yelled. "Are you taking me to some fancy place?"

Parker looked back at Jenny and winced. She mouthed her apology with a wave as they walked out the door. "I'm not really sure, I've never been there before." He explained about the restaurant.

They went outside and got into the car that was waiting to take them to the restaurant. They took their time getting to the restaurant, passing by a few different landmarks on the way so that Parker could tell his mother that he showed her around a little. The whole time, Melinda Sue chatted away, loud and excited, giving Parker a killer headache.

Once at the restaurant, Parker had hoped that Melinda Sue would at least quiet down a little. The louder she got, the quieter he got, hoping that she would take the hint. People dining at the tables around theirs kept looking over and glaring at the loud woman, much to Parker's dismay.

"Wow! You're really famous! Everyone keeps staring at you." She told Parker.

"Something like that." He muttered. His day just couldn't get any worse.

*****

"Hey boss, sorry to bother you, but there is a rather loud and obnoxious woman out there, and she's talking so loud that it's bothering the patrons at the tables surrounding hers." Leo, one of her best waiters informed her. "What would you like for me to do about it?"

Isabella continued to bread the chicken as she thought about the dilemma. "Well, you need to be very diplomatic about it in order to not offend her. Offer them the table by the fireplace. It's a little more out of the way, and there should be less people there to bother. Make up something about it being more romantic or something." She paused and looked up at him. "But please, be very gentle, we don't want to upset anyone."

"Yes ma'am. You can trust me to handle this properly." He said with a smile.

"I know I can. Also, offer the tables around them a free round of drinks once you move them, in order to help make up for the disruption of their dinners."

Leo nodded again and left the kitchen. Isabella turned back to the chicken that she was preparing, happy that she had such a good staff to rely on.

*****

"Sir, please, I mean no disrespect. We just thought you might be more comfortable by the fireplace." Leo tried to explain once the gentleman started raising his voice.

"Do you know who I am? And you're trying to put me in the back of the restaurant where you sit the rejects?" Parker yelled, not caring that he was causing more of a scene by carrying on than if he had just moved. This day was one for the record books, that was for sure. "I would like to speak to the manager." He said, standing up and throwing his black fabric napkin onto the table.

"Sir, please. If you will just take your seat, I will go get the manager, and we can work this all out peacefully." Leo tried to reason.

Parker glared at the waiter and walked over to the kitchen. He slammed through the swinging doors, with Leo following behind him, still trying to reason with him. "Who is in charge here?" He shouted, startling the kitchen staff and making them all look up at him.

Isabella whispered something to the chef standing next to her, telling him what needed to be done to finish the dish she was preparing. She walked forward to the man that had just interrupted the sanctuary of the kitchen. "Good evening, I am Isabella. If there is a problem, we can step into my office and discuss it." She motioned to a hallway that led to her office.

"I said that I want to speak to the person in charge, not some chef." Parker declared, looking at her as though she was stupid.

"Well, I own this restaurant, so that would make me the person in charge." She told him, trying to remember that he was still a customer and forcing herself not to sound too condescending.

Parker chuckled in disbelief. "Listen lady, is your husband here? I think this is a little out of your league."

That set Isabella over the edge. Customer or not, she didn't need anyone putting her down, especially not in front of her employees, the ones that she demanded respect from. She stood taller, not backing down from this insulting man. "Aren't you a little old for imaginary friends? I told you that I own this restaurant. If there is a problem, I will handle it."

"Do you know who I am?" Parker was furious.

"Well, from the way you're acting, I'm assuming that you are the one sitting at the table with the woman who has never heard of her 'inside voice'." Isabella rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lady, you're messing with the wrong person. My name is Parker Davidson, and I can make or break your restaurant." He threatened.

"Well how nice for you Mr. Davidson. I'm surprised that your ego fit in the door with you when you came in." She glared. "Now I think it would be best if you and your companion both left my restaurant before I have to call the cops."

"Lady, you just messed with the wrong person." He shot back at her before storming back out the kitchen doors.

Isabella turned around and faced the silent kitchen. "Ok everyone. Back to work, show's over. Dylan, make sure those tables all get a free round of drinks for the disruption. Leo, if you are caught up on your tables, please meet me in my office." Leo nodded and followed his boss.

*****

"Come on, let's go." He grabbed Melinda Sue by the elbow.

"But we haven't even eaten yet. What's going on Parker?" Melinda Sue was confused.

"Shut up! Just shut up! Please!" Parker had long lost his patience. He dragged Melinda Sue to the door and hailed a cab. "Here's her address, and here's thirty bucks. That will more than cover the trip, plus a nice tip for having to listen to her." Parker lightly shoved her into the taxi and shut the door. He tapped on the roof and set the cab in motion.

Just as the taxi pulled away, his car pulled up. He sank into the back seat and buried his head in his hands. They'd all made fools of him in one day…the record company, his manager, his mother, his date, and that restaurant owner. That wasn't something he took lightly.

*****

"Leo, I'm sure that you handled everything properly, but I do need to know what was said out there." Isabella sat down in her chair behind her desk and gestured for Leo to sit in the chair on the other side.

"I did what you told me. I offered them the table by the fireplace as it was nice and cozy, and more romantic. The woman looked very appreciative, but the man took great offense to it. He asked if I knew who he was, and to be quite honest, he looked kind of familiar, but I really don't know who he was." He paused. "I hope I didn't ruin anything."

"No, you handled it well from the sounds of it. Some people just have anger issues." She turned on her computer. "What did he say his name was again? Parker Davis?"

"Parker Davidson." Leo corrected her.

Isabella pulled up her Google search and entered the name. She hit enter and was amazed at how many results turned up. "Oh my!" She said as she clicked on some of the links. "Looks like Mr. Davidson is a famous singer." She looked over to Leo. "Oh, hey, I know this song. I just never knew who sang it." She started to hum the melody of the song.

"If I'd known he was that famous, I would have just let you handle it. Maybe you wouldn't have screwed it up as bad as I did." Leo said with regret.

"No Leo, you did just fine. We'll get through this, don't worry." Isabella reassured him, though she secretly hoped that Parker Davidson didn't make good on his threats, just when business was finally booming.

"Tate, can you get me a Cosmo please?" Isabella asked the bartender as she took a seat on one of the stools. The dinner crowd had thinned out, and there were only a few tables left, so she took leave of the kitchen. She was rubbing her temples with her head down when she sensed someone sit next to her.

"Tough night, huh?" Dylan commented.

"One of the worst. I am so ready for it to be over." She groaned. Her Cosmo was set in front of her, and she took a long drink of it. "The man may have an attitude, but he sure makes a mean drink." She sighed as she told Dylan after Tate walked away.

"Hey bitches!" A tall, dark haired, flamboyant man walked into the bar area.

"Hey Jase! What are you doing here?" Isabella asked one of her best friends as she reached up to give him a hug.

"Hey Mary. I was hoping to convince you to come out with me this fine evening." He gave her his puppy dog eyes.

"I will never understand…why do you call her Mary?" Dylan asked.

"Because he's a Mary himself." Isabella joked.

"Ah, Dylly, are you jealous that I have a nickname for her and not you? I'd be happy to come up with a pet name for you too." Jason wagged his eyebrows seductively.

"Uh, no! Thanks anyways." Dylan said, visibly cringing.

"Hmm, your loss." He teased. "So Mary, what's the verdict? Are you coming out with me tonight?"

"Honey, you came out a long time ago." Isabella laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. You know what I meant." Jason rolled his eyes.

"Jase, you know it's Thursday, and on Thursdays I always go to the all night laundromat after work to do my laundry." She said, reminding him of her routine.

"Oh, you're so boring. My routine this, my schedule that." He teased. "Come on. Are you completely out of black shirts or black pants?"

"Well, no." She answered honestly.

"What about black socks? Bras? Those cute little thong underwear?" He prodded.

"No, no, and no." She replied, knowing that her excuse of needing to do laundry was failing. "But if I don't do it tonight, it's going to throw off my whole schedule."

"Good lord woman, forget the damn schedule for once and let loose." Jason begged.

"You know, I think we could all use a night out after the stuff we went through tonight." Dylan tried. "I'll go if you go."

Isabella looked at her two friends and their pitiful faces. "Ugh! Fine, I'll just go do my laundry when I get home, so I am not staying out too late."

"Sure…" Jason pacified.

*****

Parker scrolled through his phone book built into his cell phone. He highlighted the number for his buddy Matt and hit send. After a few quick rings, the man answered.

"Dude, I am in serious need of a drink and a quick lay, not necessarily in that order. You up for a night out?" Parker asked Matt.

"You know it, man. Count me in." Matt told him. They made arrangements to meet at a popular bar half an hour later.

Parker hurried to change his clothes, picking out a long sleeved dark grey t-shirt and a vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt to put over it. He grabbed his favorite faded jeans, then his black Doc Martens. In just a few minutes, he was ready to roll. A quick stop in the bathroom to check his hair and brush his teeth and he was out the door.

Matt found Parker sitting at the bar, nursing his second beer. "Started without me, I see."

"Dude, I told you I was seriously in need. My mother set me up on the worst blind date of my life." He said with a shake of his head.

"Man, you let your mother set you up on a blind date?" Matt laughed.

"Dude, I had no choice! You know how my mother is. It was one of her friend's nieces that just moved to town, so I was elected to take her out." Parker protested. "She completely humiliated me in a restaurant full of people. I just want to forget the whole night ever happened."

"Oh man, someone humiliated you? Did she know who you were?" Matt tried to hold back a laugh.

"Yeah, she knew, but she didn't do it on purpose. But anyways, like I said, I just want to forget about it. I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it." Parker told him. He signaled to the bartender and two more beers were brought over. "Come on, let's get to the VIP area before someone recognizes me."

*****

Jason went with Isabella to her apartment for her to shower and change. While she was cleaning her night of work off her body, Jason went to her closet to pick out her outfit. There were only a few things in there that weren't black.

'Honey needs to stop working so much and get a life.' Jason thought to himself as he rifled through the hangers. 'Finally', he thought when he saw the black leather pants. 'They're black, but they're hot.' Next to the pants, he found a red halter that would look great on her. 'Perfect!'

Isabella dried her hair before coming out of the bathroom, choosing to leave it in its naturally wavy state, cascading down her back. She put on just enough makeup to bring out the green in her eyes, along with a touch of lipstick. She readied herself to enter the bedroom and find out what Jason had picked for her to wear. No doubt, she would be uncomfortable in whatever he chose.

"Girl, you better hurry your skinny ass up! Dylan will be here any minute!" Jason yelled into her.

"I'm hurrying. I just need to get dressed." She said, walking to the bed where the clothes lay. "Ah, Jase, isn't there anything else I could wear?"

"Bitch you better put that on and shut up." He mock threatened.

"Fine, but just so you know, it is completely against my better judgment." She yelled back, going to her dresser to get out some underwear. She picked her typical black thong, and decided against the strapless bra.