~ROSE POV~

"So that's a large chocolate milkshake with a side of fries?" I asked the customer for the third time and waited as the geeky guy thought about changing his mind again.

Don't get me wrong, the guy was harmless and sweet but I wasn't making any extra tips sitting here waiting for him. He had thick glasses that hid his bright blue eyes, shaggy blond hair, and freckles across his innocent face.

He didn't speak again but just nodded with a blush covering his cheeks. I looked to the bar to see a girl that was clearly out of place. She looked much like an angel with her long blonde hair, jade green eyes, and pale complexion. The pale green dress was what made her seem so out of place in this part of town. I mean, downtown Chicago wasn't exactly the place you would expect to find her type.

I looked away from her and walked to my next customer before seeing a kind of creepy looking guy with black hair walk in. This guy was exactly what you would expect to find in a place like this. What I didn't expect to see was him walk over to the blonde and kiss her, or even more surprising, her kiss him.

I looked at the clock and saw, thankfully, that it was time for me to leave. I delivered my last customer's order to the chef and then walked to the back to clock out. I was surprised to see my boss standing close to me with a grin on his face and I could see that he was half drunk.

"I hope you haven't gotten too comfortable here." Kevin said with a smile, well as close as he could manage. He had several teeth missing, gray patches of blond and gray hair that wouldn't be there for much longer, eyes that were a muddy brown, and he only stood an inch taller than me.

I looked at him with my hands on my hips and asked "What do you mean?"

He shrugged before taking a drag off the cigarette he had lit. He exhaled it into my face and said "You're fired. I don't have enough money to go around for you anymore and I don't feel like dealing with you."

"In other words, I won't sleep with your old ass so you don't want to give me a paycheck." I growled and he mocked a wounded expression. I turned away from him to take a calming breath, hoping that I would be able to keep my cool until I was out of here.

"Now, Rose. You know that isn't the truth. Times are hard and unless you have a way to change my mind, you're gone." He said and slapped me on my ass.

I had nothing to lose at this point so there was no fighting my instincts. I dropped my badge before coiling my arm back and letting my fist swing forward to connect with his nose. He screamed in pain and I paid no attention to the eyes that had turned our way or the sounds he was making from the floor as he cupped his bleeding nose.

"Go fuck yourself because I refuse. This job isn't worth your bullshit." I growled and made no eye contact with anyone as I walked out of the restaurant.

I held back the tears that came to my eyes as I realized that I'd just lost another job. Thoughts of my mother and father came to mind without warning causing me to feel more down and out than I already was.

My mom had been one of the most respected lawyers because she always gave everything she had to a case if she thought it was worth it and turned away those she knew were guilty. Everyone wanted her to defend them but she didn't associate with criminals. Not after my father.

They had fallen in love in their teens and had started a life together but their different paths had caused them to split apart. They'd found each other again but after what happened with mom, I'd lost both of my parents when I was 14. After that, I'd been constantly lying about my age to keep a job and to try to make a better life for myself.

That's not going so well. I was twenty-four years old and had absolutely nothing to call my own. I had a shitty home that I was about to be thrown out of, a junker vehicle that was broken down and about to be repossessed, and no source of family, friends, or any other kind of relationship. Hell, I didn't even have pets at this point in life.

Despite the lack of traffic, I waited for the crosswalk sign to signal for me to be able to walk across the street before I walked. I made it to the center of the road when I heard tires squealing and felt my body tense up. I turned towards the sound and saw that a car was speeding in my direction too fast and too close for me to do anything about it.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact of the vehicle. I felt something hit hard and knock me to the ground but it wasn't quite as forceful as I knew the car would be. I didn't open my eyes until I could no longer hear the sound of the vehicle speeding through the small area.

"Are you hurt?" I heard a voice ask and the first thing that I noticed was that the accent was thick and not American.

I opened my eyes and saw a pair of dark brown eyes looking into my own. I also didn't fail to notice the person who had pushed me out of the way of the car was obviously male. He was actually… really nice to look at.

He stood up and pulled me with him so that we were toe to toe. Eye to eye was a different story though. He stood at at least a foot taller than me, if not more and I now knew why it felt like a brick wall had knocked me out of the way of the car. He looked like he'd just stepped out of a romance novel with his perfect body and beautiful features. What the hell was he doing in this side of town?

"Dimitri, are you okay? Is she alright?" I heard a female voice say and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw that it was the oddly matched couple from my final shift.

The man named Dimitri looked from me to the blonde and said "She's in shock but I think she's going to be alright."

"After the punch she just threw, I'm pretty sure she's tougher than she looks." Creepy said with a smirk.

I moved away from Dimitri and started to walk off when the blonde walked up to me. "I'm so sorry. He can be so inconsiderate at times. My name is Lissa Dragomir, I'm a nurse from Hoffman Estates."

"What the hell are you guys doing in Chicago? Or downtown for that matter?" I asked and placed my hands on my hips.

She had a kind smile spread across her face as she said "We are here for a business meeting about a small company here in Chicago."

"It seems as if we were in the right place at the right time." The man with black hair said. His blue eyes had a teasing glint in them and maybe it was just a bad day, but something about him pissed me off immediately.

I scoffed before saying "Listen, Creep. I don't need any help from anyone. That car hitting me might not have been such a bad thing because at least then we wouldn't be standing here having this conversation."

Dimitri arched an eyebrow at me before saying "Is that how people in Chicago express their gratitude or are you just naturally this rude?"

"Fuck you. I'm done with this." I turned my back and tried to walk off again but like last time, the blonde stepped in front of me.

I let myself glare at her as I asked "What this time, princess?"

She dug into her designer bag before placing a white card in my hand. "Please call if you need anything. I know there are several people who are desperate for employees and I know you will be in search of a job."

I took the card and shoved it into my pocket before walking off. I doubted I would need their help but I was pretty sure that even if I did, they were only offering help for show. People didn't do kind gestures for others without payment in return.

I'd learned that a long time ago.

***So this story has been on my mind for a long time and I finally gave in and started writing it. I hope you all will enjoy reading this story and I look forward to hearing your opinions on the story and thank you for taking the time to read this story!