Thankfully, he decided to take her with him, whether it was because he was sympathetic to her current predicament or because he realized that she wasn’t capable of letting him go, she didn’t know and didn’t care. When he sat down on the couch, she settled in more comfortably against him and closed her eyes, still wondering why the inconsiderate bastard hadn’t thought of getting a blanket for his office.

Maybe she should steal one of Melanie’s precious blankets? she thought as she laid her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes and-

“Since I’m assuming that my father didn’t clear you to return to work during the two hours that I was gone, can I assume that you’re still supposed to be upstairs pretending to be asleep?” he asked as he dropped his hold on her and settled for resting his hands on her ass.

His obsession with her ass was starting to become a little concerning.

“Patrick needed help,” she mumbled sleepily, wondering what he had against post sex naps.

“He had plenty of help,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“You need to put an extra waitress on Saturday nights,” she mumbled, shifting to get more comfortable.

He sighed heavily as he shifted beneath her, still keeping his hands on her ass, she drowsily noted as she started to fall asleep, but of course she should have realized that he wasn’t quite done yet.

“Since you’re obviously feeling better there’s no point in hiring anyone new.”

“Not for a few weeks at least,” she agreed, hoping that this was going to be the end of their little heart to heart. She needed a few minutes of sleep before she had to get dressed and get back out there, but the way that he suddenly went still beneath her told her that it wasn’t going to be that simple.

“What happens in a few weeks?”

“You know what happens,” she said, not particularly thrilled by the idea of quitting either, but what else was she supposed to do now?

They were serious, or at least, she was serious about him, which meant working for him was no longer an option. She was really going to miss the Fire & Brimstone. She loved working here, loved the staff, the customers and what she did. While most people wouldn’t consider being a waitress a career, she did.

She didn’t care that she would never get rich doing it. The only thing that mattered to her was that she loved her job. She could care less what anyone else thought about it. She loved working in a restaurant and one day if she was lucky enough, she might get the opportunity to run a restaurant of her very own.

“No,” Lucifer said, making her sigh, because she really wasn’t in the mood for this argument again.

“Yes,” she said, hoping that he’d just let it go.

“Not fucking happening,” he said, shaking his head so that his chin gently brushed against the top of her head.

“Can we talk about this later?” she asked, wishing that he’d just let it go.

“No.”

Sighing heavily, because she should have known that he was going to make this difficult, she sent a silent apology to her trembling limbs, and carefully climbed off his lap. “I have to get back to work.”

“You’re not on the schedule tonight,” he pointed out evenly as she started searching for her clothes.

“You’re short-staffed,” she said, grabbing her shirt off the desk only to end up frowning when she realized that her bra wasn’t with it.

“Patrick can cover it,” he said, while she continued searching for her bra.

“He can’t cover my section and run the restaurant,” she pointed out while she stood there, nibbling on her bottom lip as she tried to remember what color bra she’d been wearing.

“He’ll manage,” he said, tucking himself back into his pants as he walked over to the desk. Throwing her a look that told her just how pissed he was, he reached past her and plucked her bra off the computer.

“Look,” she said, taking the bra from him and quickly donning it as she glanced around the room for her panties, “I don’t want to quit, but-”

“Then don’t,” he snapped.

Giving up on finding her panties, because they’d apparently fallen off the face of the earth, she grabbed her pants and pulled them on. “It’s not that easy and you know it,” she said, wondering why he had to make this so difficult when they both knew that she no longer had a choice.

“You’re going to quit because you don’t want people knowing that you’re sleeping with your boss?” he guessed.

“Exactly,” she said, pulling her shirt on, glad he finally understood.

For a minute he didn’t say anything, he just stared at her in that unnerving way of his making her think that he was going to argue with her, but then he surprised her by stepping away from the door. “If that’s what you want, Rebecca, then I’m not going to argue with you.”

Relieved, and more than a little surprised that he’d given in so easily, she murmured, “Thank you,” with a frown and walked to the door.

“You’re welcome,” he said, opening the office door for her, further taking her by surprise, because she really hadn’t expected him to give up without a fight.

She was relieved that he wasn’t going to make this harder than it needed to be, but she was also disappointed that he was letting her go this easily after five years. Where was the loyalty? The adoration?

He could at least pretend that he was going to miss her, she thought with a little pout as she walked past him and headed down the hallway so that she could return to work when all she wanted to do was to turn around, head back to that office and kick the shit out of his shin while she read him the riot act. He might be fine with her leaving, but they both knew that he would never find another waitress like her. She was one in a million and he’d realize that sooner or-

Why was everyone staring at her? she couldn’t help but wonder as she stood there watching as several waitresses, busboys, a chef and the bartender along with Patrick were standing there, staring at her like she had two heads. Frowning, she looked down to find everything in order. Her shirt was neatly tucked in, her pants were on right and her shoes-

Oh, shit.

She’d forgotten to put her shoes back on. No big deal. She shrugged it off, because it could have been a lot worse and said, “I threw them at him,” expecting them to nod in understanding.