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Rosalinda was walking down the road, the diner was closed that day and it has already been three days since Alistair came. She figured he wasn't coming back, making her ecstatic not to continue fighting with someone.

Sighing softly to herself, she began to unlock the door but did feel an odd presence over her back. She turned and dropped her keys in shock. Speak of the devil! The man was standing right up her behind again, like the other day. She leaned down to grab her keys, looked up at him with a soft smile, but frustration showing through her eyes.

"Can I help you, Mr. Hamelton?" She asked softly to keep calm, as it was seven-thirty A.M. The man smiled and nodded, as she murmured in aggravation under her breath, and turned back around. She unlocked the door and opened it, motioning him to step inside.

As he began to walk in, two other men got out of the car behind them and followed right behind. The woman raised a brow but figured that if anything would happen, she did have a licensed pistol under her counter. She walked over and began to brew some coffee, as the men began to take out paperwork and leave a briefcase on the counter. "So, Ms. Scott...I've brought some of my men, and we have a WONDERFUL offer!" Alistair said as she shook her head.

"No, I have no interest-"

"Listen, I wanna offer you a job at my office, but you have total control over your diner! And others! We can expand and you get ninety-five percent of the profit!" He said, as the men took out paperwork and showed her a briefcase with sixty-thousand dollars, filling the leather case to the brim. She raised more of her right brow, then shut the suitcase. Her face began to turn a light cardinal-red and leaned close to Alistair's face.

"You're just simply not understanding, Mr. Hamelton. I do not wish to give this diner to any company to allow them any slight power." She snarled, very irritated now. The Belgian man was taken aback by this vexatious woman, becoming irritated as well, since people usually take up this offer without a second thought.

"I will have this diner in my company if you like it or not! I own all these establishments on this side of town and I also know the real estate-"

"I own this diner and real estate gets nothing from it because I finished paying it off and the bank does not own it either cause I know how to pay bills." She growled, as he bit his bottom lip, not knowing what to say anymore.

"Well, I can have an inspection-"

"I came in here to thoroughly clean my kitchen and my diner is an A. Try me." She hissed, as he ran both his hands through his hair.

"I am not understanding! Any normal human being would take up these offers in a heartbeat! Simply give me the diner! I will make you a millionaire and you can work with me- "

"I do not want to work in a big corporation. Goodbye Mr. Hamelton, I do not wish to see you in here, unless it is to get some food or possibly have a conversation besides business." She grumbled, sipping her fresh cup of coffee, as the man was shaking in anger and confusion.

"Now, I've got things to do and I don't want you in here, now leave. It's closed." She said, waving her hand, as she headed into the kitchen. Alistair was far past fuming at this point, telling the men to leave. As they went, he locked the door behind them and stomped to the kitchen. He barged in, expecting to see dirt, but it shined from the sun. She scrubbed at pretty much...nothing, which confused him more.

"What's so special?" He asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets, trying to keep his anger at a minimum. Rosalinda simply sighed and looked over her shoulder at him.

"This diner shows the sweat and time I put into making this place the way it is. And just...giving up all my hard work would be disappointing. And, if people want to come here, they'll have to travel and when people travel there are certain places they wanna come too, and I wanna be that certain place." She explained, as Alistair sighed, and nodded.

"Okay, well then, I'm...S-so-sorry." He pushed out, as Rosalinda scoffed and shook her head.

"I'm not excepting a petty apology that you had to force your mouth to form." She frowned, as he looked bewildered then became angry again, stumbling over the words he mumbled to himself.

"T-then...Let me take you out to dinner!" He spat before thinking, biting his bottom lip. She stopped working for a moment and glanced over her shoulder.

"No, I have a feeling it's to negotiate more." She mumbled, as he shook his head and walked closer. He looked around, finding a notebook and pen. He wrote his number down and set it down on the counter she was cleaning.

"Please, I swear it's to make up for me bothering you so much." He sincerely pushed. A small objecting groan slipped through her lips, conflicted with herself. Rosalinda turned to face the smiling man, as her eyes searched his in thought of what the bright idea would be. But, her heart ached at the thought of saying no, knowing she may regret this later on.

"Fine, but only because I know you won't leave me the hell alone." She murmured.

His smile broke out across his pink and plump lips to show a bright and straight row of teeth now, instead of the small and pleading smile.

"Amazing! I will pick you up at eight and text that number, so I have your address." He buzzed and head out of the kitchen, but quickly peeked back in.

"Dress nice, we're going somewhere fancy!" Is all he said and left the diner leaving Rosalinda to take a deep breath to keep herself calm.

The feeling about 'dinner' with a man who wanted her diner made her nervous. People who have money also have connections, they could always drug her and get her to sign away her beautiful diner. She regretted having a kind heart to allow herself to give him this chance, hoping it wouldn't blow back up on her part and blow up more money for this selfish and irritating man. Rosalinda thought more, walking back to the front of the diner and putting her licensed pistol into her purse.

"Just in case," she whispered, praying to God she wouldn't have to put it out.

---

Once Rosalinda got home around five-thirty that evening, she walked through her apartment door and texted the businessman, as she told him this was her number. She almost immediately got a reply, that told her to dress semi-formal for the night, as the young woman bit her lip. She searched her closet, finding a dress with a small huff. Why couldn't they just go to a regular restaurant? She's much rather wear jeans and a nice shirt.

"Oh no, he's rich, can't be seen walking into a chain restaurant." She mocked and tossed her dress onto her bed, throwing her hands into the air.

Quickly looking at the time, she put her phone on the charger and slipped into the bathroom taking a quick, but a very cleansing shower. Once out, she slipped on a sleeveless, floor-length, black, A-line silhouette dress. It had a split around the waist, showing about a few inches of skin and had a side-slit up the right leg to almost the top of the thigh.

She put on a very small amount of make-up, which to her was just some foundation, press-powder, dark brown eyeshadow, mascara, and clear lipgloss. After she finished up, she pulled her curly mop down, put a bit of mousse in it to hold her curls, and parted her hair to her right side. She then slid on some black 3-inch ankle strap heels. She texts Alistair her address after he asked for it again, grabbing a small clutch with cash, her small pistol, and her I.D. in it.

---

Alistair pulled up in his Benz a few moments later, confused when he pulled up to a complex, figuring she would live in a...house at least. The man got out of his car and opened the passenger door for her while she came out.

He looked at his watch to make sure they were on time for their reservation, not noticing the heels clicking towards him. Rosalinda was closer than he expected once he looked away from his watch and at the extravagant woman walking towards him. His mouth was opened slightly, as the woman blushed and closed his mouth for him.

"You look very nice as well," She piped softly and got in. The man quickly snapped out of his trance and closed the door with a small smirk playing on his lips. Every time he saw her, she always had a baggy hoody or an apron on, covering up her gorgeous form. Damn, if he didn't have a plan on why he was taking her out to diner, he'd just take her to a hotel and rock her whole world. He got in and looked over her one more time, before driving off to the restaurant. Rosalinda's eyes wondered over the tall building and people heading down the street in the late evening, as she looked over at Alistair and took a deep breath.

"Why do you want my forgiveness so much?" She questioned him and raised a brow, wanting to know his reasons.

"Well, I think you're a nice person and the way I yelled wasn't right or professional, so I want you to know I'm not that mean of a person." He answered with some lies behind the truth. The woman looked over him and looked back out her window, resting her elbow on the door, then her chin in her palm.

"Mmm..." She murmured softly, as they pulled up to a fancy French restaurant called "L'escargot".

She gawked at the magnificent exterior and couldn't wait to see the inside, since she always loved gorgeous buildings. She jumped slightly when her door was opened and he motioned for her to leave. She sighed softly and got out, as he held an arm out for her to take. The curly-haired woman looked at it hesitantly but hooked her hand in the crease of his elbow, as she was led inside. She looked around the front of the restaurant once they were inside, Alistair telling the hostess their reservation, as they were led to a more private area.

Some women in the restaurant purred out his name in a slurry tone as he politely waved, but rolled his eyes, as most women wanted to have a handsome and wealthy bachelor wrapped around their acrylic finger. Once at the table, he pulled his arm from her hand and pulled her chair out. She thanked him and sat down, as he quickly sat across from her and picked up the menu, reading over it. Rosalinda did the same but paused once she noticed most of the items written in French.

"U-um...Mr. Hal-"

"Alistair," he quickly corrected her, looking up from his menu.

"But, what's the matter?" He asked and noticed her brows furrowed together and cheeks pink.

"I-I I...can't read French." She said softly, as he blinked with a blank expression, then chuckled.

"Do you enjoy pasta?"

"Yes-"

"Would you like a red sauce, white, or champagne sauce?"

"Red."

"Any type of seafood?"

"Clams, but-"

"Tell them you'd like penne pasta in a red sauce with clams." He said and took her menu from her delicate fingers, as he looked over at the waiter approaching.

"Best champagne you have please and an appetizer of escargot." He said, as the waiter nodded and began to walk off. But the waiter's eyes did linger on Rosalinda for a moment before he turned to the direction of the kitchen. The female raised a brow with a small smirk.

"Snail?" She questioned as he laughed softly and leaned his chin in one of the palms of his hands.

"Why do you live in an apartment?" He asked bluntly, ignoring her question, as she shrugged.

"I don't need some fancy place to live," she explained, as he scoffed.

"You make fantastic money and live in a shitty apartment complex. There must be a reason." He pushed on, as she frowned.

"Maybe I live in one so I can remind myself that I am still a the same person before the diner. I do not need a fancy car or house to live a perfectly fine life." She said, leaning back in her seat and crossed her arms.

"Maybe that's what you need. Time away from money and power to remember you are still human as well, not some God." She said to him seriously, as the man thought about her words and what she said into consideration, then laughed.

"Alright, I'll live a day in your life with you, if you live a day in my life. Sound like a fair deal?" He teased, as Rosalinda thought about it and nodded. Holding a hand out, he gladly shook it, as their food came over.

"Never had snail before, Ms. Scott?" He asked, as he took one of the two-prong fork. He scooped the snail out and ate it with ease, groaning softly in delight. She watched closely, picked up a snail and the two-prong fork, and did exactly what Alistair did.

She ate it quickly and swallowing. It wasn't bad, but the texture...She shivered in her seat, as the man laughed a little, poured her a glass of champagne, and handed it to her. She quickly took the flute of alcohol, sipping it a little and sighed in relief.

"That texture..." She mumbled, shivering again at just the thought now. He continued to laugh, as their dinner  continued to go on without a problem.

They talked about their lines of work more, as she learned Alistair was a very busy businessman, who owned little and big companies, but worked with the original owners to make sure their ideas on their restaurants aren't pushed to the back. And Alistair learning that Rosalinda was a hard working woman, as she opened the diner once she dropped out her freshman year of college, deciding, for personal reason, to open her own business, which she did, and was successful at.

As dinner came to a finish, the young adults began to head  back to Rosalinda's complex in a comfortable silence. Alistair drove, drumming his thumbs against the steering wheel, as he thought over what they talked about and the deal they made.

Once they pulled up to the complex, Alistair opened her door, like the gentleman he was raised to be, as she looked at him and smiled softly.

"Thank you for dinner, I expected you to show up with people and force me to sign off my diner, again." She chuckled, stepping out of the car, with Alistair's help.

"Also! I expect to see you at my apartment by 6:20 A.M., sharp. No later, or you'll miss your bus with me. You're going to be a humble person, if it's the first time or happening again, you need it." She smiled as he shook his head.

"Alright, well, goodnight Rosalinda Scott." He smiled, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles gently. The woman blushed and yanked her hand away quickly with wide eyes.

"G-goodnight, Mr. Hamelton." She stuttered back, as he chuckled and watched her go inside.

He then got inside his Benz, once she was inside, staring at the steering wheel, as he blushed softly. He noticed he was begging to find attraction for the confident woman, but why didn't she see him like other women did? It didn't make sense to him, she just wanted to be acquaintances with the hottest bachelor?

Why wasn't this woman falling head over heels yet, like the others? He shook his head from the thoughts and began to drive, trying to wrap his brain around this woman.

And Rosalinda...She was confused as well about why this man was trying to get her attention. She felt almost...unsafe as if he had something up his sleeve, but he was also showing it in plain sight. Should she keep an eye on him or believe what he is telling? The woman simply shook her head and shuffled off to bed, just to lie down and stare at a dark ceiling for hours.

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