Bullies Targets The Wrong A Waitress — Unaware She's A Karate Black Belt Working Part-Time
Chapter 5
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Braden looked up at her, unbothered. "No problem," he said. "Just slow service and cold food.""My granddaughter has been nothing but polite to you," Dotty said."I'm sure she has," Braden said, and something in his tone made it sound like an insult dressed up as a compliment.Dotty's eyes moved to the register, to the small glass case sitting beside it. Braden's gaze followed hers, landing on the old badge."What's that supposed to be?" he asked, standing up now, walking closer out of pure boredom more than curiosity. "Some kind of decoration?""That belonged to my husband," Dotty said. "He was captain of police in this town for almost thirty years."Braden picked it up before anyone could stop him, turning it over in his fingers like it was a souvenir from a gas station. "Cute," he said. "Real small-town stuff.""Put that back, please," Dotty said, her voice tightening for the first time.He shrugged and set it back down, but not carefully. It clipped the edge of the glass case and knocked it over. The case hit the counter, cracked along one corner, and the badge slid onto the floor.For a moment, nobody moved. Dotty bent down slow, her hand trembling slightly as she picked it up off the tile.Joe was there in an instant, kneeling beside her, one hand on her grandmother's back. "I've got it, Grandma," she said softly. "It's okay. It's not damaged."Braden looked almost bored by the whole thing. "It was an accident," he said, relaxed."You should apologize to her," Joe said, standing back up, looking directly at him now. Something in her voice had changed: still calm, still even, but underneath it, something like steel.Braden noticed it too, though he wouldn't have admitted it. He laughed it off instead, the way people do when they feel something they don't understand. "Apologize for what? For touching an old piece of metal?""For treating an eighty-year-old woman's home like it's yours to break," Joe said.The diner had gone almost silent now. A few customers were watching openly. Walt Higgins had turned in his seat, one hand resting on the edge of the table, his eyes sharp and steady on Braden.Braden felt the attention, and it seemed to annoy him more than embarrass him. "You know what?" he said, standing up straighter, closer to her now. "I don't think I like your attitude.""That's all right," Joe said. "You don't have to.""Careful," he said, lowering his voice, leaning in slightly. "People like you don't want to make people like me angry."Joe looked at him for a long moment. She didn't step back; she didn't step forward either. "You still have a choice here," she said quietly. "Most people do, right up until they don't."He blinked, thrown off by the line, unsure what to do with it. His friends were watching now too, half amused, half unsure whether to laugh.