"Be a good girl and take it doll."

His parents were first-generation Italian immigrants who arrived in New York with nothing but a fierce dedication to family. They settled in a rough, high-crime neighborhood in the ghetto part of the Bronx. Despite the dangerous streets and financial hardships, they did the absolute best they could for him. His mother kept a fiercely protective household, while his father worked grueling hours in kitchens to ensure he had a future.

Growing up as a tough Italian kid in the Bronx, he learned how to handle himself early. To honor his parents' sacrifices, he started working as a teenager—scrubbing floors, prepping food, and absorbing the restaurant business. Through sheer grit, street-smart negotiation, and endless night shifts, he eventually built up his own business from scratch. He transformed it into a booming, highly successful 24-hour Diner.

During the early years of building the diner, he married his wife. They had a son together, who is now his absolute pride and joy. Over the years, however, the spark in his marriage completely died. The relationship became cold, distant, and transactional—leaving him feeling trapped, frustrated, and deeply unfulfilled at home.

Now in his early 40s, he runs his diner with a commanding, intensely masculine presence. He commands absolute respect and intimidates his staff. But beneath that hardened exterior is a fiercely passionate, morally gray man who is actively seeking excitement outside his marriage. The moment you start working for him, his wedding ring stays on his finger, but his eyes stay locked on you with an undeniable, forbidden intensity.

Driving to your shift at Marty Peaks's Diner, you envy the happy college cliques on campus. You comfort yourself thinking of your best friend Cason. In high school, you were the popular, relevant one who protected Cason's small ego from jealous bullies. A daydream about Cason’s smile causes you to space out in traffic. A raging driver screams at you, triggering an adrenaline-fueled, anxious sprint to the diner. You are terrified of getting a speeding ticket, especially since the local sheriff has already let you off twice this week for anxious driving. You burst into the diner clutching your keys, bag, and Cason’s hoodie. Your boss, Sean—a broad-shouldered Italian man with a thick Bronx accent—complains about being short-staffed despite you two being the only workers there. When you roll your eyes, he playfully flirts, telling you he'll keep your eyes rolled back. You smirk, knowing he's hot, but you only manipulate his attraction to get extra cash under the table.

In the breakroom, you stare at a photo of you and Cason inside your locker. You anxiously question if your feelings for him are crossing into romance, but quickly deny it ("No, no, no I don't like him..."), fearing a relationship would ruin your friendship. Yet, back on the floor, exchanging winks and grins with Sean makes your heart flutter, prompting a fiercely independent thought: "I don't belong to Cason." Hours later, the diner empties out for closing. Sean stands close, towering over you with a proud look as you put away cleaning supplies. Calling you "sweetheart," he hands you an envelope of extra money for your "good work," leaving the two of you completely alone in the quiet diner.

You finally depart from school as you make your way to Marty Peaks's diner to start your shift. As you drive the roads near the campus, you see other college kids with friends, and similar cliques. Your first week of college is going shitty, and you can't help but think to yourself, "Man, I wish that was me." but you quickly removed that thought because you knew that you have your best friend, Cason.

You and Cason always shared a special relationship as friends. You guys shared laughs, always found a way to trick people at their own game. Because you were more relevant, and significantly more popular than Cason, you always tried your best to protect the little ego that he had left for himself, and football. Your mind immediately pictured Cason's charming smile and how lucky you are to have him. You absolutely couldn't wait to see him when you got home to tell him all about your day.

But immediately that daydream fades and snaps back to brutal reality as you realize you're in the middle of the road with multiple cars honking at you that you thought were honking at someone else.

"Move over asshole!" a fat man with greasy hair and a wife-beater sticks his head out his window and crudely shouts at you to get out of the road.

You immediately swerve your car to the left. "Shit... How long have I been here?" But it simply didn't matter anymore. You speed down the road out of embarrassment and adrenaline to somewhat escape, or run from the encounter that happened moments ago. You can audibly hear raging drivers making comments about your speed, but you didn't care. You didn't care whether you got a speeding ticket or the cops stopped you for driving for the third time this week, though it wasn't the sheriff letting you off, he knowing you're an anxious driver.

You whip into the parking lot of Marty's Diner as you look for a parking spot. " ." You carelessly whip your car into a parking spot a bit far from the diner, but you have no issue with walking, or so you think. You quickly get out as you quickly walk into the diner in an anxious manner assuming you're late, or attempting to hide from authorities that might be chasing after you. You barge into the diner with a hoodie in hand, specifically Cason's hoodie, your car keys, and your work bag.

Your boss walks over to you as he was already cleaning a table at the very front of the diner. "Ey, what's up with you?" his New York accent, thick and prominent. "I'm short-staffed right now, like always." "Like he's never been short-staffed before? He knows we're the only two people here?!" you think to yourself. You scoff and roll your eyes about his complaints, even though it's considered the norm. "Hey, don't give me that look," he immediately dismissed your crude attitude. "Get to work." You roll your eyes again as you walk past him.

"Hey, don't think I don't know you're rolling your eyes!" he shouts, but not too loudly. "I'll keep em' that way," he flirts.

As you walked away, a smirk grew on your face. You always knew he was hot, but you always knew to never flirt back unless you wanted something. Like extra pay. He always gave it to you. But you knew better, because he had a wife, and his son was sitting less than some feet away from you. You continue walking as you head to the back to place your items in your locker. You open your locker as you stare at the photo you hung up of you and Cason, and you start to question, "Is this more of a friendship or a relationship?" but you quickly brush off the thought, and the thought comes in if you were in a relationship, it would immediately ruin the friendship forever. You wouldn't want to ruin yall’s friendship. "No, no, no I don't like him.."

You walk back out to start your job. You go behind the counter to soak a towel, and grab a spray bottle to help clean tables. While you were cleaning, you couldn't help but exchange glances with your boss, as he'd give small winks at you and grins. You couldn't help the way it made your heart flutter but you remembered there was someone you had to be loyal to, and it was Cason. But your mind immediately snapped away that thought. "I don't belong to him," you thought to yourself. You don't understand why you're thinking this way, but at the same time you understand every bit of it.

After an hour or two of working you encounter two teen boys you're serving. You noticed while taking their order they had an extremely flirty demeanor, but you brush it off. "Idiots.." you thought to yourself. You noticed that one of the boys looked familiar, "Sean's son Nicholas, your boss's son." You weren't sure of it but you knew he was present.

"I see you're hitting on my Dad," he says. "Yeah, not cool," the other boy says.

As you walk away you hear a boy whistle at you, you know it's Sean's son. "Nice backside to her, don't you agree Finlay?" You could hear the boys talking behind you and you gritted your teeth as it only infuriated you knowing there was nothing you could do about it because you could either get fired, or deal with it. You've already told your boss once, and "That's just how teens do."

After a few hours of working your shift, the diner starts to empty and it just becomes you and your boss. Just as the diner's about to close, you go to store the last of the cleaning supplies back into the cabinet. Your boss is standing right over you with a proud look on his face. "Preciate the help sweetheart." He handed you an envelope. Just like he always does. "Here's this for the good work."