River Creed watched Mr. Atkinson walk away and there was nothing he could do about it but stand there. He was powerless against that man.

He'd never liked Atkinson if he was being honest, but River had put up with him because he needed this job. Working and being paid was more important than having a nice boss, so being fired really sucked despite not having to be around him anymore.

And Talia... What could he say to her? There was no excuse this time for him being fired. He was just being stupid and he knew she wouldn't accept being related to someone stupid.

So why he decided to do another stupid thing, he didn't know.

He walked out of the kitchen and spotted Mr. Atkinson holding two plates in his hands, about to walk up to two customers in the back of the cafe. It's now or never, he thought.

"Boss!" he said, just loud enough for Atkinson to hear him but not too loud to be annoying the customers. He'd made a scene already and he wasn't about to make another one. His cheeks were still blushing at the thought of what had just happened. That sweet girl was the real victim, having to watch him struggle, and he didn't know how to tell her he was sorry. "Can I please talk to you?" he asked his boss instead. He'd gotten the attention of his employer once again, but Mr. Atkinson was not pleased.

"Outside," was his response, to which they both exited the room while being followed by many eyes. Despite his efforts of trying to be invisible, he had failed miserably today.

"I'm asking you, sir, for one more chance," River began.

Mr. Atkinson raised one eyebrow and River couldn't tell whether it was meant as a surprised expression because River had used 'sir' or if River had gotten on his nerves. It was probably both.

"I'm just having a bad day, that's all," he continued. "It was just a mistake and I'm sure the lady didn't mind." The more he talked, the less sure he became on whether he even had a chance on getting his job back. It was hard to read Mr. Atkinson's emotions and it wasn't the first time that River questioned whether he really had any; if he was even capable of feeling emotions.

"I'll make it up to you," he said. "I'll work every day, the whole day, every day of the week. I'll work so hard - you've never seen someone work so hard before and you never will, because I'll do my absolute best." He was talking fast, not giving his boss the time to interrupt him or for River to take a breath. "And I can promise-"

"You had me until there, my friend," the employer said, and River was certain 'my friend' was meant sarcastically. "You can't keep your promises, you never have. And you have to learn that making mistakes will have consequences, and this is yours. You'll find another job, you're still young. But you'll never work under my roof again."

With those words, River knew the damage was done. He couldn't turn back time, no matter how hard he tried. It was over.

He didn't disagree with Mr. Atkinson; there was some truth to what he said. It wasn't the first time that River had messed up and the employer had given him numerous second chances. In the two weeks that River had worked here, not a day had gone by without him making a mistake. The pie situation was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Oh, Talia... River could never make it up to her. Despite what Mr. Atkinson had said, it wasn't as easy anymore for River to get a job. He'd had almost all of them already and was fired from those too. Every cafe, every restaurant; he'd tried to get a job and either got one and was fired soon after, or never even got it.

And right now, he watched another chance he'd gotten walk away, leaving him alone on the sidewalk in the centre of Miami.

It wasn't that he was dumb or anything. He also never acted as clumsy as he had today. It was just bad luck - which seemed to be the story of his life. It was bad luck when Talia's and his parents died in a car crash, it was bad luck that the family they still had lived on the other side of the world, and it was bad luck every time he got fired from a job while needing to provide for him and Talia.

If he had his own restaurant, this would never happen again. He could hire the most awesome people, and they would be flattered to be chosen as his staff. His restaurant would be voted Best Italian Restaurant in Miami or in the States or maybe even the world. And famous chefs would come and visit him and they would be honored to even be in the same room...

But he shouldn't dream. His restaurant would never become a reality, unless he won the lottery. There was no chance, not when he needed every dollar to bring food to the table for just him and Talia.

There was a sudden feeling of being lost as he stood there on the sidewalk. He couldn't go home, because he wasn't ready to explain what happened to his little sister yet, and he also couldn't go back inside to show his face to those strangers - what would they think of him? He'd humiliated himself.

A voice close to him brought him back to reality. "Are you okay?"

She spoke in a soft and sweet tone and hearing that voice made his heart jump. Whether that was from shock or from happiness because he'd heard that voice before and didn't think he'd hear it again, he didn't know, but he turned around to find the person the voice belonged to and found her, the girl from before. Her hair was even more beautiful than the first time he saw her, turning gold where the sun hit it and her skin was glowing, making her exude an everlasting feeling of happiness.

"I'm fine," he said, but his voice cracked while saying those few words. He was afraid he was going to cry; he couldn't cry in front of a stranger - especially not a stranger as pretty as she was. She lightened up when the sun hit her face, her hair reflecting the sunlight and her skin fragile and light, and she transformed into someone even prettier than when he'd seen her for the first time inside the cafe.

"I'm really sorry," she said. He was sure she'd noticed his voice crack. She came even closer to him and in the small step that she took, he could see a certain elegance, giving him the feeling that she wasn't from here. No one in Miami had that elegance - or that leather handbag.

"You're sorry?" He was surprised by her words, because there had been nothing for her to feel sorry about. He was the one who'd tripped over his own shoelaces and dropped the pie. He had made a mess, not her.

"About what happened in there," she said. "I should have defended you, you didn't deserve to be fired over a piece of pie."

River doubted whether it would have made any difference if she'd gotten between him and Mr Atkinson. He'd ruined the chance of him working in cafe The Hot Spot long-term many little accidents ago. "He'd already made up his mind," River said, trying to take away her feeling of guilt. Even though he had a small hope that if she had defended him, it could have made a difference, it was already too late to wish for a different outcome. "If I hadn't been fired today, it would have been tomorrow."

For a moment, there was a small smile on her face, but she quickly restored herself, as if she felt guilty for her relief not being at fault for his dismissal, and she had a serious expression - something River wasn't happy to see, because that small smile made her even more beautiful than she already was, bringing the attention to her shimmering brown eyes.

"Did something happen?" she asked. "With your boss?"

He shrugged, not sure how to answer her. What didn't happen between him and mr. Atkinson? "We just never clicked," River said. "We've never been on the same page, so this was bound to happen one day."

"That sucks," she said. "But you're okay?"

"I am," he said, and it sounded a lot more convincing than the "I'm fine" from before. "I'm River, by the way."

"I know," she said, which confused him for a second until he realized his name was written on his uniform. He blushed again and thought to himself that he'd never blushed as much as he had today. It must be because of her.

"My name is Emily," she said.

And it all came together for him. It fitted her. Emily. He wanted to let her name roll over his tongue, but she would think he was crazy, so he didn't. He'd already made a bad first impression and he didn't want to ruin his chances with this girl.

Why was his heart beating so fast? He wished it would stop doing that, it was making him nervous.

"You're not from here, are you?" he asked, gesturing to nothing in particular but indicating Miami.

She smiled and said, "No, I'm not. I'm just here for three days."

His heart skipped a beat; three days was nothing. She'd be gone so soon and he'd never see her after that, he knew.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, actually," she said, but the thought made the sparkle in her eyes disappear. That same realization saddened him, but he didn't show that. Instead, he faked a smile.

One day, 24 hours - that was the time that she would be in Miami before she left again. There weren't many hours left to get to know her, after which he would have to say goodbye.

But even though it was a bad idea to let himself get attached to her, he couldn't stop himself from asking the question. "Do you need a guide?"

* * *

I just wanted to thank you all for the love I've been given on this story! I didn't expect it and you've given me the motivation to write even more :)

(This chapter is dedicated to goldenways for making my current cover that I'm absolutely in love with!)