Disclaimer: I don't usually do this, but what the hey. I don't own Sinbad or any of its characters. But this show been cancelled for a long time anyway.

BTW, this is totally AU, except for the personalities.

Maeve rushed to get to the orders to her tables as quickly and as efficiently as possible. With her apron on, t-shirt and thick red hair wrapped in a messy bun, no one would ever guess that she owned the place. Maevelyn McNeil, Maeve for short, was the owner of McNeil's, the nicest Irish Restaurant this side of Brooklyn. As happy as she and her family were with the restaurant, the fact was that at they were in serious debt. Her father saved and sacrificed to make his dream of reality. Not only did he want a restaurant, he wanted his children to be self-sufficient so that they wouldn't have to depend on others to make their deals nor their money for them. Unfortunately, her father had suddenly died, leaving funeral expenses and loans that needed to be paid off. The debt put McNeil's in serious danger of going under, but Maeve wasn't going to let that happen. To keep her father's dream a reality, Maeve did something that she hated to do, she asked for help. After much convincing by her brother, Dermott, Maeve was preparing to take on a new investor to keep the restaurant afloat.

Stedman Enterprises, Maeve's chosen investor, was supposed to come to McNeil's today to check the place out and make their finally decision on whether or not to go into business with her. Stedman Enterprises was a shipping company that made its money on importing and exporting goods as well as building and selling their planes and boats. With all of its success, the CEO of Stedman Enterprises had announced that it was time for them to give back to the community and the City of New York. No one knew what brought about this sudden action, but Maeve made sure that McNeil's would be their first stop and, if all went well, she might be able to get a deal with the food and beer that she had imported. Unfortunately, today, three of her wait staff took a day off. On top of being short staffed, the rest of the waiters and waitresses at McNeil were over worked due to a convention in town.

Maeve had to convince her brother, and her best friend, Bryn, to help pick up the slack. Although they both had said that they were happy to help, Maeve just didn't like asking. After place the person's order on the table, Maeve went to the next table where a new couple was seated by Andrea, the hostess. The man, dressed in a gray business suit, whispered in Andrea's ear and she suddenly widened her eyes in alarm and practically ran into the kitchen. As Maeve walked over to them, she wondered what had happened. If that man said anything wrong or raunchy to Andrea, Maeve would kick him out herself.

"Hi. My name is May," Maeve started, for she never used her full name when she was waitressing, "I'll be your server for this evening."

The man nodded while looking at his menu. The woman, in a dark blue business outfit and an obvious look of displeasure, finally looked at Maeve and placed a fake smile on her face.

"You do have apple martinis, don't you?" she asked condescendingly, flipping her dark hair in the process.

Maeve, with an equally fake smile, nodded, "Yes."

"Ok, I'll have that then," she replied, suddenly fascinated by her acrylic nails.

Maeve quickly wrote that down, "And you, sir?"

He turned and they locked eyes. Maeve saw his face for the first time and needed to remember how to breathe for a moment. The man had the looks that make a girl say, "Damn! I want that!" He was clean shaven, although he looked quite young, something about him told her, he was an old soul. His features were soft, yet refined. He seemed pleasant, but at the same time mischievous. With sea-blue eyes that make her wish she could drown in them, she wanted to hold his gaze for as long as possible. Apparently, they stared at each other too long for his female companion.

"Dearest, she asked you if you wanted anything," she stated, sounding slightly irritated.

"Yes, Rumina, I know," he replied.

"It's just that everything here looks so…" he turned to Maeve, "appetizing."

"Maybe you should stop gazing at the 'menu' and make a decision," Rumina pressed.

The man laughed Rumina's obvious annoyance off and still looked at Maeve.

"What would you recommend, May?" he asked with smile on his face.

Maeve stood back and studied him for a moment, "You look like a…Jack Daniels kinda guy."

"One of my favorites. You're good."

Maeve smiled, genuinely this time, "Thanks. Do you want that straight or on the rocks."

The man smirked, "Straight."

Gotta love a man who can hold his liquor, she thought as she wrote is order down.

"I'll put those in," she replied and left for the kitchen. Once inside she leaned on the wall and fanned herself. She didn't know how she was going concentrate for the rest of the night with that man looking at her like she was his next meal. Although Maeve hated having customers flirt with her, especially ones who seemed attached, she couldn't help, but be flattered by this man attention. She had no clue why, but she was beginning to feel like it was going to be a long night. Suddenly, Andrea came running to her.

"Maeve, good, I finally found you," she said in a rush.

Maeve looked at Andrea, concerned, "Are you okay, Andrea? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, but they're here," Andrea replied.

"Who's here?"

"The representatives of Stedman Enterprises," she said in one breath.

Maeve stood shocked, "They're here! Already!"

Andrea just nodded quickly. Maeve had to quickly take action, the blue-eyed guy and his prissy companion, were just going to have to wait. She had business to take care of and chances were that she wouldn't have seen him beyond this night anyway. She ripped off the paper where took her orders and gave it to Andrea.

"Take this to Bryn. Tell her to take all of my tables and that the tips are hers. Got it?"

"Yeah," she said and left quickly.

Maeve raced upstairs, where her dark pants suit was waiting. She applied a little makeup and let her hair out, brushing it into a suitable hair style. Finally ready to come down in that fasted fifteen minutes of her life, Maeve found Andrea again and asked where the Stedman people were sitting. Maeve looked at where Andrea was pointing and nearly fainted. It was the same table that she had just waited on. She walked over in her uncomfortable business heels and prayed that they didn't recognize her. Unfortunately, when the man, who she now assumed was Mr. Stedman, looked up and smiled, she knew differently. When she reached table, Mr. Stedman was the first person to speak.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise. I thought you didn't like us, May, but I guess that isn't the case. I'm surprised at your new outfit, though," stated he.

Maeve took at deep breath, "Actually, Mr. Stedman, my name is Maevelyn McNeil. I'm the person you are meeting with tonight."

"The owner isn't here so he sends the hired help? Stedman, let's go. If Darius McNeil doesn't have time for us, then we don't have time for him," Rumina declared and grabbed her purse.

"I am the owner. My father, Darius McNeil, died a month in a half ago," Maeve affirmed in a controlled voice, trying to suppress her temper.

"Oh," Rumina replied.

"Please, have a seat," Stedman said, motioning to the seat across from him. As Maeve sat down, she again wondered how she was going to make it through the night. She thought she would have problems waiting on them, but now she had to look at this man in the eye for the entire night while convincing him that she wanted a business partnership and not a date. She also had to still deal with Rumina, who she instantly disliked. She closed her eyes and thought to herself for a moment, I know this going to be a long night. She opened her eyes, ready to do business and negotiate. Little did she know that this dinner would be the first of many conversions, arguments and discussions that she would have with Mr. Sean Stedman, better known in certain circles as Sinbad.