Chapter 7 – Ruckus in the Restaurant

Days quickly passed by and Leal remained true to her words.

She never again walked along the streets of that company, let alone wander anywhere near it. She luckily got a job at a famous fast-food restaurant. Though it was a big decrease in her expected salary, she accepted it. She couldn’t resist her conscience every time Izzy would pull out her credit card everywhere. She was another heavy baggage for her friend and she couldn’t handle not being able to contribute to the expenses.

So today, here she is. Wiping the floor, with an apron and a belt filled with spray bottles, cloth wipes, and other cleaning materials.

From her stable and perfect job, she rocketed down to being a restaurant janitor. She heaved a sigh after mopping the polished concrete floor and leaned her back on the wall. It was a big punch to her pride, but she could get over this. She values her conscience and self-worth more than her pride.

“Leal!” Her manager called out. She immediately stood up from her slacked posture and held her mop tighter.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Clean table four.”

She immediately nodded and placed the mop back on the drying rack in the janitor’s room before pulling out her cloth wipe and briskly walking to the dirty table. For weeks, all she had been doing was to come early at work, stay there until her shift ends, and probably catch another one for a sick colleague, then go home to Izzy’s flat and clean—since it was the only type of payment she could give for now. In just less than a week, she’ll be receiving her first income, and she couldn’t wait to give it to Izzy.

—

“Izzy, take this.”

Leal smiled as she handed a white envelope to Izzy. The latter, who still had a measuring tape around her neck, frowned at her and inspected the envelope.

“What’s this?”

“It’s for letting me stay here for months now,” she chuckled as Izzy hesitantly accepted it.

“This better not be cash, Leal—”

She stopped herself when she opened the envelope. Inside was a thick stash of bills. Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I told you, you don’t need to pay me for letting you live here. Just use this to buy groceries or your clothes, Leal.”

“But still—” she insisted but Izzy quickly slid the envelope into Leal’s pocket.

“No buts. I don’t need money, Leal. I just want you to feel better.”

Izzy winked at her. Leal’s heart once again warmed at her kind friend’s remark and chuckled. Though she knows Izzy’s never short of money, since she’s one of the freelance designers with the highest fees, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the extra expenses Izzy needs to pay for with just her being here.

“Just take it, Izzy. Please, for the sake of my conscience,” she muttered. Izzy intently looked at her shaking her head and sighing, but nevertheless grabbing the envelope.

“Fine,” she conceded, “But I’ll use this to buy only the groceries and nothing else. The remaining money should be deposited to your bank, Leal. You need to save up.”

—

The following day, Leal was still dripping with sweat as she walked every other minute from table to table, serving customers and cleaning tables. She’s been catching the shifts of her other colleagues who seem to always report sick or get fired because of poor customer behavior.

Her work began to be obnoxiously suffocating, taking up all her time, and making her do overtime without the proper overtime pay. What started out as being a janitress, added the job of being the waitress, and then the cashier, even the bouncer.

Strands of hair drenched with sweat are blocking her face, giving her an even harder time serving all the customers. Her bun’s too messy to keep up with her busy tasks, as well. Her blouse has been crippled with evident sweat marks, and she doesn’t even have time to change into a new one ever since her 14-hour shift started. Holding three trays, two on either hand and one on the head, Leal felt like she could pass for a princess with her balance.

“Miss!” Her eyes flew to a group of gruff, big men on one table. “We’ve been waiting for our orders for twenty minutes now!”

“I-I’m sorry, Sir! I’ll have it served to your table in a minute!”

She barely even noticed the door of the restaurant opening, even when she was directly in front of it. When Leal resumed to dash to the table whose ordered trays were on her head, she bumped into a rock-solid wall, which she was sure there never was in there. She clashed with the breathing wall, thus making her three full trays fall on the ground.

The noise made an ear-shattering noise, making everyone’s eyes turn in their direction. She grunted in pain at bumping her forehead into the wall, but shockingly, the wall had limbs that snaked around her waist and stopped her from falling on the floor with her trays.

“O-Oww...”

She grunted as she slowly massaged her forehead. That probably won’t leave a mark but it still hurts.

“Are you okay?” The hoarse masculine voice whispered against her ears, making her open her eyes wide. The wall talks!

Frowning, Leal looked up, and when her eyes met familiar chestnut ones. Her nose flared at his familiar rosewood scent that once delivered butterflies in her stomach, but all it does now is make her puke.

“I’m sorry. Please let me go.”

She roughly escaped from his grasp and avoided his eyes. She crouched down on the floor, silently picking up the spilled meals and broken bowls. The customers started murmuring indistinctly, especially when he started helping her. The other men he was with, whom she didn’t notice earlier, started helping her as well. They were all wearing executive suits, which made them look more weird.

“Leal!”

Her manager called out to her, his eyes widening as he stood frozen in his spot while looking at the mess. She didn’t know what he was looking at; the wasted meals or the dashing men in suits picking them up; her boss has a keen eye for both men and mistakes.

“Goodness! What did you do?! A-And who are these men?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Sir. I-It won’t happen again,” she timidly apologized.

Leal bowed her head as she fidgeted with the shards of the broken pieces on the tray. One of Axel’s men took it from her and went to put it in the bin. She frowned at them but thanked them mentally.

“It was my fault,” his baritone voice filled her ears, silencing the whole restaurant. It seems like the customers know who this personality beside her is. She kept silent with her eyes downcast, refusing to meet her manager’s eyes.

“I’ll pay for the broken dishes and wasted meals.”

“A-Ah.. N-No worries, Sir A-Axel. I’ll just talk to L-Leal right here...”

Her manager stuttered as he forcefully grabbed her in the arm, making her twitch and reluctantly stand beside him. She wiped her sticky hands onto her dirty apron, feeling disgusted with both the soups and sauces that fell on her hands and the sticky gaze of the man in front of her.

“No need,” he coldly muttered, his intense gaze falling to her manager’s tight grip on her arms.

He glared at it, knowing the tightness of his grip would leave a mark. The manager, who was standing in front of him with slightly shaking knees, noticed his glare on her arms and he immediately released her from his grasp.

When the manager noticed the tension between the two, he cleared his throat and apologized to the customers.

“We’re sorry for this accident. Please, everyone may return to their meals. All the other wasted orders will be served again by the other waiters. Please wait patiently.”

He, softly now, dragged Leal to his office, smiling kindly to Axel and motioning him to follow.

Without sparing the manager another glance, Axel strutted towards the manager’s office, signaling his men to stay put outside the restaurant. They were originally planning to dine here to catch Leal’s attention but it looks like he doesn’t need to do that now.

They stopped in front of a door inside their kitchen. The three entered as Leal took a seat on one of his sofas, while Axel remained standing beside Leal. The manager clasped his hands on the table as he kindly smiled at Axel.

“Sir Axel, I’d like to request you to leave the room for a short while. I’ll need to talk to my employee,” he smiled, one dripping with fakeness. He was obviously p*ss*d at Leal, but he was keeping up that smile because Axel is both a customer and a hot guy in a suit.

Axle raised his brow at him.

“I’ll stay here.”

“B-But Sir—”

Leal abruptly stood up and bowed courteously in front of her manager.

“I’m sorry for my reckless behavior outside, Sir. I promise it won’t happen again. Please don’t fire me.”

She doesn’t care anymore if Axel sees her begging to keep her job. In her eyes, Axel isn’t a business tycoon, nor is he a very attractive man, but just a customer who risked her her job.

“Leal, I—”

The manager sighed when Leal took his hands adorned with gold rings and bracelets, tightly gripping them with her sticky and worn-out hands. 14 hours of restless work really has this effect on her thinking ability. She’s just so desperate to keep her job, that she’s willing to kneel in front of him. She should’ve done this with her previous boss back in the publishing company but back then, she wasn’t as desperate.

“Sir, please. I beg you. Please, I have no other job to run to if I get fired on this one. I’ll promise to catch more shifts! I can extend my 14-hour shift, Sir! I can go for 20 hours! Straight!”

Axel sharply inhaled at the sight. When he first saw Leal, she was still radiating with beauty and elegance. She still looked beautiful, but he knew Leal looked worse than they first met. There were deep bags under her eyes, and her eyes themselves looked more sullen. Her hair was messy, and her blouse is crippled. Her fingers looked so worn out but still delicate. Her lips were paler than ever but still looked kissable and plump.

She looked so messed up, but she could never look ugly in his eyes. She was sporting a tired yet incomparable beauty.

“Leal.”

He softly tried stopping her. It worked but not very long. She continued begging and offering more tiresome tasks just for her to keep her job.

Axel sighed. He bit his lip as he stared at Leal, in her lowest, desperately clinging to her manager—the only one who seemed significant to her at this time.

How did she end up like this? Why is life taking it so hard on her?

I’m sorry, Leal. He thought. I’m sorry I’m late.