Secret admirer

Sophia's POV

I endured the negative thoughts that occupied my mind about the situation of the restaurant till the next morning. When I got to the restaurant, I walked into the main kitchen to witness everyone in a gloomy mood. I murmured greetings to them without getting any response, but still resolved to ignore their sad expression.

I strolled towards the Shawarma kitchen as it was my duty to prepare it today, but the moment I stepped in, Tina jogged to me while breathing heavily.

She was late.

"Your admirer is outside. You need to talk to him before I call the others" She informed me and turned around, but I quickly grabbed her arm which made her stretch her neck to me with raised eyebrows.

"Why do you have to call others?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Common girl…are you losing your sense of realizing things? A boldly written banner was positioned outside the restaurant. I told you yesterday, didn't I?" Tina fumed and wiped her sweat with her left hand. "When I was coming in, the executive chairman told me to inform everyone for an urgent meeting" She rushed and jerked out of my hold.

I lost my balance and tightened my grip on a nearby pan handle which did nothing to calm my nerves.

I recalled Tina's mention of Jake who is my supposed admirer. Everyone working here knows he has a silly crush on me as he kept coming every Wednesday and Friday for almost six months to meet up with me. As usual, I gave him no chance, but I usually respect our manager's request for me to meet his wealthy customer.

Today, the manager wasn't bothered by that, and I surprisingly found myself walking out of the restaurant to see Jake leaning on his car with his left hand fixed in his pocket, and his other hand holding his phone to his ear. He was making a call and had not noticed me. I sluggishly strolled to him and purposely ignored the banner Tina was talking about. It was probably a written letter about appreciating their customers and I couldn't care to be bothered by the content. I slid my eyes away from it and stood a few inches away from Jake.

The moment he saw me, he cut the call.

"Hi, Sophia. I am so sorry about…." he was saying but I cut him mid-sentence.

"You don't have to be sorry about that, Mr Jake. Besides, today is Tuesday. It's rare to see you around this place during this day. Are you not busy?" I pointed out and stared at him intensely. He couldn't make eye contact with me as he was stunned because I was talking to him calmly instead of my usual rude tone.

Jake laughed nervously and muttered "The fact that you know the days I come is a progress. I have a break from work today because I will be picking up my friend who is a senior to me from the nearby airport. He has been overseas for over a year now. How have you been?" he smiles as his eyes twinkle in excitement.

"Why do you have to be the one to pick him up? Isn't he taking advantage of you? Or are you his chauffeur?" I asked with no care of his reaction to me assuming he was a driver.

"It's a normal thing for me to do. After all, we are long-time friends. Jokes apart Sophia, how will I contact you since the restaurant is closing down today? You refused to give me your phone number. Can you do me a favor…" he was saying again.

"Of course, I would. I am not that pretentious, am I?" I feigned doe eyes that made his cheeks flush. I pushed my open hand forward for him to place his phone and he did it within a blink of an eye.

"I am not complaining, but I swear you are so different today. I want to see more of this side of your personality." He giggled like a kid and it made my stomach churn in irritation, but I replaced it with a fake chuckle.

"Sincerely, it's because I need your assistance on some stuff which depends on how today's meeting goes," I said ironically but truthfully.

Jake had a blank expression on his face as he was trying to figure out my statement. I stared at him directly in the eye until he muttered "Yes, I will do anything you want as long as you are…being nice to me. What are friends for after all?" he laughed.

"Friends? I thought we were moving towards the oath of more than a friend. I am disappointed." I faked a sad expression and handed his phone to him after inserting my phone number.

"I have to leave" I turned around and smiled in satisfaction after making him speechless.

"Sophie…Sophie…I didn't mean to…" he called after me but I was too far gone to respond to him.

I sprinted towards the direction of the meeting room, heaved a sigh, knocked, and stepped in to meet everyone settled down with the manager and some executives. They had started the meeting and I was late. Everyone's attention was on me. I slightly bowed my head in apology when my eyes met our stoned-face manager who had paused his speech.

I found a seat close by, and the meeting proceeded with the manager reviewing the experiences, achievements, and downfalls of the restaurants. I was bored because they didn't seem to be getting straight to the point. Thankfully, the supposed information began theoretically as them going bankrupt. They didn't mention who purchased the restaurant, but only gave a hint that it would be renovated by an oil and gas company which made everyone look at each other.

Truly, it would be owned by B&G

The majority of the chefs were sobbing, while I sat there like a statue waiting for the worst to happen. It's natural for me to be able to contain myself after experiencing bad news or tragic events, but I know it's affecting me mentally.

Only God knows how I will pay Jason's school fees. I had promised to pay earlier if he passed his quantitative test, which he did. He was a smart kid, but kinda has difficulty in quantitative. Nevertheless, I used that to buy some time. I paid part of the fee from my last month's salary and promised to pay the rest this month, but here I am dealing with some nasty news on the fourth day of the month.

I jerked out of my saddening thoughts the moment I heard all Chefs with college certificates will be paid a compensation fee, while those like me even though we have been working here for years will be bestowed with no single penny. My heart ached in discomfort and I had no idea when I screamed at the top of my lungs "Why? Why do we have to be left out? Was it our fault that we could not get through the college processing? Consider how long we have been working here, Mr Friday" I muttered with a shaky tone as my eyes became blurry.

I was feeling emotional.

The manager side-eyed me to be quiet but I got more outrageous.

"If it wasn't for my dark fate caused by the bastard Theodore who bribed you people to sell your assets and make false theories, do you think I would ever step foot here?!" I exclaimed with my body shaking tremendously while everyone present in the room gasped in horror.

Tina hurried in my direction, almost tumbling on the floor, but I made her successfully tumble as I pushed her away from me. I stood on my feet with my sense of patience cracking away from my cells. I bite my tongue and spit out blood with my eyes sparkling with dangerous intention. "I swear by the day I was born, I would not back down until I hunt the one behind my misery" I vowed and dashed out of the meeting room with one thought in mind.

I didn't bother to pick up anything from the restaurant as I tugged my phone out of my pocket. I smiled like a crazy maniac after seeing a direct message from Jake. Without thinking twice, I typed "I would be your woman if only you do one thing for me. One dangerous activity"