Chapter 6

• Miss Pearl looked at everyone, "It is unprecedented as it is unexpected and I.."
• "Excuse me ma'am?" A tall girl, one of the waitresses raised her hand. "When you say CEO, do you mean Mr Scott? Like The Mr Scott? As in the owner of this establishment, Mr Simon Scott?!" The girl squealed, unable to contain her obviously brimming excitement.
• "That's a very stupid question to ask. Take your things and leave!" The manager declared. The girl who she addressed remained standing where she was, with apperent confusion written on her face. The manager helped clear the confusion when she said, "Why are you still standing there? You're fired!"
• The kitchen which had been quiet with just the murmur of patrons outside the kitchen walls, became even more quiet. The air seemed to stand still as workers around the girl involuntarily shifted from her like she had the plague, and when she moved towards the door, they parted far enough to let a hurricane to pass through.
• Willow sighed. She has lost count of how many workers have been fired from when she started, only a week ago. They were easily replaced though. There wasn't a shortage of people looking for jobs even as workers complained about the manager all the time. Willow prayed she didn't get on the bad side of the management.
• "As I was saying, before the very foolish interruption, the owner of this place and all the other establishments within the industry will be here today, and anyone else stupidly wondering who that might be, can leave."
• Everyone looked at each other. No one said anything. No one was that stupid. Willow just wanted the work day to be over.
• "This is would be the first time he's visited since after the opening. He usually sends others to check progress, but today, he'll be here, himself. That said, I do not want any tacky appearances. Be smart, efficient and on alert for any discrepancies. We don't want anything going wrong when the owner is around. Take caution." Miss Pierce said. "And remember, the slightest display of foolishness on your part, and I will make sure you're fired!"
• Concluding with that remindful warning, Miss Pearl ordered everyone back to their posts.
• The CEO arrived with an entourage and a swan of reporters. Immediately, the restaurant, was consumed in a flurry of activities. Security ordering reporters off, management perfecting everything, workers in a tizzy, customers swooning.
• The table of six for the CEO was on the rooftop, which had been cleared out for that purpose. The best meals, dessert and wine is to be served. And of course, the best servers were assigned to his table! Willow wasn't one of them. So then, she didn't walk in a flash like the others, but counted every step she took, taking cognizance of her bandaged heel. How she then bumped into Mathias was surprising, even to her.
• "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I bump into everybody! Sorry, so sorry!" Willow apologized profusely to Mathias who was wiping his shirt, trying to get off the soup stains the collision had gotten on his pristine white shirt.
• "It's okay. I'm just glad this is still intact." He raised the bottle of wine he was holding firmly in his hands. Mathias is the sommelier enroute presenting the wine to the CEO and his guests.
• "Oh thank God!" Willow heaves gratefully.
• "I can't present it though."
• "Uh? Isn't that the wine for the CEO's table?"
• "Yes, but I can't go looking like this." His plain shirt now has polka dots, all thanks to Willow's clumsiness.
• "You're right. You'd have to go change first. I'm sorry."
• "That would take too long. Since you caused it, you present it. I need to go take this shirt off before Miss Pearl sees me." Mathias handed a surprised Willow the wine and went in the direction of the restroom. Ok, now what?! She thought.
• -
• The elevator whoosheddddd open and Willow took a second to appreciate the night sky. Then bearing the wine as carefully as possible, she approached the table.
• Willow noted him almost immediately. He sat with his back to her, but even at this angle, she could tell the powerful CEO from the rest. The way his companions at the table leaned towards him, in obvious admiration and respect, and even from how the very air seemed to pulse at his influence. Her nerves racked a little as she walked towards him.
• When Willow got to the table, she noted the only lady seated there was a classy beauty, her voice dripping with sweetness as she talked. She drew laughter from the men around her. Maybe she was Scott's girlfriend, Willow thought.
• "Gentlemen, lady, your wine, the very best!" Willow announced, hoping she sounded as enthusiastic as Mathias does. She placed the wine right at the centre of the table and hoped they wouldn't ask any questions about the distillery.
• "Oh, Scotty! You didn't have to." The lady at the table coeed when she saw the wine. Willow grimaced at the Scotty and she couldn't suppress the urge to not just hear but see Scotty reply. She glanced at him, their eyes met. Disconcerted, Willow glanced away quickly, but not before she saw the beautiful translucent brown of his eyes. She stilled and gasped inaudibly. She looked at him again. Those brown eyes looked piercingly at her, just like they had that night. The night he saved her!
• A car honked distantly and Willow drew herself to the present.
• "Is there anything else you might like?"
• Willow asked everyone at the table, a little breathless from the intensity of his gaze.
• Going against conduct, she risked another brief glance at his direction and was surprised to catch his steely gaze, still fixed directly on her. She expected him to say something, but he didn't, so she refreained also, from making comments about the other night. The beautiful lady said something that had everyone at the table laughing again. All of them, except Scott.
• After she affirmed that no one needed anything else, she turned around to leave. Unfortunately, her streak of luck for that day was still running bad, because her heel took that wonderful opportunity to keel into pressure. Suddenly the only thing Willow becomes aware of, is falling.
• She never hit the ground though. Strong gripping hands held her by the shoulders preventing her fall. Just like the other night, her heart pulsated as she looked into the brown eyes that held her captive.
• A crashing sound and a loud shriek tore them apart.
• Although she had been saved from falling, she'd apparently shaken the table, causing the wine bottle to roll off and crash. But that wasn't all, the beautiful green dress the beautiful woman at the table wore was now decorated in wet splotches.
• "Are you insane!" A voice screeched. It was the woman's. "Do you know how much this cost!" The woman sniffed. "You idiots walk around blindly like zombies looking for whose life to offend with your trashy stench!" The angry lady went on talking and Willow became disoriented with a drowning embarrassment.
• "Oh my God!" It was Miss Pearl, the manager. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
• Willow looked up to say she was fine, but of course, Miss Pearl wasn't talking to her but the angry woman, who made very loud comments of clumsily managed places. The other men at the table added their own quota of dissatisfaction.
• Willow bent to carefully pick the shards of bottle into the tray. Briana came over to help. A calm smile on her face.
• Miss Pearl did her best to calm the chaos. They all grumbled, but Willow saw with a bit of surprise that Mr Scott seemed unfazed by it all. Like his mind was somewhere far away.
• "We're really sorry, this has never happened before." Miss Pearl said.
• "Well, now it has! Do you know the amount of bad press you could get for this! If you behave like this when the owner is around, I wonder what you do in his absence," the lady said shrilly, as she took a napkin to dab tenderly at her ankle, attempting to give Mr Scott a good view into the neckline of her dress. Satisfied with her now clean ankle, the lady slung on her purse and made to leave, as did the rest of the table. She didn't leave without a parting shot though; "You should fire her." It was no question, who the her was.
• The manager accompanied the CEO and his retinue as they left, apologizing all the way.
• Willow picked up the tray, as Briana mopped the floor.
• "And where do you think you're going?" Willow knew the question was for her so she turned to answer Miss Pearl who just walked back in.
• "To the kitchen." She responded softly to the manager whose face looked to be on the verge of explosion.
• "Oh, I don't think there'll be any need for that. Seeing as you're fired." "Not just that, I will make sure you don't get a job anywhere else. You'll be out of a job for a very long time. Now, get out!" Miss Pearl talked so quietly that Willow, accustomed to her manager's shouting, didn't quite pick it up until Briana came to take the tray of the bottle shards from her.