Third Person's POV
Azazel immediately lowered Saffron's hand.
"Get it together, Mr. Saffron. Remember the plan," whispered Azazel, reminding Saffron about their plan.
Due to an unexpected turn of events, neither Mr. Lopez nor their other conversation partner noticed Saffron's change in behavior.
"Wahhh!" screamed the female guest.
"What did you do!?" another voice, a man's, shouted.
After the second scream, they all faced each other again. While Saffron looked like an angel and acted as if nothing had happened, anger was still evident on his face. His eyes were like a sharp knife that could kill anyone.
"You look a bit red. Are you drunk already?" asked the female guest to Saffron.
"Did something happen?" Mr. Lopez asked Saffron.
"I probably had too much alcohol. I'll leave you all and sit down for a while. I'm hoping this won't be the last time we see each other," Saffron said, emphasizing each word.
"I'm assuring you. This isn't the last," Mr. Lopez remarked before Saffron left them.
Saffron returned to his old spot beside Sergey. Hr felt annoyed as he sat down, trying hard to calm himself. He noticed many of the guests looking in one direction, so he glanced to see what they were looking at.
"What happened?" Saffron inquired, but nobody seemed willing to respond. Instead, Sergey just shot him a glance before turning his attention back to the commotion.
A female staff member accidentally spilled the food she was carrying for the guests, causing a scene at the front.
''Stand up. Don't worry, we'll clean this,'' the staff secretly whispered to the girl as they cleaned the mess.
"We're really sorry, we didn't mean to-" The manager said but stopped when the man slapped the staff.
All the staff and guests were shocked about it. The girl didn't say anything, just looking down with her cheek slowly turning red.
"How dare you do this to her? Didn't you know that she was allergic to seafood? What if that thing touches her?" The man shouted furiously. He looks like a bomb that will explode anytime.
"I-I'm sorry," the girl simply said.
"Employees are trained to always say sorry every time even if they are innocent," Saffron commented.
"You don't know that I'm allergic to that! Didn't you know who I am? I can make you lose everything you have!" She shouted, pointing her finger at the girl staff.
The woman's appearance caught my attention. It just stood in front of everyone while being humiliated.
Mayari's father was on the terrace, busy talking to his business partners when they noticed the commotion. He immediately went inside with the owner of the bar.
"What happened, Ms. Dian?" Mr. Earlyseven asked.
"Dian?" Sergey unconsciously asked myself.
"Don't you know him? She is the daughter of the city mayor here in Quezon city," Mayari answered, feeling she did something big for him.
"I see," he coldly replied and stood up.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"Outside to get some fresh air. I don't like too much drama," Sergey replied, heading out of the venue towards the terrace.
Mayari was about to follow him, but Saffron stopped her.
"Let him be for now," he said, grabbing a piece of bread from the table. He looked like he was watching a movie while eating.
On the terrace, as Sergey was enjoying the breeze, a woman emerged from the other terrace of the building.
Sergey recognized her and watched to see what she would do. She looked sad as she leaned against the table, gazing at the dark sky.
"There are no stars today," the girl remarked, her gaze fixed on the sky.
Sergey saw the girl for the second time. First, at the auditorium, and now here. He couldn't explain it, but there was something deep inside him that felt there was something interesting about this girl.
Sergey couldn't forget Dara's voice as she sang in the auditorium. Unbeknownst to Sergey, he had been watching the girl for quite some time before she suddenly left.
"I wonder what else she can make," Sergey mused unconsciously, referring to the girl's expression.
To him, a normal expression was usually a serious or angry face, which is why he found the girl intriguing and wanted to get to know her better.
Meanwhile, Dara returned to the staff room and waited for Ms. A and the owner to arrive.
As she waited, Dara felt drowsy and ended up falling asleep while sitting.
On the other side, the owner spoke to Dian and the man accompanying her in a private room inside the club.
*Inside the Private room*
"I want that girl to be fired!" Dian shouted at the owner, her voice echoing in the room.
Their argument escalated, and they both stood up while they talked.
"But—" Ms. A was about to respond when she was abruptly interrupted by Dian.
"I don't care. Choose, you will fire that girl or I'll tell my daddy about this," she stated firmly.
No matter how many times the club tried to explain that the seafood was not meant for her and would just pass by their table, she refused to listen. She had completely shut her ears to any reasoning.
"You have the audacity to operate even when one of your staff is drunk," Dian added, her tone accusing.
"But she wasn't drinking," Ms. A defended Dara. She had been insisting all along that their staff member had been drinking, even though it wasn't true.
"Are you accusing me of lying?" Dian retorted.
"Not at all, but that's something our employee wouldn't do," she calmly replied.
"I could smell it on her earlier. Go ahead, call her now so we can prove what I'm saying," she said confidently, then settled back into the sofa.
The owner instructed one of their employees to call Dara to the staff room. Just a few minutes later, Dara arrived in the room.
She looked like she had just woken up, evident from her slightly red eyes. She approached her boss embarrassed, keeping her head down.
"Did you call for me, sir?" she asked.
"Yes, Dara, we wanted to ask you something. Is it true that you were drinking?" Ms. A asked calmly, confident that Dian's accusation was incorrect.
Dara's chaotic thoughts came to a halt upon hearing that. She was surprised to learn that.
'How did they find out?' Dara wondered to herself, quickly raising her gaze to meet Ms. A's eyes.
Dara wanted to deny the accusation, but deep down, she knew it was true. She could sense a mixture of worry and understanding in Ms. A's gaze, adding weight to her thoughts.
"Why the silence, Dara? Admit it, isn't it true?" Dian's voice pierced through the room, her tone revealing impatience and frustration.
She was wearing a red dress with a slit, but her behavior and loud voice didn't match her appearance.
"Dara," Ms. A called out softly, her gaze locking with Dara's, silently conveying trust and disbelief in equal measure. Her eyes, filled with compassion, contradicted any notion that Dara could be guilty of such an accusation.
Amidst the intensifying tension and Dara's silence, a hush fell over the room as a woman stepped forward, her resolve evident in her posture.
"I, um, I actually witnessed it," she spoke up tentatively, drawing all eyes in her direction.
"What exactly did you see?" Curiosity piqued, their boss inquired.
The woman, identified as Nikki, hesitated before recounting how she inadvertently overheard a conversation between Dara and Chuck. She heard them discussing a joke Chuck intended to play on Dara by falsely accusing her of being drunk at work.
"Hmm," Nikki began hesitantly. "I overheard Chuck and Dara talking about her being drunk," she added.
"Unbelievable," the owner muttered.
Chuck was summoned to a private room, and despite his reluctance to admit it, he had no choice but to confess and tell the truth. The weight of guilt hung heavy in the air as he reluctantly revealed the truth.
"Yes, she is earlier but not anymore cause I gave her some drinks to freshen up," Chuck said.
As Chuck reluctantly confessed, the room fell into a heavy silence, each person grappling with the implications of his actions. Nikki glanced around nervously, feeling the weight of the situation.
Ms. A's expression softened with understanding, though disappointment lingered in her eyes.
"Why would you do such a thing, Dara?" she asked, her voice tinged with disappointment.
Dara shifted uncomfortably, struggling to find the right words.
"Le-let me explain, I-," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Enough with your nonsense explanation! This is unacceptable behavior. You've put the reputation of our establishment at risk," he stated firmly, his disappointment evident. The owner sighed deeply, shaking his head.
Dara doesn't know how to feel. She knows to herself that she was wrong but she wants to explain herself.
The room remained tense as they grappled with the aftermath of Chuck's confession, unsure of how to move forward from this breach of trust when Dian spoke again.
"See, I was right the whole time! She should be fired!" Dian exclaimed.
"We understand. Sorry for the inconvenience we made to you. Tomorrow, she will be relieved of her duties," the owner conceded, following her demand.
He was well aware that dismissing Dara would be a significant loss, but they could no longer defend her, especially after she admitted to drinking on the job.
"No! I want it done now!" the woman insisted, her determination unwavering.
Reluctantly, they agreed and ended the discussion. Dara slumped down, tears streaming down her face, in disbelief at what was happening.
After fleeing with Eli to seek refuge, this club had taken them in. It was the first place to accept them and provide them with stable jobs. But now, all of that was gone because of her one mistake.
Dara couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal and despair as she realized the consequences of her actions. The weight of her mistake hung heavily upon her, leaving her feeling lost and alone. She couldn't bear to think about what the future held now that she had lost her job and possibly her only means of support.
~To be Continued ~