Chapter 23: VIP Customers
Sadly, though, they already parted.
She had just gotten divorced, so Loreen was disinterested in meeting someone new.
Deep inside, she knew it was still Edric inside her heart. She still missed him.
Even this morning, she was tempted to call his number which she still had committed to memory.
But there was no reason to call him.
If she wanted to move on, it was better to never meet or speak with him again.
'Geez. It's lame to keep thinking about him. I should forget about him already.'
Loreen worked through the day as usual and pushed aside all thoughts about Edric.
By twelve noon, it was time for her to leave. However, Grace, one of her coworkers approached her.
"Loreen, please don't leave yet. Stay a bit longer," Grace pled.
"Eh, why? Is something up?" Loreen was sure there were not that many people so they could handle it. But Grace looked troubled.
Loreen just went to comfort room to retouch so she could leave, yet something seems to have happened.
"What happened while I was in the comfort room?" she inquired.
"VIP customers arrived. We need to take good care of them since they paid such a high price to use that room. The car they parked outside was such an expensive model. We can't afford to displease them."
There were rooms in the café which could be hired for meetings or celebrations. And today, all the rooms were booked. And one was for VIPs.
Grace explained that all the rooms were already booked for today.
But someone contacted the cafe owner who was on travel and offered a high price to use one of the private rooms. Thus, they were prioritized by the owner.
"Then what happened to those who booked the room first?" Loreen frowned.
It was unfair.
But this was a business indeed, so the owner prioritized the one with the most profits.
"They were the owner's relatives, so she had them use her place instead," Grace explained.
"I see. Thank goodness. It would be bad if they got angry and made a racket about it," Loreen worried about the reputation of the café.
Their customers might decrease if people thought they only value money. Thankfully, one of the customers who reserved a room was a relative of the owner.
"Don't be relieved just yet. We must deal with VIP customers, and they are not from here. They are from the capital," Grace reiterated.
Because they suddenly had to take care of VIP customers, everyone was nervous and fearful of making any mistakes.
"Please stay with us until the VIPs leave. You were so calm and collected this morning when the rich guy asked for directions," Grace pled with puppy dog eyes.
"That was different. He simply asked for directions. But alright, I'll stay. Stop looking at me like that," Loreen chuckled lightly. She could not reject it if Grace asked her like that.
'I should help if they are having a difficulty.'
Grace was younger than her. She was a college student. Her other coworkers were all younger than her as well and most were students. She was the working adult here, so she needed to be here for them while the owner was away.
"Yay! Thank you!" Grace hugged her and gave a thumbs up to their coworkers. They visibly sighed in relief and gave her a slight bow before they continued working.
"You're welcome. We should look out for each other," Loreen smiled.
"Then, can you please serve the drinks while we are preparing their meals? Everyone is hesitant to bring it," Grace said and one of their coworkers pushed a serving cart with the drinks toward them.
There were four drinks, so Loreen figured four people were there. Three of the drinks were black coffee while one was a fruit shake.
"There are three of them. Maybe they are still waiting for someone to arrive since they ordered drinks and meals for four people," Grace explained.
"I see. But why me? I'm new. Shouldn't those who had the most experience serve them? What if I make a mistake?" Loreen blinked twice.
"I'm sure you can do it! You were so confident even when serving entitled customers. I'm sure you'll do well. I'm too nervous. I'm more likely to make a mistake," her coworker showed her hands, and it was shaking.
It was indeed dangerous for her to serve the drinks in this situation, especially with VIP customers.
"Why are you shaking that much? Did VIP customers before cause a scene or something?" Loreen inquired.
"No. I opened the door for them earlier and saw that one of them was visibly in a bad mood. He looked furious. He looked around then eyed me from head to foot and his brows further furrowed," Grace complained. "I feel like he might scream at me if I show my face in front of him again."
Now, Loreen was nervous too.
She had dealt with people who screamed at her and her coworkers in her past works years ago. But it was already too long ago since then.
She wasn't sure she would be able to keep her calm and composure in front of a customer like that.
However, she could not possibly let these youngsters get shamed by customers. They might get too scared to venture into the competitive world of corporate work when they graduate if she lets them get traumatized here.
Loreen did not want their positive worldview and outlook to be ruined.
'I can do this. I at least experienced it several times already. I know there are simply hotheaded people out there.'
If Grace or the others went, they might end up thinking something was wrong with them. But sometimes it's not on you. It was simply on the other person being moody and hotheaded all by themselves.
"Alright. I'll try. But please don't expect much from me. Help me explain in case I make a mistake," Loreen was not that confident either since she was still new to this kind of work.
She checked herself in the mirror and ensured that nothing was out of place.
Loreen then headed towards the VIP room while pushing a trolley with the drinks. She did not dare carry it by hand since she was also getting nervous.
Upon entering the room, she froze when she saw who the VIP customer was.
It was Edric.
And he was already glaring at her with a dark expression.
"I finally found you, Lori."