Kelvin
Mike had a short laugh. "Francis ? You know him already. He's in the kitchen hanging out with Mimi."
"That makes sense," I voiced out. "Well, nice chatting with you guys. I'll be going now, so you can go back to what you were talking about."
George spoke and stopped me in my tracks. "No need for you to go. You can join us. No pressure."
"Yeah," Mike supported. "She's not here, so there's nothing to be nervous about."
"She lives here and can come here at anytime." I reminded them. "Also, I wanted to check up on some things by the way, so I have to get going."
George and Mike didn't give in. They continued to persuade me until I reluctantly accepted their invite to converse with them. Since there was hardly anything for me to do at that moment, I figured a few minutes wouldn't hurt with them. We conversed and spoke about the most random topics that came across our mind. I also learnt a lot from them.
George wants to go back to campus when school resumes next time. Mike revealed that he initially wanted to be the house manager but it didn't work out for him. I felt kind of sad for that. George has a thing against wild rodents and he'll do anything crazy if he encounters one. Mike on the other hand, says he has a fear for women. As he claims, they should never be fully trusted.
I don't know if I should agree with him or debate about it but after checking how much time I had spent, I decided to go back to the main house. It was almost noon and I made sure food was delivered as usual. I did meet Irene but this time, I sent my food upstairs myself and ate behind locked doors.
Feeling heavy from my meal, I resorted to taking a nap. It didn't last long when my alarm went off, waking me up. I was a little annoyed but I got up anyways. I hadn't inspected the first floor today, so I made up my mind to go and check on it immediately.
I got to the first floor and checked up on the guestrooms. Everything seemed to be in shape and there wasn't anything really missing or broken. The hallways of the first floor were neat and swept elegantly. I got into the gaming room and everything was running perfectly. The last place I had to check was the bar room and when I got there, I didn't expect what I saw.
The door to the bar room was opened and right at the counter a few feet from me, was one of Mr. Hanson's daughters. She laid her head on the counter and was facing the opposite direction. I heard sobbing and it seemed she was crying. I looked on her counter and it was a mess.
There were three bottles of Hennessy on the counter. Two were empty and one had half of it remaining. There were shards of glass on the counter, which looked like they were from a beer glass. Something caught my eye on the floor and I saw that there were also shards of glass on the floor too. I noticed she had a beer glass full of Hennessy and she held it in her hand. Normally, I would just walk away and mind my own business but it seems she needs help. So, I decided to intervene.
I walked inside the room and approached her at the counter, whiles avoiding the glass on the floor. It seemed she hadn't noticed my presence, so I went to the other side she was facing and that's when she saw me. Her eyes were getting red but she didn't have tears in her eyes. Her face was just full of misery and—
"What do you want ?" she asked harshly.
"You might not know me," I answered gently. "But I'm the one in charge of making sure the house is in good condition and that everything goes well around here."
"Can't you see I'm busy here ?" she frowned furthermore.
"I see that and I respect your privacy," I went on. "But as I said, I'm in charge of making sure everything goes well around here and something is not going well for you. So I want to help."
"Look here," she got up from the counter and sat straight on her stool. "I don't care who you are or what you do. This is none of your business. Just leave."
She returned to her former position and laid her head on the counter, facing the opposite direction. I sat on one of the stools and decided to give my last try to see if she would listen.
"I understand you are going through some painful event now," I began. "You want to cry it out and wish the pain would go away. You want to forget about it and move on but the pain won't let you. I understand."
She turned to face me with a stern look. I went on regardless. "My dad died in a car accident 4 years ago. My mom became partially paralyzed due to the news. My sister and I were in school at that time. You can only imagine the pain we went through."
A look of concern then became evident on her face. "Oh, I'm very sorry about that. That must be tragic."
"It's fine," I replied with a small smile. "We moved on a long time ago. But when he died, we had to bear the pain of losing him. My mom wouldn't stop crying. It made my sister and I cry more. I wanted to resort to drugs to help me forget about it but my sister intervened and talked some sense into me."
Mr. Hanson's daughter seemed interested, so I continued. "She made me realize that drugs wouldn't solve anything. What happened has happened. I understood her and I changed my mind. We spoke as a family and decided that the crying was enough. We had to take care of ourselves now, since he's gone."
"So how did you guys take care of yourselves when your mother was paralyzed and none of you were working ?" she asked.
"My dad had saved enough money for our necessities. Enough money was even saved to allow me complete my final year and look for a job. My sister took over my mom's work to help support the family and that's how we took care of ourselves." I explained.
"So was this the job you wanted ?"
I shook my head slowly. "Not really. I took this job cause I was unemployed when I met your dad. Initially, I wanted to work in an electronic company but there weren't any jobs available. So I worked at a restaurant for a while before and now, I'm working for your dad. It's not something I wanted but I have to do it, so my sister completes her final year this week. And so I could also support the family."
"That's unfortunate..." she sympathised.
"If my sister finishes school this week, I'll work here for a while before leaving, hoping I'll find a job in the electronic companies." I informed. "So, the point of my long boring speech is that, don't drink alcohol when you are in these kind of situations. Talk to someone who can help you out or console you. That's much better."
She sat down with an emotionless face and it seemed she was thinking about what I said. I decided to leave her to make her decision. "I'll be going now. I promise not to bother you again or come into your business."
I made my way towards the door but her words stopped me in my tracks. "Wait.....you are right."
"I thought the alcohol would help me solve my problems and make me forget but the memories are still there and it hurts. I'll take your word and talk to someone." she voiced out.
I smiled. "Alcohol doesn't make you forget the past. It just slows your brain down and you forget what you do when you are intoxicated. I'm glad my words could help. I hope you are fine now ?"
"Yeah, I'm much better," she answered as she stood up and left the beer glass on the counter. "I don't feel drunk anymore, so I'm going to my room then."
She walks towards the door and almost stumbles on the way but she regains composure.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she says as I tried to help. "I'm a little drunk I guess but I'm still fine."
She walks out of the room and I look over at the counter. I went over to sweep the broken glass and disposed them into a bin. I placed the empty bottles in their section and placed the other in one of the glass cupboards. I cleaned the counter and rinsed the beer glass. With my work completed, I left the bar room.
.
Sonya
As Olivia had planned, she got some people to come help organise the shop. They decorated the place and made sure everything was in place. The office space lacked some utilities and accessories, so Olivia bought them and they arranged the place perfectly.
Olivia called to inform me that she was done with the arrangement of the shop and that she was going to work. She promised to come back in the afternoon as usual. We said our goodbyes and she hanged up.
Meanwhile, I was at the place Olivia directed me to, waiting for them to finish our shop signage. It took some hours but it was finished and polished neatly. By that time , it was past noon. I managed to fit it into the car with the help of the bodyguard and we drove off back to the shop, where Olivia was waiting for me.
The bodyguard brought out the signage and laid it in front of Olivia and I before going back into the car. From outside, I could see how Olivia had taken care of the place. It was a spectacle to watch.
"Nice work girl," I complimented. I then looked down at the signage. "It took them almost 4 hours to make the signage. Apparently, this signage style takes a long time to make."
Olivia also looked down. "It's just basic letters. No pictures were used. We should be lucky cause the ones with pictures take a lot of time to make."
"I see. So when is this going to be put up on the wall ?" I quizzed.
"I will call the sign technicians to come take care of the mounting. It would take a while though."
"So are we done ? Cause I'm very hungry."
"Yeah, we are done," she answered. "Let's go to the mall then. It's been a while since we've been there."
Olivia and I got to the mall and went to a fast food restaurant to eat. Whiles we were eating, Olivia brought up the remaining part of what we were supposed to do about the shop.
"So tomorrow is the last day we work on the shop," she announced. "I'll go get some trucks for the delivery services."
"And I will deal with the employment of the workers."
"Right," she affirmed.
Something crossed my mind. "Aren't we supposed to register the business under the law ?"
"Oh no, we aren't." Olivia clarified. "It's not like our business is a large scale one. We are operating locally within our area, so there'll be no need for that."
"I remember my dad registering his textile company when he started it off last two years. I assumed we would do the same for ours."
"They are both different. We won't be registering ours. Don't worry." she assured. She finished her meal first. "You'll need to get home and get some rest. Tomorrow, you'll be dealing with the potential staff members....."
When we were done, we left the restaurant, we bade farewell and went our separate ways.
* * *
I took time to prepare myself the following morning. I took my morning coffee, freshened up and left the house. I arrived at the shop minutes later and it was ready. The signage was placed on the shop and it looked fantastic. The shop is part of a building that hosts other shops, just like a mall. The catering shop was the newest one in the building and it was beautiful.
I asked the bodyguard to wait for me in the car and I informed him that I would spend some time in the shop. He obeyed and stayed in the car with the driver. I opened the shop with my key and got in. Inside of the shop was much nicer than the outside. The place had a very enticing fragrance and the lighting added to the overall moment.
After spending some moments in the dining area for clients, I moved to where my office was located and I got in. As expected, everything was done with perfection. My mind dropped back to the staff members. Olivia hadn't told me when they'll be coming, so it could be at anytime.
I left my office and got to the dining area. I was about to take out my phone and call her but I saw her entering the parking lot and I stopped. She got out later and got to the shop.
"You're always early," she joked.
"Don't start," I faked a smile at her. "You didn't tell me when they'll be coming here."
"Relax, relax," she brushed off as she sat on one of the chairs. "I indicated that we'll be open for employment at 8. It's 20 minutes from now, so just take a breather dear."
I sighed and sat down with her. "Okay. So will you be going out soon to get the delivery vehicles ?"
She took out her phone and started browsing. "Oh yeah of course. I'll be going soon enough. I'm just looking for where I can get the right trucks first."
"Thanks very much, Olivia."
"Don't mention it," she responded. "So has the bodyguard been giving you any suspicions ?"
"Now that I think of it," I mused. "No. Not really. Mostly, it's because it seems I'm helping you out."
"What about your dad ?"
"I haven't seen him since Saturday," I told her. "I leave home early without eating there these days, unlike my usual days. I also go home early before him, so we hardly meet. He seems busy to notice we haven't met in a while too."
"I told you girl," Olivia teased. "But you didn't listen. You worried yourself for nothing. And now look, he has no clue what is going on."
I laughed casually at her. "It's too early for that. When we are done completely, then you can make fun of me."
"Of course," she smirked. "It seems I'll be leaving now. I just found a good place I could get the trucks."
We stood up together and I escorted her out of the building. "I'll be back soon," she said as she got in her car. I nodded in response.
Olivia drove her car off and I sat back on the chair. I had nostalgia on when my dad first informed me of the takeover. I laughed and thought to myself of what he would do now if he knew what was going on. I can't wait to find out. It was 8am and I stood up, getting ready for the potential staff members to arrive.