Sonya
Dealing with the employment task was something I thought was going to be a walk in the park. But I was wrong cause a lot of people actually turned up for the job. They didn't come up at once but it was rather one after the other and I had no idea how many caterers we would need to run the business.
To make things easier, after checking their certificates and qualifications, I wouldn't give them the job on the spot. I would tell them to go home and I'd call them to inform them if they got the job or not. That way, I could sit down to make the right decisions. Three hours passed by and more caterers were coming in but there was no sign of Olivia.
I continued with the interviews till I heard the sound of engines from the parking lot. I paused the current interview I was having with a lady and I got out to see who had arrived. And of course, it was Olivia. With her, were two delivery trucks with the brand of the shop on them. I got out to meet her.
She was talking to the men who had drove the trucks to the parking lot, so I waited for her to finish. She paid them off and they were on their way. She then faced her attention to me.
"Sorry I took so long to get the trucks here," she apologized. "I had to go through some negotiations with the dealers and stuff. Also, I had to get the vehicles laced up with the shop brand you know."
"No need, thanks Olivia." I smiled. "You wouldn't believe what I've been through since you were gone. There's been ton of people who turned up for the job."
"Really ? How many though ?"
"I didn't count, silly. But majority were for the catering job." I revealed. "Only two came up for the cleaning job. I still haven't received anyone who wants to be a driver for the delivery trucks."
We began to walk towards the shop. "I'll look for drivers, you'll deal with the caterers."
"Olivia, they are many and I'm dealing with one of them inside as we speak." I reminded. "How many people are even needed for this catering services ?"
"There's no need to get tensed up with this," Olivia soothed. "I've not had any encounters with catering services and how they run their business but I'll settle for just 5."
"Five ? Is that enough ?"
"I mean yeah," Olivia affirmed. "It's not like this catering business is a large scale one. Five will be okay."
"Which means I'm going to reject a lot of people," I muttered. "That's going to be tough."
We got to the shop and halted. "Choose the ones you think are the best. You are going to make tough decisions but it's for the best of the business. Good luck. I'll be going to work now, Sonya."
She walks back to her car and drives off. I stood there watching till she was out of view. After absorbing her words for a moment, I got back in the shop and dealt with the lady I was interviewing. That was the last interview I gave.
When I was done, I locked up the shop and went to the mall to eat. After a sumptuous meal, I went back home to rest. I ended up sleeping after my shower at noon and I woke up at dusk to meet 3 missed calls from Olivia.
I called her back. "Olivia, I fell asleep so I couldn't answer your phone calls."
"That's what I thought, so I stopped calling." she said. "Have you selected the ones you'll employ for the catering job ?"
"No, not yet. Why ?"
"I posted an advertisement online today about the shop taking orders." she began. "And someone already contacted me. By the way, I didn't use your contact, just in case your dad saw the advertisement."
"An order already ?" I exclaimed. "Then I have to start selecting quick. What samples did the client ask for ?"
Olivia tells me the samples and informs me that the client would come to the shop at noon to come taste the samples first. We hanged up shortly after. I brought out the list of people who came for the interview and I started to choose the 5 ones I was most impressed with. There was a lot of competition but I made tough choices and I was able to select all five of them.
I selected the oldest, Hilda, to be the head of the remaining caterers. I called them and informed them of their success of getting the job and I told them about their head caterer too. I also told them about the samples they needed to prepare for the client before noon tomorrow. Since I wouldn't be able to make it to the shop till noon tomorrow because of work, I sent money to Hilda and instructed her to buy the ingredients for the samples, so they can prepare it tomorrow before the deadline.
With everything settled, I ate dinner in my quarters and went to sleep. The next morning felt different. My days off from work were over, so I was back to working for my dad. I prepared for work and asked Mike to serve my breakfast in the dining room. After eating, I got into the car with the bodyguard and I was off to work first at the textile company.
I expected loads of work waiting for me but my assistant manager took care of that for me. I was welcomed back to the company by the workers and I dealt with some minor issues with the workers. I worked at the textile company for a few hours before leaving and heading over to my dad's mall. I had to deal with complaints from some customers there but other than that, I didn't break a sweat in the mall. Noon was approaching and that's when I normally have my break, so I decided to head over to the catering shop.
I left the mall with my bodyguard behind me and walked towards my car at the entrance of the mall. Before I could get to my car, I met someone I wasn't expecting. Someone so vile that my eyes got violated at the very sight of the person.
"What are you doing here ?" I frowned at Raymond, who stood before me.
He gave a warm smile. "I come here to shop of course. Is there something wrong ?"
I ignored his question and walked past him. He spoke behind my back, loud and clear.
"So you are just going to ignore me then ? Fine. That's cool. I'll see you very soon." he said.
See me very soon ? What is he talking about ? If I knew he'd be at the mall, I wouldn't have come at all. In fact, I'll make sure he gets banned from shopping at the mall. I don't ever want to cross paths with him again.
Meeting Raymond sure spoiled my mood. When I got in the car, I had to remind myself that I was off to meet the client. I had to forget about him and do the needful at the moment. I cleared my mind as I sat in the car and pretended I hadn't met Raymond. When the meeting with the client is over, that's when I will rage....
.
Delilah
I never thought I would actually be getting an advice from the house manager. What he said made me realize the wrong thing I was doing. I also realized that he has been through worse than I but he has moved on. I lost a guy and I was in depression. He lost his father and he managed to get over it. I might get to be with another guy but he will never get a biological father ever again.
That opened my eyes and made me see I was crying over something irrelevant. I didn't have to cry over Leonard and his lies. I deserved better. The revelation changed me attitude towards the situation and I decided to take a nap once I got to my room. I was a little drunk, so sleeping was the obvious best choice at the moment.
I woke up at night and I felt more sober. My mind was clear and I was much more relaxed. I ate in my quarters minutes later and I took my laptop to see what business I had online. The first thing I did was block Leonard on all platforms. It was satisfying for some reason. When I was done, I noticed I had two missed video calls from Sena. I called her back and she picked up.
"Hey Delilah," Sena spoke up. "How you doing ?"
"I'm doing great and you ?" I said with a beaming smile.
Sena gave a confused look. "You seem happy today. Did something happen ?"
"A lot of things happen in a day," I answered cryptically. "Also, congratulations on finishing your exams."
"Awwn, thanks Delilah." she smiled widely. "Now, tell me what happened. Did you meet Leonard ?"
It seems she doesn't know what happened between Leonard and I, so I took in a deep breath and decided to lay everything down on her. I told her about the video call and how Leonard had been hiding his girlfriend from me the whole time. When she heard it, she seemed shocked as I was initially when I found out.
"Believe me, I had no idea that he had a girlfriend," Sena muttered. "I just met him this year and we weren't that close, so I never knew about her."
I shrugged carelessly. "It doesn't matter anymore dear. I'm over him already."
"So soon ?" Sena inquired. "You always talked about him everyday and suddenly you are over him ? This is too good to be true."
I sighed momentarily and narrated what happened after I found out about Leonard's girlfriend. I told her everything from my drinking to the house manager giving me some words of advice and telling me about his past.
"Are my ears hearing things well ?" she asked rhetorically. "Delilah, you spoke with a guy freely and you weren't shy as usual."
"At first I thought it was the alcohol," I admitted. "But at that time, I was getting sober. I realized that he advised me like my mom and that was how I was able to speak freely with him. I was hostile to him at first but his words made me regret my actions."
"Awwn, this is very touching," Sena squeaked. "I need to meet this house manager of yours. This guy has to be a gem. He saved you before and he has helped you now. What a great guy."
"Yeah you are right," I agreed. "I didn't notice him at first but he has done good to me and I need to thank him for it. I'll talk to him tomorrow."
"Go for it. I'm with you."
* * *
For some reason, I couldn't wait for tomorrow to talk to the house manager. It took me a while to sleep and when I woke up, I woke up late at 9am. My sleeping cycle seems to be off since I used to play games at midnight and I went to bed at dawn. I took my bath and freshened up quickly. I wore one of my best casual clothes and went downstairs to look for the him.
I checked the hallways, dinning room, master living room and I even checked in the kitchen. The chefs and workers paused and looked at me confusingly as I got in the kitchen. I asked one worker in the hallway if he had seen the house manager but he had no idea where he was. Just as I was about to give up, I remembered that I didn't check the library. So that's where I went and gladly, I found him.
He sat down quietly and was reading a novel. He noticed me enter the room and he made a friendly gesture with a smile. This encouraged me to approach him and I went over and sat opposite to him at the table he was on.
"Good morning, Mrs. Hanson." he greeted. "How are you doing today ?"
"I'm good," I answered. "And I hope you are fine too ?"
"I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking." he replied calmly.
I went straight to the point. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have behaved so harshly towards you..."
"....oh it's nothing," he interjected. "Our emotions can get the best of us sometimes."
"Either ways, I'm sorry," I insisted. "Also, you helped me a lot yesterday and I'm forever grateful for what you did. You really talked some sense into my head."
"I said what I thought was right," he smiled faintly. "I'm just glad it helped you out. After all, it's my job as house manager to make sure everything goes well."
"Is that really true ?" I asked.
"Oh no, not really," he joked. "I just said that to make my intrusion seem less offensive. I can't really go around intruding into people's business anyhow."
"Well, I'm so glad you spoke to me anyways." I smiled. "And before I forget, I never said thank you for what happened last week Friday."
He chuckled softly. "You don't have to. I would have done that for anyone. I'm just glad to be of help to you and it's good you are safe."
"I'm serious," I went on. "I'm sorry for not giving you the gratitude you deserved. I mean you fought against three men. Do you know how cool it was to watch you fight against them ?"
"I only won because they weren't properly armed against me." he responded. "Regardless, I would have still helped if they were armed. They shouldn't be taking advantage of anyone like that at all."
"For that, I'm saying my 'Thank you' now." I declared. "Thank you very much. I wish I could do more...."
"That won't be necessary. Your dad already did enough." he disclosed.
Then there was silence for a while. I then spoke up. "I never got your name."
"My name is Kelvin," he revealed. "What about you ?"
"I'm Delilah but you can call me Lyla if you want," I smiled contently.
"Delilah," he repeated. "Nice name."
"Thank you," I smiled.
"I don't mean it in a bad way," Kelvin began. "But you look much more beautiful when you smile than when you frown."
I laughed casually for a while before responding to him. "I used to smile a lot those days but some unfortunate things changed all that. But now, I smile happily once in a while."
"Sad to hear of that." he said with concern. "Don't let the past determine how your present or future should be. Try to move on and get used to it. Plus, you should smile more. It's much better in my opinion."
Words can't express what was going on in my mind. "That's so thoughtful and inspiring from you. I'll try to take your word for it and move on with what happened in the past." I smiled.
"I'm glad you listened," he looked back on his book. "It's for your own good, Lyla."
Speaking to Kelvin has to be like the most pleasant thing I've done in ages. How did I actually not notice this guy till now ? He knows how to sympathize with someone and he's always positive. He helps out and he seems like the type of person who would risk it all to help someone in need. I have been looking for someone special to change my life and never would I have thought it would be him. I felt so comfortable talking with him.
"It's a good thing I met you," I voiced out.