Reiner – New Encounter

“Don’t look so stiff. That frown on your face is going to chase all the hot guys away,” Kat teased when she came back to my side.

“There’re so many people here. Is it like this every night?” I asked in interest.

“Nope. It’s a lot busier on Fridays and the weekends,” Kat replied with a wry smile.

“Kat!” someone called her name and she responded with a wave of her hand right away.

“I’ve got to go take care of that. Can you take this to table 5? It’s over there…” Kat instructed before pointing a finger at table 5.

“Sure,” I replied before taking the tray of food from her hands.

“Thanks,” Kat said in a rush.

I watched Kat hurry out into the crowd of people and knew that this was the time when the place needed an extra pair of hands. As instructed, I headed over to table number 5 where a man dressed in a sleeveless black shirt was seated. Just like most male customers here, this man was ripped with muscles, and it was clear that he was a mercenary or soldier of some sort.

“Here’s your food, sir,” I said politely as I placed the tray down on the table.

I felt his eyes on me as I carefully transferred the dishes from the tray to the table in front of him. The way he watched me silently without saying anything made me feel slightly nervous. When I was done, I turned to smile at him before I was going to take my leave.

“Are you new here?” the man spoke up suddenly.

His voice was deep and a little raspy. I found his voice to be extremely sexy like those rockstar singers.

“Yes…” I replied honestly.

“I’m Charles,” he introduced himself as he stuck out a very large hand my way.

His brown eyes met mine and I was surprised at the kindness in them. I had to admit that his face and perfectly shaped lips only added to how hot he looked. After I’ve had enough of staring into his face, my eyes glanced down at the hand that he offered towards me. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if he would kill me if I shook his hand. Then my hand was reaching towards his because I figured that it was the other way around. He probably would kill me if I didn’t shake his hand.

“Natalia…” I said in a small voice.

“Watch out, Natalia. Some wolves are watching you at 5 o’clock,” Charles warned before he grinned at me.

“Oh…thanks…” I replied. I could feel their lecherous gaze on me too but thankfully, I was wearing pretty non-revealing clothes right now.

I flashed him a smile before heading back to where I came from. By the time I was back, Kat was already back.

“You spoke to Charles?” Kat asked.

I wasn’t sure what she was getting at, so I had to set the record straight.

“No, he spoke to me,” I replied.

“Wow…Charles actually spoke to a woman. You’re going to win the lottery, so you better go buy one right now!” Kat cried out in excitement.

“What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion.

“That’s Charles. He’s like way up there in the ranks or something. People say he makes loads of money. The sad thing is he’s never had a serious relationship with any of the girls. They all want to be his girlfriend. I mean…just look at him!” Kat cried out with intense admiration.

“Maybe you should serve him food next time then,” I mumbled.

“I’ve given up on that cement wall. He’s got no eyes for me, and he doesn’t respond to anything that I say...” Kat said before laughing in self-depreciation.

“I’m not looking for a guy. Thanks,” I stated to put an end to this worthless conversation.

“Some girls are saying that he’s gay. I doubt it though. I bet they’re just saying that because they can’t get him,” Kat said as she glanced over at the man in question.

“Who knows…” I replied vaguely.

The way he looked at me when he shook my hand just now, I’d bet my life that he’s as straight as can be.

…

I enjoyed my time working at Jamie’s bar so much that I decided to work there again the next day. This time Kat showed me what they did pre-opening. Honestly, I never knew that so much preparation work went into the hours before the bar was opened to welcome customers. In addition to Kat, I was introduced to the other staff members including the cooks, the bartenders, the cashier, and the other waitresses.

As I’ve figured, many of them did not grow up on the island but came from their home countries elsewhere. The common story was that all of them chose to work on this island because of the high salary compared to other countries. They were all working hard to save up and send money back home to their families.

“This island is small and so is its economy but on a per capita basis, this island is filthy rich. I hope I can save up enough money to buy a small plot of land and a house in my country in a couple of years,”

the cashier told me with a dreamy smile.

I helped Kat arrange the dishes, clean the tabletops, and then arrange the chair before opening time.

I’m having my job interview tomorrow in the afternoon which meant that it was fine for me to work late tonight as long as I woke up before noon tomorrow. Just like the night before, the place was packed with people all night long. Unlike the first night, I took on as much work as possible to help Kat out.

“Oh look…Charles is here,” Kat said as she nudged me with her elbow.

“You want to serve him?” I asked teasingly.

Kat shook her head at me immediately.

“You go,” she said firmly as she handed me the menu.

“Huh? You go…” I said as I shoved the menu back into her hands playfully.

While we were both busy shoving the menu back and forth, a shadow fell over us. For some reason, I started to feel very cold. Kat probably felt the same way because her eyes widened at me before we both turned to see Charles standing there right in front of the bar counter.

--To be continued…