Reiner – Who She is

“I guess you’re right…” Reiner replied, clearly not looking forward to the dinner with the client.

“Good luck with your work and don’t worry about me,” I quickly said to reassure him.

“I’ll pick you up. Same place. Same time,” Reiner said a little sternly.

“Sure. I’ll wait for you,” I replied with a smile.

…

It was an ordinary day at work and our project was making decent progress. A big thanks to Charles and his advice. That reminded me that since running into Reiner that day, I haven’t seen much of Charles. I wondered if he would turn up to the bar sometime soon. Perhaps he was just busy or perhaps that encounter with Reiner created a bigger rift between Charles and I than I had anticipated.

A long sigh escaped my lips when I was forced to admit that I had to have a proper talk with Charles about everything. He didn’t exactly confess to me, but I guess after all that he’s done for me, I owed him a huge thank you along with some apologies. Honestly, I never knew that turning down a guy would be this difficult. That might be because I have never had the unfortunate opportunity to turn down such a great guy.

After leaving the office and a very worried-looking Reiner, I headed to the bar like usual. The traffic was surprisingly light, and I arrived a little ahead of schedule. That being said, I was once again the last person to turn up to work at the bar. Everyone was already there and preparing for the night’s opening.

Kat waved to me with a big smile when she saw me walk into the bar.

“Welcome baby girl!” Kat called out loudly.

“Glad to be here…” I replied with a smile.

After getting changed, I started helping Kat with the task at hand. I glanced over at Kat as she stood next to me behind the counter bar. With everything that had been going on with Reiner, I didn’t have that much time to catch up with my dear friend.

“My birthday is coming up,” Kat spoke up with her eyes still on the utensils in front of us.

“Oh, really? When?” I asked.

“This Friday. Will you be coming?” she asked needlessly.

If it was her birthday then of course, I’m going to come by. I better not turn up here empty handed, though.

“Of course! I’ll definitely be here,” I said enthusiastically.

“That’s a promise,” Kat said with a bright smile.

“No more guy troubles?” I asked.

“No guy means no guy troubles. You?” Kat asked.

“Hmm…things are fine now…I guess…” I mumbled a little shyly.

I could feel Kat’s eyes on my face as I looked away; however, she didn’t say anything. Kat just laughed carefreely and patted my back encouragingly. One of these days if Reiner and I ever become a proper couple, I’m going to introduce him to Kat proudly as my boyfriend. I wonder when or if ever that day would come.

Opening time quickly arrived but thankfully the work was manageable. That wasn’t because there were fewer customers or because Jamie’s business was going down in a slump, but it was because Jamie finally hired two more waitresses. Sure, they were not buff guys like Kat has requested but it was better than not getting any new headcount on the staff team at all.

“Thank God, Jamie hired those two new girls,” Kat said as she stood next to me.

Things were going smoothly, and it was halfway through the night. We had enough time to rest a little on the side and chat. This was a rare opportunity to come by, but I hoped that it would become the norm now that we had more waitresses.

“You’re right. This is about the right pace…” I readily agreed.

While we were sharing small talk, a customer turned and waved his hand to get our attention. Kat quickly turned to let me know that she’ll take it before heading over the customer’s table. I watched her back as she walked through the crowd towards the table that needed assistance.

“Excuse me. Are you Natalia?”

A woman’s voice addressing me got my attention and I turned around to come face to face with someone I had never expected to see. The woman dressed in a white dress with a chic hot pink blazer greeted me with a wide smile that displayed her beautiful perfect teeth. Her smile, her skin and her hair were as beautiful as I still remembered it, although I have only seen her once before.

Rachael, why is she here?

“Yes, I’m Natalia,” I replied after recovering from my initial surprise.

“So, you were really here…” Rachael said with a satisfied smile.

I watched her gracefully take the conveniently empty seat opposite from me at the counter bar. Her smile never left her lips as her eyes watched me intently. Something about her told me that she wasn’t here to have a simple and friendly conversation with me over a couple of drinks. Since I was in the middle of work, I didn’t have the time to deal with her or any of her issues either.

“Would you like to order a drink? I can recommend you something if you tell me what you feel like having,” I said before smiling sweetly at her.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

“I might be interested in that after you order a drink. I need to help Jamie make some sales for the bar;

you know…” I replied before sliding over the drinks menu to her and offering her one of my best smiles.

I’m not Natalia Rosenhall right now. I’m just a bar girl who needs to make sure this bar makes some money so that I can keep my job.

“Hmm…I’ll take whatever cocktail that you would recommend,” Rachael replied without taking any time to think.

“Sure,” I readily replied before shouting my order across to the bartender.

I could feel her eyes on me, and I felt more curious than intimidated. Honestly, I didn’t want to invite any trouble, but I was more than a little curious about what Reiner’s fiancée would want from me. However, this wasn’t the place nor the time for us to be chatting about our personal lives.

--To be continued…