Lana's POV
I knew that I've heard that voice before and I wasn't wrong. He was standing right there and for some reason, my legs felt heavy.
"Lucien!" Mr Gonzalo yelled, and I wished at that moment for the ground to open up and swallow me but if wishes were horses, I would have been the first person on that horse but instead, I just had to be in this room, at this time, with this man.
But now that I think about it, I may be wrong in my assumptions. It's very possible that he doesn't remember my face and everything that has happened so far has simply been coincidences and nothing else. Somewhere deep down, I knew that I was wrong but as long as I didn't admit it then we've got no problems.
"I'll head out now sir," I said with a final note while visibly trying to hide my reaction. I made for the door and hoped he would move so I could pass but just when I was halfway there, I heard Mr Gonzalo's voice, "There's no need for you to leave Lana, you've become a very important part of this establishment and I feel it's time to increase your position here."
That was the last thing I was expecting, matter of fact I wasn't expecting anything at all. I just wanted to leave the room as fast as I could.
"It's a pleasure to hear such endearing words from you sir but right now, and from the tone of this setting, I think you would require some level of privacy to properly ease the tension, we can pick this up later on, if you will please excuse me sir."
"Indeed she's correct Gonzalo, I've got something for you and it would be much better to handle it in private, maybe next time."
His voice had the perfect blend of sex and seduction and it felt like I was the only one who noticed. I immediately hurried to leave the room but just when I was so close to reaching the door, I could have sworn that I felt his breath at the back of my neck. It took everything in me not to drop the tray I held. I knew if I wasted a second longer, I would make a mess of myself.
I increased my pace and acted polite but I could tell he saw the oddness in my behavior and from the corner of my eye, I could see the confusion on his face and I just knew the problem was me. I walked faster so I could reach for safety, anywhere as long as it was far from whoever this man was. I just had to get away as soon as I could, I needed space to gather my thoughts and being within close proximity with him was most definitely not going to do that.
I finally returned to the bar spot and I was able to catch my breath and almost immediately the scenarios from what happened back there started flooding in. I knew it! I knew the problem was me and not him, this whole time I've been making it obvious that something was up and there's a very huge possibility that he doesn't even remember my face.
I had one single task and I couldn't even handle it properly. Well for what it's worth, it simply means that I just have to keep up with my act and everything will be fine. Well that's a relief. I brushed my temples and I felt something; my nipples, they were hard and sensitive, I paused and realized what this meant.
There was no way that a simple breath against my neck which I was sure only happened inside my head was the reason for this. Dear heavens, I've really got to put myself together, I really have to.
I must rush back to serving now. I resumed my role and began taking the orders of our customers. At the Three Pigeons, we mostly served drinks, we had every brand of alcohol and wine and the supervisor always made sure that they were all quality brands.
He would go the extra mile to check and make sure that what we had was indeed the best but now, he's thinking of slowly adding more to the list and he decided we could include food in our menu and so far it's been going pretty well.
He didn't want to start with anything complicated so for now we pretty much serve our customers the basic stuff but with extra fillings.
I deeply admired Mr Gonzalo for his thoroughness to be very honest. It's not something one could easily find nowadays and I'd like to think it's the reason why we have a lot of returning customers but recently I can't seem to shake off the feeling that something is wrong.
Thinking about things being wrong, what did Mr Gonzalo mean when he said that he wanted to increase my position in the company? What exactly is going on and why is that strange man here anyway?
"What would you like for the evening gentlemen?" I've been repeating this question now for the past twenty minutes I resumed serving and even though I should be used to it by now, my mind has still not fully processed what happened back there. What really took place? But why am I worrying so much about it too?
He didn't do anything to me, I imagined everything because there's absolutely no way that it happened, absolutely no way. And if I so much want to believe this, why does thinking about it hurt?
Why do I feel like somewhere deep down I wished he did and that I wasn't imagining things. What if he's here to try and convince Mr Gonzalo to fire me because of the restroom situation? Maybe I'm overthinking things. I mean why would he do that? He'd just be implicating himself and I don't think he's that daft right?
Suddenly my phone started buzzing and without looking at the caller ID I knew who it was. It was the hospital my mom was at, these days it's almost as though I can't catch a break from anything.
They've tripled their fees and despite constantly showing up every day, they still keep giving excuses about my mom's condition and sometimes I truly wonder if she would ever wake up again. I'm determined to do everything in my power to make sure that she's well taken care of. If I need to work more jobs or find other ways to get more money for her treatment I'm willing to go to the ends of the earth.
Tears began welling up my eyes and I remember how life used to be before my parents were attacked. We were a very happy family, I had everything I'd ever wanted while growing up. I wasn't prepared for anything, I wasn't prepared for the way life switched so quickly and I had no manual. No choice, no direction, nothing! Uncle Chris took me in after my parents' incident and started taking care of me.
He consoled me and assured me that everything was going to be fine, I was just 14 then and I had to stay with him until I turned 20. He was the one handling my mom's expenses then and I had more than enough time to heal and recover but do such things really heal? I can still feel the pain just like it was yesterday. I hated myself for not being around, I wish I was with them, I hated the fact that I was left behind.