Taken Away

The day at work began with a lot of things being discussed. They had to finish decorating the ceiling to check where to place the lighting and other spotlights. It was yet another busy day for Cassandra and the rest of the crew inside the Secret Tavern since things had just begun and there were still a lot of things to be done for the wedding. In just five more days, the wedding would be held.

"There are going to be at least 500 guests at the venue, so we have to prepare an enormous amount of food for that huge number of people." The client's personal event organizer said while she was looking at the plans and other information on the clear book in her hand.

"Who would have a guest of 500, right, Cassy?" Eleanor suddenly asked in a teasing tone while Cassandra was arranging the flowers to be put on the ceiling.

She just scoffed as an answer, then nodded her head. "I know, right? Only a billionaire could do that. I'd rather save up money and invest the excess bills than just waste money for a grand event like this." Cassandra replied as they continued to arrange the flowers. "Just look at these flowers… they could save if they would use fake ones, but they chose to use real flowers. Real roses, hydrangea, orchids, and a lot more!"

Eleanor sat down on the table where the flowers were placed, then she looked up at the ceiling as if she was daydreaming. "I guess those billionaires didn't know where to spend their money. I envy them for taking it out on something irrelevant, but I envy the future bride more. Imagine experiencing this kind of event in your life." She added, then the both of them heaved out a sigh after they agreed with each other.

They continued to do their work after their discussion until they finally got the chance to have their lunch. A lot of things were done including the immense decoration on the ceiling and the other decorations on the side walls.

"Fabulous! Bravo! You did a great job, this is exactly what the client wants and I'm sure this will pass their expectations." The event organizer said in awe while looking around the hall.

The hall looked totally different than before… it looked elegant and mesmerizing now that it had been decorated.

"I agree with you, Ms. Nora. And it hasn't been finished yet. The best is yet to come in five days." A cold voice from a man was suddenly heard from behind and everyone was so surprised to see that it was the Secret Tavern's owner.

With his two large brown eyes, he appeared to be at ease. To assess his height, he appeared to be six feet tall, and he wasn't too overweight, just the proper thickness for a man his age. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and a white t-shirt... a normal look for someone of his wealth.

"Mr. Horace Sergey! Oh, it's so good to see you here." Ms. Nora turned her gaze at the man and shook hands with him. The event organizer for the event was a very famous one and her clients were all people with big names, very popular in the entire nation and the current client was one of them.

"Yes, I know. Your team should keep going. I like how it's been turning out now actually." He commented with his left hand resting on his chin and his right resting on his waist. He was thoroughly checking every detail so his hotel restaurant wouldn't bear the consequences later on. "I bet Mr. Avery will like it more than ever." He uttered with confidence in his voice.

Cassandra was so amazed by the owner's identity, that she didn't think that they could really have a client as big as a billionaire. In addition to that, it was her first time seeing the owner of the restaurant she was working for.

"Cassy, let's go. It's lunchtime. I heard they're serving us the restaurant's specialty." Eleanor said as she began to pull Cassandra's hand to the main kitchen.

"Really? I've been meaning to taste the Lobster Frittata made by Chef Arvee." Cassandra replied in a very excited tone of voice, then they both headed to the main kitchen where the others were now eating.

Chef Arvee was the Executive Chef at the Secret Tavern, the highest position inside a restaurant and everybody was always demanding of her cooking which would cost a person a lot of dollars. It would just be a lucky day if the crew members would be able to taste her cooking since most of the time, her hands were full with other tasks. An executive chef did not spend all of their time cooking, but rather managed every aspect of the kitchen. In most restaurants, there was just one executive chef.

Executive chefs are responsible for managing workers, planning meals, and monitoring inventory, which includes ordering and purchasing kitchen supplies. They, like Chef Arvee, manage the budget and guarantee that the stated norms and rules for cleanliness and food quality were followed.

"Cassy, this is for you. Someone left it on the counter with your name on it." Eleanor said while handing her a tall cup of iced coffee.

She just looked at her with a curious facial expression since she didn't order anything like that. "I don't have money to pay for it. I didn't order anything, Eleanor." She quickly declined.

"Just take it, will you? It's been paid and it has a note." Her friend insisted, so Cassandra didn't have that much of a choice but to accept the drink.

She immediately read what was written on the sticky note posted on the cup of iced coffee. "Don't overexert yourself. Smile and drink this?" She uttered in wonder while reading the note. She didn't have any idea as to who it was from, but she suddenly realized it was from Mr. Harriet when she saw him looking in her direction, then he winked at her.

Cassandra let out a deep sigh and shifted her gaze at Eleanor. "Guess he still hasn't given up." She said with disappointment in her voice.

"Who? Hey, Cassy, tell me who it is from." Eleanor began to annoy Cassandra, but she didn't want to say anything that Mr. Harriet was trying to ask her out yesterday.

They continued working for the rest of the day since they still have to do a lot of things to complete the decorations. More than five hundred chairs were now placed in the hall and they all decorated them one by one. The sound system and lighting were to follow the next day, then they also had to plan out the best menu possible for all the guests since they wanted what was best for the client.

A few more hours had passed and they were now ready to leave. Cassandra immediately went to the locker room to get her things because she had to go home now or else her parents would be suspicious of her actions.

"Cassy, I'll be going this way now. You should go home safely. See you tomorrow." Eleanor said as she waved goodbye to Cassandra. They had different routes when they were going home, so she had no one to accompany her during that time.

"Are you going home now, Cassandra?" She flinched when she was a bit startled by the sudden voice that approached her. She looked at the person who talked and realized that it was her supervisor, Mr. Harriet.

"Y-Yes, Mr. Harriet. I have to go home now. Why?" She asked in a low tone of voice.

Mr. Harriet stared at Cassandra for a few seconds without saying anything, then he let out a sigh. "I know that you already rejected me yesterday, but I still want to give it a try one more time. By any chance that you changed your mind, can we go out on a date today? Just give us a chance." The look on his face was a mix of confidence and hesitation.

However, Cassandra loved her job and she needed it more than anyone so she could continue going to college. If she would decline him once more, there was a possibility that Mr. Harriet would punish her again or worse, he would fire her in an instant.

She clenched her fists and gulped as she was staring at him straight in the eyes. "Mr. Harriet, you should know by now that my answer would still be the same. I hope we'll just keep things professional when we're at work since we're both just here for money and nothing else." Cassandra did her best not to stutter because she knew how hard it was to reject someone, especially her supervisor yet her voice was still firm and serious.

Mr. Harriet didn't know how he would respond to her answer because that wasn't the answer he was expecting for the second time. He really liked Cassandra, but if she would just keep on rejecting her, might as well punish her once more.

He gradually gave off a smile at Cassandra and nodded his head continuously. "Is that so? Okay, we'll just keep things professional from now on." He said with a curve on his lips, but his smile was different. "I see that your coworkers forgot to take out the trash bins. Why don't you come back inside and– W-what?" His line was cut off when a black luxurious car just suddenly drifted and stopped in front of them.

Cassandra was also too stunned to speak, she even coughed because of the dust that got through her inhaling most of them. A few more seconds later, the environment became too quiet until three men wearing a black tuxedo with black sunglasses came out of the car.

"Are you Cassandra Harper?" One of the men asked, but Cassandra's eyes were left wide open and she felt like her feet were stuck to the ground.

Her hands and feet began to tremble tremendously as she gazed at the three men. They approached her, but Mr. Harriet tried to butt in.

"Don't do anything to this woman. I am her superior and you don't have the right to just go near her." Mr. Harriet said with a firm tone of voice, trying to act cool in front of her, but the men just looked at each other and then they eventually laughed at him.

"We didn't come here for a snot like you. Don't stick your nose into our business or we'll bury you alive." One of the men warned him, then he approached Cassandra and held her hand.

Mr. Harriet looked so serious when he saw that Cassandra was about to be tied up. "I said don't touch this woman. I will call the authorities if you don't stop." He insisted on saying, looking at the man who was gripping Cassandra's hand.

At that point, Cassandra felt helpless, she didn't know what to do because it seemed unsafe wherever she would go. The men wearing black suits looked really dangerous judging by their appearance. They were not just typical men who you could scare away.

The man holding Cassandra removed his grip and faced Mr. Harriet. "Let me finish this once and for all." He was way taller than him, and it was obvious that Mr. Harriet was just pretending that he wasn't scared of the man. "Get ready, snot." The man said.

With just a blink of an eye, the man in front of Mr. Harriet vanished in thin air and Cassandra was surprised that he was already behind him, ready to give him a kick from the back and hit a wall.

"Ugh!" Mr. Harriet groaned as he didn't expect the attack from the man.

"Mr. Harriet!" Cassandra screamed, but he couldn't hear her. He felt as if three of his bones were cracked because of his kick, but he still tried to get up to fight the man. The man with a black suit was ready to land another blow when Mr. Harriet slowly fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious.

"That was so easy. No sweat." Another man from the three said as he giggled.

The three men approached Cassandra and looked at her maniacally. "You're going with us." They said, then they just suddenly took Cassandra's hands and got her inside the luxurious car to take her away from the scene.