The Monster Café (2021)

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 10

"EVERYONE, GATHER UP." Mabilis na nagsilapit ang lahat ng employee sa bandang stage ng café. Sa gitna nito ay nakatayo ang lalaking sumalubong kay Haven noong first day pa lang nito. He's been gone for a while, so seeing him today is a surprise. Akala nga ni Haven ay nag-resign na ito.

She joined Alivia and Wilder na nasa likuran ng mga nakapalibot sa stage. Halata ang excitement ng mga kasama niya, while she has no idea what this is all about.

Pumalakpak si Lucien at agad na tumahimik ang silid na kanina ay tila puno ng maiingay na bubuyog. He placed his hand on his chest and gracefully bowed. Bagay na bagay rito ang suot niyang butler uniform. Lucien's just naturally elegant. Hindi alam ni Haven bakit dito siya nagtatrabaho when she's sure that he's a sought-after employee.

"Good afternoon, everyone. As you can see, we reserved the place, so I could talk to all of you." Panimula nito. "In the next few weeks, this café will be catering to a special organization."

Napuno ng bulungan ang mga tao. Lucien continued, "It will be for the Kid's Happiness Foundation." Mas lalong lumakas ang bulungan, sinamahan pa ito ng ilang mga ipit na tili. Haven scanned the crowd and saw a lot of people smiling. Haven never heard of this foundation before. Orphanage ba 'yun?

"For their 25th year in service, they picked Soulful Cups to be the venue. So in the coming days, let's do our best to give them the greatest celebration of their lives!"

Matapos maipaliwanag ni Lucien ang lahat ng preparations na gagawin, sumigaw ang mga tao na para bang nasa isang concert. Everyone got fired up so quickly. Wow, ibang klase ang charm ni Lucien.

"Miss Ibarra," tawag ni Lucien matapos magsipagbalikan ng mga kasama nila sa trabaho. Lumingon si Haven at bahagyang ngumiti sa kanya bilang pagbati. "How was your first month?"

"Okay naman po. I'm learning a lot more about this café." Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin siya makapaniwala na nakatagal siya ng isang buwan sa coffee shop na ito. Parang kailan lang noong takot na takot pa siya kay Soul at nagbabalak na lumipat ng trabaho... but now, she's loving her job and not really that afraid of Chasers anymore.

"That's good! Our manager wants to meet you, follow me."

What?!

Hindi niya inaasahan 'yun ah! Come to think of it, Haven never knew the manager was different from Soul, akala nito ay iisa lang sila. Turns out he wasn't lying nang sabihin niyang wala ang manager noong nag-apply siya rito.

Sinundan nito si Lucien sa isang silid. This was the same room where Haven witnessed Soul eating a monster. After that incident, nilagyan na nila ng isang malaking sign na 'DON'T ENTER UNLESS INVITED' ang silid na ito upang hindi na mangyari iyon muli. Katabi nito ay ang kwarto ng mga empleyado na dapat niyang pinasukan noong araw na iyon. Haven inwardly chuckled. Ang shunga mo kasi, Haven.

A woman almost seemingly in her late 20s was sitting on a desk placed in the middle of the room. Iyon lang ang gamit na nando'n sa kwartong iyon, bukod sa malaking kabinet na nagsisilbing partition ng silid. Her black stilettos, skirt, and blazer made her skin glow. Haven stared at her blue eyes in awe.

"Ms. Haven Ibarra, this is our manager, Ms. Mavis Zastrow." pagpapakilala ni Lucien sa kanilang dalawa. "Ms. Zastrow, this is Ms. Ibarra."

Haven bowed her head a bit and tried to shake her hand, but the lady dismissed it.

"It's okay, and just refer to me as Mavis. We're all family here, anyway," sabi nito habang sinusuklay ang blonde niyang buhok gamit ang mga daliri. Tumayo na ito mula sa mesang inuupuan. "So... miss Haven, since you're new here, let me give you an idea on how things work when it comes to new employees. Alam kong hindi ka in-orient ni Mr. Gaviola when he hired you."