Emma could not believe her eyes. Sitting in the front, at a corner table, were April, Joel and Nathan. She could not read Nathan's expression, but Joel looked sympathetic and April looked curious. She averted her gaze and served her remaining customers.
As she cleared her last table Alexei got up from his chair and followed her to the kitchen. He waited for her outside the kitchen door.
When she came out he motioned for her to stop.
"Yes, Mr. Popov?"
"I want to see you before you leave, come to my office."
"Yes, Mr. Popov."
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Half an hour later, Emma knocked on "the door of death". The staff nicknamed it like that because, once staff were summoned in there, they never returned.
"Come in, Emmerentia," Alexei commanded.
Emma took a deep breath before entering. She was tired of the horrible day she had, but even if she did have some energy left, she could not win against this man. She was not even a permanent employee, so she did not have a foot to stand on.
Alexei was sitting on the other side of a wide mahogany desk. He motioned for her to take the seat in front of him. Emma sat down and waited for him to speak.
Five minutes passed in silence, whilst Alexei's fingers glided across the keyboard of his laptop. Emma was a puddle of sweat and a bundle of nerves.
"What is the name that the staff call that door?" Alexei asked.
"The door...door of...of death, Mr. Popov," Emma stammered.
"Why do they call it that Emmerentia?"
"No-one who's been summoned in here, re...returns to...to their job, Mr. Popov."
"Good, atleast you know what to expect."
"I...I'll clear my locker and return my uniform tomorrow, Mr. Popov," Emma said, getting up, "Thank you, f...for gh..giving me this job, Mr. Popov."
"You're going to leave just like that?" Alexei's right brow was cocked.
Alexei motioned for her to sit down, she obeyed.
"Don't you want to know why you're being fired?"
Emma remained silent, looking at her fingers in her lap.
"I asked you a question!"
Emma hopped in her chair, but remained quiet.
"If you're not interested in knowing then I'm not interested in telling you. Go! The staff transport is waiting for you."
"I'm ss...sorry for disappointing you, Mr. Popov," Emma said, before closing the door behind her, but Alexei already had his back turned to her.
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The ride in the minivan taxi was unusually quiet. Emma's co-workers did not know how to broach the subject about "the door of death". Some were curious and other's pittied her.
It was just after 01:00 when the taxi stopped in front of her residence, she was the last stop. Emma greeted the driver and got out of the empty taxi.
Emma took a quick shower. Her tears and silent cries mingled with the water.
She set her alarm and put her earplugs in, where she lived that was a dangerous thing to do. However, she did not care if a killer snuck up to her and took her life. Her life felt like a waste at that point.
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"I felt so sorry for that girl last night," April said, sipping a banana smoothie.
Nathan sat down next to her and Joel at a table of the hotel they were staying at. They were sitting in the dining hall with a full continental breakfast spread out before them.
"Yeah, it must have been a bummer having your father be thrown in jail. That stepmother of hers has such a potty mouth," Joel said.
Nathan concentrated on spreading butter on his toast.
"She created such a ruckus. Why would you complain about the price of the food, when you know what kind of establishment it is?" April added, "Let's not forget that dad of hers, ooh!"
"You two should finish up, we have a busy day ahead of us," Nathan said.
"Yeah, a busy day that starts with bad news," April said.
"The two of you can go without me. I have a ton of e-mails to get to. I'll join you in the afternoon," Joel said.
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Emma reached the café fourty minutes before her shift was due to start, at ten.
She had been awake all night, rolling around in bed, before getting up at five to do some spring cleaning and wash her hair. There was no use wasting more time in bed.
She put on a pair of ankle grazing boyfriend jeans, a white t-shirt, and a denim shirt in a the same medium blue colour as the jeans. The same white sneakers from the previous day adorned her feet. Her hair was in a twisted bun and a clear lipgloss coated her full lips with no other make-up. A pair of aviator sunglasses, sitting on top of her button nose framed her oval face beautifully.
Emma had just walked through the revolving doors when she spotted Ruth leaning against the counter. The worried look on her face did not go unnoticed by Emma.
"Emma, you're early," Ruth said.
"Yes, I'll just put my protective wear on before I clock in."
"That can wait, the Adams' are here."
Emma looked to her right, where a waving April greeted her, but as usual Nathan's eyes were fixed on his phone. Emma sighed, but waved back at April.
"April was asking for you, but the groom insisted on talking to me only. Another client wanted to speak to me, so I excused myself. I have a bad feeling," Ruth said.
"Me too," Emma said.
"You can go talk to them whilst I talk to the booked client," Ruth replied.
Emma nodded her head, taking her sunnies of and placing them in her black slingbag as she walked to them. She steeled herself against the cold and disinterested look in Nathan's eyes. His face looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.
"Hello," Emma said looking at both of them, flinching at the nod he gave her.
"Emma, you look exhausted. Did you sleep last night?"April asked.
"I'm fine. Just s...seasonal allergies," Emma replied, "what brings you here?"
There was silence as April looked at Nathan. He sat up straighter in his chair.
"We are not interested in doing business with with you," Nathan replied.
Emma felt the tears pricking again.
"That was a bit harsh," April scolded him, "Are you okay? You look sad."
"I'm okay," Emma replied.
"I really want to work with Extravaganza Desserts, but this is a destination wedding and there's a lot of expenses. Even more than with a normal wedding. I hope that we haven't wasted your time. I'm truly sorry," April said.
"It's your wedding, you can do whatever you want. I wish you the best for all your future endeavours," Emma replied, looking at April and getting up, "I don't want to keep you any longer. I'm sure that you have a lot to do."
Nathan got up from his seat and picked up his phone from the table. April followed suit.
"Thanks again for your time," April said.
Emma's smile never reached her eyes, as Nathan left the café in a hurry. April took long strides to keep up with him.
Ruth who was sitting at the back of the café gave Emma a questioning look. Emma gave her the thumbs down sign.
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April, Joel and Nathan were back at Popov's. Nathan refused to go, but April and Joel nagged him untill he gave in. Anyway, what reason could he give for his refusal? They had no idea about his history with Emma and he wanted to keep it that way.
"I love the food here. It's not too bad," April said.
"What a compliment," Joel said, the sarcasm oozing from his lips.
Nathan paid little attention as his eyes scanned the packed bar wondering where she was. It was half past seven, so maybe she was still on her way. It was better if she had an off night. Yes, he convinced himself that it was better, but his eyes were glued to the door.
Their waitress arrived a few minutes before eight, with a plate of steak, pork ribs, mashed potatoes and pureéd peas for each of them. They had not ordered earlier on because Nathan had claimed that he wanted to take his time scanning the menu, and he was just not the menu. He had the task of ordering from all three.
"You took your sweet time, but all you ordered was pub grub," Joel remarked ,"not that I'm complaining."
"Correction: delicious pub grub," April said.
Nathan hardly tasted the food, yet again his eyes were going to and fro. He wondered where she was, the time was already quarter past eight when Nokubonga, their waitress, asked them if they were ready to order wine.
"Yes, I think that we should get some red wine," April said.
"Fine by me. Order whatever you like," Nathan replied.
The waitress arrived five minutes later, with two bottles of the red beverage. She was about to turn on her heel when April stopped her.
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"Can you tell us where Emma is," April asked.
"Emmerentia Malgas?"
"Yes, her."
The waitress looked nervous, but she hadn't seen Alexei all evening. Well, she hadn't been there long, but still he was probably not around. The other shift had said that they had not seen him either. She could talk with no worries.
"She does not work here."
"But, she was here last night," April countered.
"She was, but...well, she got fired," Nokubonga said, looking pained.
The three of them looked at each other.
"That's awful," April said, while Joel and Nathan passed brief glances between each other.
"It is, but atleast she has another job. This place is about to be sold to someone else, and we will all be jobless. I hope and pray that it doesn't happen, however, I think it's inevitable. Anyways, enjoy your food," the waitress replied as she left them for another table.
They were still processing the information when Alexei stepped out of his office. He sat down at a reserved table near the bar counter, well it was the only reserved table in that crowded place. Nathan watched him for several minutes. Alexei kept checking the time on his expensive Rollex watch.
Nathan hadn't even noticed when Emma passed him untill she sat down opposite Popov. He had no idea how he had not noticed her, with that red, form fitting, knee length dress she had on. Her black coils were framing her face beautifully. Her left side was facing him.
"Look, Emma is here!" April exclaimed.
Emma looked at Alexei who had only acknowledged her presence with a soft "sit down" whilst his eyes never left the menu in front of him. When Nokubonga walked close to him he stopped her and gave her his order. The waitress did her best to keep her facial features neutral, despite her curiosity.
"I brought my uniform and the keys to my locker, I'll give it to you and leave, Mr. Popov," Emma said, fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.
"You can give it to the floor manager after dinner," Alexei replied.
Emma knew that Alexei was a cruel and heartless man, but to make her hang around untill after he was done with his date, was just plain rude. But what could she do she needed a good reference from him. Disobeying him would make an enemy of him and she couldn't afford that.
"I'll go to the back and wait untill your date is finished," Emma said, getting up.
"Sit down," Alexei said through gritted teeth.
Emma obeyed quickly. "Yes, Mr. Popov."
Emma fidgeting with the hairs in her nape, she looked to the barman who gave her a sympathetic smile. She looked back at Alexei, who studied her face intently.
An excruciatingly silent ten minutes later, saw Nokubonga returning with the food.
"One plate for me and another for Emmerentia," he said.
Emma and Nokubonga shared eye contact for a brief second, whilst the waitress placed the food in front of her.
"Emmerentia, what would you like to drink?" Alexei inquired.
Emma stared at him like he was speaking in a foreign tongue, all though, he had a very thick Russian accent. Not that anyone ever complained about it, Emma certainly did not.
"I expect a response when I'm talking to someone. Mind reading is not one of my many talents," Alexei said.
"Oh...Er, wa...water is fine, Mr. Popov," Emma stammered.
"Sparkly or regular?"
"Regular, Mr. Popov."
"Dig in before the food gets cold."
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Popov."
Emma slowly bit into the chicken and broccoli dish. It was delicious, but it was hard to concerntrate on the food when Alexei's eyes were constantly on her. The other staff were also not making things easier with their prying eyes, asking questions that she had no answers too.
Emma was halfway through her dinner when Alexei spoke up.
"After what happened last night, the prospective buyer is looking elsewhere. He said that he does not want to be haunted by a bad reputation," Alexei said, staring into Emma's eyes.
Emma sipped some of the water, her hands shaking despite the sweltering humidity. She chose to blame it on the airconditioning. That must have been the cause.
"I have to get back to my family in Russia. I have no other choice, but to find a new buyer."
Emma wondered why he was explaining this to her, it was none of her business. However, if he kept the place, jobs would be saved. That was by far the best option.
"May...maybe you should get a manager, Mr. Popov," Emma suggested.
"No, I doubt that I'll be back again. I want to cut all my ties here," Alexei said, "My father is very ill. I need to be there and take over the family business. I can't wait any longer."
Emma understood his predicament, but she couldn't help but wonder what business his family was into. It was probably in the hospitality industry as well, she figured.
Something bothered her, it was a familiar foe.
"I can't wait untill March, so I'll get someone to manage the place untill then," He continued.
"You're leaving me too," Emma whispered, but Alexei heard her.
Alexei had no response for the woman sitting opposite him. He was surprised by the sad tone in her voice. He was under the impression that she did not like him. He knew for a fact that she was afraid of him. She was a puzzle to him. He would not reply with a cliché, it was better to stay quiet.
"Do you need anything else, Mr. Popov?" the waitress asked.
"Emmerentia, what dessert do you want?" Alexei asked.
"No, thanks, Mr. Popov," Emma said.
"Nothing for us, but you can bring the bill. I'm paying for all the food."
Nathan had ordered the fourth bottle of red wine. Initially, he had no plans to drink, but the more he looked at Alexei and Emma the darker his mood got.
"We should leave," He said.
"No! I want to talk to Emma. I have to apologise for taking our business somewhere else," April said.
"Apologize, apologize, apologize! Haven't you apologized enough?" Nathan replied.
"Enough, you two. You're causing a scene," Joel intervened, "We're leaving right now!"
Nathan looked across the floor where Emma's dark eyes were staring into his green ones. A pained look marred her beautiful mahogany features.