The Second Chance Doesn't Exist

Chapter 3. Lunch

After hanging up the phone with Javier, Ilenia went to her car to head to the restaurant. She felt a bit freer and relieved when Javier informed her that everything was in order. She smiled cheerfully and told herself that everything would turn out fine.

She arrived at Pott and everyone was watching her. She couldn't go unnoticed as she was a very beautiful woman. She was slender with milky skin, eyes as black as the night, and short black hair. She had an impressive natural beauty, which she had inherited from her mother, who was also an extremely beautiful woman.

She reached the entrance and approached the maître d'.

"Good day, I'm here to meet Mr. Mayer," she said with a slight smile, looking charming.

The maître d' was surprised; this girl knows the great Mr. Mayer. He smiled, thinking to himself, of course, she's beautiful and classy; only people like that mingle with the same class of people.

"Follow me, miss, this way please, the great Mr. Mayer is waiting for you." He guided her with a smile on his face to where her table was.

Arriving at the table, she saw the old man, and he looked very different from the first time she saw him. That time he wore very casual clothes and looked quite disheveled, and now it was the complete opposite. He wore a custom-made brown suit and had a very neat hairstyle; he looked quite dapper. The man lifted his gaze just as they arrived at the table.

"My dear, you arrived just in time, you're very punctual, something difficult in young people. Go ahead, take a seat."

The maître d' pulled out the chair to offer her the seat, and she nodded in gratitude.

Ilenia smiled at the old man. "I'm very glad to see you again, sir," and she smiled at him.

"Please, don't call me sir, dear. It makes me feel old, haha. Well, I am an old man, but don't tell anyone, it's a secret," he said, putting his hand beside his lips and winking. They both laughed, and she nodded.

"We didn't introduce ourselves last time, my dear, and that was bothering me, so this lunch is to thank your kind heart and to introduce ourselves." He took her hand, and she felt a warmth in her heart that she hadn't felt in the last five days. Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"No sir, my name is Will Mayer, and you can call me Grandpa Will."

"Alright, Grandpa Will. I'm Ilenia Toms."

Mr. Mayer was surprised to hear her name and couldn't help but sigh sadly.

"So you are Ilenia, my dear, I'm very sorry for what happened to your parents in the past few days," he said, taking her hand and caressing it.

"Thank you, Grandpa, it's okay, I think it was meant to be."

"Well, if you need help with anything, please don't hesitate to ask me. I'll do everything possible to help you, dear."

Ilenia smiled and expressed her gratitude.

They came to take their order and chose their dishes. The lunch passed by smoothly as they talked about the things they liked, what they did, and what they were dedicated to. Grandpa Mayer spent his time gardening at his villa and told her he liked flowers, only because his late wife liked them.

He mentioned he had a curable heart condition, but he was afraid of surgeries because his beloved wife died during one, and he didn't want to leave Samuel, his grandson, alone as he was his only family along with his daughter-in-law, Samuel's mother.

They continued chatting, getting to know each other, and everything went well. They spent two hours talking, feeling so at ease with each other that they didn't want to stop talking.

"Grandpa, I have to go, I have things to do. We can continue our chat another day," she said with a smile, feeling warmth in her heart whenever she called him Grandpa.

"Of course, dear, we'll arrange another day. Don't forget to save my number so you can call me anytime you need something. I sleep lightly and can respond immediately," he smiled at his new granddaughter.

Ilenia nodded and got up from the table, hugged Grandpa Mayer tenderly, and said goodbye without further ado. Grandpa Mayer took his phone and called his grandson; the call went through immediately.

"Hi Sam, are you busy? I need to talk to you," he said with a mischievous smile.

"Grandpa, what do you want to talk about? Shouldn't you be resting? It sounds very noisy, where are you?"

"Stop scolding me, you sound like my father. I'll head to the office, so give me a few hours before we talk."

"(Sigh) I have a tight schedule today, but I'll be home before dinner. Is that okay? And we can talk about whatever you want."

Samuel adored his grandfather and couldn't deny him anything, so he felt compelled to grant his wish, even though he hadn't been to the Mayer mansion in months.

"Alright," said Mr. Mayer.

"Jhon, clear my schedule after 5, I'll have dinner with my grandfather."

"Of course, sir."

Jhon was Samuel's assistant and right-hand man; they had known each other since university and were very close. When Samuel took over the company, he gave him a job because he was a very capable person, and over time, he became very efficient at everything.

Ilenia was on her way to see her friend Lilian, from there she would send her résumé to different companies to look for a job, as she wouldn't just sit around doing nothing and run out of money.

Lilian had a famous local pastry shop, so she always had customers, but she had a VIP table next to the counter for her friends when they came to visit, to enjoy a delicious dessert and have a coffee.

The door of the place opened, and a small bell rang; a beautiful woman entered who couldn't go unnoticed.

"My little one," said Lilian, walking over to hug her friend.

"Come, sit down, tell me what you're doing here so early. I'll bring you your favorite dessert while you tell me," she smiled warmly and went behind the counter for a blackberry cheesecake.

She sat next to her, and they began to chat.

"Tell me, is something wrong, sweetie?" Lilian asked.

"No, I'm just still a bit sad, but I think it's normal," she showed a smile, "I'll wait here until you close, and then we can leave together, okay?"

"Sure, sweetie, do you want anything else while you wait?"

"Mmm, no thanks, the cake is enough, I've already eaten. I'll send my résumé while I wait."

"Okay, you know I'm here if you need anything."

Lilian didn't come from a well-off family like Ilenia, but they had been friends since meeting in high school. She called her "sweetie" because she was the youngest of the three; when they met, Ilenia was only 15, while Lilian and Javier were already 17.

Lilian didn't have the opportunity to study at university because she didn't have the resources, but what she didn't expect was that being such good friends, Ilenia's parents would pay for her entire university education. She was very grateful for everything they had done for her, so she didn't hesitate to help her best friend in everything when her parents passed away.

Since Lilian didn't like taking orders from anyone, she decided to study pastry and open her own business. She took out a bank loan and managed to create a great place.