Fatal Attraction

GINA If exhausted was a noun, I would be the perfect example to show for it. I was drained; my bones were aching and it seemed as if my blood had clotted and it was not flowing again. Worse of all, with the number of people still coming in through the double glass doors of the restaurant which was buzzing with noise as if it was noon and not five pm, it seemed like I was not going home anytime soon. "What are you doing relaxing on the kitchen door, Gina Georgia?" I turned around quickly to see the five foot thick black skinned Mr Smith who was my manager. I quickly stood at alert. My body was already aching; I could not afford one hour ranting from Mr Smith. "I was waiting for the chefs to serve the orders I have given to them so I could serve our customers" I quickly said. For a moment, he looked at me looking for another complaint to pick on so he could still get to do his one hour ranting but having found none, he said, "Get serious with work." Oh please. With a stiff smile on my face, I watched him strode to his office before reclining back on the Kitchen doorway before I would get my orders. Okay, I didn't hate my job here, at least that much. In fact, I enjoyed asking customers what they would love to eat, then watch them bend their head over the menu deliberating on what to choose, then serve them the food with a generous smile while expecting my tips that most of the time always came because my service was top-notch. I enjoyed building friendships with many of the regular customers. From working here, I knew most of them's special events such as birthdays and anniversaries because their family would come and ask us for a way to make them feel special on those days. I was good at granting those kind of requests and it gladdens my heart when they beamed their gratitude with so much energy to me. It made me happy when I could make other people have smiles on their faces. I enjoyed the camaraderie between the staff. I knew most of the staff family members by their first name because of the easy friendship we have cultivated in the space of four years I have been working here. From the chefs to the doormen, everyone looked out for one another and saved each other's asses if any one of us needed it. Besides Mr Smith of course. That stuffy man who would rather complain than do his job was the only staff in this restaurant I could not relate with. What I didn't enjoy was the fact that Kings Restaurant was understaffed despite them having the reputation of being one of the best in Trenton and despite having a lot of customers. It was funny how a restaurant like this with over one hundred customers coming in every day had only three waiters to attend to them. They also had just five chefs to cook the variety of meals they serve their customers every single day. Worse of it all, On Fridays which was today, they would do twenty percent discount on the prices of all their meals making the restaurant turn to a market place. But did they add any more staff to come help out? No. Which was why I was so drained today. I didn't know why the management board making these decisions of recruiting staff was like this but I bet Mr Smith had a whole lot to contribute to it. That short greedy talkative. The pay was cool though. I don't know how I would have been affording my mum bills at the nursing home otherwise. Or assist my boyfriend, Ken financially since he got laid off from work two month after we started dating for six months now. That is why I was still at the job. That was why most of us were still at the restaurant working our asses everyday. As Chef Mike, one of the veteran chefs in the restaurant called out my name so I could get the meals I had given them orders for, I prayed silently for 6PM to come quickly enough so I could go home and pull out of this sweaty clothes of mine. I balanced the tray of food on my right hand as I told myself "One more hour. One more hour to go and you can pamper yourself with a glass of wine from that Merlot bottle that is in your fridge, Gina" then went back into dining area to do my work. *** *** *** **** **** **** **** **** **** 6: 30PM Finally, the day was over. God, how I hate Friday because of the heavy workload that come with it. I was so glad that I was through with everything and I could go home now. As I washed my face with the water from the sink tap in the restroom, my fingers trembled. I looked up at the mirror opposite me that was above the sink and studied my features. It was a miracle that I didn't look as exhausted as I felt. My brown hair which was in layers around my neck still nearly looked the way the way it had when I left my apartment that morning. My green eyes which I have always thought to be my most arresting feature still twinkled when I smiled wearily at the mirror. I was relieved I was not going to go out into the street looking like a nightmare. I put on my strap bag, and walked out into the kitchen. Only one of the Chefs remained. She was sitting on a chair, her head on one of the recently cleaned Kitchen table. "Hey, Marie" I called and she looked up looking at me with exhausted black eyes. "You are not going home yet?" I asked with concern. "Peter is coming with our car to take me home. Man, I really am too tired to board a bus and then walked from the bus stop to my house. I tried all the online cab services I know and they said they were tied down with work." "So sorry, Marie. I hope Peter is not going to take much time coming. "—I glanced at my wrist watch —"it is already few minutes till seven pm." "It is okay, Gina. He said he will be here in ten minutes. Atleast, we know Mr Smith is still in his office till nine'o'clock. I will be fine. You go home." "Alright. Let me go before I crumple here on the floor out of exhaustion." I said and left the kitchen. The maids were still cleaning the dining area for tomorrow work as I walked in. I waved good night at them before leaving the restaurants through the entrance door. Outside, I instantly felt the evening wind chill my face. I wrapped my coat tighter around me as I walked to my apartment My apartment was about ten miles away and was basically a thirty minute walk if I used my usual route. I would have contemplated boarding a cab but the evening traffic would have made me stay on the road longer than I would if I had trekked. Since it was a Friday evening, the roads were more busy as people who were coming from work and those who were going to places of rekaxation for the weekend crowded the roads with their cars. I frowned when I saw that I could not really see more than twenty feet ahead of me because it had gotten pretty dark. Not that I was afraid to walk in the night but because there have been a lot of small robberies after dark lately on my usual route. That was because it usually look lonely immediately it was 7PM and it was getting dark. I didn't have much money on me, just five dollars because I usually don't like to walk around with much cash. But I had my phone, a gadget that I had bought only two months ago and which was important to me because I had started writing lyrics again for songs in my phone and it www something I couldn't afford to lose. I didn't want to risk it. So I turned left to walk the longer and safer route to my house. I was exhausted, yes but that does not mean I should lost my phone as well. Barely able to put one leg in front of the other, I walked down the street. There were openef stores lined on both side of the street which was the main reason the street was still busy at this time. Lights from the stores spilled out from the street. I hummed to myself as I worked; my strength being fueled by the idea of a long luxurious hot bath and the glass of wine aI had promised myself. While thinking about how Ken and I had not talked on phone today because of my busy schedule at work, a movement made me turn to my eyes to the other side of the street. At first, because it had become more dark, all I could see were silhouettes walking in the same direction that I was going to, then my eyes got accustomed to the darkness and I could make out the outlines of the persons who I counted as three; two tall persons with a shorter one. On seeing their faces well, I froze, my blood running cold