Bonded: A game of hate, love, and obsession

ANDREA'S POV “We'll be graced with the presence of one of New York's biggest billionaires and it's very important for you all to know that he won't be coming alone. He will be showing up with very important public figures in the business world and to that effect, everything you all do, must be outstanding. Do you understand?” The manager of the restaurant echoed, making the crowd of his juniors nod in unison. I was only a 23-year-old lady in the city and while I would say that my job here was a miracle, my position as a mere waitress wasn't so pleasing either. It was all thanks to the man that was so close to ruining my life completely two years ago... He failed, though not completely and I wouldn’t even call myself much of a survivor. I barely survived those years. Each day in my duty post made me confirm that men were really spoiled brats who misused their funds and now that I'm hearing rumours about the said billionaire to be Leonardo… The name didn't sound pleasing at all but I just said silent prayers that he was not who I was thinking. From the whole preparation, it was obvious that this was going to be his first time coming to the restaurant, still, I felt like he would be the same as all others - perverted beasts. “Miss Andrea,” a calm voice interrupted my lines of thought. “The executive chef demands your presence right away,” she informed me before leaving the glassware on the long glass table. I adjusted my uniform, took a deep breath and headed out only to see a middle aged man giving me a death glare as if I had done something terribly wrong. “Y-you sent for me, sir,” I stammered, burying my face to the glossy marble floor. “As addressed earlier, Mr. Leonardo Rodriguez will be showing up tonight with the most respected business tycoons in the world. He has a hotel, but for reasons best known to me, he chose this restaurant. Don't make a mess out of that decision.” “I won't, sir,” I tried to sound more polite than curious. “Just five waiters will be on duty when they arrive. The restaurant will be closed in order to give them the privacy they need. I've appealed to the four and I'm doing the same to you, right now. Make sure to keep your hair up, your apron, sleeves, bow tie and everything else in place, Andrea. Nothing can go wrong here, especially since you're aware of the condition attached to your working here,” he reminded me, while I nodded in understanding. He dismissed me and I continued to carry out my duties until the said visitors made an entry. The atmosphere was somewhere between thick and thin and while meeting a lot of perverted beasts made me not to see men as something so special to mother nature, I couldn't risk messing up as the executive chef had warned me earlier. The restaurant was redecorated and everything was in its perfect place. The first batch of waiters left to take their orders, leaving only me and two others behind. I waited patiently until it was my turn to serve them. On entering the grand hall, I buried my face to the ground, refusing to look up or talk to any of them. There was a strange knot tied up in my chest the moment one of them tapped my hand. “Watch it,” he cautioned simply in the coldest voice I've ever heard. “I'm so sorry,” I rushed to say, still refusing to look at any of their faces Turning to leave, I accidentally tripped only to grabbed by my arm, abruptly. I was sure that whoever it was would be staring down at me in disgust. “Leave.” That was the only sound I heard before I could vanish. “Miss Andrea Morgan!” The executive chef hissed the instant he saw me, “The person you almost tripped on is Leonardo Rodriguez,” he stretched his name as if it belonged to a god, “This is my very last and nicest warning to you, don't screw this up!” With that he walked out on me. I guess he was going to apologise to them on my behalf but for odd reasons, I wasn't feeling sorry for what I did. I paced into the bathroom to calm myself, but the voice of the man kept echoing in my mind. The voice was something very angry for almost tripping. At the same time, it was cold and mysterious, it was familiar. Very familiar. “Think, think, think,” I whispered to myself and focused on trying to recall where and when I've heard that voice before while my hand lay side by side with the mirror. “Andrea, more orders were made. You are to serve them now,” my colleague announced with the most polite tone ever. I nodded in her direction before exhaling deeply. I turned on the tap and decided to wash my face while I prepared mentally before going out there again. Just then it occurred to me who he was. The monster of a billionaire and father of all perverted and twisted men. The one I really feared to meet again after what he did to my sister and I - Leonardo Rodriguez. I wasn't scared of him, though. I was just scared of my actions towards him if we ever crossed paths again and now, we just did. This time, I entered the room with a dangerous confidence, mixed with anger and unrefined hate. What I was about to do would definitely cost me my job, but I would always care less. “We finally met again, Leonardo Rodriguez.” My voice was thick from the unrefined resentment, tearing through the calmness in the room. First was a deafening tension, followed by Leonardo's burning gaze turned to my direction. “What nonsense is this, lady–” “This is two years!” I burst out, “Two years now since you sexually abused me and think you could buy my virginity with your filthy money!” I took furious steps forward, pointing my fingers at him as if they could send bullets straight into him. “Two years since I waited for the tiniest form of remorse but got none from you, two f*****g years, Leonardo Rodriguez, since you tricked my sister into sleeping with you and she couldn't even forgive herself for all the things you made her do and how you ditched her in the end!” I scolded. My lips were quivering, as my hate melted into an overwhelming sadness. My fingers were lost on the collar of his shirt which I pulled repeatedly while naming his sins to his face. His guests were looking at both of us in shock and he only attempted to act like I wasn't there. Leonardo was pretending that my pain didn't get to him nor made him feel sorry, and if the eyes could shoot daggers I would have been dead from the death glare he gave me before roughly snatching my hands from his collar. “I sincerely apologise for booking a mess of a restaurant–” “Stop trying to ignore me and tell them the truth!” I fired again, this time turning him abruptly, so he could see the result of his ruthlessness in me. “Don't f*****g ignore me when I'm talking to you,” I warned, breathing heavily as though I was a volcano about to erupt. His guest soon sensed how grave the matter was and rose to their feet. “Are her claims true, Mr Leonardo?” One of the men asked and from the way Leonardo's eyes twitched, I could tell that he was more powerful than Leonardo. “No. She's been my partner for a long time now and I never thought that she'd come up with something this bad to destroy my reputation,” he tried to sound firm, but his lips were trembling, he was shaking and he was lying. “I'm not your –” “Andrea!” The executive chef thundered from a mix of anger, disappointment and regret, but I ignored him. “This is all a personal issue and I didn't intend for things to turn out this way…” He trailed off when the other three men, whom I guessed were the said business tycoons, stood to leave. “Mr Leonardo, if you really have something as terrible as this going on in your life, fix it before talking about business again. See you next time.” With that, he kept trying to apologise and stop them from leaving, but it was too late for him. The grand hall fell so quiet if not for the sound of my ragging heart beat, the executive chef's death glare and finally, was an icy breath against the soft skin behind my ear. “I, Leonardo Rodriguez, will make you pay so dearly for this, Andrea Morgan.”