Chapter Four The day she met Him
1016 Words
The day for the competition was finally here. It felt like a dream in the eyes of Solange and even in the eyes of Moon herself. Moon was a bit anxious that she would be standing and cooking in front of a whole crowd of people.
She knew she could not mess things up whenever she was reminded of the prize money that could change her life forever. Solange pulled her into a hug and whispered words of encouragement into her ears, but she only laughed at Solange's pathetic attempt to being supportive.
Moon appreciated her best friend for at least coming to watch her cook. It was the least Solange could do for her after almost discouraging her from registering for the cooking show and also calling her food horrible.
The competition began with the host coming on stage to introduce himself as a member of Tees Enterprise. After rendering acknowledgment to all sponsors of the show, the competition began.
The competitors introduced themselves, and they were given an hour to prepare a delicacy.
After all that, the host took his time to appreciate the judges and that was when Moon set her eyes on Zanga Williams for the first time. She had seen him in Forbes Magazine a few times, but it felt better seeing her in reality, so she thought.
The results were announced and Moon did not even make it to the top three winners. She felt bad and thought everything was over until the beautiful moment when Zanga Williams approached her.
"Miss Chantel?" He had called her name gently.
Moon turned around to glare at no one other than Zanga who stood a few inches away from her with a raised brow. She nodded her head and walked toward him slowly, dumbstruck by how he remembered her name among the numerous contestants.
"Can I have a word with you for a brief moment?"
Moon seemed confused by his statement but nodded her head either way and carefully listened to whatever he had to say.
"Your meal. It was spectacular." Zanga had to say to her with a small smile on his face. It looked like he was relieving a memory on the past, and it melted Moon's heart that he actually thought her meal was spectacular even though she did not make it to the top three winners.
"Yeah, well, not all the judges thought my meal was spectacular. I appreciate your compliment though." Moon said with a light chuckle.
Zanga nodded his head, he was curious about the reason behind the meal she had prepared and why she chose to add Trumpet Vine flower to the salad she had made, so Zanga seized the opportunity to ask her immediately.
"The special ingredient? Trumpet Vine Flower? What was your reason behind that?" Zanga asked. He remained calm and watched her think of the right words to say. The reason Zanga felt interested in the Trumpet Vine Flower was because it symbolized something special to him and his late mother.
"Well, I only did that to impress the judges." Moon said, chuckling nervously.
Zanga knew it was more than that, so he rephrased his question.
"What do you know about the Trumpet Vine Flower and how does it have anything to do with cooking?"
She hummed for a brief moment thinking of the right words to present to Zanga. She wondered why he was so interested in the Trumpet Vine Flower, but she bothered not to ask because it would feel like she was prying too much into his life and that was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.
"Well, to me, cooking symbolizes love because it comes from the heart and it is the same thing applicable to The Trumpet Vine Flower. It symbolizes love, growth, resilience and reunion. I just thought it would be nice to make my salad with the Trumpet Vine Flower to showcase my love for cooking." Moon said with a small smile plastered on her face as she ranted about the Trumpet Vine Flower to Zanga who listened attentively to every detail she dropped.
Once she was done explaining, Zanga made a small applause that caused Moon to burst into laughter.
"You are very smart, Miss Chantel and I believe I could use your services at Tees Enterprise." Zanga said with a proud smirk on his face. Moon stared at Zanga with surprise. She was a bit unsure if he was joking or if he was actually serious. If she were to judge by his face though, then she would think of him as a serious person.
"Really?" Moon asked with her eyes wide open.
Zanga nodded his head. He digged his hand into his pocket and took out his business card.
He handed it to Moon, whom excitedly received it.
"Seven in the morning tomorrow. Your interview is scheduled for that time," He says. Moon nodded her head, she grinned widely while she stared abruptly at the business card in her hand.
Everything felt so unreal.
Zanga had excused himself and the next day, Moon had attended the interview.
She passed the interview perfectly and got the position as Zanga's secretary.
The first few weeks were tough for her, but she kept reminding herself of the huge paycheck that would settle her bills and change her life forever.
Moon kept pushing up until now.
Moon's sobbing increases as she jolts herself from her memories and back to reality. She sobs harder knowing fully well that she will have to continue to live this way up until she is financially stable and has more than enough to stand on her own.
She eventually sobers up, she rises to her feet and makes up her mind to find a way to make up for missing the meeting.
The determination in her causes her to stand back on her feet and think of possible ways to reschedule the important meeting.
She makes a promise to herself to be more diligent with her work and never let anything come in the way of her success.
- Writer
