DISCOVERING DREW

CHAPTER 11

I woke up with the kitchen knife directly where I left it,beside me. I sighed. At least the man was not a killer and gladly,I was alive. I checked my time and it was still 7am in the morning.

Grateful that I didn't oversleep,I immediately rushed into the bathroom,brushed my teeth and washed my face. I wasn't about to meet this man with my morning breath and drools all over my face. I kind of hoped that he wouldn't be at home so I would sneak out without him seeing me again.

I stepped out of the room,still wearing the clothes the man gave me,with my own clothes folded on my hands. I had the intention of washing the clothes, returning it personally to him while thanking him for helping me. But now,I needed to get out of this house before I lost my sanity.

I got to the living room and mentally cursed to myself. He was sitting there ,scrolling through his phone quietly. I contemplated passing through the front door without saying anything but I knew that was just plain rude.

Before I could even think of any further action to take,he said,"Don't worry about thanking me. It's fine. I have called the police on the situation of yesterday,so there's no need calling them yourself anymore".

"Okay." I muttered,grateful that he didn't make me stay longer in his house by demanding I show him gratitude.

I was about leaving through the door when he said something making me stop.

"It's Roman. My name. I figured you'd want to know since you referred to me as 'whatever your name was' ".

I turned around,gave him one last look and nodded. Then I closed his door and went back to my apartment.

---

As soon as I got home,I immediately kept my worn clothes in the basket where I used to harbour dirty clothes for laundry. I went out immediately for my morning run. I needed it to release the frustrations that had been piling within me for days now.

I didn't want to waste much time so I just ran a certain distance and ran back home. I wanted to get to work as soon as possible. I didn't want to have the time to process my thoughts. So I took my bath immediately,made a very light breakfast, ate and set to work immediately.

While I worked,a thought came to me. Should I call the police myself with regards to last night's events? But Blue eyes(I guess I had to start calling him Roman now but calling him Roman in my head sounded a bit too familiar to me and I didn't want to be familiar with this man but I guess I didn't have any option) or rather Roman said he had already called the cops since the incident happened in our neighbourhood so I decided to go with that. Frankly going to the station to report that someone was following me,was an unneeded stress at the moment.

So I made calls immediately to have my car fixed. I called the mechanic and he arrived within a short period of time and as soon as he was done fixing the car,I paid him off.

I was glad my car was fixed so there was no way I would be seen walking alone by 3am in the morning from work,talk more of someone actually following me, probably to rob or kill me.

I completed my work for the day and took a quick refreshing nap. I showered, changed into my 'other work' clothes,and stepped outside.

I started my car and drove to the club.

Also soon as I got to the club,Luca was already there, even though this time around,I made it earlier than the previous day. And he was also with another person on the counter,a girl on apron who I presumed was the 'Bella' he had aforementioned.

I entered and plastered a very big smile on my face. As soon as Luca noticed me,he started dancing around happily, gently patting the girl beside him.

I walked up to them,confused as to how I would address the girl,I was already used to Luca but this new person,I didn't know how to relate to. I was hoping she didn't find me awkward because of my social anxiety.

As soon as we came in contact,Luca said,"Drew,this is Bella! My best friend in the whole world and beyond,and also our co-worker. Bella,meet Drew. The our new colleague and as you can see,he's hot". Luca finished by wriggling his eyebrows at Bella,smiling mischievously.

Bella on the other hand said,"It's so funny Luca,that you didn't describe me with 'hot' to me when introducing me. I am so betrayed right now." She even jokingly touched her chest to demonstrate how hurt she was.

Luca replied,"Oh come on,Bella. You are the most beautiful person in the whole world. Words cannot describe how much you mean to me".

"And you still haven't said I am hot though. I want to be hot,and not the most beautiful person in the whole world. Say it Luca,say I am hot" She threatened.

"But Bella,being described as the most beautiful person in the whole is much more better than someone saying you are hot. In my opinion of course" Luca insisted,sounding even more impressed with himself.

"No,Luca I need to be hot. Say it!"

They continued their bickering which I found very funny,while completely ignoring me in the process. If this would be my co-workers henceforth,I had no problem with that. I already liked Luca very much and Bella seemed like she was cool as well.

They finally stopped and Bella, remembering she didn't even acknowledge me,said "I am so sorry. Luca is so annoying sometimes. I am Bella,nice to meet you. I heard you have met Fat Tony himself. I still wonder why he employed you immediately. A friend of mine applied just before you and Fat Tony didn't even waste time in dismissing her. But hey,I am glad you got the job though,Luca says you are a very cool person".

She extended her hand for a handshake, which I shook.

The rest of the night was spent working. It turned out Bella was even better than Luca at doing the job and she too, was willing to put me through everything as well. And I learnt fervently. I'd always been a fast learner so by the time I got to my fourth and fifth customers,I was even better than I was the previous day.

We continued working. The music was very loud as usual. People filled up the bar,some came,spend a lot of time and left. Others came and just drank probably a shot or two and left.

Luca was very engaging to the customers. Even Bella as well. I wasn't and frankly,I didn't have the energy to talk continuously to them. But Luca did the job like it was his forte. He would smile at them,even listen to them sometimes. Some of them were extra chatty so Luca would end up giving them what seemed like useful life advices. Surprisingly for someone who was always very playful,he could sound very meaningful when he wanted to. He was playful as well to some while the others he showed tough love. I never failed to listen to him whenever he was talking to them. This boy was a bundle of joy and he didn't even know it. He got more tip than rest of us because majority of people found him very likable and appealing. Even some guys were very much interested him to the extent of asking him for his number which he always gave them. I later asked him how he was able to give out his mobile number to that amount to people,he replied that most times,the number he gave them was fake but he gave his real number to the ones he liked.

Bella on the other hand, regardless of how good she was with the mixing of the drinks,she wasn't really much chatty with the customers but Bella was good-looking and smiled a lot so she also got a lot of tips as well. The tips came majorly from men who found her attractive. Most of the time,they wanted to have her number but I never saw her give it out. Maybe she was in a relationship,I did not know. Something was telling me I'd eventually find out because a combination of her and Luca weren't exactly what I would call secretive.

I stopped and noticed that Luca was now staring dreamily at someone who just walked into the club. I turned around and saw who it was. The person was walking directly towards us. The person in question was a man, tall, with green eyes,a long straight nose and because he was smiling,he was exposing his set of white teeth. The man looked like he went to gym a lot, looking extremely fit in his rich clothes.

He walked up to the counter and sat in one of the seats. He said with a big smile across his face and his white teeth shining, "Hi Luca! Bella!. What's up,guys?"

For the first time in my life,I saw Luca unable to express himself. He was looking at the man now with laser focus,all red on the face. My goodness! This was so cute to watch. He really did have a crush on this man. I didn't blame him though. The man was a sight to behold.

Bella was the one who answered him,"Henny! Hi,we are fine. Really. Don't mind Luca for not answering. You know how he always is around you."

The man spoke to Luca, without minding that Luca was just gawking at him,"Luca,so you won't say anything to me today? Not even a word?"

Luca finally answered," I-I am sorry,I just,not, you know in a right state- I am fine. Very fine actually." He responded awkwardly. It didn't even sound like his voice. I had never seen Luca stammer. Not even a little bit even when he was calling me hot,he never acted like this. It was entirely fun to watch.

The man turned to me with a nice warm smile, while saying,"Let me guess you are the new one. It's nice to meet you. They both have been complaining a lot of the work being too tedious for them to handle alone. Welcome to the establishment. I am Henny by the way. And no,it's not Hennessy,it's Henry but I prefer Henny". He extended his hand for a handshake which I shook.

"Drew. My name" I told him

He nodded, smiling,and turned to Bella's direction and said,"He's in,right?"

Bella seemed to know exactly who he was talking about and she nodded. The man smiled one last time at us with his eyes lingering a little bit more on Luca,got off the seat in front of the counter and started walking up the stairs to Fat Tony's office. I wasn't even aware Fat Tony was around all these while. That would mean he came in before I did. My face instantly contorted with horror.

I turned to Luca saying, "You didn't even tell me Fat Tony was around all these while".

Luca,finally back to the person I knew and was familiar with, answered,"Oh yes. He is. He came just immediately I did." He added as soon as he noticed how worried my face looked,"Oh chill. He won't do anything to you. You came into work as early as possible. He has a surveillance camera in his office. I am sure he saw the time you came in."

"Oh thank God! By the way,so Henny is your man? The love of your life?" I said,almost laughing.

As expected Luca's face changed immediately to a deep red shade and he looked like he almost wanted to cry. Bella was equally beside him laughing her heart out.

This was definitely not the last Luca would be taunted by us,infact,I was afraid it was just the beginning.