Chapter 43 - 43

Kelly was working at the cafe, and it was a bit busy today. She had been working non-stop since she came in and barely had a second to rest.

PA Jack was relieved that these days his workload had been reduced. After his boss started courting Ava, he was not as obsessed about work, he had even relaxed a little bit, no more over time, they even had some free time today.

Instead of going home, he came to the cafe where Kelly worked. He did not have her number and did not know whether she worked in the cafe every day.

He thought he'd try his luck anyway, so he entered the cafe and searched for her, but he was a little disappointed because he did not find her right away. 

"Excuse me, Sir, I know the place is a little crowded, but there is one table at the corner if you want to take that," another waiter said to Jack.

He was already inside the cafe and thought leaving now may seem rude, so he decided to have one cup of coffee before going home. And just when he sat down, he saw her. Kelly had been in the kitchen, filling out some of the orders when he came in. 

"Hi, Kelly!" Jack excitedly called out when he saw her.

She was surprised to see him, "What are you doing here?" she asked as she walked toward him.

"Oh I was passing by and thought of having a cup of coffee," he lied.

Kelly's bad opinion about Jack had been wiped clean, now she just treated him politely like any other customer.

"Let me take your order," Kelly said.

"What would you suggest?" PA Jack asked.

"Hmm... let me see. I would suggest that you get an order of Antoccino and a blueberry muffin," Kelly suggested.

"Okay, I want to order that," Jack smiled, anything just so he could talk to her longer.

In his 25 years, he had never liked anyone, his concentration was on his studies, and later even with all the blind dates, he thought that he would never find anyone.

Jack was never attracted to Kelly when they first met. He thought she was from an upper-class family because she went to school with the rest of them. All he wanted was someone from the middle class who would not look down on him, someone who would appreciate him for who he was.

Kelly was very feisty and did not pretend to put up an image like everyone else, and that's what impressed him, she dressed casually, nothing showy or seductive. When he found out she worked at the cafe he was smitten, because that meant she was independent and a very hard worker, qualities he was looking for in his future wife.

When she caught his eye, all he could think about was dating her with marriage in mind. He had no intention of fooling around and playing games, but he was scared to ask her out because she was very headstrong.

"What if she rejects me in front of all these people? I don't think I can live up to the humiliation," he thought. 

Jack was very intelligent, and a soft-hearted person, not bossy like Tristan. He did not have enough courage to trick a girl and make her fall for him.

He had seen what his boss planned for Ava, he was setting her up for a love trap, but he did not think that would work on Kelly. He believed he should woo her just like they do in romantic movies, but he is in for a surprise because Kelly will not be moved by any of these.

Kelly came with his order while he was pondering what he should do. "Hey, why don't you join me," Jack said, and she looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you aware that I am working right now, and employees are not supposed to sit with customers?" Kelly said sarcastically.

Jack felt like a fool, the movies always showed the gentlemen always inviting the lady for coffee, but they never showed one where the lady was a waitress.

"Oh sorry," Jack said, thinking of another way to spend time with her.

"What time will your shift end?" he asked.

"Why are you asking?" Kelly replied, suspicious of his motives.

"Oh it's almost dark so I thought I could drop you off," he said.

"You don't need to do that, you can leave after you finish your coffee," Kelly said sternly.

"But it's not safe," Jack said, concerned about her.

"Look mister, I've been doing this for a while, I walk to the dorm, and nothing has happened to me, and just like every day, I'll manage. I need to go, there are customers waiting for me," Kelly said, as she turned to go.

"Wait!" he called out.

"What now?" Kelly turned around, irritated.

"What about the lunch which you promised me?" Jack asked, calling in her promise, she had accused him of being somebody else, and she had promised him a meal because of her mistake.

"Oh yeah, okay I'm free on Sunday," Kelly said.

"Okay, where are we going?" Jack asked enthusiastically.

"Just pick the place, anywhere is fine," she said, uncaring. She wasn't interested to go out with him, it was just a formality. 

"How about X restaurant?" he suggested. The restaurant he suggested had a Sunday special for couples, and he wanted to experience that with Kelly.

"No, that's very expensive, I can't afford it. Choose another restaurant that everyone can afford," Kelly said. All her money went to her education, so she cannot just squander her money.

"It's no problem, I can pay," Jack said.

"This is supposed to be my treat, and I'm the one paying for our meal," she said, stating the obvious.

"Then I will pay on Sunday, and you can pay next time," Jack said, feeling smug about his idea because it means that he could have lunch with her twice.

"Listen, I have decided we should have lunch at Vinny's restaurant and there will be no next time," Kelly said, pissed.

"Oh okay, give me your number," Jack was a little disheartened that she did not want to go out with him more than once, nevertheless he was happy and was looking forward to lunch on Sunday.

"Can you explain why you need my number now?" Kelly asked with one eyebrow raised.

"So that you can easily find me in the restaurant on Sunday," he said.

"Don't worry, It's not a big place, I can easily find you," she said.

"What if I can't find you?" he asked seriously.

"Are you kidding me?" Kelly said, angrily, taking one of his napkins and writing her number down.

"Here take it, I'm busy and have already wasted a lot of time by talking to you," Kelly said, walking away.

Jack took the napkin with a big smile on his face. He was very proud of himself, it was hard to get her number, but he still got it. He enjoyed his coffee and ate his muffin slowly so he could watch Kelly as she served the other customers.

After finishing his coffee, he waited for Kelly because he wanted to talk to her again before he went home. "Thanks for the coffee and muffin suggestion, I loved it," he said, smiling at her.

"My pleasure," Kelly replied.