Chapter 44：Bees Hovering

At the resort…

"Beauty, don't let other girls go near Clarence. Don't let him get away from your clutches from now on." The mother spoke with a wide smile. "Follow my example, after his Dad confessed to me; I wouldn't let any girl snatch him away from me. I'm so happy you'll be my daughter-in-law." Claire finished putting light makeup on Beauty's face, hugging her cheerfully after.

Beauty could not say a word. How should she respond to the prodding of her boyfriend's mother? This was really awkward for her.

"What? Are you not happy I'll be your mother?" Claire shamelessly asked, noticing the girl's silence.

"Ah, haha, No, Mommy Claire. I'm absolutely happy… I'll better go now. Clarence is waiting outside. Other girls might flirt with him if I won't go out now," Beauty spoke with firmness and enthusiasm. As uncomfortable as she might be, but she had to learn how to converse with her 'future mother-in-law' in an effective manner.

"That's the spirit: make him head over heels in love with you," added Claire. Although this doting 'future mother-in-law' understood Beauty's awkwardness, she still preferred to continually act this way. To see a good and trustworthy girl with her only boy was her joy. Mothers always wished good lifetime partners for their children.

Beauty got out of her room after another dolling-up session with Claire. She was wearing a yellow gingham dress with a stylish hat and simple sandals on her feet. She was so carefree-looking, which makes her more attractive. A lot of men were gazing at her—irritating Clarence. A man had even walked into a tree while staring at her, making the girl beside him pissed. He held her waist as they walked to announce to these guys that 'she is my woman.'

"I feel like you've been so possessive nowadays. You now casually hug me. You don't even ask permission anymore. I want to talk to you about this for quite some time now. There should a boundary. Do you get what I mean?" complained Beauty.

"I need to do this to drive away the bees hovering over you."

"What bees? There's none."

"It's just a metaphor." Clarence almost pouted, still wary of the 'bees' around them. "These male guests have been staring at you every time they see you. If you don't want me to get jealous, then allow me to hold you this way always."

"Poor alibi; very, very poor alibi." Mocked Ronald who was following them, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Hey, Mr. Kidlat, I thought you're on my side," retorted the 'alibi boy'.

"Hehe, I want to see you jealous. Hardcore jealous," replied the teaser Ronald.

"Haha, you two." Beauty couldn't help but chuckle. "Ronald, I don't want that, or else he will have his tantrum again."

"Huh?" The boss somehow recalled that day he forced her to feed him. He hummed in satisfaction. "Yeah, that would be nice. You cooking and feeding me—splendid."

While they were playing, a commotion happened at the restaurant. A man was shouting at the chef.

"What is the meaning of this?! I already paid the whole amount, and now you can't deliver what I asked?!" The man was shouting furiously.

"What's going on here?" Clarence butted in to help out their chef.

"Sir Clarence,"—the chef's eyes glittered as a boss came—"sir here has paid whole for their wedding reception. The freezer was broken, and all the meat we bought was wasted. We can't replace those anytime soon before the wedding day. So we have to make a refund unless they're willing to change the dishes ordered," explained the chef.

"Yeah, we'll make a refund available. If they asked for the menu to be changed instead, that would be agreeable for us," said Clarence to the chef.

"Hey, are you the owner of this resort?" the angry man asked, sizing up the youngster.

"No, I'm not, only this restaurant."

"So young, no wonder your restaurant is a mess."

"We gave you a good exchange; why call it a mess?" Clarence said calmly, but he felt insulted deep within.

"My wedding will be held two days from now in this resort. With only two days of notice, where will I get someone else to do the catering for us in this faraway place? Change the menu? My family loves the food we ordered. Your people were paid to do something, then you have to deliver whether you like it or not."

"Hmm, you got a point. Sir, let me check on the details first, and then I'll come back to you. Please wait for a while. Give them some pastries and whatever they want to drink." He went to the office after ordering his men to politely accommodate the angry man and his bride.

"So what's the problem?" asked Clarence to his personnel.

"Sir Clarence, they ordered 'Lechon' and some meat dishes. Our main problem is all our pork meat was ruined in the busted freezer." The staff member felt drenched in cold sweat. "It was just this morning that we found out the freezer was not functioning well. It was working well yesterday. We don't know what happened or why it broke. The only meat available will be the live pig prepared for the lechon."

"How about the local market? No meat available to buy?"

"Sir, we tried this early morning, and we can only get 5 kilos the most. We need 50 kilos of pork meat. Coincidentally, someone bought all of it before we arrived there. Our contact said that deliveries for tomorrow were already pre-ordered and paid in advance as well."

"This is a headache, alright."

"Is the only problem not having pork to buy? Can we still get other kinds of meat?" Beauty butted in, hoping to help in brainstorming for a solution.

"Chicken, goat, beef, and seafood are available."

"Chef Jim, can we change the menu?" She turned to the chef who was also in distress.

"I already asked the client to reconsider, they were firmly against it," said the Chef.

"Let's talk to him now and offer him a better alternative. One that would surpass their expectations," she mumbled. "If he agrees, then there's no problem. If not, then we need to double the effort in convincing him." Beauty squinted her eyes fixated on him as if telling him 'you must convince them by hook or by crook.' "Hmm, Clarence, you're good at convincing people." Clarence got goosebumps with her eerie stares.

The girl shared her plan to him first as they walked to where the customers were sitting. His apprehensions were gone as he envisioned the whole scene she described. It was really a splendid idea and one easy to prepare. They presented Beauty's plan to the couple. Thanks to the bride's insistence, the groom conceded, but a condition was set if it ended in failure. Clarence believed Beauty's idea would turn out fine, so he dared the condition of compensation. Therefore, it was settled.

"What's the plan?" asked Chef Jim.

Beauty shared her plans with excitement as always.

"We'd need twenty native chickens which weigh at least a kilo each. Check out for beef tenderloins, too. My great grandma had these special recipes perfect for weddings. I will display her excellent recipes on this occasion.

"Buy watermelons and other fruits for the fruit basket. We need prawns, big ones. Chef, make do of your seafood paella. I really love its taste. Ah, I was thinking of other seafood, too; but the paella is already there. Redundancy is not appealing at all. We need at least two more dishes aside from the lechon to complete the five-dish plan the client made."

"How about sushi? Chef Jim is also well versed on that. In fact, our unique sushi bar is famous here." Clarence spoke for Chef Jim's sake.

"Oh, I almost forget that. It would be ashamed if that will not be included. Teach me how to make that special sushi of yours afterward, Chef."

"It would be my honor. I expect to learn these unique recipes of your great grandma as well."

. . . . .

A man wearing a hood with dark sunglasses was standing near them and clearly heard what they were talking. "Hehe, wait for me tonight, little girl." The man said to himself as he left them.