Though Annika enjoyed her work so much, it has not been an easy process to deal with the owner of the company. The business owner has not always been straightforward. Pay is occasionally late and wages are too low. The workday is longer than the typical eight hours. Months after month, Annika has had her decision to leave the company and look for another job as a receptionist in a five-star restaurant or to work in a five-star hotel. Annika thinks she needs a more decent job than working in a bar or club. It was very hard for her to just leave Industria as she knew Bruce would come one night and she was not there anymore. She did not tell any of her club colleagues where she will be transferred for her new job. She doesn’t even know if she can find work. All she knew is that she wanted to apply for a job as a restaurant receptionist in a hotel or a five-star restaurant. And what’s hurting her is how much she will miss Bruce as her customer, as her friend. Annika always asked herself, "Will I ever see him again?"
Annika began to submit employment applications. She had interviews with restaurant managers, owners, and executive chefs left and right. There are days when she just wants to give up after a long day waiting for her turn to be interviewed by the managers and doesn’t get to pass the interview. She comes home sad that she did not get the job she’s applying for and much sadder knowing she misses Bruce so much. "I wonder how he is doing?" she asked herself. "I hope he is doing fine, and I hope he misses me too." Just the thought of it gives her a smile.
After a week of applications and interviews, she finally got hired as a receptionist at a five-star Mediterranean restaurant in Makati City, La Gondola. It was run by renowned Irish chef Bill, a celebrity chef for local celebrities, politicians, and ex-pats, and Chef Jessica, a native of Germany who specializes in desserts. The restaurant looks classic with a lot of paintings hanging on the white stone walls. It is divided into 2 big rooms, one for upon entrance from the reception area, where a big round bar with all the expensive alcohol they can offer. Customers can have a before-dinner drink here and then transfer to a bigger room for their formal dinner. It is located in the center of the city, where all the big hotels and businesses are situated. The La Gondola is on the second floor of an old standing building along Greenbelt,
On Wednesday, she woke up early and looked for her favorite set of skirts and jackets. No one had given her any instructions on what color to wear, so on her first day she decided to wear a gorgeous lavender blouse, a pair of black jackets, and some skirts to match it. She wore her long, curly hair in a side braid, just like a princess. observes a sequence. She intended to wear minimal makeup during her first shift at the restaurant's lunch shift and more formal makeup at night, when the majority of the VIPs and VVIPs guests would arrive. She thought of how she missed Bruce. It had been almost 7 weeks since she had last seen him. How she wishes that Bruce would see her in more decent clothing and a more decent environment and maybe see her in broad daylight. She used to work in a bar, and she only works at night, just wearing a black plain t-shirt and black jeans with white aprons wrapped around her tummy down below her knees. Annika thought Bruce would love to see her looking nice. She left home early that Wednesday, took a bus, and was just excited for the day. She had a lot of thoughts in her mind aside from missing Bruce. She hoped that her new colleagues were nice guys. She hoped that her new bosses were very nice people and friendly to their employees. She hoped that they were kind enough to look after all the employees. She also thought about what free lunch and dinner would be served to her. Will it be from one of the menus that the restaurant serves to their guests? Wine? Or will it be a typical Filipino food you can have at home served daily? She laughed thinking about it. There is too much to expect and hope for that day. For Annika, it’s another beautiful and adventurous day to look forward to. Outside, the sun is up and the sky is blue. Is there anything better than this?
Makati.
It is Annika's responsibility to receive reservations made by the secretaries of ambassadors, house managers of celebrities, and secretaries of politicians. Very seldom does she get a reservation directly from the customer themselves. She welcomes all incoming guests and VIP VVIPs. Check their reservations, lead them to their desired tables, give them the menu, and call a server to help them with their dinner order. Her responsibilities include arranging all of the lovely flowers, and she chooses which blooms she believes the visitor will appreciate. Without a doubt, Annika naturally has a great fondness for peonies. She is also in charge of marketing the wall paintings for sale.
It is exactly the job she is looking for. What Annika adores about her new job is that she will wear business attire, usually a pencil-cut shirt and a jacket to match it, and heels. She works a split shift to cater both lunch and dinner in the restaurant. She can’t wait to start her new job. The following week, Annika receives a call from human resources secretary Pipa asking her to start working by Wednesday morning. She was instructed to don professional clothing, do excellent cosmetics, and put on heels. Annika waited weeks to begin a new job since she was so excited to get that call.
Arriving at the La Gondola, it appears that everyone is busy getting the restaurant ready for the day. Waiters are setting up the tables, and the workers in the galleys are all busy preparing all the ingredients that will be used to prepare food for any upcoming food orders for the day. It seems like no one noticed her entrance at all. Then the owner's secretary, Pipa, came down from the office, welcoming Annika and accommodating her. "Hey Annika, come and follow me. I’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone." Annika just followed Pipa is a tall woman with light brown skin, a very slender build, and very short, curly hair. She showed her the locker room, where Annika could leave her belongings and keep them, as well as the employee's comfort room, the employee's pantry room to eat lunch or dinner, and the nap room, where employees could take a nap in the afternoon because they work a split lunch and dinner shift. Afterward, Pipa showed Annika where the bar is for before and a
Another day, another dollar, "Annika whispered" as she woke up early in the morning. She's anxious to come to work as she'll be meeting one of the owners today, Chef Bill. He is an Irish native who came to Manila to work as a chef in a five-star hotel and eventually opened his own Mediterranean restaurant, which is popular among celebrities, politicians, and ex-pats. "I need to look my best today." Annika thought. As she prepares to come to work, she arrived early at La Gondola and checked to make sure all her reservations were confirmed. She helped the waiters assemble the tables and verify that the quantity of chairs matched the number of reservations. One guest per table. The flowers are then prepared and placed on top of each table. Before her lunch shift began, she went about her typical morning routine at La Gondola. Ensure the placement of the chairs and tables and all the flowers are aligned and look elegant.Then a tall, white man in a white t-shirt and faded pants who appear
It’s six o'clock in the evening. Annika is prepared to welcome all of the night's visitors. She has a lot of reservations again. La Gondola is constantly crowded and filled, especially at night. Annika walked all the guests in, and when all were seated and everyone was enjoying their dinner, she went back to the reception area to see if any other guests would be arriving after dinnertime. "Nope! everyone is here already." So, she sits in her high chair and checks her reservation book for the next day. For some reason, Annika noticed that it became silent as the other guests were eating their dinner. It seemed like she was not hearing anything at all. She became quiet and thought about Bruce, just looking at a blank wall with the hanging picture towards the entrance stairs. Suddenly, a man appears, going upstairs in a pink Lacoste polo and a pair of jeans. He had all his gray eyes straightly looking at Annika's eyes in astonishment and hesitation. He was climbing up the steps slowly w
As night falls, Annika gets ready to head home, but the memory of that particular moment has stuck with her. There’s something about Bruce she adores so much, but does he feel the same way about her or is he merely friendly? He is new to the country and trying to be nice to everyone else. Maybe soon he will explore the city and maybe meet a person and forget about her. But tonight, it feels different He was so intimate with her in a way that she couldn’t explain. It was the first time a man made her feel this way. He made her feel so special. He made her miss him and yearn for him. She waited this long for this moment, but she is afraid for some reason. She asked herself, "Am I good enough for him? I was just a waitress, but now a restaurant receptionist. " She didn’t know what to say. Suddenly she felt down and scared. She is scared to fall in love because she has never fallen in love before. "Is this love?" she asked herself. She is happy, but at the same time she is scared and worr
Annika is a lady with a head full of ideas. She is witty, intelligent with an outgoing personality. She can easily talk to people, is definitely not shy and very clever. There’s one quality she always inherited from her old boss, that she is a people-skilled person. Despite the fact she never finished college owing to poverty, she manages to land a job she likes. She hopes to complete tourism and eventually work as a flight attendant one day, but sometimes life can be unfair.She arrived at work early the following day and went about her usual routine at work. She arrived early to discuss with Larry, her boss, and the owner, Chef Bill, how she wanted to share with the guests of the Irish Pub. She spoke to Larry first when he arrived. She asked if she could have a little of his time and shared her proposal of advertising Chef Bill’s other business. Larry thought that was a very good idea and thought that Chef Bill would love it. Larry gave Annika a tap on her shoulder and commended her
He was almost done in the kitchen at La Gondola preparing lunch. He then relayed to his assistant, making sure his assistant understood exactly what the guests were asking for their food. Chef Bill stepped out of the kitchen and walked towards Annika in the lobby and told her, "Annika, do you think you need any posters or handouts to advertise the pub?" "That would be very helpful, Chef!" she fondly responded with a smile. Annika feels happy that her boss actually acknowledges her ideas. She thought even though she doesn’t have the hands out yet, she’ll start now to introduce the pub to their guests and make it popular just like La Gondola. She is just not helping out Chef Bill’s boosting the business, but she is also helping out her new found friend Jessica.That night, when she was doing her dinner shift, some nice guests arrived, and you could see how much the diners loved and enjoyed the food. There are many people seated at the round bar, largely Americans and Europeans, who are
"La Gondola, this is Annika. How may I assist you?" asked Annika, taking the call prior to her lunch shift. Most of her visitors make reservations for lunch or dinner by calling La Gondola. "Annika, it's Bruce. What time did you finish your work tonight?" It was Bruce calling Annika. She was in disbelief at first. She could not believe she was hearing Bruce calling her. She had assumed it was someone else's call for reservation. She was unable to respond right away because she wanted to record Bruce's voice in her head so she could remember how it sounded. He seems to be flirting with Annika by speaking in a bedroom voice and teasing her ear."Hey Bruce, how are you? I’m not expecting this call from you." Annika responded. Bruce told Annika, "I want to surprise you; I know you are shy to call me, so I will call you first." Annika then informed him that she had finished her work at 10 o'clock that evening. Would you be available for a late supper tonight? Those are the sweetest words A
Bruce has had a busy day at the Motorola office. He had a lengthy meeting with his staff where they discussed a new product they would be releasing to consumers in the coming months. The discussion lasted longer than anticipated as they discussed the device's model, the newest features it will offer, and who the target customers are. The glass walls and view of the business center at Bruce's office are straight out of a movie, all glass walls, overlooking the business center. From above, you can see how crowded the roadways appear to be. Looking down from his office, the trees appeared to be perfectly aligned. His table is quite well-organized; it is topped with his laptop, some good pens and notepads, and an etched nameplate with his name and title. Product Manager Bruce Wyse is in charge of technical architecture and design based on specifications; functional specifications for the new device; customer engagements; assessments of existing software systems to identify synergies; solu