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 after dinner drinks, the main dining area, the cashier, and the kitchen where the food is cooked and prepared. She also introduced Annika to all the waiters and the restaurant manager, Larry, and the Captain Waiter, Syd. There were some waitresses too. She remembers the names Maryanne and Jenny, as they were so welcoming and so friendly to Annika. Pipa then led Annika to the reception area and showed her the reservation book. It’s a nice big blue book of the daily reservations of the customers. Pipa showed her the list of extension numbers for the office, HR, kitchen, waiter station, cashier, and most importantly, the extension of the two owners of La Gondola. And finally, Pipa told her that if anyone is interested in the painting, she just needs to advise Pipa, as easy as that. Pipa then gave Annika a final word, that she could start to work by arranging all the flowers in the vases and putting all the vases with fresh flowers on each table. It is past 10 in the morning; customers will be coming in an hour for lunch. Annika then finished putting all the vases on each table and then proceeded to put the reservation notes on each table based on the list of the names on the reservation book.
As the lunch guests began to arrive one by one, Annika smiled warmly to greet them. "Welcome to La Gondola! , " Please provide your name so I may make a reservation." She leads the guests to their respective tables and wishes their guests to enjoy their lunch. When all the guests are sitting and served, the main dining room becomes a little quiet. Some are doing business while waiting to be served, some are just having fun just to be out of their office. Annika just looks and observes each of her guests. She then thought about Bruce again "Where can he be at this time?" Bruce doesn’t know where Annika is working now. Annika was standing at the entrance of the main dining area just watching the guests, if anyone needed any assistance from the waiters. It’ll be nice to have Bruce as one of my guests here. She whispered to herself. Annika thought she would be on cloud 9 working if Bruce came to dine in. Bruce would see how pretty she is in business attire and heels.
Time goes by quickly, and the majority of the guests have finished their lunch, paid their bills, and are departing one by one. Annika is standing at the reception area right across from the steps where the guests walk their way out of the building. Annika has survived her first-ever shift at La Gondola. She enjoyed it so much that she forgot how time passed. She decided to change after her split shift and wander around the city and look at some items in the mall. She returned to La Gondola in the afternoon to prepare forher night shifts. She wonders how the night runs at La Gondola and what and who will be the celebrities, ex-pats, or politicians she will serve for the night. At 6 pm, Annika is already standing at the reception area, just waiting for some guests to show up at the steps.
A popular celebrity first came in with a well-known government officer, followed by a famous celebrity dermatologist, and then some ambassadors from different countries. Annika then pondered how popular this place is. She has never seen so many famous people in her life. The night goes on as usual, busy inside the dining room, where all the waiters are in action serving their guests; the kitchen, where you can hear Chef Bill’s voice in command. The bar is also busy with all the guests standing around it asking for drinks from the bartender. While Annika stood at the corner observing, looking for someone she could help and paying attention to everyone.
Larry, Annika’s manager, came up and told Annika, "Good Job!" She then smiled back at Larry and responded, "Thanks Boss." Annika loves it when her boss can see how she loves her work. For her to do the job that you love doesn’t feel like work at all.
Annika went back to the reception area to check her schedule of reservations for the next day. She always makes sure that before the night ends, she has assigned seats for the next day's reservation. She wants everything ready for the next day. She jots down notes on whom she needs to call back to confirm their bookings. She stopped then and looked outside the window, where she could see from a distance all the beautiful lights on the streets. She then remembered Bruce and thought maybe he was in Industria with his friends. She still longs to see him one day. When will that be? . No one knows when. No one can tell. She can only hope for it.
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
The following day, while everyone at La Gondola is occupied eating, she is attempting to keep herself busy at work. She's still dealing with the awkwardness of Jessica's brief call from last night. Then she considered the worst-case scenario: perhaps Jessica finds Bruce appealing and decides she likes him. Suddenly, she felt a little nervous about Jessica because she is already a high achiever who is independent, mature, and extremely emancipated. She is not even able to compare herself to what she has already accomplished in her life. She was contemplating her own desires for her life. Jessica made her feel really insecure, but what could she do when that was all she had to offer?Then she pondered that maybe she was only being negative; Bruce really cares about her and she doesn’t have to worry at all.She wanted to chat to her mother, Carmen, about her day at work when she got home late that night. Carmen is a single mother who raised Annika and her brothers all by herself. Annika w