THE CHAOS

Chapter 3: 

My cheeks were paining from constantly faking smiles to the customers, and my head was throbbing thinking about the announcement Nick was going to make in the evening.

"Hey, Claire." One of my co-workers called me out. "Mr. Matthew asked you to meet him in his office right now."

I turned around to ask her why Eric Matthew had called me but she was already gone.

He must have called to give me some of his work that he is too busy to do, I thought sarcastically.

I walked towards Mr. Matthew's office and knocked on his door. A loud come-in greeted me. I entered the office only to be met with loud shouting.

"I asked you to get the penthouse suite ready then why have the orders not been carried out," Eric shouted at one of the managers.

"Si...sir, the pe...pent...ho...house suite its occ...occupied." the manager nervously stuttered, not meeting Eric's eyes.

"I DON'T BLOODY CARE. I want the penthouse suite ready in an hour or else you're fired." Eric yelled loudly.

The manager and I flinched back hearing him yell his absurd demand. The manager, relieved to be dismissed, hurried out of Eric's cabin, leaving me alone in front of the angry lion.

I looked at Eric and saw him breathing heavily. Eric was so mad that I could imagine him looking like an angry bull with steam coming out of his nose as he breathed.

I gulped and greeted him, "Mr. Matthew, Good afternoon. What can I do for you?" I spoke as calmly as I could manage. 

"How can this afternoon be good for me when fools like you work for me? Can't even do a thing right." He seethed.

Yeah right, hiring staff without interviewing them and then blaming them for not doing work properly, I thought.

"Listen to me Claire, I want you to assign Ruby and three of our best waiters to personally serve the new boss and his associates. Talk to the head chef and finalize the menu for the week right now and bring it to me in an hour. I want no tardiness in this work. Go. Now." Eric angrily shouted.

"Mr. Matthew, the menu for the week is already decided; I'll just get a copy for you," I informed him and turned to get out of the room.

"NO!" His voice boomed around the room.

"I don't want the menu that is already decided for the other guest; I want a special menu prepared for the new boss within an hour. And, of course, I would like to personally talk to the chef about the menu to be prepared for the boss tonight." He stated in a no-argument voice.

I stood in front of him dumbfounded. The menu for tonight's dinner was already decided and was in the process of being prepared. The head chef had no free time to talk to this jerk. In short, I am screwed because to make Eric Matthew understand all these things is an impossible task. Moreover, this douchebag will not take no for an answer.

Nevertheless, I had to try and make him see some sense because if I am forced to carry out his orders the entire kitchen is going to be in chaos.

"Mr. Matthew, the menu for tonight's dinner has already been set and is in process." I calmly stated.

"I DON'T CARE. I want all of my orders carried out RIGHT NOW. GET OUT." Eric yelled.

I looked at him dumbfounded. This man is crazy. He has no regard for anyone's hard work.

"What are you looking at? LEAVE." He shouted at me.

I rushed out of his office. Leaning on his door, I sighed loudly. He wanted to impress this new boss because he had never cared before if Nick ever came to the hotel or not and suddenly he was so interested in all the preparations for the new boss.

I went to the kitchen and informed the head chef about the changes in the menu with a sad heart. As I predicted, the kitchen was in chaos after hearing the news. This is too much. I have to find out more about this new boss because I still have a very bad feeling about this and there is only one person who can give me more information about this situation.

I turned towards the lobby to search for Aden. For the first time, I was grateful that he was such a gossip king because I needed to know anything I could about the announcement. As soon as I reached the lobby, I was met with chaos. I stood there shocked. Mr. Matthew was frantically ordering the staff around. Never, since the day I joined Golden Rose Hotel have I seen Mr. Matthews work so hard.

I turned around just in time to see Aden rushing past me with a box of wine bottles in his hand.

"Hey, Aden," I called out to him.

He stopped and looked at me. Drenched in sweat, he looked tired as hell.

"Aden, are you alright?" I asked him, being concerned about him.

Aden looked at me as if I had grown two horns on my head. He quickly balanced the box in one hand, grabbed me with the other, and started to pull me into a secluded corner.

"Do you wish to get fired, Cici? Don't you know what is going around here?" Aden whispered angrily.

"Well, I do know for sure that Eric is trying to impress the new boss," I stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Hush Cici, don't speak so loudly. If Eric heard us talk right now he would fire us. From the last 5 hours, he has fired at least 13 employees because they did not do the work they were assigned." He whispered seriously.

"WHAT!" I exclaimed.

"Shush! Quiet please." Aden said, looking at me sharply.

"Okay. Sorry. Nevertheless, tell me did you find anything about who this new boss is? I have a very bad feeling about him." I worriedly questioned him.

"No, for the first time, I have no gossip to tell you. Nick has kept the name of the new boss under wraps." Aden said.

"Has no one told Nick about this new upgraded version of Eric Matthew?" I annoyingly asked Aden.

"Do you think Nick would have allowed this all to happen? Nick has gone out. He has no idea about this. Eric has asked to get the Chateau Margaux 2009 Balthazar bottle out." Aden told me.

"WHAT! That's Nick's-"

"-favorite and expensive wine bottle I know," Aden said, completing my sentence.

"We have to stop this. I am calling Nick. Under no circumstance, and I mean it, under no circumstance, are you to get the Chateau Margaux bottle out." I frantically told Aden and rushed out.

I quickly walked out towards the reception. Luckily, I did not have an encounter with Mr. Matthew. Walking towards the reception, I noticed my good friend, Kimberly Law 'Kim' for short, hastily talking to someone and taking notes.

I went to her and said, "Hey Kim."

She ended her call and huffed, "Cici, I need to get laid.”

"What?" I frowned.

Yes, only Kim can think of getting laid in such a tense atmosphere.

"Yes, all this pressure is getting to me; I need a release, Cici. You know I didn't even have time to touch up my makeup today." She purred like a cat in her English accent, looking all seductive and needy.

I looked at her disbelievingly and shook my head. Kim has worked at the Golden Rose Hotel for more than 5 years. Fun, stylish, and a party animal, that is how you describe Kim only when you get to know her; otherwise, she is usually bitchy to people who don't pass her 'friendship test.’ She and I got along with each other a few months after I got employed here and successfully passed her 'friendship test'.

"Kim please, stop. Please call Nick." I requested her and looked away.

"Oh Cici, you're no fun." She huffed and dialed Nick's number.

"Cici, is it true? Did the jerk order to get the penthouse suite ready for the new boss when it was already occupied?" narrowing her eyes she asked me.

"Yes, he did." I sighed and said.

"What a jerk!" Kim exclaimed.

"And who is this person you are calling a jerk, I hope it's not me." a voice said from behind me. A voice you can never forget.

Kim dropped the phone she was holding to her ear and gaped looking behind me. I turned around and met with a very pissed Eric. Hands behind his back, he looked at us. If looks could kill, I would be dead right now.

"Mr. Matthew..." I started to speak, but he stopped me by showing me his hand.

He pointed a finger at me and said, "You are fired."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"For neglecting your work. I ordered you to get the chef to me. Moreover, the menu for the week, I still do not have it. So don't argue with me." He stated in a no-nonsense tone.

"But..." I started to explain but he cut me off by starting to talk to Kim.

"And you, Ms. Law, you are fired too." He said while scanning her from top to bottom. Kim's mouth dropped open in shock at hearing this news before she could say anything Eric continued

"But we can reach an understanding..." Eric said while giving her the bedroom eyes. Kim's eyes widened upon hearing this. I looked at him in disbelief; he had the nerve to say something like this in public. Did he think of all women the same way?

"WHAT! YOU PERVERT BASTARD," Kim shouted so loudly that the entire lobby stopped doing their work and looked in our direction.

"What's going on here?" a voice boomed from the entrance.

We all turned around to see Nick standing at the entrance with Tyler behind him to his left and Nick's assistant Scott to the right. Nick looked very pissed and Tyler was not so discreetly trying to hide his laughter.

"Matthew and all the department managers in my cabin NOW!" Nick yelled and walked toward his office.

It was a very funny scene to watch. All the department managers, happy to see Nick back, literally ran behind him and Mr. Matthew looked nervous as hell but still trying to gather some of his confidence left.

"Go on you pervert ass. Why don't you go into Mr. Miller's office and come to an ‘understanding’ with him." Kim emphasized the word understanding. Eric sharply looked at Kim and started walking towards Nick's office.

I gaped at Kim for back talking at Eric. She gave me a look and said, "What?" feigning innocence. Then both of us broke into fits of laughter. Tyler walked towards us, now openly laughing. We recovered quickly from our laughing fit.

"Matthew will at last be fired today. Mr. and Mrs. Hale called Nick when he was in an important meeting, saying that there were security guards that were throwing their stuff out and even hurt Mrs. Hale when she tried to stop them." Tyler said, frowning.

"Oh god, this man is impossible." Kim huffed and twirled her hair dramatically.

I chuckled lightly seeing Kim's behavior.

I frowned and asked Tyler, "Did Mrs. Hale complain about Eric? If so happens, then our hotel name will be tarnished."

That is when all the managers came out, looking happy and more relieved than ever. Then came Eric Matthew, face as red as a tomato, and he went towards the staff changing room.

"Wow! What's wrong with him?" I wondered.

Tyler snorted and said, "He's fired, Claire. Mr. and Mrs. Hale are very good friends of Mr. Miller, which is why they did not lodge any complaint. However, Mr. Miller had to do something about this situation. The list of complaints against Eric was increasing day by day, and this penthouse thing was the last straw.”

"It was bound to happen someday," Nick said as he walked towards us.

"What happened there?" I asked

"Eric tried to convince me that he was doing all this preparation to impress me and then we argued. Many managers took a stand against Eric, no one wanted to be dominated by him anymore. In the heat of the moment, he spilled that he wanted to win the new boss's favor and all the arrangements he was making for them. Well, the rest didn't matter; he crossed his line with the penthouse suite thing." Nick never looked so angry.

"It's all over now, get back to work. The schedule will be followed as planned. Claire the meeting is in 1 hour in the banquet hall. Be there on time." Nick walked away with Tyler after instructing us.

"Wow! What a hell of a day!" Kim exclaimed and walked away.

I sighed. Only one hour to go then all surprises will be revealed.