CHAPTER 2 LOVE HOPE AND FAITH

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.