Chapter 5

5 years later...

In the five star hotel kitchen, Amanda can be seen in an all-white chef uniform as she supervises the other chefs. She walks from one counter to another, checking and tasting what the other chefs are up to. Being a perfectionist, she yells at a couple of them, while even angrily doing some of their jobs herself.

Amanda's POV~

"Thud!" I shut the door, taking off my chef hat as I came out from the kitchen. It was really hot in there. Just outside the kitchen was a huge dining hall with no one in it. Some VIP guest had requested that I cook for him. Maybe he rented the entire dining area too.

"Hmph!" I sighed as I pulled out one of the chairs and sat. Thank goodness for the AC. The kitchen almost had me cooked alive. Just when I was basking in the tranquility of the quiet dining hall with my eyes closed,.......

"Mommy! Mommy!" The triplets' shrill voices murdered the serenity of the hall, as they ran towards me. These kids. Surrounding me, they latched on to my legs, while Kayla climbed on to my laps with such dexterity, you would think she was trained in freerunning.

"What is it kids?" I asked with a warm smile on my face, trying to hide the stress and tiredness I was battling.

"Are you done yet?" Mateo asked with his cute voice, his light brown doe eyes stared up into mine. He was the most mischievous of the three yet had a voice so calm and gentle.

"Not yet, baby. I still got a little more work to do" I said while using my index finger to fondle his plump cheeks.

"Mammy, I wanna play" Kayla said in her typical way of playing with her fingers while talking. It was always so cute when she did it. She'd be talking to you, but her eyes would be fixed on her fingers, her blonde hair partially covering her face.

"Awwwn, you wanna play sweetie?" I said in a feigned cute voice, "Okay boys, you guys take your sister around the hotel to play. Be sure to stay together, okay?" I said.

"Yay!" Kayla celebrated lifting her tiny arms in the air, with a most alluring smile on her face. She and her brothers really meant the world to me.

She leaped off my laps and tugged her brothers by the hand, she ran along with them outside the dining hall.

"They're so cute" I thought with a smile etching up subconsciously on my face. It felt like Nirvana, watching their little legs scurry away, until the sound of the door being yanked open caught my attention. Looking behind me, I saw one of the male chefs.

"What is it?" I asked, in my usual bossy way.

"They others are done with the deep frying ma'am" he responded.

"Alright, get the red wine ready" I said as I wore my chef hat, "it's show time" *****

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Walking through the hotel lobby, Xander can be seen discussing with some intimidating men in black suits. They all look super rich. A couple of security guards follow them about as Xander gestures with his hands while talking. It looks like they are talking about business from their gestures and demeanor.

Xander's POV~

"..... that way we can expand the scope of our services beyond the pack" I explained to them. The majority of them nodded in agreement. I think I had convinced them rather well.

"Alright gentlemen, in the absence of any objections, we shall proceed to the contract signing over dinner" I said, "I got the world's best cook to grace the occasion" I added with a wink, as we all chuckled. Snapping my finger, hot girls in tight silky mini gowns walked over, locking arms with the men.

"Permit my girls to entertain you in your respective suites while we await dinner. I'm sure they will make your stay here more pleasurable" I said to them, as the girls led them away by the hand. Pheeew! Thank goodness they were leaving. I was sick of acting all courteous and nice.

"Finally, some peace" I said and then turned to Asher who stood beside me, "Make sure all the documents are ready in the next two hours. The chef should be done by then" I said, as Asher took a bow and was about to leave. Just as he raised his head up, a look of shock painted his visage.

"What is it?" I asked with knotted brows, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Over there sir" he said, pointing behind me. I turned around to look and saw three kids walking through the lobby while laughing. I couldn't believe my eyes. Two of them were boys and they looked exactly like me. It was almost as if I was looking at me as a child.

"What in the worl...." I paused, not knowing what to make of the sight. "Could they be my kids?" A thought crossed my mind.

"You go on ahead Asher, I'll go talk to them" I said dismissing him. Just as he was leaving, I walked up to the kids.

"Hello" I greeted them, as I walked up to them, standing in front of them. Their chuckling ceased almost as instantly as they saw me. Who knows, maybe they were starstruck by the resemblance. They stared at me, not answering me initially.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"Mmmm" one of the boys shrugged, "we're just moving around" he said.

"Moving around? By yourselves? Where's your mother?" I asked. That way I could confirm my suspicions.

"She's not here" the little blonde girl responded.

"Yeah, she's up" the other boy chorused, with his index finger pointing up. Up?

"What do you mean?" I said, looking up at the ceiling. It was only after staring at the ceiling, I realized that they meant upstairs. "Ohhh" I slapped my palm against my forehead. They must think I'm dumb.

"Well you guys can't just wander around here. It's too crowded" I said, "Come on, let's get you back up to your mom" I suggested.

"No, mommy is busy. She said we should go and play, '' the first boy said. He seemed to be the mouthpiece of the three.

"Busy?" I muttered, "What's she doing?" I asked curiously, hoping it wasn't something crazy. This was a hotel after all.

"She's working" the little girl said, "In the kitchen" she added. Wait a minute. None of my chefs carry their kids to work. Could it be the external chef I called for? Different thoughts flashed through my mind, but there simply was no way to be sure. I needed to make her come to me. It really could be Amanda.

"Uhmmm kids, would you guys like to play with me while you wait for your mom?" I asked. They all looked skeptical at first. "I've got a lot of toys" I said in a bargaining voice. That certainly piqued their interest as their eyes beamed on hearing toys.

"You wanna come, don't you?" I said with a smirk on my face as they all nodded in agreement. "Come one then. Let's go" I said as I led them out from the lobby. If these really were my kids, I certainly wasn't gonna let 'em go that easily.

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*** Back at the Kitchen ***

The chefs arrange the cloche covered platters on the kitchen trolleys, ready to take the food out.

Amanda's POV~

"....no over there! Why can't you guys do anything right?" I yelled at a couple of chefs who arranged the platters wrongly as I marched up to them and did it myself. "There! Now arrange the others that wa....."

"Driiiiiiing!" The ring if my phone interjected me.

"Urrghh! Who is it now?" I grumbled as I dug my hand in my pocket and picked up. "Hello?"

"There's been a change of plans. You'll be serving in the president's office. That's where the meeting will be taking place. Understood?" A male voice answered. I recognized the voice. It was the hotel manager.

"Alright sure" I responded as I hung up. Then turning to the others, "Alright boys, change of plans, we're going to the president's office!" I yelled.

"Yes ma'am!" They echoed as they mobilized the trolleys.

A few minutes later >>>>>>>>>>>

They have arrived at the door of the president's office with Amanda in front of the train of chefs and trolleys, along with a line of waiters in tuxedos. Everything seems to be perfect.

"Alright guys, we're going in" I said to them as I knocked thrice on the door. The two large bronze doors (with sculpted images in them) of the office were opened on hearing the knocks and I walked in with the train following behind me, dividing into two trains in opposite directions as they walked in through the door.

The serving began and I was actually quite satisfied with my work and was supervising when I suddenly heard my kid's voices.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Their voices saturated the air as they ran to hug me.

"My babies" I said as I hugged all three of them, "How did you guys get here?" I asked, a bit perplexed as to how they got in here.

"A nice man brought us here" Mateo said as he took a brief look around, "Oh here he comes" he said excitedly as he pointed at a man walking up to us. Smiling, I looked in that direction and almost immediately, fear saturated my body. It was Xander. As he walked closer with a smug smirk on his face, I could feel my heart about to burst from fear.

"Hello Amanda"