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29. The Cafe Re-opens
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Played By Love 30. The Discussion.
"How is it going there?" Jeff looked around. There were no reporters at the Cafe, the plan had worked. "The re-opening went smoothly, none of them recognized her, sir," Jeff said into the phone. "Thank you very much, oh my God," Oliver's voice broke on the phone. Jeff could hear him sigh. "Oh no, don't thank me, thank Anne. She pulled the strings," Jeff replied. He looked at the Cafe and he saw that the customers were already inside. "Anne? She did?" Oliver questioned. "She did. She was reluctant but I begged her," Jeff replied. "I see, maybe I should start thinking about adding a zero on her paycheck," Oliver replied on the phone. "Say, is the business going well?" "Yes sir, there are a decent amount of customers and no incidents lately," Jeff replied curtly. "Jesus, Jeff, you sound like a robot. Loosen up when you are talking to me," Oliver laughed. Jeff looked out the window and saw Rita Lawman looking at him. The moment their eyes met, she turned away. "You know I can't
Played By Love 31. FOR DATES & PRETENSE
"You sure you can't stay any longer? I mean, it isn't even dark yet," Paul held Zara's cheek. The sun had started casting a light orange glare in the sky and it felt pleasant on the skin. They stood outside in front of the car. Jeff was already inside, giving the family their privacy. "Are you sleeping well enough?" Rita asked. "I received the money you sent to me the last time and it was quite a large amount. Hope they aren't overworking you a lot?" She held her daughter's shoulder.Zara was red around the eyes as she suppressed tears. She felt very emotional, leaving her parents behind. She was bubbling with emotions internally. "It is okay, she has a shift to attend to," Kelvin came to the rescue as usual. He tried his best to control his breathing in front of them. "You will be making her late if we talk any longer," he said. "Oh—yeah, I have a shift. I will get enough sleep Mom," she hugged her mother very tightly. Her mother smelled nice. She was using the bottle of perfume
Played By Love 32. UNSPOKEN WORDS
Oliver grunted and checked his watch. An hour had passed and Zara wasn't down yet. He knew women had a knack for taking a lot of time when they were getting ready for outings. He was tempted to knock at her door or call her. But seeing the sour attitude she had towards him, he decided to wait patiently without complaining. But still, an hour has passed. She could just tell him that she was tired and not going. He could have postponed it until tomorrow. Who did she think she was? Queen of the Scots? Oliver sank further into the chair in exasperation.His wait was cut short as he heard the gentle sounds of heels against the floor coming from the stairs. He turned his head towards the staircase, and Oliver's eyes remained glued on Zara. Indeed, she thought of herself as the Queen of the Scots. Who is she? Oliver pondered as he stood up. It was not a command he had issued to his leg, it had happened automatically. Oliver was surprised at her taste in fashion, he had given Anne credit f
Played By Love 33. BEAUTIFUL MISTAKE
Oliver and Zara were shown to their seats.It was a VIP spot reserved for them on the third floor with a direct, undisturbed view of the stage below. The VIP had an old Roman feel to it with its large marble pillars that had been painted white, obviously for ornamental purposes. Zara had only seen this from afar. Only the Matron of the restaurant catered to the VIPs when she worked there, but now, she was going to get that special VIP-only treatment. "Why did you choose this restaurant?" Zara asked Oliver. He looked down at her and cocked his brows. "Who in this time and age doesn't want to be treated at Delarosèê peak?" Oliver grinned at her. They gazed at themselves, smiling unconsciously. Zara's face was a mixture of confusion and happiness. Zara smiled at him and sucked in air from her lips. She realized that she had been staring and smiling at him too long and she tore away from his gaze. Oliver did the same too. They both looked away immediately, forming a serious interest
Played By Love 34. Fickle Electricity
Zara held the card to herself tightly. She watched as Oliver conversed with the steward and she looked at the card again. She didn't know what to say to Oliver when he came back to the table. She tried to place the reason why he would go all the way out to do all that, even though he wanted publicity. Zara hoped it had nothing to do with what happened the previous day. Zara wrote it off as part of the publicity plan. Oliver joined her back at the table and he smiled at the offer of wine from the steward. The steward stood exactly five meters behind them and waited for further instructions. “Wow, even for publicity, you went out of your way to do this?" Zara questioned as Oliver held the wine glass in his hand. He smiled at her in reply to her question. Zara laughed and continued. "Thank you very much, I got extra gifts alongside a nice dinner."Oliver was surprised at how Zara interpreted the whole situation. He was slowly starting to understand that Zara wasn't an airhead like th
Played By Love 35. Morticia strikes
It was another Monday morning. To some, it was the start of a long hard boring week of getting shouted at work by their bosses. To some, it was the day of bringing in their weekend assignments for scores and hopes of boosting their plummeting college credits. While to Kelvin, it was jealousy. He stared at his phone and he saw Oliver and Zara's pictures on social media. They were everywhere, you name it. Tweet, The gram, Snap App, Back Book. They had reportedly had dinner at Delarosèê Peak and a lot of people had seen them acting all lovey-dovey. Kelvin put the phone down and calmed his nerves down. He was on medication, and he didn't need to get worked up for other reasons. He wore his cap and walked up to the door of the Cafe and flipped the open sign. A few people soon walked in and Kelvin helped them to their place and went to put the To Hire sign outside since there was no way he could attend to all of them alone, well aware his current health did not require tedious work. Th
Played By Love 36. RAGING STORM
“You were with Zara yesterday and you did not tell us,” Rita inquired as Kelvin took his seat. “I'm sorry, I planned on telling you guys about it today,” Kelvin lied.“How is She? Is she eating well?” Rita asked. “Oh Rita, you spoke to her this morning already. Of course, she is fine,” Paul cut his wife off as he replied. “But some habits never change, Morticia is an example,” Paul joked.There was a roar of laughter in the room.“Thank you for walking in right on time, I almost doubted my girl for a minute,” Rita appreciated. “Now, let's go have dinner,” Rita said as she went to the kitchen to bring the food."Morticia is a headache, right?" Paul asked. Kelvin's smile dialed down. "Yeah, a big one," he replied. Rita carried a large tray of food and dropped it on the dining table. Kelvin went to assist her with the other plates while Paul made himself comfortable. Rita chimed. "Dinner is served!”With that, they all proceeded to the dining. It went smoothly with lots of laughter
Played By Love 37. Helping Family
Oliver flexed his fingers in front of his laptop. The tech seemed alien to him. How many days had he missed work? Four days? Two days? Well, none of that mattered since he was—Anne barged into the office and shook Oliver out of his thoughts. Oliver blinked several times at her and she simply stared back at him. Oliver thought he would have another episode of severe scolding for dumping his work on her. "Oliver, I found what might become a problem later," Anne dropped her laptop on Oliver's table. She had taken Oliver by surprise. He thought he would have gotten scolded again. "What are you talking about?" Oliver raised a brow in confusion. Anne slapped her forehead lightly. She had forgotten that she had left Oliver out of the loop since Vanessa's last show. "Okay, let me place it like this since you have not been around for a while," she flashed Oliver a frown and he swallowed. He raised his hands in submission and Anne continued. "I ended up putting myself in Vanessa. More lik
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Played By Love 45. Close call.
This was very bad. Cold sweat broke out of Kelvin's body as he worked a thousand scenarios of how today would end. Was this the end? Had she found out? Was Oliver's company and reputation going to plummet down the drain?He was very certain that the woman in front of him was Vanessa Willow. Of course, she was the one, the one that had caused problems earlier for Oliver. If she was here, it was bad news for him, it was instant death. Kelvin nodded his head at Vanessa as he greeted her. He looked at Rita as she smiled at her and he wondered what signal he could give her to back off from the crazy woman in front of him. How could someone so beautiful be as evil as the press portrayed her to be?“Kelvin!” Rita called out. She noticed that he had been staring out into space for a long time. Kelvin greeted Rita briefly and turned to Vanessa. "I hope we are making you comfortable ma'am," Kelvin said politely and wore a smile on his face. "How about we give you a feel of our VIP spaces
Played By Love 44. Enemy at the doorstep.
Vanessa stared at the restaurant bewildered. She had expected it to be a small restaurant where she could just grab her grubs and leave at the speed of light. But they had something going on here. Vanessa stared at the description of the restaurant and looked back at what stood before her. The front of the restaurant was true glass, but at the same time, it offered privacy to its customers. Vanessa slowly stepped out of her car and looked at the glowing name on the signboard.“ZAMAN'S GRILLS,” she spelled it out. It looked like she wouldn't be able to get in without a reservation, although there were chairs outside, but she didn't want to be hijacked by the media. Vanessa made up her mind and entered the main restaurant, the interior was even better, with the makings of a 4.5-star restaurant. She settled into a chair and stared at the servery, where a middle-aged man and woman were working. Those middle-aged people were Paul and Rita Lawman. “Uh hi, I wanted to make a reservation
Played By Love 43. Zaman's Grills
Kelvin stared at the name Paul had scribbled on a pad for the restaurant. He suppressed a laugh in him and looked at him. "Don't tell me," Kelvin laughed. They were all seated. In the Lawmans' new home. Paul jokingly hit Kelvin, “Oh please, what is wrong with Zaman's Grills?” He turned to his wife waiting for her response. Rita held her forehead and turned to Kelvin. “Paul is more obsessed with his daughter than I. It is all his doing, not like I have a better name yet," Rita saidKelvin adjusted himself in his seat and took in the living room. Oliver had taken his time decorating his house. God knows how much he had splashed into the project. "You should have seen Zara when she came in some days ago, she has grown up," Paul started. His eyes gleamed as he talked about Zara. "Really? In what aspect?" Kelvin asked with renewed interest as he clasped his hands. "Well, for one. Zara has always been a grown up but it seems like she grew up again! Zara found it hard to convey her fe
Played By Love 42. Part of the plan.
Zara sat cross-legged in front of her parents. They sat in their new home, and she had decided to visit them. She preferred breaking the news to them face to face, rather than on the phone. She had left Jeff in the car outside while she talked to her parents inside. And besides, it had been a while since she had seen them. "Dad, we are getting you a shop."Those words hadn't been digested completely in Rita and Paul's ears. One could say they had trouble processing it. They seemed to be lagging, at times. Zara sighed and rested her hands on her thighs. She uncrossed her legs and sat more comfortably. She used that opportunity to look at the house very well. She could see that Oliver had taken his time to furnish it well with high-grade furniture. Wasn't he doing too much, too much to be comfortable?"Zara, what are you saying?" Paul asked first. He seemed to have processed it faster than his wife.Zara sighed and stood up. "Mum, Dad, remember those times when you used to say you
Played By Love 41. To close to call
Zara felt something ominous as she stared at her phone. Vanessa's video was trending, and she wondered what she was up to this time. Thankfully, she wasn't her problem. Oliver would deal with her sooner. She sat in the garden and looked up at the sky. The sun was high up in the sky, but it was mild on the skin because of autumn. She looked down at the flowers and thought about talking about the plants to Oliver when her phone rang. Zara stared at the ID and put it to her ear immediately. "Yes, Mom?" Zara answered. Kelvin must have already told them about it by now. She just hoped her mum wouldn't throw hard questions her way. "My baby girl, you have gotten us what we have always wanted," Rita's voice broke out as soon as she picked up.Zara sensed happiness in her mother's voice. It has been forever since she heard her mother sound that happy. She could also hear soft sobs at the end of the receiver. "Oh Rita, are you going to start on the call and keep sobbing?" Zara heard her
Played By Love 40. Vanessa's Comeback
Vanessa had become quite miserable. In fact, "quite miserable," was an understatement. She had reached the point where she had completely embodied Squidward's point of view, that famous miserable character from that legendary kiddies show.Her reputation had plummeted downwards, she couldn't even go outside to buy her groceries because of the way people looked at her. Her suspension at work was still ongoing, she didn't even expect to be called back after what had happened. Oliver Russell. Vanessa grabbed a ceramic vase from the bedside table and flung it at the wall. It shattered into a million pieces, with the sound bouncing back and forth in the large room. She grabbed her bare knees and looked at the mirror. She was losing it. Oliver Russell. Vanessa stood up and rested her hands in front of the dressing mirror. Her eyes were puffy from not getting enough sleep and she had gained some mass from staying at home, lazing around since last week. "Oliver, I will crush you!" Vane
Played By Love 39. A deal is done
Oliver smiled back at Zara with his hands in his pocket. Zara slowly stood up and shook her head. It was impossible, why was he going that far? He was getting too involved with them. "No, I can't accept that," Zara shook her head. "You can cut off my bonuses, I barely use them anyway. You can use the money and pay for the—" Oliver cleared his throat and Zara stopped talking. He looked down at her and cocked his brow. "Tell me the truth. If I left it to you, you wouldn't have been able to do it, even with the bonuses. Are you a masochist? Can you even repay me?" The smile on his had disappeared. Zara looked to the ground and held her palms together. She felt her palms were the only ones warming her up in front of Oliver's cold stare. "I—I—""You can't. So instead of partying with the money I have, or going to the brothel, I want to help your family, and you are not stopping me," Oliver paused. He saw that he had been coming a bit too strong there. He watched as Zara's body tensed
Played By Love 38. Revamping
"We need to talk."A sentence with four words. It sounded more intense than it was intended to, partly because Zara was trying to avoid Oliver. She hadn't forgotten what had happened on the rooftop that day. She knew it. She had almost kissed Oliver. "We need to talk."She simply stared at the message that was displayed on the screen. It had been there since morning, and she hadn't even bothered to reply. “Curse you, Oliver,” Zara flustered.She had successfully ignored Oliver for the last few days after that incident. She beat herself up every time she remembered it. What killed her the most was that she could not tell Kelvin about it. How would she even start? She knew it was almost an act of betrayal. Kelvin himself had been very busy for the past few days, his cafe boomed well. He was very happy. No way she was going to spoil it for him. Zara straightened her dress and heaved a deep sigh in front of the mirror. Her face stared back at her. She looked less confident than the wa
Played By Love 37. Helping Family
Oliver flexed his fingers in front of his laptop. The tech seemed alien to him. How many days had he missed work? Four days? Two days? Well, none of that mattered since he was—Anne barged into the office and shook Oliver out of his thoughts. Oliver blinked several times at her and she simply stared back at him. Oliver thought he would have another episode of severe scolding for dumping his work on her. "Oliver, I found what might become a problem later," Anne dropped her laptop on Oliver's table. She had taken Oliver by surprise. He thought he would have gotten scolded again. "What are you talking about?" Oliver raised a brow in confusion. Anne slapped her forehead lightly. She had forgotten that she had left Oliver out of the loop since Vanessa's last show. "Okay, let me place it like this since you have not been around for a while," she flashed Oliver a frown and he swallowed. He raised his hands in submission and Anne continued. "I ended up putting myself in Vanessa. More lik
