2. Not a Damsel in Distress

Vanya went back to the bar and wiped the washed drinking glasses. Still slightly pissed off and disgruntled seeing the company owner and his disgusting friend, she almost slammed the glass and broke it before Bart scolded her from a distance.

“Hey! Do you want to compensate if it breaks?” he said.

The girl let out a heavy and dissatisfied sigh and didn’t say a single word, but her actions became less aggressive. One of her friends, Will, called her out and said, “people are lining up here, and I could use some help from someone who’s not too busy.”

After carving a wry smile on her face, Vanya turned around and replied, “alright, Will. I’ll be there”

The two then took some orders from the customer and served their beverages. While doing her job, Vanya couldn’t stop thinking of how unfair life was. She had to sacrifice her study in college and be the sole breadwinner of her family after a deceitful company owner tricked her father and made her family go bankrupt, yet someone out there managed to enjoy a luxurious life full of rah-rah without having to toil and sweat like her. Vanya sighed while leaning forward, supporting her chin with her right arm, and wondered about the harassment she received at the VIP table. While her mind wandered, Will nudged her arms and made the girl almost jump.

“Jeez, you startle me!” hissed Vanya.

“I’ve called you hundreds of times yet you didn’t respond,” defended Will, “anyway, could you fetch me some Jack Daniels? They’re very popular this night and we almost run out of them.”

“How much do you need?” the girl responded and straightened her posture.

Will then calculated before raising his hand and showing all of his fingers. “Ten bottles. Big ones.”

Vanya nodded and left the bar, heading to the storage that was close to the lavatory. She was about to reach the room’s door before noticing a familiar man just come out from the men’s lavatory. It was Niels, who grinned with the same lustful glance as he saw Vanya was there as well.

“Damn it!” she mumbled as his steps were getting closer and almost pinned her to the wall.

“Hey again, pretty,” called Niels with a snarky smile and winked. “What a surprise to see you here again. I know you’re up to something, hmm?”

“Get out, creep.” Vanya gritted her teeth and pushed him away. “I don’t have time to talk with you.”

Instead of getting angry at her rebuke, Niels chuckled as he noticed Vanya open the storage room’s door and began his dirty talk, “you know, I always fantasized about getting intimate with a waitress like you in a warehouse.”

Disgusted with what Niels said, Vanya had had enough and became fully enraged. She kicked the man on his crotch and made him cry in pain. The girl punched his jaw and responded coldly, “you pick the wrong girl, jerk.”

After taking some Jack Daniels as requested by Will, Vanya left Niels who was writhing in pain. As he tried to stand up back, the man felt his defeat against a girl was embarrassing and unacceptable. He groaned and sputtered, “wait for my revenge, impudent girl!”

Niels walked in reel as the stinging pain in the area between his legs was almost unbearable. He saw Bart who was chatting with some other guests and decided to take this plan to another level. He walked toward the bar’s boss with a limp and raised his voice of pain/

“Sir, are you all right?” asked Bart with a concerned look, “wait, aren’t you from the VIP table?”

Feeling that the boss believed his acting skill, Niels shook his head and said, “yes, I am. I left my table for a minute to empty my bladder, but suddenly one of your female employees beat me up for no reason.”

Bart’s eyes widened, knowing that Vanya was the one that Niels pointed at. The boss came to the bar and yelled, “what on earth are you thinking you’re doing, Vanya?!”

Everyone went silent hearing Bart’s loud yell, even the DJ turned his music off. Vanya was taken aback by her boss’ sudden anger outburst, but she tried to respond calmly by saying, “what do you mean, boss?”

“Don’t pretend you know nothing.” Bart pointed his finger to Vanya’s face and his face turned red, “you purposefully beat one of our VIP guests! Are you insane?!”

“Boss, wait! I can explain,” insisted Vanya, but she was shocked as Bart slammed the bar counter and became more infuriated. “He harassed me twice, and that jerk deserves some lesson.”

“Nonsense! I didn’t do anything to you!” Niels chimed in and provoke everyone’s thoughts and tried to corner Vanya and put her in a sticky situation. “I don’t even know your name.”

Vanya retorted, “liar! It’s you who tried to touch and grope me at the VIP table, your friends know it, prick! You were about to do that again near the lavatory if only I didn’t fight back, weren’t you?”

The loud nuisance could be heard from the VIP room. Everyone who was having fun then went silent. One of Kevin’s friends pointed out, “wait, I think I hear Niels' voice.”

Kevin quickly sharpened his hearing and heard the commotion spoken by three people, two men and one woman outside of their room. He nodded to his friend who pointed that out. “You’re right, it’s him.”

Sensing that something bad was happening, Kevin left the room and stormed off to the bar. He just stood in surprise seeing Niels yelling at the waitress. A feeling of shame began to wrap around his mind. Kevin feared that Niels' behavior could tarnish Autoekomsten Corporation’s name, especially when the media crew sniffed out this incident. As a responsible company owner, he wouldn’t want that to happen. The man shook his head in shame and tried to confront his friend before it got too late.

“Niels, what the hell?” shouted Kevin in frustration as he came forward, “now what kind of a mess that you’ve gotten into?”

Still acting like a victim, Niels sighed in relief as he saw his boss and friend come to his rescue. “Kevin! Thank goodness you’re here! I got beaten up by this ungrateful escort!”

Kevin saw Vanya and realized that it was the very same girl that his friend nearly harassed. He then asked the girl, “is that true you beat him?”

Despite her initial hatred, somehow Vanya nodded and explained, “I was about to restock the drink for the bar when I passed by this man. He almost assaulted me again, so I had no choice except to give him the lesson he deserved. Without me knowing, your friend managed to twist the story and played the victim here.”

The company’s owner was surprised to hear this, as well as Bart and everyone in the bar. Seeing his boss pick a side with the waitress, Niels scoffed and looked displeased, “what the hell?”

Kevin didn’t say a word to Niels and spoke to Bart, ”I believe this all was a misunderstanding. On behalf of my friend Niels, I apologize for causing this ruckus, Sir. I believe he was a bit drunk, and yes, he tried to touch the waitress without her permission. My friends saw it. I hope this problem doesn't need to be extended and ends here.”

The bar owner accepted Niels' apology before turning his head to Vanya and said, “I’m sorry for yelling at you and accusing you of wrongdoing, Vanya.”

“It’s okay, boss.” the waitress smiled slightly and nodded, indicating that the misunderstanding had been resolved.

As for Niels, it wasn’t over yet. He was still annoyed and upset about what Kevin did. He pulled Kevin’s collar shirt and growled, “why did you bother to stand with her? It should be me, your loyal friend, that should be defended, Kev.”

Kevin rolled his eyes as the strong alcoholic drink scent from Niels made his sense of smell overwhelmed. With a little movement, he managed to grab his drunken friend’s wrist and snapped his fingers.

A group of brawny men entered the bar and grabbed Niels by his limbs. With a cold voice, Kevin instructed, “take him back. He had caused enough trouble tonight.”

Seeing those henchmen that Kevin called dragged Niels out despite his begging, Vanya sweated out of nervousness. It won’t be easy to take revenge on him, let alone the company since Niels had a strong influence and plenty of authorities to back him up. She didn’t say a word after that and noticed that Niels handed her boss some amount of money.

“Here, to compensate for the loss my friend caused. You don't need to make a big deal out of this matter anymore, understand?”

Bart received two wads of money that Kevin gave him and responded, “this is too much, Sir. I believe that-”

“No, take that,” Kevin insisted before whispering something to Bart’s ear, “and keep this away from anyone, including the media.”

The company’s owner then left Heimel Morzend and got into the car where Niels was. Soon when they leave the bar Niels complained once more to Kevin.

“How could you do this to me, Kevin?” sneered Niels while holding his aching head. “Defending a low-life and ungrateful girl instead of me?”

“Don’t you get it, Niels? What you did was scandalous and could ruin my company’s reputation!” shouted Kevin out of patience, “we went here to have some fun, and if you need a girl to satisfy your manly desire, don’t do that with a mere waitress, you know? Just tell me what you want, models, stewardesses, I know plenty of them!”

Niels went silent since it was unusual for Kevin to get upset. He shook his head and responded shortly, “Nah, I’m good.”