Girl in The Bar

“Hey, Annika! Will you work and move faster?! We have lots of customers tonight.” A female who was the manager of the bar Annika was working for shouted at her with a straight face, so she immediately came back to her senses and nodded continuously. “Here, take this. Serve this to table number 7… and faster!” The manager added, so Annika went out to the hall to serve the food. 

The loud and cheerful music welcomed her as she was looking for table number 7. She rolled her eyes around the area and at last, she was able to find it in no time. Two men were sitting at that table, but what caught her attention was the first man who was looking very mysteriously. He was wearing a signature white polo, an expensive watch and by the looks of him, Annika knew he was crazily rich. She wasn’t sure what was happening to her, but she was magnetized by his gaze.

“Your order has arrived,” Annika told them as she put down the food together with some alcoholic drink. She was doing her best to smile to look presentable although she was already too tired to do more.

Meanwhile, Kurt, the man in front of Annika, was only staring at her. Her sweat was about to drip from her forehead because of an excessive workload, but she was not showing any sign of giving up. Instead, she still managed to give them a huge curve on her lips. Kurt found her different from any other girl he met before and she found Annika really amusing for some reason.

The man on his side, who was his best friend, tried to tease him for staring at Annika for so long. “How long have you been working here, miss?” He unconsciously asked.

The woman seemed like she was confused and she couldn’t believe that this man was talking to her. She couldn’t even look him in the eyes. “Ah, about 6 months.” She thriftily said in a low tone of voice.

“Quite impressive, huh? You don’t belong here.” He suddenly uttered out of the blue which made his best friend and Annika look astounded. He wasn’t that type of man to just blurt something out.

It was the first time that Annika heard something humane from a customer and it made her teary-eyed. She was too soft for those words and it melted her heart. And for Kurt, what he said was fully meant and he was also quite shocked by his own words. He had been living on this planet for 27 years now, but he hadn’t met someone as hardworking, honest, and beautiful as her.

“Annika! Stop being a lazy bum and come back here at once! We’re loaded with orders.” The manager holding a fan just suddenly grabbed Annika and pulled her to the back kitchen to continue serving other guests. “Please excuse us.” She smiled at the two lads in front of them and went straight to the back where only authorized personnel were allowed.

Annika was too close to crying, she couldn’t grasp the idea that the world was unfair for her. She was from a good family, they were happy and all was great. She had no major problems to face but all of those were in the past. Now, she had to work endlessly because they needed tons of money since her sister was in jail. No one in her family could work, so she volunteered. She couldn’t think of any other option to earn double but to work at a certain bar downtown. No choice was given to her and she couldn’t nag about it. All she could think of now was to earn more so all of these would end immediately.

“Here, table number 12 is waiting. You’ve been chit-chatting with our customers for so long. Are you doing that so you can rest? I don’t need lazy staff. Do you want this job or not?” The manager asked in a slightly raised voice. Annika’s co-workers were looking at her while she was being scolded, but she still managed to look up to her manager and nodded.

“I want this job, Ms. Nikki. Let me take this order to table number 12.” She said with enthusiasm and started to work once again. Ms. Nikki was known to be strict when it comes to her business and she understood that more than anyone else even before she got to work for her.

She started to walk to look for table number 12 who was also in the left corner just 5 tables away from the two men she served before. There were at least 5 men at that table and they obviously succumbed to alcohol. Even if she was scared, she still tried to put a joyful look on her face and smiled at the customers. “Here are your orders, sir. Please enjoy your night.” She said as she was putting the drinks on the table from the tray.

While doing this, she felt that a hand was caressing her thighs. She squealed since she didn’t expect that and one of the drinks was spilled all over the table. “You’re pretty. Why don’t you join us here so we can totally enjoy the night?” She was wearing a mini skirt and that was why it touched her bare skin. 

Everyone around them was too clueless to even notice what was happening, not one of them knew that something horrible was transpiring. Annika on the other hand didn’t know what she was going to do, she felt offended. She froze on the spot even though in her mind, she was already thinking what she wanted to do to them. 

She was too stunned to even speak and move. The five men were laughing together as they continued to harass her. The music was too loud and people couldn’t see what was happening. She was desperate for this job because of the money and that was one of the reasons why she couldn’t stand for herself.

“What is wrong with these people? I guess they never had respect for others in the first place which would be why they’re like this, but I won’t let anyone just push me around.” She thought to herself as she just smiled at them with a terrifying look on her face.  

“So? What’s your answer, babe? Come and sit with us here and let’s make it an unforgettable night.” One of the men smirked and winked at her full malicious intentions while the others agreed and laughed. She wanted to punch them one by one although Annika knew that working in a bar would result in this kind of action. One of the men was pulling her, forcing her to sit down with them but she was still refusing.

She clenched her fists and she was about to land them on their faces, but she was surprised to see the man in front of her lying on the floor. “Don’t you touch my woman!” A man suddenly roared hoarsely. When she looked at who did that, it was the man at table number 7. Everything was in slow motion, he looked like a knight in shining armor in her eyes and she would only stare at him.

Annike didn’t notice him walking towards the table she was serving at, nobody noticed him approaching their table which was why the man wasn’t able to react in time, next thing he knew, he was already on the ground, knocked out. 

The loud music stopped and they already caught all of the people’s attention at this point. The man who saved her was looking furious, his eyes burning as if they were bloodlust. The remaining four men were all shocked and didn’t dare to fight back at her.

“Take your friend with you and don’t ever come back here.” He commanded the other four. They were stunned for a few seconds but they carried their companion afterward.

The man walked in Annika’s direction and held her hands. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” He asked and she only nodded as her response.

“Oh yeah.” She smiled. “Thank you.” Her cheeks were crimson red for some unknown reason.

Annika wasn’t sure about this because she knew for a fact that after this incident, she could be jobless. Her manager, Ms. Nikki didn't want commotion to happen in her bar, she hated it and it made Annika think twice. She needed the job more than anyone else.

To her surprise, Kurt suddenly leaned forward and whispered in her ear which tickled her. “Be my girlfriend.” He said in a low tone while a smirk couldn’t hide on his gentle and sweet face.