The Endgame

Chapter 10 : Rom-com Shit

I stared at the cute closed board hanging on the door of Jonathan's cafe.

With forty five minutes left until my classes started, it did seem like an amazing time for the job hunt. But clearly, it wasn't.

There's a first time for everything. Those exact words ran through my mind as I stood like a dumbhead on the footpath.

Suddenly, the door opened, making me jump back with surprise," That's it, come on in."

I let out a relieved sigh," Damn, You scared me, old man. I thought these glasses were tinted." mumbling the last part to myself I trailed behind Jonathan.

" They are. But I've got CCTV cameras installed. And I can see everything right here." he pointed at the desktop where I could see the footage of the whole cafe from different angles.

"So, two years huh? Or was it three? "

"Two," I mumbled.

Jonathan nodded. " Time sure flies by. I still remember the first time you came with that boy, holding hands and looking all cute." a lump formed in my throat at Jonathan's words, and unable to reply, I nodded, looking around.

The interiors were almost the same. Still giving off a homey feeling. I bet the coffee still tastes the same. Because I liked it here. Maybe more than Starbucks.

And especially those choco chip cookies. I remember buying them all the time. for me and Jax. Even though he said his grandma made them better, I knew he secretly liked it every time I bought them.

Swallowing the ugly feeling and the sadness down my thought, I tried to distract myself by looking through the menu card.

"So, is there any chance you're hiring? " I inquired casually, flipping through the menu card.

"Not at the moment. We already have two girls and a guy." he brought his broom from the back and started cleaning.

"But there's a new bakery down the lane, you can suggest to try their luck. But I must warn you, that woman is always cranky." Jonathan laughed at his lame joke.

But I was too busy analyzing his words.

'suggest'.

That's what he said.

He thought I was looking job for someone else?

Since when did people start thinking so kindly about me?

Closing the menu and stuffing my hands into my skirt pocket out of nervousness I walked towards him, "Actually, the job's for me. Not someone else."

That made him pause. He dropped the broom and turned towards me all serious, "Are you kidding me?"

He looked at me with scrutinized eyes, "Is this for any of those useless Project work? "

I managed to smile at that, "I wish. But no, I'm in a difficult situation right now.." I trailed off, unable to find any words.

"No."

My heart dropped to my stomach at his answer.

He sighed, " I mean you are a smart kid. But I like this cafe too much, and I possibly cannot trust you not to get it on fire or maybe something worse." he waved his hand around in dismissal.

Oh, Jonathan, I get it. I really do.

I understand where he is coming from because I don't know the abcd of cooking. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt any less.

" Jonathan, I am a quick learner. I can shadow any of our workers for a week until I learn everything. I promise you, I won't get your cafe on fire." I begged him with puppy eyes.