Ravished by Desire

Chapter 17 Good Job, Good Money

"Excuse me, ma'am, are your orders complete?" I asked the woman politely with a smile as I noted down her orders.

"Yes, all set!" The woman replied but didn't even look at me. She was constantly looking at Faren with a smile, pulling her top lower to show more cleavage.

"Faren, I'm so happy you brought me to dinner tonight. Afterwards..." The woman spoke seductively.

"I was just bored," Faren said, his face expressionless.

I carefully filled the water glasses and felt Faren's gaze on me. I had a bad feeling inside, and just as I was about to set the glass down on the table...

"Let me go," I said firmly, and Faren finally released my hand.

"Your meals will be ready shortly, ma'am," I said, suppressing my emotions and quickly moving away from the table.

"Faren, do you know that waitress?" The woman asked immediately behind me, as if intentionally making it obvious.

"Do you have to interfere with everything?" Faren replied harshly, and the woman fell silent.

Ignoring them, I went to the counter to inform the kitchen of their orders and headed to the liquor cabinet to get the drinks. The bottle Faren had ordered cost as much as an average month's salary.

"The rich really spend money without thinking," I thought to myself. Meanwhile, I had to be careful even with 100 baht (about $3).

@The Counter

I carried the most expensive liquor bottle carefully, glancing at Faren's table. Faren was smoking and listening to music, while the woman was constantly taking photos.

"Nam Khing, why are you looking like that?" Another waiter asked, noticing the expression on my face.

"Well..." I hesitated a bit because I had only been working for a week and didn't want to burden the other employees.

"Brother, I..." I started and gathered my courage.

"Can we switch tables? I don't want to serve that table," I asked politely.

"Of course, we can switch," said my waiter friend, immediately agreeing.

"You know, we all need to help each other out here," he said, seemingly understanding my anxiety.

"What's the issue then?" He asked curiously.

"Is that handsome bad-boy type guy your ex?" He joked.

"No, he's not," I said immediately.

"We had some problems, and I want to avoid him," I said honestly.

"I understand, I'll handle it," my waiter friend said. He looked at Faren and smiled slightly.

"Here, take these orders from my table," he said, handing me his order pad.

"And this is yours," I said, giving him my order pad.

"If you ever feel uncomfortable serving a table, you can always switch with other staff," another female waiter said, smiling warmly.

"Since you're new, you might not have encountered such situations, but we've dealt with all kinds of customers," she said.

"The French owner here believes that customers are kings," another waiter added.

"And the staff are just low-paid workers," he said, continuing to carry orders from the kitchen to the tables.

"It's best not to have issues with customers," he added.

"Thank you," I said gratefully.

"You're welcome," my waiter friend said, heading towards Faren's table.

"Keep working, I'll settle the bill soon," the other female waiter said, and I thanked her as well and returned to my work.

"Fate has brought me this low," I thought to myself, glancing around the restaurant's chic atmosphere.

"As a poor person, I have to live my life this way," I said, watching the waiters as they did their jobs. The restaurant's customers were wealthy, and the service quality was top-notch.

"Being beautiful and young is worth more than all this hard work," I thought with a sigh. All the waiters had been carefully selected, and the restaurant's ambiance was elite.

From a distance, I watched my waiter friend serve Faren. Everything seemed fine.

"I hope Faren doesn't act out tonight," I thought to myself.

(The bell rang from the kitchen.)

"Table 12, food is ready," said the chef, and brought the dishes out on a tray. Table 12 was the table I would now be serving.

- Table 12 -

"Congratulations on getting promoted right after starting," said the man with glasses happily.

"But not as much as you, you're getting married," said his friend in a suit, laughing.

"I'm getting married because I got my girlfriend pregnant," the man with glasses said, looking a bit downcast.

"I have to settle down before I even live my life," he said.

"Right, why get married right after graduation?" said his friend, raising a glass.

When I heard their conversation, I waited to avoid interrupting. When they paused, I started serving the dishes.

"Here are your ordered dishes," I said and began setting the table.

"French cuisine, an authentic French chef," said the man with glasses, laughing again.

"Can you mix my drink?" said the other man, extending his empty glass.

"Of course," I said and moved next to him to mix his drink.

"This restaurant is nice," he said, moving the chair closer to me.

"The food is delicious."

"And the waitresses are quite attractive," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist and touching me.

"I…" I tried to pull away slightly, but I couldn't do that while pouring the drink.

"Make my drink strong, I'm giving you a tip," he said, handing me 1,000 baht. The tip was more than what I earned in a whole night of work.

"I guess my friend expects special attention from you," said the man with glasses, raising his glass.

"Aren't you going to take the tip?" he said as I continued to wait.

"If the customer wants to give a tip, they can do it after settling the bill," I said, looking around. The other waiters were busy with their own customers and no one was watching me.

"You can put it in the tip box," I said, afraid of getting looks from other workers.

But the man added another 1,000 baht.

"I give tips only to the person who mixes my drink," he said, placing the money in my belt.

"What kind of drink mixing is that,"

"What kind of drink mixing is that?" Faren suddenly shouted. Startled, I pulled back and saw Faren angrily walking towards us.

"Is there a problem, sir?" I asked politely, trying to hide my fear.

"Nam Khing, what are you doing here?" Faren asked harshly, his eyes burning with anger.

"I'm just doing my job," I said quietly.

"Put that money in your pocket, or I'll fire you from here," Faren said, staring intently.

"Faren, calm down," said the man with glasses. "We were just giving a tip."

"Is that how you give tips?" Faren hissed. "This is a respectable place and this girl isn't my employee!"

The men looked at each other in shock, not knowing what to say. Faren pulled the money from my belt and threw it on the table.

"Get out of here," he said to me, his voice softer this time.

I waited a bit at the counter and then ran inside. I couldn't understand why Faren was so interested in me, but somehow he seemed to be protecting me.

I stood at the back of the restaurant, taking deep breaths. Faren's anger and actions both frightened and confused me.

After a while, I decided to return to work. I had to switch tables with other staff, but I was grateful for getting through the night.

Faren's words still echoed in my ears. I had to earn money from this job, but I didn't know how to do it while staying away from him.