Chapter 8-2
947 Words
I felt a weird sensation as we stepped into the Golden Palace again. Javolo was in the other section last night. I wished I could have met him. It would have been really nice to see his face and know what he looked like. Sometimes it really bugged me that he was this faceless person in my mind. Just a voice on the Com.
“Lennina?”
I jumped. I didn’t even realise we’d met up with our dinner guests. “What?”
Malvolio looked annoyed. How many times had he called my name? “Blaine asked you how you were.”
“Oh. Sorry. I’m fine. H-how are you?”
Blaine smiled faintly. “I’m well, thank you.” The smile widened. “How are you finding your job at Katoa?”
Was she being sincere, or was she having a dig at me because I was only a Nav? I brushed those thoughts aside. “It’s interesting so far. I love the technical side of things.”
I couldn’t read her expression. “Oh, yes. Well. I’m sure it’s interesting, dear.”
She had no idea. I wondered what her job entailed, or if she even had one.
Malvolio introduced me to all of them. “Lennina, darling, this is Blaine Castaneda and Eldon Bezorgan. They are both managers at Katoa. Bianka Abraxas and Mattais Omid both work in Research and Development. Mattais at Katoa and Bianka over at Galaxy Mech. Her husband, Danaz, is a manager at Galaxy Mech.”
I clasped my trembling hands together so they couldn’t see them shaking. “Pleased to meet you all.”
“Lennina has the misfortune of working in a position that is far beneath her. We’re working on rectifying that, as she is a talented scientist.”
I cringed. That sounded awful. Their expressions didn’t fill me with confidence.
Malvolio smiled. “This way, ladies and gentlemen.”
He led the way to a corner table and we took our seats.
Malvolio was the perfect dinner host and conversationalist. He talked about a wide variety of subjects, most of them as boring as hell. Did these people honestly care about the intricacies of the stock market? Maybe they did. Maybe that’s how they had become so rich in the first place.
I was asked a few questions about the job and I wanted to tell them some of my ideas about a new computer system, some new designs for breather masks and tubes, and even some more efficient digging tools for the Mech-suits that I’d read about, but I knew I’d go too far into details and probably ruin my chances with how enthusiastic I was. They didn’t seem like the type of people who would be interested or enthusiastic. So I held back. I could save that kind of thing for my job interview, if I ended up getting that far.
All was fine until my meal came out. I’d asked for the steak to be well-done, but it was far from it. It was oozing red liquid onto the plate and my stomach lurched.
“What’s the matter?” Malvolio asked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” The last thing I wanted was to cause a fuss.
“It isn’t nothing. Tell me.”
I fidgeted with my napkin. “My meat is too rare.”
“But that’s the dish,” Bianka said. “It is supposed to be rare. It’s a delicacy.”
“I know, but I don’t like it like that. It makes me ill.”
Some of the people at the table looked at me like I’d grown another head. They thought I was uncultured. I didn’t care. I could ask for the meat to be cooked however I liked. I needed to ensure I didn’t feel sick for the rest of the evening. And it wasn’t like they had to eat it.
Malvolio called a waitress over, told her what the problem was and demanded they rectify it immediately. She apologised and took my plate back to the kitchen.
I was relieved when he didn’t give her a dressing-down in front of everyone.
It took a while for them to cook another steak, but I didn’t mind.
When it was brought out, Malvolio stopped the waitress before she turned away and I cringed.
“This kind of problem is unacceptable,” he told her.
“But the dish requires the meat to be rare,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “That may be so, but you were told when we placed our orders that she wanted the meat well done.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s not a big problem. They fixed it.”
He turned to me. “It is not okay, Lennina. The service here is rated five stars, but has not been five stars lately. Last night’s fiasco, and now tonight. It is not acceptable and I will not be dining here again.”
The waitress had gone pale. “I am so sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.” She waved at another waiter and he hurried over. “Please accept this free bottle of our finest wine as a token of our sincerity.”
The waiter presented the bottle to Malvolio and he took it, giving it a once-over. They waited nervously as he took his time. Maybe he was enjoying making them squirm.
“Mmm. Not a bad year. I will accept your apology.” He waved them away once they’d popped the cork and poured our drinks.
I was embarrassed and appalled. I could feel the heat that had spread from my hairline right down to my chest. The others at the table resumed their conversation as if the whole thing was nothing. One even asked to see the bottle of wine.
How could they pretend nothing happened? Maybe it was an everyday occurrence to them. Maybe they all acted like that.
But I wasn’t okay with it. I was ready to go home, but of course, I had to wait for the dinner to be over. I forced myself to eat my food. Malvolio would probably have a fit if I didn’t eat it after all that nonsense.
- Writer
