FLORENCE'S POV

A LINE OF SWEAT BEGAN TO FORM across my forehead halfway through our jog down the path near my house. It was particularly chilly this afternoon, so I had worn my Athletica jacket and matching leggings to keep myself warm. However, the cold air didn't stop me from breaking out into a sweat.

I stole a glance at Lester who was running beside me and had his attention focused ahead as music blasted in his ears. No evidence of perspiration was on his face, but I figured that it would take more than jogging like this to get him worked up. After all, if he was going to be in the Marines, he'd need to have endurance.

I switched my focus back on what was straight ahead of me. At the crosswalk I spotted an elderly man walking his Yorkie, and the sight made me smile. Lester and I passed him shortly afterwards, and I found myself glancing over my shoulder to get one more look at the dog as we did.

My breaths came out in short puffs as I tried to keep up with Lester for the remainder of our jog. When we reached another crosswalk, I grabbed his shoulder and brought us to a stop. He removed his headphones when he saw me bending my knees and breathing heavily, watching me with a concentrated frown.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lester asked while soothingly running his hand over my back.

His touch sent a shiver up my spine, and I instantly stood up straighter. Lester's hand fell from my back, and he awkwardly used it to scratch the back of his neck.

"Yeah, um, I just needed to take a breather," I explained to him as I exhaled deeply. "How far have we jogged?"

Lester glanced at the Apple watch around his wrist and tapped the screen a few times before looking back up at me. "1.5 miles," He told me.

I sighed in relief. Lester smiled at my reaction and bit his bottom lip before glancing down at the sidewalk.

"I'll race you back to my house," I said to him, quickly gaining his attention.

Lester narrowed his eyes at me with a smirk before running his tongue over his lips. "Alright, but you know you're going to lose though, right?" He warned me in a playful tone.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him. "Maybe, but that's why you're going to give me a head start," I replied before dashing off in the opposite direction in a sprint.

I didn't stick around long enough to see him process my statement, but from what I saw it looked like he was confused. I laughed out loud when I saw Lester run after me and pushed myself harder to run faster. To the pedestrians we passed, it probably looked like we were two crazed teenagers running wildly in the wind. My main concern at the moment was being victorious in my race with Lester, but I knew the chances of that happening was about as unlikely as winning the lottery.

§

"Thank you all for joining me this evening," Mrs. Twist told everyone who was present from the restaurant staff. "I'm just going to go over some of the responsibilities and expectations of the staff for the event."

I had a notepad and pen in my hand ready to take notes. Sitting beside me was Lester and as if on cue, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, asking if he could take a picture of my notes at the end. He did the same thing at a meeting for our last catering event which was a sweet 16. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and just nodded my head instead.

Mrs. Twist cleared her throat and clasped her hands behind her back, holding her chin up high. She had the lightest of blue eyes, but I couldn't hold eye contact with her for more than a few seconds without feeling intimidated. As soon as she began to go over the rundown of the event, I started taking notes.

"We are expecting a total of 100 hundred guests in attendance for our winter formal which means we need about five people in the kitchen and five people on the waiting staff," She said to the group. "You will be serving and preparing only hors devours and desserts, so your job should be easy to manage."

I looked around the room, and it was just my father, me, Lester, Giovanni, and the two twin brothers we recently hired. Noting that there were only six of us in total, I decided to raise my hand and ask a question.

"Um, sorry to interrupt you Mrs. Twist, but will you be able to provide additional staff members to help out in the kitchen and on the floor?" I asked her. "There's only so much the six of us can do," I pointed out.

Mrs. Twist narrowed her eyes at me before nodding her head. "That can be arranged. Now, moving on to the dress code. As you know the event is formal, but I want all of you to be especially distinguished. The women will be required to wear a knee length buttoned-down black and white dress, black heels, and a pair of white gloves. The men will be required to wear a white buttoned-down shirt, black pants–no jeans," Mrs. Twist emphasized before continuing, "black dress shoes, and white gloves."

My pen swiftly moved across the page of my notepad in attempt to keep up with Mrs. Twist's requests. So far the dress code and the split between the waiting staff and kitchen cooks were discussed. She had yet to address what time we should be at the location, set-up, and clean-up. I bit my lip so I wouldn't blurt out any questions and just waited patiently for her to mention it.

"Now, I expect that all of the staff arrive at our estate an hour and a half before the event begins so you can set-up, and I expect you to stay the same amount of time after the event is over for clean-up. Are we clear?" Mrs. Twist questioned us for reassurance.

Everyone nodded their heads, too scared to say a word.

"My husband will discuss payment with you Mr. Kelly once you get an idea of what your budget will be like for the event," Mrs. Twist said to my father who nodded his head with a smile.

"That's fine. We just want to thank you again for choosing Adrian's to cater this event," Dad said to Mrs. Twist, expressing his full gratitude. "We won't let you down."

She straightened her posture and unclasped her hands from behind her back only to fold her arms across her chest. "I hope for the sake of your restaurant's future that you do not. Our winter ball is the biggest event in the city and will be reported in the local newspapers. I expect the food to be nothing short of spectacular," Mrs. Twist said in a clipped tone.

I gulped and watched my father with wide eyes. He seemed unfazed by her seriousness and smiled more enthusiastically.

"Duly noted Mrs. Twist. Adrian's will give you nothing short of our best," Dad assured her while rising to his feet. "We'll be in touch," He added.

"Very well. I hope you all can see yourself out. I have some more business to attend to," Mrs. Twist said before excusing herself.

Everyone else stood up from the lounge chairs and followed my father on his way out of the living room. I quickly gathered my belongings before passing my notes to Lester on our way out of the Twist residence. I still couldn't believe this was where Harry and his family lived. Lester snapped a picture on his phone and then handed the notepad back to me as we walked out the door.

"Is it me, or did Mrs. Twist seem like–" I started to say before Giovanni interrupted me.

"—She's got a yard stick stuck up her ass?" He huffed out while crossing his arms.

I covered my mouth with my free hand to keep myself from laughing out loud and glanced over at my father who was frowning. The twins were shamelessly chuckling to themselves.

"Watch what you say," He warned Giovanni, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one heard.

Giovanni simply shrugged. "I hope she heard me," He boldly said.

"Anyway, let's all have a meeting at the restaurant on Thursday at 10pm," My father suggested while clasping his hands together. "We'll close an hour early and develop a budget for the event."

I nodded my head in agreement and watched the others do so too. "Sounds reasonable," I told him.

"Well, I have to get home," Giovanni spoke up after a moment. "See you later boss."

"Yeah, me too," Lester said before waving goodbye and walking off to his car.

My father offered to give the twins a ride home which they gladly accepted. I sat in the front and kept my earphones in the entire time. On the drive back to our house, I couldn't help but dread the winter formal. I just hoped it wasn't going to be as bad as my mind was making it out to be.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone. I hope you've had a nice week so far. I'm so happy it's Friday because that means the weekend is here, and I can catch up on some much needed sleep.

As usual, feel free to vote, comment, follow me on wattpad, or share this story with a friend. I would gladly appreciate it. I still can't believe this story has reached 3K reads--that's insane.

If you want a double-update for next week, can we get BCD to at least 280 votes by Sunday night? No need to worry though. I'll be updating at least once regardless.

Question for my readers: If you could go anywhere in the world for one day, where would you go?

I've personally always wanted to visit South Korea. I was obsessed with K-Pop music (Exo-K, Girls Generation, U-Kiss etc) between the ages 12 and 13 and had even dreamed of moving to Seoul.

—
Kaylandia