'What are they going to ask? What if I can't answer their questions? What if I make a mistake? What if they don't like me?'

These questions kept running around her head until the strange man (whom she will later know as William or Billy) tried to comfort her, seeing how anxious she was.

Her name was called, and she entered the room. The room's atmosphere had a tense and serious feel to it. There, at the table, she saw two men, one older than the other, who looked like the younger one's father.

She sat down in front of the desk and smiled at them. They smiled back at her. Suddenly, the room felt friendly and warm, and she was able to go through the questions smoothly.

As she came out of the office, she felt confident that she would get the job. That confidence got her to do well in her demo, where she took orders and served them.

She overheard the older man saying to the younger one, "She has excellent communication skills and body language, two of the most important things a waiter should have. She makes the customer smile and feel happy, that means the customer will eat happy and go happy. The business will thrive if you hire excellent staff. You should hire her."

She felt happy and excited after hearing that.

Soon she signed the contract, agreeing to work in the cafe section of The Billionaire's as a waitress. The young man signed the contract as manager, 'Michael Whitehead' was written as his name.

"So that's his name, Michael Whitehead," thought Susan in her head. "Whitehead? His hair is black." She started giggling inside.

Then the older man came and signed as 'Owner' and the name, 'Joseph Whitehead'.

'Wow, father and son. Cute,' Susan thought.

"Oh, we're sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves yet," Michael said, smiling at her. "Myself, Michael, I'm the manager of this place. Congratulations on getting hired!" He said, shaking her hand.

"Thank you," she replied.

"And this is the owner of The Billionaire's," Michael continued. "Joseph Whitehead. His dad," he said with a nod, patting Michael's shoulder.

Susan nodded back.

Then Michael showed her around and told her the rules and regulations. "And there is a VIP day every Saturday when Very Important People come and visit. You'll be serving them too. It'll mostly be celebrities since there are a lot of entertainment industries around here. They come in the morning to grab a cup of coffee or in the evening to rest. So you have to be careful around them. They might be a bit… you know… quick-tempered. Anyway, just be careful with them."

She nodded, drawing on her six years of experience living in the outside world, knowing what people are like in these places.

"So, you'll start working and get your name tag tomorrow. It was nice to meet you. Have a nice day!" Michael said.

"It was nice to meet you too," she replied back.

It was only when she got out that she noticed the night had set in. For a moment, she stood there, feeling herself get absorbed into the night. The stars spread across the night sky with a waxing gibbous moon at one side. She watched the moon for a while; how beautiful it is, even with all those scars and marks. She thought if it had been just a clear, white sphere, it would've looked less beautiful. A sense of gratitude and satisfaction swelled inside her. It was the happiest night she had ever had in the past 19 years of living.

-2 MONTHS LATER-

"Congratulations once again Susan! You're employee of the month again!" greeted a short, red-haired girl named Rose. She was pretty much rosy herself, with tiny green eyes, freckles on her nose and cheeks, and light red lips. For all that Susan knew, Rose knew everything about every celebrity who works in the companies near the cafe, which is why she wanted to work there. Her talkative nature always amused Susan. She was willing to talk to anybody about anything. She was one of the reasons why Susan found working in the cafe interesting.

Susan went to the notice board only to find a crowd assembled there. She went through the crowd, thanking all the congrats that she kept on getting. Finally, she was in front of the notice board. She saw her bright face, and on the top, it was written 'Employee of the month'. She glowed with pride.

The employee of the month, the second time in a row! She heard from behind her, people whispering to each other:

"Wow, Susan again!"

"I think she deserves it."

"I wonder how 'he' must be feeling."

"I feel quite sorry for 'him'."

"I don't think I should be surprised, she's been very efficient in her job, even if it's just being a waitress."

"I heard she's friends with that famous singer."

"Yeah, Melody, right?"

"Yeah... that's her name."

"I heard she even went to her house!"

"Could that be even true?"

"I don't know, Rose told me."

"Haha! Nosy Rosie!"

It was true, Susan had visited Melody's house. They're really good friends. When she got out of the crowd, she saw Michael coming to her with a smile.

"Congratulations," he said.

"Thank you sir," she smiled back.

Then he went towards the crowd and shouted, "OK people! Get back to work! Stop standing idly and talking! There are customers who are waiting there!" And the group started dispersing.

She was walking when a cold gaze caught her eyes. Bright, emerald green eyes, glaring at her. She looked away immediately. She felt a profound energy run through her, 'this feels bad' she thought.

2 weeks later, VIP day. A famous Hollywood actor came to The Billionaire's cafe to have tea with Michael. Susan was to serve them. She was completely focused on giving a good impression on the star since it was his first time there. If he gives a good review about The Billionaire's cafe, it will be really good publicity because nobody misses out the places he visits.

"So," said Michael the day before, "be on your best behavior. He's a really picky person too. What tastes good to us might not taste all that good to him, so be extremely careful." That got everybody to be self-conscious and aware. And Susan was as aware. Billy had filled the teacups to the brim, so she had to be extremely focused on how not to spill tea on the tray or anywhere.

She reminded herself that the actor was sitting right in front of the door to the VIP Room. She had to be careful. She opened the door to the VIP Room and found him talking to Michael happily.

As she entered, she stumbled upon something hard and fell flat on her face—right onto the tray. The tray was still dry, but she wondered where the two teacups went. Then she heard two distinct sounds of breaking glass at the same time.

When she lifted her head, she saw scattered pieces of one teacup on the floor. But where was the other one? Suddenly, pieces of glass started falling from above. She looked up and saw a red, wet, middle-aged man with slick black hair glaring down at her with angry eyes.

She stood up immediately and started apologizing. "I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it—it was an accident."

She reached out to remove the glass pieces from his hair, but he shoved her hand away and shouted, "Don’t you dare touch me!"

"I’m really sorry. Let me help you," she said desperately.

"I don’t want your help!" he snapped.

Then he turned to Michael. "Is this the kind of service you give to your customers?! Why did you hire such a clumsy, careless, and unskilled waitress?! Are you really that stupid?!"

He paused to take a breath. His face became calmer—but it was a dangerous kind of calm.

"I only came here to have a cup of tea…" His tone deepened as his piercing eyes locked onto Michael’s. "AND THIS IS WHAT I GET?!!" he roared, his voice loud and clear.

The room fell silent. Everyone was speechless.

"I’m leaving!" he yelled, pushing his chair back as he stormed out of the room, shoving Susan aside in the process. Michael followed him without even glancing at Susan.

Susan stood there, frozen. Her heart stopped for a moment. Finished. She. Is. Finished. It was only a matter of time before she got fired. She would be jobless again—hopeless all over again.

On the verge of tears, she began cleaning up the mess. I’m a disgrace to the cafe, she thought bitterly. I can’t look anyone in the eye again. Words spread fast—soon, even the media would know about this disaster. She fought back her tears; crying here wasn’t an option.

Then she heard him shout from outside: "You know what?! I’m giving you a zero rating! I can’t give good reviews about places like this!!"

There was silence for a few moments before murmurs began to ripple through the cafe. That just confirms it—I will get fired, she thought miserably.

As she put away the mop and bucket, heavy footsteps echoed behind her. Here he comes, she thought grimly.

Michael opened the door and ordered, "Susan, follow me."

She obeyed silently as they walked side by side until they reached his office. He opened the door for her to enter and then closed it behind them. He walked over to his desk while Susan stood in front of it, bracing herself for what was coming.

"Are you okay?" he asked unexpectedly.

She blinked in confusion. Should I answer that? Is this an 'are you okay?' Are you okay or an 'are you mad?' Are you okay?

"Did you get hurt? That was quite a fall," he added.

"Oh no, I’m fine," she replied quickly, though her mind raced with doubt. Is he trying to fire me nicely?

"Are you sure?" he pressed.

"Yes, I’m fine," she said softly, looking down at her hands. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze—he had been accused because of her mistake.

"What happened? Did your feet twist or something?" he asked gently.

"No… I just stumbled upon something," she admitted hesitantly.

"Something?" he repeated.

"Yeah… something hard was there. I don’t know what it was." Oh my god, I sound so stupid, she thought in frustration.

Michael leaned forward on his desk and said in a low, gentle voice, "Don’t worry—I’m not going to fire you."

Her head jerked up in surprise. "What?" she asked, completely confused.

"Yeah," he said calmly. "It was an accident anyway. Besides, you’ve signed a contract for one year—it’s only been two months. I’m not going to let you go that easily."

"Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed as relief washed over her like a tidal wave. She dropped to her knees as though she had just been rescued from drowning.

"Whoa—stand up! Were you really that scared that I’d fire you?" He came around his desk to help her up as she clutched her chest like someone catching their breath after a near-death experience.

"Thank you so much! I can’t believe it!" she said breathlessly before taking a deep inhale and exhaling heavily in relief. "You’re really amazing," she added sincerely.

"Thank you," he replied with a small chuckle. "Have a seat."

She sat down in the chair opposite his desk as he returned to his seat behind it.

"He must’ve really shaken you up, huh?" Michael asked kindly.

She nodded silently.

"People make mistakes—you and me both," he said reassuringly. "Just don’t worry about it."

His words gave her comfort as if lifting an enormous weight off her shoulders.

"You have no idea how grateful I am," Susan said earnestly as she looked up at him again. "I promise—I’ll try my best never to make a mistake again."

"It’s okay," Michael said with a smile. "It’s human to make mistakes—I just want you to learn from them."

"Yes sir," Susan replied with determination in her voice. "I’ll try my level best to do what you say."

He smiled warmly at her, and she returned his smile gratefully.

"You may go home now," he said finally.

"Yes sir—thank you," Susan replied before leaving his office room feeling lighter than ever before.

As she walked out of the cafe with a smile on her face—a smile born out of relief and gratitude—Michael watched her leave through his office window.

'Why does she look so happy? Didn’t she get fired?',  'He' thought.