Chapter 9 Chapter 9

Michelle drove to the restaurant. While on her way there, she called Chloe to let her know that they would meet at the restaurant. She arrived at the restaurant and went into her office to drop her purse. She decided to give her mom a call, when suddenly her phone began to ring. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her mom. She smiled at the coincidence. "Hey mom, I was just about to give you a call, but you beat me to it." She excitedly said, causing Leah to laugh. "How did the party go?" her mom asked. Michelle took a deep breath before replying. "It was fine. Nathan loved it." "Are you sure?" Leah asked, not wanting to totally believe Michelle s reply. "Yes mom… Although, Rebecca thought otherwise." She honestly replied. "Oh honey." "It s nothing to worry about. She s always like that." Michelle replied with a cheerful voice to lighten the mood. "How are things at the restaurant?" Leah asked, changing the subject. "Everything is going well. I asked Sam to go inspect the other branches. He'll be back by next week." She explained. "Oh honey, I only hope you aren t getting yourself stressed out." Leah asked, as she was concerned about her daughter s well being. "I m not at all. I m rather worried about you." "Sweetie, don t be. I m fine… You make it sound like I m that old. Linda is keeping me company, so I don t feel too alone." "Oh Mom!" Michelle sighed. She was really worried about her mom. Derek and Michelle had once asked Leah to come live with them but she refused, with the excuse of not wanting to be a bother to them. "Alright honey, I ll hang up now so you can work. Take good care of yourself, okay baby?" "Okay mom, and please do the same." "I will honey. Love you." "Love you too. Bye." Michelle said and hung up. She then decided to go to the kitchen to thank the chefs for a job well done yesterday. "Hello everyone!" she greeted. They all smiled at her and returned her greeting. "I want to thank you guys for a job well done. I really enjoyed your menu and so did the guests. You guys got a 100%... And guess what? You ll all get a raise." The chefs cheered at that, happy to know that their job was appreciated and they d get bonuses for that. "I knew I d find you here." Michelle heard someone say, so she turned around. It was her best friend, Chloe. She sent a smile her way and turned her attention back to the chefs. "You all can go back to work… Ben, can you please make me rice and curry chicken?" she asked one of the chefs. "Sure thing, boss." "Thanks." She said and turned around to face her best friend. "Shall we?" she gestured for them to leave the kitchen area. They walked back to Michelle s office. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Chloe let out a groan of frustration. "What is wrong with that guy?" Michelle stared at her friend with furrowed eyebrows. She wondered who she was talking about. "Um. I honestly don t get what you mean." She told her friend. "That Nathan guy!" Michelle then understood what she was getting at. "I mean.. he was avoiding me the whole time." Chloe continued. "He was trying to attend to all his guests. You should know that." Michelle tried to make her friend understand. She couldn t help but let out a small chuckle. "I was hitting on him, it was obvious but he kept ignoring me… I swear he was doing it on purpose." "Maybe he s engaged or probably has a girlfriend back in New York." "I know guys like him. He most certainly isn t engaged or in a relationship." Chloe said. "If you say so. But Chloe, he s a bit older. Can t you see that?" Michelle asked, surprised at how desperate Chloe was about getting Nathan. "The older the better." Chloe replied with a smirk. Michelle shook her head in disbelief, internally sympathizing with her friend. "What?" Chloe asked confused. "Oh Chloe" Michelle sighed. "I m gonna get him. You ll see." "Good luck with that." "So, did I miss anything last night?" Chloe asked, changing the subject. Michelle looked at her, confused. "The witch." Chloe said, making her understand the question. "Oh, that." She said in a sad tone. "It was just her usual nagging." "Doesn t she get tired of doing that?" Chloe asked with a bored expression on her face. Michelle just shrugged. "I don t know… Maybe, it s cos she has this belief that I m a nobody." She explained, not sure of her own reply. "Oh please, give me a break. You and I know that s not true… Your late dad, bless his soul, owns one of the best restaurants here. Your family is notable… Tell me, how is that being a nobody." Chloe was upset with Rebecca s constant nagging and verbal assault on her best friend. "Someone has to put her in her place real soon." "I agree on that… But, not me." "Why?" Chloe asked. "For Christ sake, Chloe! She s Derek s mother!" "What about that?... Gosh, Michelle! She makes your life miserable. You know, I sometimes wonder how you manage to live through all of that." "I know how to feel about it too, but you have to understand me.. Derek won t be happy if I disrespect his mom. He adores her." "But he also loves you." Chloe stated. "The only thing involved here is love, and.. it s different and incomparable." "So, what you re trying to say here is, Derek loves his mom much more than he loves you." "I didn t say that… Oh Chloe, how do you even expect me to know that." "Wow! You re in one hell of a ride." Michelle let out a heavy sigh. "As much as I d love to remain here with you, I have to go for a photo shoot." Chloe said, standing up from her seat to take her leave. "Tell me something, Michelle. Do you think the models in New York are better looking than I am?... I mean, why wouldn t Nathan take notice of me?" she lamented. Michelle just smiled. She never seized to be intrigued by how good her best friend was at changing topics without even realizing it. "Just leave already!" Michelle chuckled, playfully pushing Chloe out of her office. "Goodbye Michelle!" Chloe shouted when she was out of the office.