Chapter 15

Chapter 15 When Sawyer left Don Maximus' mansion after tending to his wounds and taking care of him the best way that he could, he boarded a taxi down to his workplace, to the restaurant. He was already late and he prayed deep down that his boss was not going to get mad at him for being late. Don Maximus would have wanted to tell his driver to drop him off with his car but the car was currently not fit for use and Sawyer had even told him not to bother. He was going to take a taxi that would convey him to his workplace. " Do get enough rest and take care of yourself sir" Sawyer told him before leaving him behind. He also told his maids to help tend to the old man's injuries while hoping that the robbers would be found soon so they would get punished for hurting an innocent man. Not only did they attack and hurt him, they stole almost all that he had on him last night. Who knows they could have driven his car away from the scene and done much worse had he not walked in on them when he did. The older man thanked him so much for his help. He was very happy to have met Sawyer. He felt glad as he watched him leave for work. When he got down from the taxi the moment the vehicle stopped in front of the restaurant, he took a deep breath before pulling the door of the building open. He knew he was late today and hoped that the boss would not get mad again while scolding him for coming late during work hours when he knew clearly how important it was for him to be present at the kitchen. He was the chef and his work was very important. Sawyer walked into the place and saw Sofia serving two couples who were eating at a table close to the right hand corner of the restaurant. " Good morning " he greeted the moment he got in and looked around to check if there were other customers around too. Few people were already present but the restaurant had not yet started bubbling with a beehive of activities. On seeing him, Sofia smiled brightly, revealing the dimple on both sides of her cheek. She greeted him in return heartily as though she were really excited about seeing him. " Good morning Sawyer, welcome." She greeted in return, smiling. " How was your night?" " Great. Thanks" he told her. As he was about to go into the kitchen to assist Josh and also explain the reason for his lateness to his boss, he saw Josh coming out to the restaurant towards him. " Oh! I see you're back now" Josh said to him in a rather sarcastic tone. " I thought you would have run away and not come back at all after all you did." " You've got some nerves, uhn?" Josh said again, this time with his voice getting louder. " To show your face here again." This act being displayed by Josh left Sawyer stunned and dazed at the same time. He didn't even know what was happening or why Josh was acting all hard towards him so early in the morning. He knew Josh didn't like him at all, he didn't even need a soothsayer to tell him that the young man could do anything to always step on him. "Good morning Josh" Sawyer greeted him none the less. " Don't you dare greet me Sawyer!" Josh growled at him. " Don't begin to act and pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about Sawyer" " If I say I understand what you are talking about Josh, I'd be lying because I have no single idea what you're talking about." Sawyer told him because he was clearly confused. " Where did you go last night and why are you just returning this late now?" He asked, glaring hard at him. " Well, that's, I was in a kind of fix last night and I had to attend to something very urgent which made me come late this morning and.." he was explaining to Josh the reason he hadn't come early when he was supposed to but was cut short. " Oh! Just cut the crap Sawyer….." Josh yelled, his voice now attracting other's attention in the room towards them. " Where's the money you stole from the store Sawyer?" Josh asked him with his eyes fixed on him. " What money? I took no money from the store" he retorted, defending himself from Josh's accusation. " Everybody knows that you sometimes stay back in the store during your night shift. You sleep over sometimes, don't you?" " Yes…. yes I do stay over sometimes when I have night duties" Sawyer replied, wondering what Josh meant by asking him such questions. Their boss, Jerry, who heard the noise, came out from his office to see what was going on. Sofia's attention was also on them. She wondered what could cause the bicker so early this morning. " I saw you steal from the store. That was the main reason you were absent from the restaurant." " What's going on here?" Jerry asked, walking close to them. " Who stole what?" " Well, dad you do know the money we said was missing, the one you said you could not find where you kept it last night" " Yes….I do remember. I actually planned to ask everybody about it today" Jerry said, looking from his son to Sawyer. " It turned out Mr. Sawyer here was the thief" Josh said, a great hint of sarcasm and mockery laced in his words. " Money?!" Sawyer asked, shocked. He had stolen no money. Yes, he did stay back at the store most times but he never even knew that they kept any money in there. He had no single idea. " I didn't take any money, I would never take anything that's not mine" he added, defending himself from the wrong accusation. " I wasn't even around yesterday night. I didn't stay back at the store and I just returned this morning…." " That does it, we need no more proof then" Josh said with an evil grin on his face. " You were not at the restaurant because you had already taken the money before leaving." " Did you Sawyer?" Jerry asked him looking disappointed and angry at the same time. " I did not steal any money, I swear. I had no idea the money was kept there in the first place" " I saw you.. I saw you take something from the store but before I could get to you, you were already out of the restaurant. As fast as the wind" " What!??" Jerry asked, obviously shocked that it was true, him stealing. He had trusted Sawyer and yet this was how he was going to repay him. How pathetic! " I took no money" Sawyer kept saying, defending himself and proving his innocence but they were not willing to listen to him. Even Jerry seemed disappointed. " Sofia!" Jerry called a shocked Sofia. She didn't even understand what was going on herself. " Did you see him take any money?" He asked her. " No….I didn't see him steal sir. I have no idea if he did take the money or not. I believe you should find out the truth about it sir" she told her boss because she could never wrongly accuse a person besides Sawyer seemed like an innocent person. Sawyer tried his best to prove his innocence. He tried to make them understand that he left the restaurant early last night and did not stay over because he had something to do in his apartment but his boss was not willing to believe. Jerry believed that there was enough evidence since Josh saw him when he took the money and left the restaurant in a hurry to avoid being caught while also coming late the next morning. Sawyer sighed, feeling tired. Seeing that his boss didn't still believe his words and was willing to listen to his son's over his, he told the boss of how his son, Josh had always wanted him to sack him. " Josh had often told me that he would see to it that I get fired sir, I guess that's why he's doing this to me" Sawyer explained to his boss. " You can ask him, I didn't take any money, he's just doing this to get me kicked out" " Are you trying to imply that Josh stole it?" Jerry asked, obviously angry at him. " We were here last night, both of us, looking for the missing money after you left. He was here with me Sawyer and now you're trying to shift the blame?" Sawyer at this point was now getting totally exhausted. He only tried to explain Josh's antagonizing attitude towards him but it seemed like his boss misunderstood him. " Not only did you steal from me Sawyer, you are lying and trying to shift the blame on my son," Jerry said, shocked. " I'm utterly disappointed in you. Can't believe you are a thief." To him, Sawyer had shown himself to be unworthy to continue with them with what just happened. Not only did he steal from him, he lied and even tried to blame it on his son. Although Jerry liked Sawyer, he couldn't let someone who stole and lied to work with him anymore. " You can't keep on working with us here Sawyer. I'm sorry to say this but dishonest people like you are clearly not welcome here. " " But sir…" Sawyer tried to beg him to reconsider his judgment. He couldn't even give him a chance or the benefit of the doubt. " You're fired this instant!" He said with no iota of concern on his face and left angrily to his office. He told him to leave his restaurant and then paid him for his work done so far. ************** This verdict passed by their boss left Sofia very shocked and sad at the same time. She knew that their boss had acted based on impulse and his anger. She felt that he should have been patient a little while looking into the matter. There were no customers currently in the restaurant at the moment so Sofia decided to go and check on him. He was in the store where he kept his belongings. The moment she walked into the room, Sawyer was busy with packing all of his belongings. " Sawyer" Sofia called his name softly, feeling pity for the poor guy whom she was sure was wrongly accused and treated wrongly. She had always noticed the way the boss's son acts all bossy and harsh around him. What she didn't know was that he could go to that extent seeing that he was kicked out of the restaurant. " Hi" he said simply without turning his face away from the load he was packing. " I know that you didn't do it. I believe you Sawyer" Sofia told him much to his surprise, he could not believe that someone would be able to trust him. He thought that they all agreed to him stealing the money which he clearly didn't. " You wouldn't do something like that," she added. He stopped what he was doing and turned to face her. There was concern and worry written on them for him. Sawyer sighed knowing that the only reason for his coming late to the restaurant in the morning had an explanation and that was because of the situation with Don Maximus whom he saved and had to stay with. He was actually thankful that he was able to be there to save the man even though now, that one singular act of him not being present at work according to Josh was the needed proof for the so called theft crime which they both know he didn't do. " I would try my best to find proof to prove your innocence to the boss so you can get your job back. You are being wrongly treated and it's not fair. Don't worry Sawyer. I will try to make the boss understand" she told him about her not believing the accusations against him. Sawyer thanked her sincerely because he wasn't expecting her to stand up for him let alone trying to find ways to help clear his name. " I'm really grateful, Sofia. Thank you for trusting me" he told her with a smile on his face. It wasn't every time you would find someone who would be willing to stand by you when the whole world seemed to be against you. Sofia was glad, she smiled at him in return knowing that she could help him out even though it's a bit. She was happy because it was the first time Sawyer had acknowledged her words, which made her vow to help him at all costs. When Sofia had left him, Sawyer was almost done with packing his things so he could finally leave the restaurant when Josh, his boss's son, appeared before him. He laughed at his situation, mocking him with a derisive tone. " You fool…" Josh mocked with a wide grin of satisfaction on his face. " You should have just gone when I told you to leave nicely. I gave you the chance to leave yourself but no….you were bent on staying back here." He stopped to fix his glare on him while wearing a smug look. " Now, you're going to be leaving not as Sawyer but as a thief." He stopped and laughed out loud, mocking his present sad situation. " You've lost your respect and my father can never like you. He didn't even want to see your face again. Just get your filthy stuff and get the hell out of here before you steal something else behind our backs. THIEF!" Sawyer was greatly irritated and mad but he decided to keep his cool and instead smiled at him. What good would getting violent do to him now. It would only make matters worse and Mr. Jerry could end up calling the cops. He knew that Josh's mission was to frustrate him at the moment but he was not going to let him have his way. " I won't say much Josh," Sawyer said looking him in the eye. " We both know you've succeeded in your plan on seeing me leave here but here's one thing that is certain and everyone here knows it…including yourself. " You would never be able to fill my spot as a good cook in the kitchen because you weren't half as good as I was." Josh's smug face changed into a frown instantly after he heard the statement. Sawyer didn't leave totally without giving him a last piece of his mind. " You can rejoice now all you want but just know that, very soon, your secret would be out and your father would be so disappointed in you. That's certain" He told him and left the restaurant with a heavy heart.