The Heimel Morzend kept operating as usual, even after one week from that ruckus. At 6 pm sharp, Vanya arrived and helped clean the bar counter and table, along with some of her employee friends. 30 minutes passed and she flipped the sign near the bar’s entrance from ‘closed’ to ‘open.’
“All right! We’re open!“ Bart exclaimed and clapped. His eyes filled with enthusiasm despite having often opened the bar decades ago.
Tens of people began flocking to the most well-known bar in Brussels and had a good time there. Some were having a small cocktail party and enjoying company while others danced to the DJ’s bop music under colorful neon lights. As the night grew late, more people, mostly white-collar workers, stopped by and have a drink or two. Many of them laughed, relieving the stress and pressure they got from a long day of work as they sipped the booze they ordered from the bar.
“Waitress, can we have two mojitos, please?” one of the customers, a middle-aged man that presumably was on a date with his younger girlfriend raised his hand.
Vanya, who noticed the request, responded with a nod and quickly do the job. Even though she only worked for one year, Vanya’s ability to make mojitos was proficient enough, even almost at the same level as the others who had worked for a longer period. After garnishing the glass with lime and mint herbs, Vanya headed out to the lovebird customers and brought the beverages out.
“Here’s your drink,” said Vanya as her hand served the mojitos. With a smile, she continued, “enjoy your drink and the time here.”
“Thank you.”
The waitress then nodded before going back to her post. She looked at the clock over the alcoholic drinks rack, noticing it was less than a few minutes to 10 pm. Vanya sighed, knowing it would be a long time to wait for the bar’s closing hours and get back home to rest. Not to mention that this day was quite different. It was a Friday night, and it was no surprise to see the bar was slightly crowded and almost full. Vanya and the other employee couldn’t even catch a breather since the drink and snack orders kept coming until past midnight. The blasting rhythmic music filled the bar’s atmosphere, at least providing a source of entertainment to the tired employees at the back.
Once the clock hit nearly an hour before closing time, only a few people were left, including a man who was sitting at the barstool, leaning on the bar counter while holding a half-empty glass filled with liquor. He wore a disheveled button-up shirt, formal pants, and a necktie that hung loosely around his neck.
Vanya chuckled and ignored the man’s presence. She wiped the recently washed glass dry and acted that the man wasn’t even there. Seeing a lot of people getting wasted at the bar was something usual to the girls’ eyes and didn’t even surprising. Vanya was still doing her job when Will, one of the bartenders saw the drunken man on the bar counter nudged her arms, and asked, “how long he had been there?”
The waitress shrugged, “let him be, he’s as drunk as a skunk.”
Not obeying Vanya’s request, the bartender came to the wasted customer and tapped his shoulder slightly.
“Sir,” he called, “are you all right? Can you drive yourself home?”
“Ugh … ” he groaned, blinking his unfocused eyes and slurring his words, “are you about to close?”
Vanya responded from the back, “yes, in about one hour.”
“Funny,” the man snickered after he gulped the remaining booze in his glass, “It feels like just an hour ago I was here after work. Oh, wait, I don’t work anymore! Shit!”
Will and Vanya exchanged glances, they knew well that this man was heavily influenced by whatever he drank. The drunken man, who was too indifferent to think who was it he talked to told, “I just got fired from Autoekomsten Corporation this afternoon! Hah, how can I forget that?”
Hearing the familiar company’s name, Vanya stopped her work and went quiet for a moment. She deduced that this man was working with Kevin before getting axed by the company. The waitress frowned and eavesdropped on the drunk man's conversation with Will, hoping that she would get some information regarding the felonious company that she once swore to get her revenge for.
Will’s eyes wandered in awkwardness before breaking the pause and said, “I’m … sorry to hear about that.”
“Nah, don’t pity me,” the drunken man hiccuped and now looked at the bartender with his flushed red face and weary eyes, “pity on my ex-boss and the other employers because I’m gonna have them taste a sweet revenge.”
“What did you do?” Will asked out of curiosity, “I mean, what makes you get fired?”
“Just a teeny-tiny mistake.” the man lifted his hand, bringing his thumb and index finger closer as if he was pinching the air. “But you know, young boy, one thing leads to another and I’m fucked up!”
The drunken ex-employee’s shout made the remaining people at the bar turn their heads toward the bar counter. Will who got secondhand embarrassment from this customer’s behavior grinned awkwardly and lower his voice, “look, man. I understand that you’re upset about getting fired. What happened? And by the way, what’s your name?”
“Matt,” he introduced, “well, it’s a looooong story, if you ask me, and I need someone to dump all these shits I’ve kept since this afternoon.”
Vanya had finished her work cleaning up the glasses, and she was a bit eager to hear Matt’s story about how he got fired from Kevin’s company. She then chirped in and dragged a stool just close to Matt. “So, do you want to talk about it?”
Matt popped the joint on his neck and sighed heavily, it was clear that he took a lot of alcohol to get into this drunken state. Despite his speech being slightly dragged, he told, “my boss, Kevin, he’s such a prick and does whatever he thinks it’s right to get as much profit as he could.”
Kevin. That name popped up again and made Vanya slightly irritated, but she managed to hide it and listen to Matt’s sob story. She thought that it would be impolite for her to cut the man’s story and decided to be a listener.“He’s one ungrateful and disrespectful bastard.” Matt pondered his empty glass and continued speaking, “I’ve made hundreds, even thousands of efforts to get Autoekomsten Corporation to reach its ridiculously high target and stake, and yet he didn’t bother to acknowledge my sacrifice.”Vanya and Will listened closely as Matt said, “two months ago, he tasked me with something. I was asked to get the highest quality car spare parts from another company in Germany, and so I did. I traveled there with my own money, spending hours waiting for the CEO so I can talk to him, and persuade him to be the main supplier for my ex-company.”“That’s a lot of work,” Vanya responded and seemed bewildered, “then what happened?”“The deal was finally made, we began the transaction,
Since meeting Matt that night at the bar, Vanya kept thinking about the idea of getting her revenge on Kevin. As she laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling in wonder after a long and exhausting day at work, the girl began scheming a plan to sneak into Autoekomsten Corporation. Vanya believed that Kevin would overthrow that German automotive company in order to secure his company’s position and monopolize the monopolized four-wheeled vehicle business in Europe as Matt told her once.Vanya smirked and chuckled, thinking of getting the newest car technology data from Kevin’s company to other competitors. Her mind imagined that Kevin would hang his head in shame as he watched his company crumble before his eyes, giving him the taste of his own medicine. It would be the sweetest revenge for Vanya and her family. She got up and walked to her desk, then turned her old laptop on.“Hmmm … ” she tapped her chin lightly as her finger scrolled down the company’s website, “how do I get in there
Ever since Carlin and Vanya met each other in elementary school, the two had been inseparable. Even though Vanya's family was in a state of chaos due to economic problems and misfortune, Carlin remained good friends with her and tried her best to support and provide as much help as she could. She always kept her promise to her best friend.The car that Carlin drove stopped before the old and shabby apartment complex where Vanya and her family lived for the last three years. She then headed out straight to her best friend’s place on the second floor and knocked on the door thrice.“Vanya? It’s me, Carlin,” said the girl who carried a make-up kit and a bag that contained some button-up shirts.Henriella answered the door and greeted her daughter’s best friend, “Please come in and sit, Carlin. I’ll call Vanya.”“Thank you, Auntie.” the guest smiled and entered the apartment.Not too long after that, Vanya got out of her room with a fresh look. It seemed like she just showered and washed
It had been two weeks since Vanya was accepted to work as a pantry staff at Autoekomsten Company, and she still waited for the perfect time to steal the data-contained files from Kevin’s office. Sure, preparing drinks and snacks for the officials was laborious, especially when they had a meeting. Not to mention that she had to work at the bar in the evening soon after finishing her work at the company.“Aren’t you tired, Vanya?” Henriella asked one time after Vanya went home from her work as a pantry staff. After taking a shower and eating, her oldest daughter changed into a waitress uniform. “You only have two hours to rest and get ready before going to the bar. Not to mention you only sleep for four hours.”Vanya only responded with a smile. “It’s all right, Mom. I’ll try my best to fix this situation and make us get back on our feet again.”Despite her mother’s worry, Vanya proved that she could juggle both jobs easily. When she arrived at the automotive company, she barely looked
“Come in.”Kevin’s commanding voice told Vanya to get in. The pantry girl then went in and put the coffee requested by her new boss. She tried her best to keep looking down and hid her face in case Kevin would see. As her face cowered, Vanya’s eyes scanned around the room, looking for the files she needed to execute the plan.“Here’s your coffee, Sir.” she served the steaming hot caffeinated drink on the boss’ table, followed by a small pack of sugar and a stainless small spoon. “I haven’t put any sugar on it. In case you need some sweetener, I brought this sugar pack.”The man stretched his arm and turned cracked his joints, then said, “Ah, finally. Thank you. This is what I need before another meeting.”Vanya carved a slightly awkward smile before asking, “Is there anything else you want, Sir?”Kevin shook his head. “You can leave now.”As he raised his head, Kevin saw the pantry girl’s face more clearly. He furrowed his eyebrows, his gut told him that he had met this girl from some
Kevin’s personal driver steered the vehicle down the darkened streets in Brussels. The city was more alive at night, filled with young people gathering at the nearby cafe, restaurant, bar, or just hanging around by the sidewalk. Some of the street lights helped illuminate the surrounding and give a warm and intimate ambiance. Even if it was past the working hour, the company owner insisted on finishing the deal by now so he could rest easily and enjoyed the weekend without needing to worry about his business. Only one task left to do for today, and that was tendering with another multi-national automotive company from France.The potential client wanted to meet Kevin at a bar in the heart of Brussels some days earlier, to which he agreed. Kevin already knew the bar since he was also a regular there. Even on the way to meet another client for tendering, Kevin couldn’t shake the familiar feeling when he saw Vanya for the first time. His gut kept telling him they had met on an occasion t
“So, do we have the deal?”Mr. Laurent tapped his pen onto the contract paper and read line by line carefully while Kevin waited in anticipation. It was so close to finishing the tender and he just need the client to sign the paper. The French man then clicked his pen up, then attached his signature to the column provided.“There you go, Mr. Kevin.” Mr. Laurent handed him the contract back. “I agreed with your offer and I’ll do the same for both of our companies.”The young CEO smiled proudly and shook the client’s hand again. “Thank you, Mr. Laurent. With this deal, I hope we can work jointly to flourish our companies.”“Merci beaucoup,” responded Mr. Laurent with a peal of laughter, “so I assume it’s safe to celebrate this moment, eh?”They began to order some drinks, and most of them weren’t cheap. Bottles of various vintage wines, champagnes, and cognacs were put on the table. Kevin took one, the most expensive and old of them all. He handed the bottle to the waiter and told, “Can
Vanya stood frozen hearing Kevin’s question. She rocked her feet back and forth in anxiousness. The girl didn’t anticipate that Kevin would notice her presence right away. Her mind was filled with plenty of scenarios she needed to say in case Kevin asked something. As Vanya rubbed her nape, the man took a step closer toward her and asked once more, this time with a firm emphasis.“Answer me. Aren’t you working in Autoekomsten Company as a pantry staff?”Vanya couldn’t dodge Kevin's bullet, so she reluctantly nodded. The girl sighed heavily as she arranged words to describe her situation.“Yes, I am, sir. I worked at your company by morning then went here by evening,” Vanya responded as her eyes kept avoiding Kevin’s piercing stare. “Why would you do that?” Kevin asked, this time his voice had softened.“My father passed away years ago, so I have to be the backbone of my family to support my mother and younger sister,” explained Vanya. She held back the rage as she told the