Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
Richard was thankful of the new buyer and he was even more happy when Sunny advised that he would be keeping the same staff. "Why don't you take off earlier?" Sunny offered when they were finished with the paperwork.
"I would like to but I want to say my goodbyes first." Richard sighed sadly "10 years can do that to a person."
Sunny shrugged carelessly "It's not like they liked you."
The former owner looked strangely at the new one "What do you mean by that?"
"It means they didn't like you." Sunny said with a laugh.
"I don't believe you!" Richard cried angrily "What do you have against me? You don't lie to a person that knows it's a lie." he was getting angrier by the minute.
Sunny sat calmly in his chair as he put up his feet comfortably on the desk of the little office in the restaurant "Don't believe me? Go outside for yourself."
"I will!" Richard stormed out of the room and down the hallway leading to the restaurant where everyone stood awaiting his arrival. Streamers were decorated and balloons were tied to every chair. He was in complete shock as his jaw dropped.
"SURPRISE!!!!" the crowd yelled happily as they laughed at his reaction.
Richard was grinning when Allie appeared from the kitchen with a cake that read 'To the Best Boss'. "You guys did this all morning?" he remembered walking into the restaurant but did not see any streamers or decorations. Then suddenly his faced dropped when he remembered yelling at Sunny.
He turned in time to see Sunny leaning at the hallway smiling at him "My job was to distract you."
Richard shook his head laughing "No wonder you asked me about the history of the restaurant."
Allie laughed "Yeah, Sunny had the tough job." she waved him over and everyone clapped their hands while Richard cut the cake. "And here's a card from us." she handed him the biggest card he has ever seen.
The group celebrated into the night as Sunny agreed to close business in celebration of Richard. Outside the restaurant stood Josh, who was wondering why the restaurant was closed. He ended up going from the back but the door too was closed. Josh peeked through the kitchen window to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Too bad the kitchen was empty. When he was about to leave, he saw Allie holding a container that looked like a cake holder. He waved to her and her heart almost jumped out of her body when she was surprised by the shadow.
She gripped her chest but smiled as she opened the door for Josh "You almost gave me a heart attack." she sighed.
Josh smiled apologetically "I'm sorry. I was wondering why the door was locked?"
She suddenly realized that he was not advised of the news "Oh, you don't know. Richard is moving to Canada, he just sold the restaurant to a new owner. You want to meet him?" she said excitely. She figured they would eventually have to work together, even if he was just the delivery boy.
"Uh...I don't think it's a good idea..." he stuttered.
Allison stopped smiling "Are you afraid he will look down on you because you're a delivery boy?"
He shook his head with a smile "Of course not, it's my job. But I don't want to ruin the fun since everyone knows each other."
"I know you." she pointed out. She smiled as she took his hand "Come on, you'll get along with him fine. He's a great guy." she took him outside the kitchen door and all eyes turned immediately to Allie and Josh.
Sunny was chatting with Rain and Richard when he saw Allie approaching him. He glanced quickly at their entwined hands but brushed it off lightly as he put on a smile "Hi there, we met before haven't we?" he held out his hand at Josh.
Josh reacted quickly and professionally as he nodded to Sunny "Yes, but not officially. I'm Josh."
"Sunny Lam. Nice to meet you. I hear from Allie that you're a good friend of hers." Sunny nodded to Allie who was smiling.
"See! I told you he was nice." she nudged Josh playfully. She turned back to Sunny "He's the delivery guy for Lai's Produce, the company we order our food from. You two should get acquainted." she was about to walk away when she leaned into Sunny "He's not just the delivery guy, he's our connection." she winked quickly and left the guys alone to talk.
Richard was watching at the corner of his eyes at the two men talking casually. He made a note to tell Sunny about Josh's true identity before he left for Canada.
**********
The next day started a brand new day for Phoenix Inn. The restaurant had a new owner and not to mention a new employee. Sunny was dressed in a suit ready for his first day of work when he remembered Josie, who was suppose to start work with him too. It wasn't by coincidence that she lived in the next apartment to him. It was that way since they could remember. He knocked on the door as he glanced at his watch, assuming that she was up and ready. When there was no answer, he remembered the spare key she left under the foot mat. He opened the door with ease and entered.
The apartment was so quiet, you could practically hear a pin fall. He walked down the short hallway and into her room. She was sprawled out on her stomach asleep like a tired kid. He sighed and was about to wake her up, instead he thought of a crueler way to do it.
When he returned to her room, he had a cup of ice and was about to throw it over her face but he knew she would only brush the cold ice away. She he pulled her shirt open from the back and tossed down the whole cup of ice. The next sound he heard was a squeal so loud that he had to cover his ears "EEEEKKK!!!" In a heartbeat Josie was up and scrambling to take the ice off her back.
Unfortunately for her, she had a habit of tucking her shirt into her pants so a few ice cubes fell into her pants. Sunny was laughing at the scene before him "Did you have an accident?" he asked at the puddle of water that dripped from her pants.
She leered at him with such vengeance "You're going to be SORRY when I'm through with you!!!" she chased him around the house ready to rip his head off.
He dodged her with ease as he laughed "I'm sorry I didn't bring my camera!!"
The comment only made her madder, eventually she gave up "Are you crazy or something?" she took deep breaths.
Sunny laughed "Is that a way to talk to your boss?"
This time she laughed "You're not my boss!" she snorted.
He nodded his head "I just bought Phoenix Inn yesterday." she wrinkled her forehead when she realized he was not joking, he answered the question that she was about to ask "If you were around long enough, maybe you would have found out yesterday. The owner had to go to Canada and at the same time Allie called me and told me about the sell."
Josie gave him a sly smile "Oh, so it was for Allie..." she teased him. "Hey, since you're the owner, that means I can sleep some more." she yawned and scratched her tousled hair and prepared to go back to her warm bed.
Sunny rolled his eyes as he caught her back shirt and lifted it while pulling her back around "No, no, no that's not how the rules work. Put your uniform on or you're fired." he threatened.
She snickered at his response, her eyes half closed "Yeah, like you're going to do that."
"Okay, you want to test me?" he let go of her shirt as he walked towards the door "You're not down there in 15 minutes, I'm going to tell the whole restaurant that you're really a man and you're gay...everything that tabloids want to hear about a person."
Josie frowned "You wouldn't dare..." it was the worse thing anyone can do to her and he knew it.
"You know I would." he laughed evilly as he left her apartment.
Sunny took the cab to the restaurant, he was surprised to find Richard there. "I thought you left already." he smiled "Can't bear to leave it right?" he teased.
Richard smiled in return "Not really, I was meaning to talk to you but we didn't have the chance last night."
"What is it?" Sunny asked wondering what it could be.
"You know the gentleman you just met? Josh?" Sunny nodded. "He is not just the delivery boy."
Sunny smiled "Yeah, I know, he's the restaurant's connection. Allie told me." he waved his hand nochalantly.
Richard shook his head "Not just that. Allie doesn't know who he is. His whole name is Josh Lai...does that ring a bell?"
His smile slowly dropped "Of Lai's Produce?" he guessed right on the nose.
"He is the second son of the Produce chain. Probably the most successful one in Hong Kong." he added.
Sunny questioned "Why didn't he introduce himself to me?"
"Allie." Richard said shortly.
"He's interested in her?" Sunny knew that he had competition, but how could he compare to a rich man's son. "Why won't he tell her?"
Richard shrugged "Because Allie met him thinking he was the delivery boy, they became friends that way and he didn't want to ruin it by telling her that he was rich."
"Why are you telling me? I'm sure I would have found out soon enough since Phoenix Inn does business with his company." Sunny reasoned.
"Because I want you to look out for Allie. I agreed not to tell her, but I don't know his exact motives towards her is. I respected the fact that he does not want to tell her, but I have this nagging feeling that it might not be good when Allie finds out the truth." Richard knew it was time for him to depart. "My flight leaves in half an hour, I have to get going."
Sunny nodded "Any last piece of advice?"
Richard grinned "Don't date your employees." he gave a wink to Sunny and got in his car, before he closed the door he added "But only if she's okay with it."
Sunny watched as Richard pulled away and he looked up at his new restaurant. He still wasn't sure how everyone would react to the new boss now that the old one was gone. He opened the double doors to be greeted by all the employees. They stood neatly in a row and bowed respectfully when he entered the room. He smiled brightly at his new crew "Okay, rule number one: No need for politeness. I prefer to be called Sunny and nothing else. If you need a day off, let me know a few days ahead of time....hmm...am I missing something?"
"How about if an employee is late?" Allie asked, her eyes concentrated to the person behind Sunny.
"Immediate deduction of payroll." Sunny said straightforwardly. It was not unfamiliar to him, he knew how to run a business.
Allie laughed "Sorry Josie."
Sunny turned in time to see Josie panting like a kid with asthma. She leaned on her knees as she put up a hand "I... I...am..."
"Late." Sunny said bluntly. He shook his head at his friend. "What did I tell you?"
Allie brought her friend a glass of water "It's her first day, just give her a break." she stroked Josie's back as she gulped down the water.
"If I give her a favor then everyone will want one." Sunny reasoned.
Josie put up her hand when Allie was about to speak up for her "It's okay. He doesn't pay that well." she and Allie laughed while Sunny's face turned to a frown. She stood up face to face with Sunny "Don't worry boss, I won't be late again." she said solemnly.
Sunny nodded "Good. Now get to work." he smiled at Allie but frowned at Josie.
Josie looked at Allie "He plays favorites." she rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen to get her new apron. It was going to be a long day and she knew it. She always had problems adjusting to a new atmosphere.