Intuition.
"The ability to understand patterns that sometimes could guide us throughout a journey without the need of conscious reasoning, something that is beyond our rational thoughts. Something or a situation we believe we know that is true without knowing how and why."
Intuition was very common for people, but having a good and on-point intuition was rare.
Senthie Salvador was one of the people who had good intuition. In most cases, she knew things that most people couldn't discern, as well as how the real intentions of other people would unfold.
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It seemed like luck wasn't on SENTHIE's side even after praying for fifteen minutes straight.
"Good afternoon! Rychicken's delivery for Senthie Salvador," said the redhead man in a samurai bun and now across the counter. He was wearing a green polo shirt with the restaurant's name (Rychicken's Barbeque) stitched on the left chest, the collar and the hem of the sleeves were white--the same design he was wearing the last time they saw him.
"Oh, thank you." Senthie smiled as she extended a hand to reach the brown paper bag with the restaurant's name on it.
Rychie handed the bag and informed her that the order was already paid. He was about to leave but then, Cecile threw a question to him. "You do deliveries?"
He cocked his head a bit before he answered, "yes, ma'am. I left a flyer inside the paper bag so you can check our menu and order any day you want from 7 AM to 10 PM."
"Why are you asking a question with an obvious answer? Or was it a question intended for him only?" Senthie murmured to Cecile.
"Of course, it's the latter! Why would I even ask a nonsense question if it's not?" Cecile whispered back and then turned her attention to Rychie as she smiled at him. "No, that's not what I meant. I was actually asking you why you do the deliveries. You're the owner, aren't you?"
"Oh if you are wondering how I knew, Kenzo told us. I'm sure you know him since he's a regular customer of yours, and the one who made this order," Cecile added and pointed at the brown paper bag.
Rychie chuckled. "I see... Yes, I know him. And about your question... I just have an errand to do here so I thought I should just do the delivery since I'm going to the same place anyway."
"Okay, bye then," Cecile said as she nodded and smiled.
Rychie nodded and bid his goodbye and hoped for the two to enjoy their lunch. When he was out of sight, Cecile smacked Senthie's shoulder as she squealed, "did you hear his chuckles? It was so hot it melted my heart!"
Senthie glared at her. "You do realize that you just hit me again, don't you?"
Cecile gasped and rubbed her palm on Senthie's shoulder which had been hit. "I'm sorry, bes! I got too carried away!"
Senthie rolled her eyes as she shrugged her left shoulder to shove Cecile's hand. "You always get carried away whenever you see a handsome man. It's almost like a disease."
Cecile shook her head as she held up a finger and wiggled it. "Uh oh, you're wrong. Not whenever, I'm not like this when I see Kenzo. But you know, if he isn't your ex, I would make a move on him."
Senthie gasped. "Do you have feelings for Kenzo?"
Cecile chuckled. "No, of course not! I won't have feelings for any of your ex, that's a thing that I can promise you. But for ex-crushes, I might consider it though. You see, Sen. I have a crush on Rychie!"
Senthie's eyes widened in surprise as her head automatically shook. "Wow, are you serious?"
"Yes, why? Are you mad at me?" she asked with puppy eyes that made Senthie laugh.
"Of course, not! I'm happy for you, bes... It's just that... Ugh, never mind. But aren't you crushing on Mr. VP, too?"
Cecile sighed as she reached for Senthie's hands. "Don't worry, bes. I won't bother you anything about Rychie and I won't tell him a thing about your past. Trust me."
Senthie smiled and nodded at her. "Thanks, bes. You can now answer my question."
Cecile laughed as she pulled back her hands and folded her arms. "Mr. VP? No, he's just vitamins for my eyes, nothing more. Besides, I think you look perfect togethe--"
"Perfect together? Are you blind, bes? He's annoying as hell! I wanna kill him!"
"Why? Why would you say that? Did something happen?" Cecile shook her head. "No, what happened earlier?"
Senthie began to tell Cecile about what happened earlier with all the significant details, from how he accused her of being a fraud to how he asked her out for a dinner.
"What? How did he even know that name? Did he do some background checking on you? I can't even tell if he was being an asshole or just hitting on you. Why did he have to ask you out on a date after being an asshole? Was it to make you confused? Or did he just want to have dinner with you? Is he that interested in you? O-M, bes, what if he is an asshole and this asshole likes you?"
Senthie chuckled and then sighed heavily. "I don't know, but I will have the answer once the dinner is over."
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Lunch was over and now, Senthie and Cecile were stuffed.
"Rychicken's the best! Do you think my hotpie is the one who came up with the recipe?" Cecile said as she touched her stomach with both hands. Her back rested on the wall, and her legs were stretched out. Her position was the same as Senthie's. They were both sitting on the foamed bench on the counter.
"Hotpie?" Senthie repeated and giggled as she winced in pain in her stomach--hardly could breathe because of how stuffed she was. "Did you seriously give him a pet name?"
"Of course! So no one would know except you who I am talking about. It's like a code name for him, just like how we always do when we were still in high school, right? Do you remember what you used to call him? If I'm not mistaken, it was Lashes, because he has long lashes!"
"Yeah, right. So why call him hotpie? I understand the hot because you said he's hot, but what about the pie?"
"Nothing, I just replaced the sweetie in sweetie pie with hot, because he's hot," she answered with giggles in between lines.
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Several minutes later, after punching the last item for the third customer, an unexpected applicant came. She waited for the customer to leave before she neared the counter with her arms folded and said, "I'll be your part-timer, when is my first day?"
Senthie and Cecile's faces were dumbfounded as if saying 'what the hell was she talking about?' Senthie thought at first, the woman was here to complain about the gown--though a month had already passed when she received it and didn't even give feedback--Senthie never would've thought that her first ever customer and her so-called human lucky charm that was in front of her was going to apply as the part-timer.
Senthie smiled awkwardly at her. "Uh, ma'am, did we hear you right? You want to be a part-timer here at Fashion Sen's?"
"Yes, you heard me right. So, when is my first day?"
Cecile interrupted the conversation by clearing her throat. Senthie and the woman's attention went to her. "If you may excuse me, ma'am. We have procedures to follow before we hire an applicant. You may submit your resume online or you can hand it to us."
Kassandra, the customer, now an applicant, giggled at her hand. "Okay, if you say so." She took out her iPhone from her LV bag and used it for a few minutes.
As soon as she slid back the phone into her bag, Senthie and Cecile's phone played a notification sound, and when they took a look at their phones from their pockets, their eyes grew wide. Flashing the screen at their faces, they received an email from a sender named Kassandra Taylor.
Senthie opened the message immediately and found only a link. She clicked the link and it directed to Wikipedia, her eyes grew even wider when she read the content. It was information about Kassandra Taylor: a runway model in Europe; half British, half Filipina; 5'9 in height; 137 lbs; vital statistics are 33, 24, 33; and other details and information about her journey as a model.
Senthie gasped and Cecile did too. They threw glances at each other and then at Kassandra who was now smirking with her arms folded. "Would that be enough?"
"Woah, so I was right. You really are a model. That was what I thought the first time I saw you. But... Why do you want to work here? You already have a good career and by the clothes and bag you are wearing, you are loaded. So why?" Senthie asked.
Kassandra chuckled. "I'm not asking you to pay me. You will get a part-timer for free."
Cecile laughed. "That sounds even more suspicious. Why would an international model wants to be a part-timer here for free?"
"Can I ask first who is the designer?"
"I am," Senthie uttered.
Kassandra gave her attention to Senthie. "Look, I love the gown that you made. I never imagined that you could finish it in only three days. I was amazed. And since I am a model, I want to wear more of your designs."
Senthie wrinkled her forehead. Kassandra continued. "I knew that you are looking for a part-timer for a while now. I was thinking about how to get close to you, 'coz I want you to be my friend. So when I saw the job poster is still there..." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "I thought this is my chance."
"So you want to be a part-timer here to make my best friend your friend?" Cecile snorted.
Senthie laughed internally because of how jealous Cecile had sounded. But more importantly, Senthie didn't buy anything that Kassandra said. She had a feeling that she had an ulterior motive behind this friendly facade of her.
"Yes. But I also think that if I work here for free, you wouldn't agree, so I have conditions," Kassandra stated.
"And what are the conditions?" Senthie asked.
"Are you seriously considering this idea, bes? The employer should be the one imposing the conditions, not the applicant!" Cecile whined.
"Let's hear her out first."
Cecile let out an audible sigh and conceded. Kassandra began with her conditions as Senthie listened intently while Cecile kept on whining. But soon, Cecile decided to keep her mouth shut and just listened until it was over. The discussion only took ten minutes. Senthie thanked Cecile for her cooperation and asked for her opinion since they were business partners.
"I think it's fine. It's a win-win. We should grab this opportunity, bes!" Cecile murmured.
"Are you sure? But you said you don't like her, and just a while ago, you were throwing a fit by just hearing her out. Are you sure you want to hire her?" Senthie whispered back.
They were mumbling to each other 'coz Kassandra was just in front of them across the counter. Senthie wanted to talk at least in the VIP room but wasn't a good idea since no one would be left at the counter to attend to the customers if they had done that. Both of them had to be present when it came to this kind of discussion since they had to make an important decision that might affect the whole business in the long run.
"If you are worried about me and her being together in the same place, don't. Just don't. I promise that I'll do my best to handle my temper," Cecile whispered as she squeezed Senthie's hand.
Senthie smiled and then nodded at her. She turned her attention to Kassandra and smiled. "You are hired, Kassandra Taylor. You can start ASAP once the official contract is done and signed by both parties. Do you want it to be sent via email or do you want to sign it with us here?"
"Just send it via email, please."
Senthie thought that they had hit a jackpot by having Kassandra as their part-timer, but at the same time, she still had the feeling that Kassandra might just have another agenda and that her applying as a part-timer was just a redirection of her real motive, nonetheless, Senthie just shrugged off that idea and thought to herself that she would just keep an eye on her.
Later that night, Senthie decided to end the day positive, until she received a text from an unknown number--though she already knew who it was by the message.
"Change of plans, let's meet this Sunday, 4 PM sharp at the amusement park, Enchanted City. Wear something comfortable. You can bring Ms. Cecilia if you want. It's fine with me."
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Hello, Noomiells!
Thank you for reading this chapter! Hope you liked it. :)
Do you agree with Cecile? Do you think Senthie and Jimhuesh look good together based on your imagination? XD
Do you have/used to have a code name for your crush?
What do you think of Kassandra? Do you think she's sincere? Or do you agree with Senthie's intuition about her?
What do you think Jimhuesh is planning?
I would like to know your opinion. Please, let me know! :D