My Most Precious Human
Chapter 9

Carla had outstanding cooking skills and an amazing imagination when it came to mixing flavors. She couldn't afford to rent a place for a restaurant, so she chose to start a catering company instead. She had rented premises in the building right next to our apartments and created a professional kitchen there. She intended to provide her cuisine at the most expansive events in the city. That could allow her to earn the money she needed to open her dream restaurant in New Argent City... in a few years. I supported that dream of hers with all my heart.

Spending time with Carla was refreshing. She was always on the run. She constantly developed new dishes while I had become her lab mouse that had to taste whatever she came up with. She was a perfect distraction from my monotonic work, and a natural excuse to take a break. With her, I could pretend that I was living a normal life. Sometimes I even convinced myself that I could stay in New Argent City forever...

I had just finished another assignment for one of my VIP clients. It wasn't a tough one, but it required focusing on different variables to create a logical pattern. All those numbers gave me a headache. Carla must have read my mind since she messaged me, telling me that she would come by to celebrate. I smiled reading her text. I was glad that she got a little bit closer to her dream again.

Two hours later, she was standing on my threshold, holding three bottles of wine and grinning like a lunatic. I burst out laughing, looking at her agitated expression.

"Come in and give me those bottles. Your hands are shaking so much that I'm afraid you might drop them..." I smirked and invited her in.

"You will not believe what happened!" she called excitedly while handing me the bottles.

"Hold on," I cut her off, "Go inside, sit on the sofa, and wait until we both have glasses in our hands. Then I will let you talk," I stated, pushing her inside.

She sat down and waited for me to come while nervously stamping her feet on the floor. I opened the bottle, poured the wine, and handed her a glass.

"Here you go. Now you can talk," I said, barely holding my laughter.

"So, two days ago, someone sent me an email. A guy wrote that he tasted my cuisine during the Trade Center Anniversary, and he asked if I could arrange food for the special event he was organizing. From the email address, I checked the company, and it turned out to be the Diamond Crown Casino! These guys are loaded with cash!" Carla started feverishly.

"Yes... those guys might have a lot of money," I joked, "have you met this guy?"

"Yes!" Carla called, grinning. "His name is Thomas Dorwart, and he is the chief manager of the Diamond Crown Casino. He said that the Casino is planning a super exclusive event for some of the VVIP clients Although their list of demands is quite... unique, the price they propose is... Well, I bet that I wouldn't get more even if I decided to sell half of my organs on the black market!" she screamed out of happiness. "This is amazing!" I called, rejoiced, "I have no idea how much your kidneys or liver would be worth, but I bet that it's a lot of money. Anyway... cheers for your success!" I raised the glass.

"Cheers!" Carla giggled and emptied her glass in big gulps.

I poured us the rest of the wine from the first bottle and opened another.

"And... what about those demands you mentioned?" I asked curiously.

"Oh... They wanted 20 waitresses, only women that are pretty..." she said hesitantly.

"That sounds chauvinistic," I commented, slightly discouraged.

"I know, right? But... he assured me that it's only because they wanted to make it a themed event with costumes for all the waitresses, and there are no hidden motives behind it..." Carla stated with a confident expression.

I knew that she hoped that I would say that there was nothing wrong with specifying what the waitresses should look like, but at the same time, I had a weird feeling about it. Nonetheless, these were only my concerns, and I had no proof to say that she should reject the offer. The sum of money they were offering seemed suspicious, but considering how extravagant VIP parties in New Argent City might have been like, it wasn't anything alarming. For now, I decided to silence my doubts and be happy for her.

"So, what is the party theme?" I asked, pouring the wine again.

"It's Alice in Wonderland. I have already seen some of the costumes and they are gorgeous... sexy, but not indecent. They all look like they were brought out of a play by a high-class theatre," she explained. "Well... at least your girls won't look like hookers," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"No... nothing," I said, grinning as I drank more wine.

In the end, we emptied all three bottles Carla brought. She fell asleep on my sofa. Fortunately, I wasn't completely wasted, so I covered her with a blanket, and even managed to put myself to bed.

The big day had finally arrived, a week later. Carla was in her professional kitchen, preparing all sorts of appetizers that the guy from the casino had ordered. That day was my day off of work, but instead of relaxing or shopping, I spent most of the day having more and more anxieties concerning Carla's assignment. An unexplainable gut feeling kept telling me that something would go terribly wrong. A few minutes after 2 PM, Carla called me.

"Help! I need your help desperately!" she cried over the phone.

"What happened?" I asked, worried.

"Two of the waitresses didn't show up today! The first one got sick and the other one had some important family matters to attend to... Since all the food will be prepared in advance, I can replace one of those girls on my own, but I need one more!" she wailed.

"So... Are you calling me to ask me if I would be your waitress?" I sighed.

"Would you?" she questioned hopefully.

Every part of me screamed that I should reject her, I should say no, but I knew how she wanted to make her job perfectly.

I clenched my teeth and said, "I'll help you..."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she sang happily, then blew her runny nose on a tissue.

"You are welcome..." I said while trying to smile.

"So... I need you to come here as soon as possible. I have already picked a costume for you," she declared wickedly, changing the tone of her voice from pleading to decisive at the speed of light. "You already knew that I would agree, didn't you?" I clicked my tongue, realizing her little trick.

"Oh, come on! I just know that you are kindhearted, and that was all. I swear!" Carla called, chuckling, "and... I really, really, really need your help..."

"Fine," I muttered, reluctantly, "Send me an address, and I will be there as fast as I can."

"I will text you everything right away!" Carla giggled then added excitedly, "Don't worry! Since you are gorgeous and sexy, I will get extra points for appointing you to the team, and the whole party is going to be great! I promise you won't regret it!"

I slightly chuckled, but couldn't force myself to share her enthusiasm. The fact was that all of my instincts were already telling me that I was going to regret this decision... dreadfully.

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