Five Out of Five - Why Don't We

Six: Waiters

"I told you he likes you!" Zach yelled down the hall.

"What?" Ethan looked at her quizzically.

"Just ignore them." Kira sighed. She mentally prepared herself for whatever Ethan needed. It probably wasn't a big deal, but to Ethan everything was a crisis. "What's wrong?"

"We have a problem with the engagement party luncheon tomorrow." Ethan said. Kira wanted to resolve this quickly and carry on with her breakfast, but she could tell it would take a while to calm Ethan down and address whatever the problem was.

"Come in." Kira held the door open for him and motioned him inside. He followed her into the kitchen where all the guys sat staring at them. Kira steeled herself. "Guys, this is Ethan. We work together. Ethan this-"

"We're all her lovers." Corbyn lifted his head from the table and Kira groaned inwardly. This was not the first time they'd done this.

"One man just isn't enough for her," Jonah added.

"Even the five of us can't satisfy her," Jack said.

"Do you want to be boyfriend number 6?" Daniel asked. Zach tossed a piece of bacon at Daniel.

"It was my turn to say that!"

Daniel threw a strawberry back at Zach. Ethan was looking between the guys and Kira. Probably wondering if it was true. Kira grabbed Ethan's arm and led him over to the kitchen counter with a sigh.

"I live with absolute children. Don't listen to anything they say. Just tell me what the problem is."

"The entire wait staff went out to dinner last night to celebrate Jenny's birthday and now they all have food poisoning." Ethan's eyes were still wide and he was fidgeting with the binder. Kira had to admit, this was a bigger problem than she was expecting.

"The entire wait staff? Even the reserve staff? What about Devon and Kirsten and-"

"All of them. They're all too sick to work and it's unlikely they'll recover by lunch tomorrow. Besides, they'll all look terrible and it'll disturb the guests. We have no wait staff."

Kira let out a breath and then she reached for the binder Ethan had. It was full of all the vendors their company worked with and all the staff they employed. Kira had a digital version on her laptop upstairs, but Ethan had always been a hardcopy kind of person. She hoped there was something in the binder that could help.

"It's not a very large party," Kira mumbled as she flipped through the binder. "It's mostly just the two families and some close friends. We'd only need a handful of waiters. Even five would be enough."

Ethan pointed out a few options in the binder and Kira talked with him quietly. The guys were all still watching them from the table, but slowly their interest was waning. Then Jonah spoke up.

"We could do it," he said loud enough for Kira and Ethan to hear.

"Do what?" Kira asked.

"Help out at the event. We can be waiters."

"We can?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, we can." Jonah shrugged. "Kira needs help and we aren't doing anything tomorrow. How hard can it be? We just need to be polite, carry food to tables, and pour drinks for people. We can do that."

Jonah looked at the group. They exchanged glances a few times and slowly began to nod.

"I'll do it," Corbyn said with a shrug.

"Yeah, why not?" Jack agreed.

They all nodded their heads and Kira felt a wave of relief. She trusted the guys and knew they would do a good job. Then she turned to Ethan and he didn't seem as confident.