Taste of Iron

Seven: And The Nightmare Continues

Seven: And The Nightmare Continues

A few weeks passed, and Atlas's life went back to normal— that was, he didn't have any more strangers intruding his space and breaking into his apartment.

He did have a couple of shocks in his workplace, though. They were informed by their manager that the owner of the restaurant was selling the place due to 'personal issues'. Atlas was bummed at first, as the owner was the one that offered him the job. Without him, he would still be stuck in his hometown cooking boring food in the diner he worked at.

However, he was glad that they did find a buyer in time, so at least he didn't need to look for new jobs. Trying to find employment in the current economy would've been... hard. And there was a high chance he would've had to move back home in that case.

Today was the day when the staff was supposed to meet the new owner. Atlas didn't know much, or well, anything about who it was. The higher ups had kept the information on the down low, but it was finally time for the big reveal. Atlas was still a little worried for his job, even though the manager reassured them that the buyer did not want to make any changes in the staff.

Everyone was told to come to work half an hour early for the introduction, so Atlas had to wake up at the crack of dawn to get to the restaurant. Once he reached, he sat down with the rest of his colleagues as they waited for the manager and the buyer to show up.

Imagine Atlas's surprise when he saw the man he had been trying so hard to suppress from his memory, walk in through the door with the manager by his side.

Atlas stared wide-eyed at Emil, who was dressed in a neat three piece suit. He looked professional, and if Atlas hadn't known him prior to this, he never could've guessed that the man was a gang member.

This had to be a mistake, right?

"Good morning everyone. Thank you for showing up so early," the manager began. "As I already told you all, we have a new owner. Say hello to your boss, Emilio Alvarez."

"You guys can just call me Emil. I've wanted to get into the restaurant business for so long and I couldn't be more excited to start working with you all. Rest assured, you don't have to worry about any big changes. Your jobs are safe as long as you keep up with the good work that you've been doing. I will—"

Atlas zoned out as Emil continued with his speech. He couldn't take his gaze off of him, but the words he spoke refused to enter Atlas's brain. He simply couldn't process what was happening anymore. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way in hell that Emil was his new boss. Atlas was going to wake up any second. He had to.

The blue-haired chef pinched his arm, hoping that that would bring him into reality and that he'd wake up in his bed. But nothing changed, as he tried to swallow the truth.

Once Emil was done talking, a few of the staff members got up to go greet the man of the hour, no doubt sucking up to their new boss. But Atlas couldn't move his legs, almost as if he was paralyzed. He kept watching as Emil shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, keeping up with professionalism which Atlas was sure was just a facade.

This was the same man that broke into his home. Who threatened him with a goddamn gun. And now Atlas was supposed to call him his boss?

Atlas didn't miss the way Emil kept glancing at him, probably expecting Atlas to approach him as well. But the head chef remained seated, still in disbelief. Emil finally excused himself, making his way to Atlas. He wanted to run far away, to never face Emil again, but...he couldn't.

"Hi!" Emil said with a smile. Atlas blinked. Was he supposed to pretend like nothing had happened between the two of them?

"Hi?"