The One Who Got Away (ON HOLD)

The One Who Got Away- Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Uch. Shut up already. I’m getting up for goodness sake,” I grumbled, trying to turn my blaring alarm off. I so wasn’t in the mood for working today. After spending most of my evening (and morning for that matter) chopping, peeling, frosting, and rolling, I only managed to get a full 2 hours of sleep, a new personal record, might I add.

I dragged myself out of my warm bed and made my way over to the adjoining bathroom. I quickly stripped out of my pajamas and welcomed the scalding water as I stepped into the shower. After showering long enough to fully wake me up, I stepped out and wrapped myself in a towel before heading over to my closet to get my clothes for work. “Shit, this can’t be happening today,” I panicked as I looked over at the clock and saw how late I was. I quickly ran a brush through my wavy brown hair and threw on my uniform, which consisted of khaki shorts, a dark green tank top, and my apron. I quickly applied some foundation, eye shadow, mascara, and eyeliner before doing a quick evaluation in the mirror.

I don’t think I will ever understand why Talia is always gushing about my looks. Sure, many people tell me that I’m drop dead gorgeous, but when I look in the mirror, I just see an average girl. My wavy brown hair fell just below my chest and my blue eyes were popping against the makeup I had just applied. My uniform was clinging to my tiny frame in all the proper places and my tan complexion seemed to glow against the green I was wearing. So maybe right now I wasn’t looking too bad, but still, being put next to a beauty like Talia, I was nothing special.

After glancing at the clock a final time, I mentally kicked myself for getting lost in my thoughts. Grandma sure wasn’t going to trust me in coming to work on my own after this stunt. Just this once, I wish being the boss’s granddaughter would give me an advantage, but knowing that wasn’t about to happen, I ran downstairs, grabbed my car keys, slipped on my running shoes, and ran out the front door.

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“I can’t believe you’re late, and today of all days!” Grandma Lynn shouted at me as I walked into the restaurant. You would think she would at least say hello to her only granddaughter, who had just spent her entire evening working, but it looks like that wasn’t going to happen either.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just you wouldn’t believe all the traffic out there. It’s like these people have never celebrated this holiday before,” I said, tying my hair up into a messy bun.

If looks could kill, then I definitely didn’t want to be receiving the glare my grandmother was giving me right now. “Jamie, this isn’t any normal celebration and even if it was, I expect you to be punctual at all times.”

I scoffed. “What makes this holiday so special. Nothing seems different?”

“As you probably know, Prince Tristan just recently turned 18, which means soon, he will be assuming the throne as King. Besides this responsibility, he will also need to be finding a young lady to settle down with as his wife and Queen of this country. Now about today, this holiday is special because it marks the beginning of the Prince’s quest for his future wife. For the next couple weeks, this search will continue, ending with a grand masquerade ball that all are to attend.”

We both stood there in silence as I took all of what she said in. “Wait does that mean that Talia and I are going to have to work through the night until this whole “quest” is over?”

Again, my grandmother gave me another one of her death glares. I avoided making eye contact with her and instead, glanced over at Talia, who was cleaning the glass cases, obviously eavesdropping  “That is hardly the point Jamie. What you fail to see is that this is a very important and stressful time for this country and I would appreciate it if you could just perform the simple task of showing up on time.”

And with that, she stormed off to her office, leaving me standing there in complete shock. Since when did she care about Prince Tristan, or the Royal family for that matter? Especially after everything they put us through? If I had known she would be siding with the King, I would’ve shown up for work hours ago, just so I could avoid this talk.

“Don’t worry about her. You and I both know that this whole thing will blow over before the day is over,” Talia said, walking up to me and giving me a small smile. I laughed and nodded, knowing that Talia was probably right. “Now turn that frown upside down Jamie and come help me set up the pastries. Your grandma will kill me if I don’t get all these damn cakes into the cases.” I took one more glance at the closed office door before heading over to where Talia was. The lack of sleep was definitely getting to her because she looked completely overwhelmed as she tried to cram the now destroyed cupcakes into the case. “Woah there Tal, take it easy. How about you go refill the salt and pepper shakers and I’ll handle the pastries,” I exclaimed, taking the tray of cupcakes from her.

Talia looked down at her chocolate covered hands and sighed. “So how many weeks is this search again? I doubt my body can be sleep deprived for much longer,” she joked. I giggled before starting on the pastries.

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“Well Jamie, I have to tell you, you did an amazing job. You should consider pastry shelving as a possible career option,” Talia said, scanning the cases.

I rolled my eyes at that one. “And where would we be without your fabulous refilling skills. Maybe you should drop out of school and fill salt and pepper shakers full time,” I fired back.

“Enough chit chat ladies. We’ve got a restaurant to open,” Grandma said, emerging from her office. “Jamie, go take down the closed sign. We’ve got a long day ahead of us so we might as well embrace it,” she continued.

As much as I didn’t want to embrace today, or any of the days that were to follow, I did what I was told, and walked over to the doors. As I neared the doors, I could hear a commotion coming from outside. Removing the sign, I took the opportunity to look outside, and froze at what I saw. 

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So I'm leaving this chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger.  Also, sorry this chapter is a little short, but next one should be longer. Expect the next chapter to be posted either tomorrow or Sunday. 

Hmm, wonder what's going on outside. Anyway, I promise Tristan will be introduced in the next chapter. I'm thinking a possible chapter from his POV might be coming soon but we'll have to see. 

Again, Fan, Vote, Comment, Show Your Love! It really would mean the world to me.