365 Days with the Celebrity

Chapter 15 - What kind of boss is this?

Ariel rubbed her eyes to a bright, Sunday morning after surviving the week with Leon. It had not been easy as she had hoped, not expecting how one individual could mean more massive headache than serving a hundred customers a day in a restaurant.

One minute, he could be friendly, and the next, he flipped over the way his food was not presented in a fashion he liked. Even a five-minute delay could earn her head-shaking disapproval from him. If the ingredients used were not done to his liking, she would simply have to re-cook the dish. Sometimes he changed what he liked, rendering parts of the notebook that Vinny gave to her useless. Most of his main meals were high protein, low fat and low or no sugar in order to maintain his muscle definition. But he had a weakness for desserts and would devour them during his cheat days or occasional cheat meals, despite his lean and toned body. She brewed her special fruit tea concoctions which he liked, much to her relief.

Leon was content to stick to a small fraction of Fujita sauces that he favoured, which meant a large chunk of the collection was just for show on social media. Leon's PR team required her to cook many dishes in advance so that they could schedule the posts according to their social media calendar. Ariel had to cook double for the sake of the snapshots. The ones that Leon rejected were eaten by her and other employees, much to his amusement. She found it hard to understand his strange pickiness on foods that many others found tasty. Any food that he disliked after a single bite would be tossed into the bin immediately, leaving Ariel cringing helplessly at the wasted food that she could not salvage in time.

Who does this rich, arrogant man think he is, throwing away good food like trash! Ariel thought of the needy people who could benefit from his scraps. The juxtapose of the lives between the rich and poor boiled silently within her at the sight of her hard work gone to careless waste by this crazy celebrity.

Even the Orient Treasure donated their unsold leftovers to the food banks every day, and would only dispose of food gone bad. Madam Yong was a difficult boss to work for but at least she was consistent in her demands and never threw away good food without a good reason. As for Leon, he made Bloody Mary look like a saint!

Ariel appreciated that Vinny was not as picky as Leon when it came to food, but her occasional deadpan expressions and indifference towards her did not make things any better. As for Arnold, he was much more open to whatever she would cook for him, and even begged for her homemade fruit tea mix in a glass jar so that he could bring it to work.

And then, there were Leon's bodyguards whom she had to prepare meals for. They remained aloof with everyone around them, not really interested to engage in any conversation despite Ariel's attempts to be sociable and friendly.

Anna Alvarez, a middle-aged cleaner with short, curly dark grey hair that framed a cherubic countenance with smiling dark brown eyes and a plump figure with light brown skin, came three times a week to clean the penthouse. She was extremely approachable and friendly, almost like a mother figure. Ariel loved conversing with her while she cooked and while Anna cleaned. Anna would pour out her stories from her native Puerto Rico, from the slums she grew up in to the amazing nature and traditions, including their colourful arrays of food which was Ariel's favourite part of the conversation. Arie would jot down on her notebook recipes that Anna shared about her home delicacies and even watch videos on Puerto Rican food that Anna showed her. Anna quickly became a fan of Ariel's cooking and would peer over her shoulder while she cooked from time to time to see what was next on the menu. It was much more convenient than packing their own food to work now that Leon chose to reimburse his workers' meals with Ariel was being hired.

Even though Leon was an unpredictable boss with a ruthless temperament, Ariel enjoyed doing her job and would rather this than go back to the Orient Treasure any time.