Free Web NovelChapter 18: Upping The Grind
(Three weeks later...)
Stepping out of the bathroom, a towel on his head, Aiden picked up his phone which had beeped with two familiar notifications.
Staring at the credit alerts on his phone, there was a genuine pride in his eyes.
-
[Bank Alert]
Incoming Transfer: +$672.00 USD
Sender: Haute Cuisine Restaurant
Reference: Bi-weekly Staff Payroll
Status: Completed
Previous Balance: $1910.00 USD
Updated Balance: $2582.00 USD
-
Given he’d been paid two weeks ago for the second month, this was the follow up to the end of the month.
More than that though, Aiden had gotten a total of ten orders these past few weeks on the gig-site, all of which had culminated in a total of $450 on his dashboard.
Having allowed the funds to accumulate, which he had then withdrawn yesternight, he was glad to see that he had been credited.
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[Wallet Notification]
You’ve received $448.00 USD from XXXX.
Previous Balance: $640.00 USD
Current Balance: $1090.00 USD
Thank you for using SwiftPay.
-
Placing the phone aside, Aiden couldn’t help but hum a tune or two as he slipped into his pajamas and crashed face first onto the bed.
At this stage, he could opt to take it easy, focus solely on his job as a waiter for the last month and he’d still hit the target of $5,000 for the time-limited quest.
But that would just be a dumb, complacent move and he knew it.
Afterall, what was the point in him wanting to gain his financial freedom if he was simply content with a checklist on his system interface.
Which was why, Aiden planned to go even harder and up the grind for the last month of his summer vacation.
Though he’d already funneled enough traffic on his own into the gig-site, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to up those numbers.
Navigating over to the gig-site, he stared at the advert prices.
Mulling it over a bit, he opted for the lowest plan of $50 for 100 impressions daily.
After the transaction went through, he then placed the phone aside on his bedside table, his gaze currently locked onto something else.
-
[Ding!]
[Exclusive quest failed!]
⸢Exclusive Quests
› It’s The Hautest!!!
└ Serve a total of 1250 customers before the end of the month – [2 LP Lost.]
-
Honestly, Aiden hadn’t for one moment believed he wouldn’t fail the quest. Afterall, it had chosen the worst possible time to crop up.
And though he’d given it his all to knock it out, there was only so much he could do when the higher limit of customers he could attend to in a week as a part-timer was 250 to 300 customers.
Chuck that up to the three weeks left before the month’s end, and he had only managed to attend to 700+ customers.
Unfortunately, even if he did get the quest at the start of the month, Aiden estimated that he’d have only managed a little over a thousand customers at best.
Pondering the best way to hit that threshold, Aiden soon came to a decision as he dozed off.
But first, he’d have to run it through his Pops.
* * *
(Two days later...)
Walking into Haute Cuisine thirty minutes earlier than he usually did, Aiden headed straight for David’s office.
Knocking on the door, he was soon permitted entry a few seconds after;
"Ah, Aiden. Come on in."
Upon walking in, he then greeted the man;
"Mornin’ David," freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"Morning, kid. What’s up? Nothing serious, I hope?" the manager soon remarked as the young chap took his seat.
Given Aiden had been a great employee thus far, David hoped that whatever it was the youth wanted to discuss with him wouldn’t result in him quitting the job.
Especially since he only had a month left before his summer vacation was over. A month he understandably presumed Aiden might want to use to unwind and get ready for resumption in August.
"At all," the young chap on the other hand settled into his seat and then asked in a hopeful tone;
"Actually, I was wondering I could come in on Fridays, too? At least till the month ends."
David was rather stunned by that, his expression clearly reflecting it.
Then, after a short moment, he recovered and said;
"Sure. Sure! That’d be great!"
"Really?" Aiden’s face lit up, genuinely surprised that it was going to be that easy.
Considering he’d presumed that there was some reason or the other David hadn’t initially added Friday to his work days from the onset, he’d expected a flat-out rejection from the manager.
"Yeah. I figured the workload might’ve been a bit too much for you given this place’s usually swamped with customers but, if you’re cool with it, then sure. No problem." David assured him.
"Just need to have some updates made to your payroll and you’re golden." the manager reclined into his chair with a cordial smile, his palms interlocked.
No sooner had Aiden heard that, he grinned in appreciation;
"Thank you, David." freewёbnoνel.com
"Don’t mention it, kid. Don’t mention it." the man waved it off with a casual air.
Following up from that, Aiden made his way out of the room and into the male employees’ changing room.
Seeing Jermaine and Cody already in, Aiden couldn’t help but inform them with a confident grin;
"Guess who’s gonna be helping out on Fridays too for the rest of the month?"
Turning around to face the youth whose visage had a confident grin plastered on it, both employees moved over to dap him up.
"Alright!" Cody exclaimed, gladdened by the news, while Jermaine remarked with a genuine grin, his tone proud;
"My man."
Soon enough, all three shuffled out of the room after outfitting themselves with their work attires.
Arriving at the dining area, they relayed the good news to Mrs. Bao whom had already arrived.
"Oh~! That’s great!" she beamed to which Cody then asked in a curious tone;
"So, how’re you planning to go about the tables for the extra day?"
To that effect, Aiden tapped his chin, pondered for a bit and then said;
"How about we shift the roulette to Fridays, and then, I help out each of you with a table on a Thursday for the next three weeks?"
"As for the Thursday of the last week... well, we can also leave that up to the roulette. First to five. How’s that sound?" he gestured to the trio with an open palm.
"Sure!" Cody enthusiastically replied.
"Sounds cool." Jermaine nodded in agreement.
"That’s perfectly fine by me, Aiden." Mrs. Bao remarked with a warm smile.
In response, Aiden clasped his palms together and said, a cordial smile on his lips;
"Alright, then. Let’s give it our all again today."
No sooner had he said that, he walked over and flipped the small placard hung by the door, ’Open’.
In sync, his co-workers got into the right frame of mind as they awaited the customers to come in.
No sooner had the customers began trickling in, one of them moving over to Aiden’s table...
-
[Ding!]
[Exclusive quests updated!]
⸢Exclusive Quests
› It’s The Hautest!!!
└ Serve a total of 1250 customers before the end of the month – [2 LP]
-
’Alright, Aiden. Here we go.’ the young chap took in a deep breath as he moved to attend to said customer.
* * *
The next couple weeks passed by in a blur.
Through it all, Aiden had seen a big jump in the number of impressions he got on his gig-site... all thanks to his investment.
Naturally, that translated over to an increase in art commissions.
If before, he had been getting about two to three commissions in a week, now he was steadying at seven to nine commissions per week.
Which was why, by the time the last week of the month came, he had completed a total of twenty-four commissions and counting.
That said, Aiden had also attended to a total of 948 customers over those weeks and he was dedicated to giving it his all to hit that quota.
Which was why, by the time his shift ended on the first day of the last week, he managed to attend to 66 customers in total.
By the second day, he catered to 59 customers.
On the third day, 61 customers.
And on the fourth, 56 customers.
Currently on the last day, Aiden leaned on a table and placed a hand on the bottle the trio typically used for their roulette.
Given it was going to be his last day on the job as a part-timer at Haute Cuisine, practically every employee on ground whom was aware of their game, crowded the table in genuine interest.
David was no different as he stood at the forefront, his arms crossed over his chest with an amused smile on his lips.
Currently, the score was tied at 4:4:4, and there was an unmistakable anticipation in the air.
Then, as Aiden looked to Cody, Mrs. Bao and Jermaine, all of whom had varying reactions from anxious, to neutral, and relaxed respectively, he grinned and said;
"May the best employee win."
With a flourish, he spun the bottle for the last time.
And as everyone watched it revolve for the next few seconds, the bottle slowly but surely, came to a gradual halt... inching past Cody and stopping its snout...
...right before Jermaine.
Without so much as a twitch in his expression, he looked over to Cody whom had dramatically slumped his head onto the table and Mrs. Bao who simply shrugged in resigned defeat as Aiden proclaimed;
"Ladies and gents, we have a winner."
"FUCCCKKK!!" Cody suddenly raised his head and let out an audible cuss, one Mrs. Bao promptly grabbed at his ear for and twisted without mercy!
In response, the employees burst into laughter, as did David, Jermaine and Aiden himself.
A minute after, everyone dispersed to their stations, a sense of camaraderie lingering in the air.
Then, as the restaurant opened for business and the customers trickled in, Aiden flexed his shoulders, his expression determined and a confident smile on his lips;
’Alright. Sixty customers to hit the quota. I can do this.’
