BXBX NOVEL Chapter 96 - Pluckemin Inn
Jeff was on his way back when Lena contacted him which meant that they had to wait about thirty minutes before they could go to lunch.
"Do you have any preferences?" She asked Samuel asked she continued to sign off on documents. Part of what was causing her work load to build up so much was she was still dealing with a lot of transfer or power and accepting the change of work contracts with clients and smaller companies that her father put together before he handed it off to her. It was a lot of work to make sure that everything looked to be in order and nothing had been any contract changes that hadn\'t been previously discussed.
"Not really. I don\'t know what good places are to eat in this area, but I\'m not very picky when it comes to food." He replied as he swapped pages on the notebook he was working with.
"Alright, I will take you to one of my favorite places to go then. They\'re a touch more upscale than what you\'re probably used to dining at, but they have a decent menu that has never disappointed me yet.
"Isn\'t it a bit early in the day to be eating at some place like that?" He knew that it was later in the afternoon, but his family had never eaten anywhere expensive unless it was for dinner to celebrate a special occasions. Lunches were acceptable to spend a lot of money on.
"It\'s fine. It\'s not like anyone is going to complain at us because we chose to eat somewhere more high end for a late lunch. It\'s not that odd within my family anyways." Lena said blowing it off. It was something that Samuel would have to get used to anyways. In the future when it came business deals on either side of work, they would be spending a decent amount of time eating at higher class restaurants while going over business deals. Part of one of the reasons why when he father was really busy that he didn\'t eat dinner at home a lot, he was eating out during those times.
"And before you worry about it also, you\'re outfit will be fine for the occasion as well." Lena said, wanting to assure him before he began to worry that he didn\'t have the right clothes on.
"It\'s something you\'ll get used to and later on we can worry about fixing your wardrobe if necessary."
"What is the name of the restaurant?" Samuel asked, he figured that he could at least look it up ahead of time to get an idea of what to kind of vibe to expect.
"It\'s Pluckemin Inn." Lena replied not looking up from what she was doing. Upon hearing the name, Samuel did have to look it up. He had heard of that Restaurant before.
While it certainly wasn\'t one of the most expensive restaurants, it was still far out of the price line that his family would\'ve been able to afford.
"Don\'t you generally need a reservation to get a table?" Samuel asked. Most higher class restaurants generally required a reservation made in advance. Had Lena done that before today when he didn\'t see?
"Usually, but the owner has provided my family was an open spot for whenever we wish to dine there. You could say this is in return for some help my father provided them with in the past." The princess explained. It was true, her father had helped by becoming a frequent customer not long after it had opened and encouraging other members of the within the group to eat there as well.
This was one of the more legal supports he provided as he didn\'t want people to get the wrong impression of the restaurant if they knew the kind of people the restaurant was catering to even if it wasn\'t a purposeful decision.
"Does your father or rather family I guess help everyone out like that?"
"Mostly just people they think deserve it or have helped out some way in the past. A way of repaying gratitude or showing respect." Her phone buzzed as she finished speaking indicating that Jeff had arrived and it was time for them to go.
Putting away everything that she needed to for the time being, she made sure that Samuel followed out ahead of her. She could finish answering any of his questions during the short drive to the restaurant.
The Plukemin Inn had much more of a high class feel than Samuel had anticipated even after looking up the restaurant. This made him feel rather out of place having hardly any experience in this type of environment.
Lena wasn\'t bothered at all by any of it and he tried to take that as a cue that he shouldn\'t let it get to him either, despite the fact that some people had turned to look and see who had entered.
"Last name miss?" The waiter standing behind the guest list asked.
"Scarlet." The princess replied already knowing what the response would be upon hearing the last name.
"I see miss Scarlet, thank you." He told after checking to see that her name was in the book.
"Where would you like to sit today?" He asked grabbing two menus as he waited for her response.
"The second floor would be nice today." She replied. Usually she would ask where the her guest would prefer to sit, but since it was Samuel\'s first time at the restaurant she presumed he might like the second floor better since it tended to be less crowded.
"Right this way then, I have a seat towards the back that I think would suit your tastes." The waiter replied as he lead them around and up the stairs that lead to the second floor.
"What can I get you to drink first?" He asked leading them towards a table that was located further in the back away from the rest.
"Two iced lemonades." Lena replied as she took her seat. Samuel followed suit rather quickly as the menus were placed down in front of them.
"Very well. I will be back with them shortly. Take all the time you need in ordering." He told them before leaving to fetch their drinks.
"Order whatever you like." Lena told the other once it was just the two of them. She already had an idea of what she wanted, but enjoyed looking over the menu to see if anything had changed since the last time that she had been there.
"Okay." Samuel replied, opening up the menu to take a look at what they had. He couldn\'t deny that they had quite a variety of food to choose from though he was only have paying attention as he was still taking in the view of the restaurant.
The light walls contrasted well with the bricks to give it a rather nice feel despite being a touch darker. Most of the curtains were open which allowed for a view of the outside though they weren\'t seated close enough for Samuel to look out the window.
The tables and chairs were spaced evenly enough apart that there was room for plenty of guests without making anyone feel as they were sitting too close to each other.
Samuel was also interested in the way that they had wine bottles displayed. He hadn\'t seen anything like it before.
Although she was ready to order by the time that the waiter came back with their drinks, she told him to give them another five minutes before they would be ready. She wanted Samuel to have a little more time to decide what he wanted to eat.
Samuel wasn\'t really sure what to order. He just knew that if he didn\'t order a real meal, Lena would probably just order something for him.
When we the waiter came back, the princess had Samuel give his order first.
"I would like to try the fish and chips with a side of roasted red potatoes." He told the waiter who quickly took down his order before turning to Lena to see what she wanted.
"Plucky burger with a side of fries. Extra onion." She replied, handing the menu over to the waiter who took it from her before grabbing the other\'s.
"We will have that out for you as quickly as possible." He told them before he left to go and get their order in while tending to other customers.
Once the waiter left though, Samuel wasn\'t sure what to do while waiting for their food since Lena wasn\'t the best person at small talk and seemed even more quiet than usual the last few days unless they were completely alone together.
He figured it had something to do with work or family matters, but not something he could yet be a part of. He would\'ve liked to know so that he could understand what was going through her head. Now that he was keeping something from her however, he felt less like he had the right to ask about things that were not yet his business to know about.