The Daily Life Of A Foodie In The Office

- Mae West

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A couple of days after her trip to Penang, Delilah finally felt that she can work dutily. Previously, she has been slacking off as she felt like she was still on a holiday. Luckily for her, Aubree did not scold her for being lazy. This was because she knew how much Delilah had worked before her holiday. She knew that she shouldn"t have taken advantage of Aubree"s goodwill but she really did not have the mood to work after she got back from the holiday.

At that moment, she was working on her reports where she had to check on the available trainings that she can schedule for the employees of Kang Company. Other than that, she had been tackling problems on underperforming employees. The New Year will be coming up soon so she thought that she would be better off preparing list of training schedules. And while she was selecting the trainings to be suggested, she thought, perhaps, this may also encourage those underperforming employees. She hasn"t got the chance to meet them to ask what was happening. She could only get feedback from their supervisors. So, with the training, this could probably kill two birds with one stone. Additionally, if she propose the suggested training list earlier, this would give other employees a chance to see what was available and what suited them best. And additionally, they could also research more on what the training entails.

As she began to write off the names of the trainings that were either too expensive nor appropriate for the job description, she heard a little commotion at the entrance to the office. She looked up to see Bella standing there, talking and laughing with one of the employees. She was carrying piles of papers in her arms. Thinking that it probably wasn"t for her, Delilah turned back to her reports.

Moments later, she heard someone knocking on the wall of her cubicle. Looking up, Delilah watched as Bella dropped the piles on top of Delilah"s table and said, "Hi, D. A courier just came and sent this to us. He said he received this from Howard." She holds up a piece of paper and said, reading off from the note, "According to him, he said he needs you to double check with the doc.u.ments and pick the suitable place for the get together staff meeting."

Delilah frowned. "How come he"s giving the task to me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Isn"t this supposed to be the task of the General Affairs department?"

Bella shrugged. "I only tell you what I know," she replied, not really helping with the answer. "You should probably asked Aubree about this." She then waved goodbye to Delilah as she walked back down the stairs. "I"d better get back to my post. See you later, D."

Delilah sighed as she leaned against her chair. She took one of the papers from the pile and skimmed through it. It was a list of restaurants and dining halls in town, with its prices and pictures. Some have their own catering and some do not, which probably was Delilah"s task to find one.

She placed the paper back on the piles and placed the reports that she had done earlier on top of it. She then got up from her seat and walked over to Aubree"s cubicle. Delilah saw Aubree busy at work, as she typed non-stop on her computer.

Delilah knocked lightly on the wall of Aubree"s cubicle, trying to get her attention. Aubree looked up and gave her a smile. "Hey, D. What can I do for you?" she asked pleasantly. She stopped what she was doing and turned around to face Delilah.

"I"m a bit confused. So, Howard sent me some papers, which was some list of restaurants and dining halls… The thing is… isn"t that the task of an admin?" Delilah asked slowly. She quickly shake her hands and said, "It"s not that I don"t want to do them. But I was just wondering."

In all honesty, Delilah actually felt reluctant to do them. She was the type that sticks to her job responsibilities. Yes, she used to help out with Matt and Howard with choosing a restaurant before. But she does not want to make that as a regular occurence. She was already tied up with a.s.signing on the training schedules. Because she was not just doing it for one department but every department.

Aubree blinked her eyes in surprise. Papers? What papers? She did not remember Howard telling her about giving a task to Delilah. "Can you show me the papers?" she asked nicely.

Delilah nodded and went off to grab the papers. Moments later, she handed the papers to Aubree, who received them with a nod. Aubree began to read with a thoughtful look on her face. She placed the papers on her tables and said, "Yes, you"re right. This shouldn"t be your task. I"ll speak to Howard about this and you go on continue with your work.

I"ll talk to the admins about this," she continued.

Delilah nodded, grateful for Aubree"s help. She thanked her for the help and went back to her cubicle to continue doing on her work.

Delilah had her lunch with Firah at the office cafeteria. They did not have the mood to go out to have their lunch so they opted to stay in the office, instead. Fortunately for them, the food being served there was not that bad. But sometimes, when you always eat there, you would tend to get sick of it. So, both Delilah and Firah loved to eat out sometimes. Just to get away from the office.

It was an hour after lunch when Delilah was back in her cubicle. She was sorting out her doc.u.ments when Aubree came knocking on the wall of her cubicle.

Delilah looked up. She seems a bit surprised to see Aubree in her cubicle, wondering whether she has left something out in her report.

"Is there something wrong, Bree?" Delilah asked, tilting her head in question.

She could see Aubree was a bit nervous which made Delilah feel more suspicious. Why would she be nervous coming here? She wondered.

Aubree exhaled a long breath and bit her lower lip. "I texted Howard about the task that he had given you. He said that Matt actually requested you to do the job. He was pleased with the work that you have done before and thought, perhaps you can be in charge of this too."

It was then Delilah just noticed Aubree was holding the pile of papers in her hands. She handed Delilah them back with a wry smile.

Delilah sighed as she took the papers back. Sometimes it"s really hard when you do too much of a good work that people may take advantage of it, as well. "I see…" she said slowly, looking down at the papers with a dejected look on her face.

Aubree patted her on the shoulder. "Don"t worry. I"ve already told the admins to give you a hand with this. So, you shouldn"t worry too much."

Delilah sighed again. It was not that she was worried to do the work alone. In fact, she could probably do it herself, without the admin"s help. It was just that she did not want to do the work itself because it was not in her job description. But since this was a "command" from the higher ups, she definitely could not reject it and should just do it. She should not be surprised by this, actually. Since this was not the first time that it had happened to her. She does the work but it does not mean that she liked it.

After Aubree had left, Delilah put aside the doc.u.ments that she had been working on earlier and began to read the papers that Howard had sent to her. She began to read through the doc.u.ment, writing small notes on the paper, while researching the places online. She also took note on the locations, the prices and what was being offered. She wrote all the details on the papers itself, so that it was easier for her to refer to.

Although, it does not seem much but it took her hours to do the research. Because she also has to consider the guests" taste, as in what they can eat or can"t. And it was not just about the food itself, but also she would need to plan the programme schedule and what kind of entertainment needs to be added.

Even when it was time to return back home, she was still not done. She decided to continue her research at home. She doesn"t believe in bringing her work home. Even if she once did it before, she does not want to make it a regular activity. One must practice work-life balance [1]. She switched off her computer, rearrange her things and placed all her important doc.u.ments in her drawer before leaving the office.

Before Delilah started her car engine, she heard a notification from her handbag. She grabbed her phone from inside and saw it was a message from her sister. She quickly read the message, which reads, "Are you done with work? Go straight to "Small Hotpot" for an early dinner. We"re on the way there. Dad, too."

Delilah sent a quick "Ok" and started her engine. She then drive straight to the restaurant.

It only took her 15 minutes to arrive at the restaurant. After she parked her car just near the restaurant, she got out of the car and headed towards the restaurant. Inside, her father and other siblings were already at one of the tables, including Bryson. Apparently, Bryson was coincidentally at home, visiting their father when Miya told him that they will be going out for dinner. So, he immediately joined them, with Miya and Kael joining him in his car. Munier and their father were in a separate car.

Delilah took a seat beside Bryson, who sat across their father. Munier was sitting on Bryson"s right with Miya sitting across him. Kael was sitting between his grandfather and mother. Miya"s husband, Mellan, hasn"t arrived yet from work.

Delilah placed her handbag on her seat before getting up to get the food. The raw food for grilling were served in a buffet style, where patrons can get the food themselves, self-service. She grabbed an empty plate and began to fill the plate with the marinated food. She had taken raw chicken and beef. She then took her dipping sauce and carried her plates to the table.

Bryson had left her some s.p.a.ce on the grill so she could cook hers. In the middle of the grilling pan, there was a small pot, boiling with chicken soup. It was used for the hotpot, which Delilah decided not to eat. She felt like eating grilled food. Bryson was the same. Both Delilah and Bryson shared the small stove for the hotpot and grilling with their father. Miya, on the other hand, shared the other small stove with Munier and later, Mellan. Kael, who doesn"t like to eat hot pot, was eating his french fries, instead, as he watched his cartoon on Miya"s mobile phone.

Delilah began to place the marinated meat on the grill pan and waited for them to cook. Once cooked, she picked them up with a metal tong. She could feel her mouth drooling from the smell of cooked meat. It smells so good. She dipped the meat in her spicy dipping sauce and took a bite. It was a bit chewy but tender. The juices from the meat and the spiciness of the dipping sauce dripped down onto her empty plate. Not wanting to waste the flavour, she took another meat from the grill and wiped the juice and the fallen dipping sauce with it and ate it.

The family began to enjoy their grilled food and hotpot, while talking among themselves. It has been awhile since they had eaten out together. It was quite harmonious and such a comfortable feeling to Delilah. Her brother-in-law finally arrived a few minutes later. Miya began to serve him some of the food that she had cooked earlier. Delilah also shared hers. Why would anyone want to stop enjoying food when there will always be food around, especially in an all-you-can-eat hotpot and grill buffet?